There are no words

via Joemygod-

SCOTLAND: Hundreds Mourn Young Gay Murder Victim Stuart Walker

Hundreds of mourners turned out yesterday for the funeral of Stuart Walker, the young gay man found burned and tied to a lamppost in his Scotland village last month.

Many of the town’s 9000 inhabitants attended the service. Mr Walker’s sister, Julie called her brother the “life and soul of our family”. She said: “You were our ray of sunshine when you were here. And now you will forever be our brightest star, watching over us.” The day of Stuart’s death, 22 October, was described as “one of the darkest in Cumnock’s recent history” by the vicar, Reverend Patterson. Leona Lewis’ Footprints in the Sand was played during the procession, with 600 mourners following the hearse to the town cemetery.

An 18 year-old man has been charged with the murder.

SCOTLAND: Dead Gay Man Found Tied To Lamppost In Possible Hate Crime

A 28 year-old gay man was found tied to lamppost and may have been burned alive in what Scottish police are describing as a possible hate crime.

Detectives today launched a murder inquiry following the grim discovery, with streets in a nearby industrial estate sealed off as part of the ongoing investigation. Strathclyde Police confirmed the body had scorch marks and the victim had suffered horrific injuries. A spokesperson for the force said relatives of Mr Walker, the former assistant manager at the Royal Hotel in, Cumnock, have been informed of his death. Strathclyde Police would not rule out that Mr Walker had been murdered because of his sexuality and were now closely examining all aspects of the victim’s life.

A conflicting report says the victim was killed before his body was burned.

The hotel worker had been out with friends earlier in the night and was last seen alive by a family friend at about 2.30am. Strathclyde Police have launched a murder inquiry, with a spokesperson saying Mr Walker had not "died from his burns" and had been subjected to "a horrific attack". Officers are not ruling out that Mr Walker was murdered because of his sexuality.

Quo Vadimus?

And so it goes.

Soldier Sailor...Veterans day

hgf

The Substance of Integrity

When one makes a mistake in our culture it's American to point at someone else and attempt to shift the blame.  It's very difficult to stand up and admit in private that you have erred, and in public it's more than doubly difficult.

Today Bret Ratner demonstrated more integrity than I've seen in a long time.  He  not only resigned his position as Producer of this years Oscar telecast, he issued a letter of public apology, not only to his GLBT friends and co-workers, but to...well everyone.

And though he admits what he did was stupid he's to be applauded for his integrity.  His letter gives me no doubt of his sincerity:

An Open Letter to the Entertainment Industry from Brett Ratner
Dear Colleagues,
Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a well-deserved earful from many of the people I admire most in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances. To them, and to everyone I’ve hurt and offended, I’d like to apologize publicly and unreservedly.
As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments. And they pale in comparison to what any gay, lesbian, or transgender individual must deal with as they confront the many inequalities that continue to plague our world.
So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated.
As a first step, I called Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast. Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career. But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.
I am grateful to GLAAD for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised and I look forward to working with them. I am incredibly lucky to have a career in this business that I love with all of my heart and to be able to work alongside so many of my heroes. I deeply regret my actions and I am determined to learn from this experience.

Sincerely,
Brett Ratner

Now that's how you apologize.  That's how you demonstrate integrity.  And if we were smart we'd learn from his example and THEN we'd start to be the country we think we are.

And so it goes.

Almost Done

By this Thursday I will finally be done with my latest show, and thank the Gods!  It has been a nightmare from beginning to end.  It has also made me rethink my position at the college.  If they don't make a move first I'll be outta there in May.  It's been a good experience, but it's what it is and it's not gonna change, and that means it's time for me to do something else.  Phew.

House number four has turned into a ridiculous exercise with a servicing company in Mumbai that won't communicate nor will they do anything else in a reasonable time frame.  So moving on from that too.  Found another that I like a lot more, and beginning the process regarding it today. " Maybe this time, I'll get lucky, maybe this time.."

Andy Rooney, an American institution as long as I can remember has died at 92. Good long run Mr. Rooney, thanks for all you did.  There were commentaries that I didn't exactly see the point of, but there were many that were spot on as well.

 The Occupy protestors are going to have to start making more noise.  Just occupying isn't going to get the job done.  After a bit the short attention span of American's will just accept them as part of the landscape.  They're going to have to get unruly if they want anything to happen. Herman Cain is stealing all the headlines with his antics and his admitted relationship with the Koch brothers.  Not to mention that sex sells and he's apparently been trying to get over on almost every woman who's worked for him.  Today on CNN.com the fourth story is about Occupy protestors who are wearing the Guy Fawkes masks from V for Vendetta.  Much akin to the media's need to interview and film the most outrageous drag queens, glitter boys or leather Daddy's on Gay Pride all the while ignoring the 99% who don't represent that.  A willingness to be the media's organ grinder monkey and pander to that mindset could be their undoing.  A good action that has to be ongoing needs shock value, yet needs teeth as well.

Why would we not want the bankers and brokers to see and know our faces?  We are the 99% and we need to make it known that we are real people who have been affected, nay ruined by the greed and avarice of the 1%.  A friend on facebook posted this the other day. 

It doesn't get more accurate than that.

The notion that politics is the panacea to our ills is monumentally incorrect.  The very idea that we would elect the likes of a George Bush, or a Herman Cain to public office and then entrust such a one blindly with our future is folly.

We can change our world.  We can make it what we want it to  be, and we have the power to do it.  We simply must take the reins and guide ourselves to our chosen destination. There will be obstacles, there will be barriers, barricades, and the faithful will attempt to stop us at every turn.  But if your life isn't what you want it to be then you have to change it, and if you don't, if you suffer in silence, live in  quiet desperation as it were, then you have only yourself to blame.

Words and ideas can change the world, they can and do make a difference, they have unimaginable power.  Just think about how your parents shaped your way of thinking as you grew up with simply the words they spoke.  They taught you either to believe in yourself, or to  doubt your every thought. They taught you that you had value and worth or they reminded you that you were bad and would never amount to anything.  That's the power of words, that's how you shape things. you change them by making the dreams real. You decide what it is that you want and then you simply make a claim that  nothing will stop you from achieving it.  And it becomes a reality.

It may not become the reality you imagined, compromise  is always involved, but in the end if you can stay true to your original intent, you will see the finished product.  And it will gratify you.  It will validate your commitment to your ideal. But first you must do one thing...you must stand up.

And so it goes.

I wish this only happened in Texas

Then it would be easier to avoid.  


Alas, it doesn't just occur in Texas, it's a worldwide epidemic, perpetrated  by people whose minds are filled with the hate they've been taught by the faithful, who have twisted the words in the scriptures to suit their purposes.  


via joemygod.com

Burke Burnett says he was punched in the eye, stabbed with a broken beer bottle and thrown onto a lit burn barrel early Sunday at a party in Reno, Texas. View more photos of Burnett's injuries below.
A 26-year-old gay man says he was the victim of a brutal hate crime early Sunday in Reno, Texas — a small town just east of Paris and about 100 miles northeast of Dallas.
Burke Burnett said he was at a private party at about 1 a.m. when four men suddenly attacked him, stabbing him at least twice with a broken beer bottle before throwing him onto a fire. His attackers yelled things like “pussy-ass faggot,” “gay bitch” and “cock-sucking punk,” Burnett said.
Burnett said it took 30 stitches to close stab wounds to his back and forearm, as well as a cut above his left eye. He also sustained second-degree burns and severe bruises.
“They knew I was gay,” Burnett said Monday. “I’m convinced they were trying to kill me.”
Jeff Sugg, interim chief of the Reno Police Department, released a statement Monday afternoon saying: “The Reno Police Department is currently investigating an aggravated assault that took place last weekend. The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided when available.”
Reno police officials declined to further discuss their investigation.
Burnett said the officer investigating the case told him the attack will be classified as a hate crime. But Burnett said his attackers, whose identities are known, remain at large, and the officer told him it could be two weeks before they’re arrested.
“I’m scared for my life,” Burnett said, adding that he’s staying with a family friend. “I’m scared to go home. These guys have nothing to lose.”
Burnett said he grew up in Paris and came out as gay when he was 15. He knows at least one of his attackers personally. Two of the suspects have been to prison and may be on parole, he said.
Burnett said he’s attended several parties at the residence and was invited by his straight friend who lives there. He arrived at the party several hours earlier with three gay friends. However, the group left after someone at the party was overheard making anti-gay remarks such as, “These faggots don’t deserve to be here. Somebody needs to get them out of there.” Burnett said he didn’t hear the remarks and wasn’t aware of them when he returned to the party later in the evening with one of his girlfriends.
Burnett said he was sitting inside a large metal shed called “the party shop” when he was blindsided with a punch to his left eye. When he got up and tried to defend himself, one of his attackers stabbed him in the back with a broken beer bottle. Burnett called the stab wound “a kill shot” but said fortunately it didn’t puncture his lung.

Reno, Texas

One of the suspects stabbed him a second time in the right forearm — cutting into the muscle but missing an artery — before he was thrown onto a lit burn barrel.
At that point, some of Burnett’s girlfriends managed to slow down the attackers enough so that he could escape to a vehicle. None of the other 20 people at the party attempted to stop the attack, he said.
Burnett’s girlfriends eventually drove him to a hospital in Sulphur Springs, about 30 miles away.
Burnett said he’s hoping none of his injuries are permanent. He’s scheduled to return to the doctor on Friday.
Chivas Clem, one of Burnett’s gay friends who accompanied him to the party, contacted Dallas Voice and other media outlets about the attack Monday morning. Chivas, an artist who recently moved to Paris from New York City, said he fears people in the small, conservative town will try to brush the incident under the rug.
“I intend to make sure the Police Department follows through with this, and that the local press covers it,” Chivas said. “When I saw him [Burnett], I vomited because he looked so bad — and I cried.”
Another one of Burnett’s gay friends, Austin Holloman, said he’s heard police are considering downgrading the charges to misdemeanors because the attack occurred at a party. Holloman said he recently moved to Paris to live with his partner, who’s from there and has known Burnett since childhood.
“We don’t want people thinking this is OK in this area,” Holloman said. “We plan on being here forever.”

and so it goes

Happy Halloween

I bought myself a toy.

Halloween Jesus

Dear God

And so it goes.

God I miss that place

San Francisco, a place where thinking is actually encouraged. I so miss that. Here in Kansas if you dare to think you...well...it's so rare that they don't really have a response to it yet, but after the Koch brothers get through buying the state and taking over it's government there'll be a quick and decisive response...think Pinochet. Of course if you're a good Kansan you're Republican and you think what you're told. Because, well, why would you have to actually have any ideas of your own when you can just have them fed to you. Most republicans like that. That way they can spend their time thinking about their favorite subject...themselves. So, yes I left my heart in San Francisco. I'd go back there in a minute if there was a job, or any hope...and half those people went elsewhere...see, you can never go home again. On a personal note, getting cold feet about buying a house. they shouldn't have taken 8 weeks to make up their minds and I'd be in it already. But no, they had to give me time to THINK about it, which one should never do. What I really want to do is leave all this behind. The college is a miserable existence right now, and the notion of moving to a place that's close to there makes my skin crawl. So I've spent some time on realtor.com, a place I shouldn't spend so much time, and there are options for cash buyers out there. This bunch had better hurry up. And they better hope the inspections go well. But back to protesting. I will say in defense of law enforcement that Kansas City Missouri cops are being smart and learning from the mistakes of others. They're leaving our Occupy KC people alone. They are after all assembled peacefully in protest as is their constitutional right. Republicans do remember the constitution I think. At least when it's forced on them. So my hats off yet again to all Occupy protestors...thank you for making the sacrifices, and thank you for proving the point I've been making here for years. That when things got bad enough people would revolt.

Bearing it.

Hang in there with me. I'm soo busy I rarely have time to post these days, but I'll be back later this week.

What hath george wrought

It appears that the economic terror wrought by George Bush and Co has finally  inspired people the world over to say "basta!"

With good cause, we're all starving, we're all likely not to ever be able reach the goal of retirement, and as for getting decent health care as we age, well, forget it.

Of course, good  Republicans who've effectively buried their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge the existence of logic say I, and others of like mind are crazy.

I'd much rather be labeled as crazy than delusional.

We all know about the OWS crowd, and personally I'm rooting for them.  Alas, the city and certainly Congress think otherwise.  I'm wondering exactly how they intend to curtail the first amendment rights of the OWS protestors.

Money, dear GOP friends, does not equate to free speech.  And let's not forget...bullshit walks.

One can't help but notice that this photo from Madrid is indicative of the rise of the populace.

I have to wonder how long the legislative branch can ignore them.

And so it goes.

HGF is back baby!

I shouldn't be incredulous

How can anyone support a party that is willing to not only allow their constituents to remain jobless and often hungry, but to encourage the very behavior that brought this condition about is amazing. The GOP members of the senate killed President Obama's recent jobs bill. How can such an unconscionable act take place in times like these? How is it possible that the people can allow this? What will we don come next November? Will we participate in a futile exercise to continue this behavior? Let's hope not. The op-ed folks at the NYT said it far better than I: Editorial No Jobs Bill, and No Ideas Published: October 12, 2011 It was all predicted, but the unanimous decision by Senate Republicans on Tuesday to filibuster and thus kill President Obama’s jobs bill was still a breathtaking act of economic vandalism. There are 14 million people out of work, wages are falling, poverty is rising, and a second recession may be blowing in, but not a single Republican would even allow debate on a sound plan to cut middle-class taxes and increase public-works spending. Readers’ Comments The bill the Republicans shot down is not a panacea, but independent economists say it would have a significant and swift effect on the current stagnation. Macroeconomic Advisers, whose forecasts are often used by the Federal Reserve, said it could raise economic growth by 1.25 percentage points and create 1.3 million jobs in 2012. Moody’s Analytics estimated new growth at 2 percentage points and 1.9 million jobs. Those economists say that Republican ideas for increasing growth would have no measurable effects in the next year. The Republicans offer no actual economic plans, only tired slogans about cutting regulations and spending, and ending health care reform. The party seems content to run out the clock on Mr. Obama’s term while doing very little. On Tuesday, Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, Jim Messina, accused Republicans of trying to “suffocate the economy” in hopes that the pain would work to their political advantage. They are doing little to refute that charge. Their lack of serious ideas was on full display in both the Senate and the presidential debate on Tuesday night in New Hampshire. The debate was ostensibly about the economy, but when the freshest and most-talked-about idea is Herman Cain’s ridiculous “9-9-9” tax plan, it is clear that the economy they were debating is not the one Americans are forced to live in. Mr. Cain — whose rise in the polls says everything you need to know about the amateur-hour decline of his party — wants to replace all federal taxes with a 9 percent levy on corporate income, personal income and sales. As Bruce Bartlett, an economist who has worked in Republican administrations, recently wrote in The Times, it is a formula designed to cut taxes for the rich and increase them for the poor, raising the deficit and doing nothing for growth. The other candidates were no less vacuous. Mitt Romney offered an ash heap of used ideas, saying he would push a balanced-budget amendment, cut back on regulations, and go chest to chest with China on trade. Rick Perry, when he could be stirred to speak, vowed to somehow put 1.2 million people to work in the energy industry, as if the whole country were Texas and drills could pop up on every block. Republican candidates fear the Tea Party too much to acknowledge that economists are solidly behind government intervention to awaken growth. The jobs bill rejected by Republican leaders will now be reintroduced piece by piece, and Republicans are not likely to go along with much more than an extension of the payroll tax cut (which is opposed by Mr. Romney). But at least the record is increasingly clear who is advocating real ideas and who is selling an empty vessel. The revolution is coming. And so it goes.

No one is perfect

Still trying to recover f rom this cold I've had for two weeks, so I'm not feeling very eloquent.

Afraid the best I can do is share something I found over at Joemygod.

Rick Perry's BFF and Dallas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress says that gays are using Chinese brainwashing techniques to zombify America into accepting their evil agenda. Jeffress made the networks last week for telling the nation that Mormonism is a cult. He also says the Catholic Church is run by Satan. (well he might be on to something with the Catholics)







And so it goes.

For Frank.

Remembering Frank Kameny

We owe an enormous debt to Frank Kameny.  He was a trailblazer, a visionary, and he gave us all hope when there was no reason for any.

Mr. Kameny was one of the founding members of the Mattachine Society of Washington D.C.

His conscious decision to live his life openly, and to lead through his activism should be a beacon with which we continue to strive to achieve the goal of rights for all people.  For a life of humanity to be granted not to a few, but to every one of us.  No matter our color, our religion, nor who we love.

Mr. Kameny lived in a time that our kind was to be shunned.  Ours was truly the love that dare not peak its name in his youth.  Anyone willing to take such a courageous stand should be well honored, nay revered by those of us who have so richly benefited by his life.  

 The time in which he lived held incredible advances, and crushing defeats.   But through it all he held to his beliefs and his convictions and inspired new generations to stand and demand their human rights.  He risked imprisonment simply because of who he loved and that he was willing to take a stand against the inherent oppression in our society.

If it's possible we should all stand, our hands over our hearts, and observe a moment of silence during his funeral.  He helped us all.

Frank Kameny was a man. He was also a hero. He died on National Coming Out Day.

Longtime gay activist Frank Kameny dies

October 11, 2011 | 

• 
  

Frank Kameny (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Franklin E. Kameny, one of the nation’s most prominent gay rights leaders, died in his home today apparently from natural causes. He was 86.
The death came less than a month before the planned celebration of the 50th anniversary of Kameny’s founding of the Mattachine Society of Washington, the first gay rights organization in the nation’s capital.
LGBT rights advocates Charles Francis and Bob Witeck, who were longtime friends of Kameny’s and established the project to preserve Kameny’s papers over a 50-year period, said they would be announcing soon plans for a memorial service to honor the gay rights leader’s life.
Timothy Clark, Kameny’s tenant, said he found Kameny unconscious and unresponsive in his bed shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Clark called 911 police emergency and rescue workers determined that Kameny had passed away earlier, most likely in his sleep. Clark said he had spoken with Kameny shortly before midnight on the previous day and Kameny didn’t seem to be in distress.
Kameny is credited with being one of the leading strategists for the early gay rights movement — beginning shortly before the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York’s Greenwich Village and continuing afterward.
Born and raised in New York City, Kameny served in combat as an Army soldier in World War II in Europe. After the war, Kameny obtained a doctorate degree in astronomy from Harvard University.
He went on to work as an astronomer for the U.S. Army map service in the 1950s and was fired after authorities discovered he was gay. He contested the firing and appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first known gay person to file a gay-related case before the high court. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling against Kameny and declined to hear the case, but Kameny’s decision to appeal the case through the court system motivated him to become a lifelong advocate on behalf on LGBT equality.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Kameny “led an extraordinary life marked by heroic activism that set a path for the modern LGBT civil rights movement.”

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“From his early days fighting institutionalized discrimination in the federal workforce, Dr. Kameny taught us all that ‘Gay is Good,’” Solmonese said. “As we say goodbye to this trailblazer on National Coming Out Day, we remember the remarkable power we all have to change the world by living our lives like Frank — openly, honestly and authentically.”
Chuck Wolfe, CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said Kameny’s death marked the “loss of a hero and a founding father of the fight to end discrimination against LGBT people.”
“Dr. Kameny stood up for this community when doing so was considered unthinkable and even shocking, and he continued to do so throughout his life,” Wolfe said. “He spoke with a clear voice and firm conviction about the humanity and dignity of people who were gay, long before it was safe for him to do so. All of us who today endeavor to complete the work he began a half century ago are indebted to Dr. Kameny and his remarkable bravery and commitment.”
Chad Griffin, board president for the American Federation for Equal Rights, the organization behind the federal lawsuit against Proposition 8, said “America has lost a hero” with the passing of Kameny.
“Out and proud, Frank Kameny was fighting for equality long before the rest of us knew we could.” Griffin added. “Because there was one Frank Kameny, trailblazing and honest enough to speak out 50 years ago, there are now millions of Americans, coming out, speaking out and fighting for their basic civil rights. His is a legacy of bravery and tremendous impact and will live on in the hearts and minds of every American who values equality and justice.”

Know fear

So really what's the difference now between Somalia and the United States? We're apparently no longer going to prosecute people for crimes...Because we can't afford it.

It really is all about money isn't it?

Those who've been charged with domestic battery aren't always guilty, just as those who commit other crimes aren't always guilty.  But the investigation needs to take place to determine that. And that's our responsibility, just as it's our responsibility to  take care of those marginalized by society.  i.e. see to it that they have adequate food and shelter.  

But the current mindset in our culture is to make them fend for themselves, therefore we have more homeless, more people waiting until they're too sick to be helped by medicine at all, and families not able to protect themselves mow apparently will have mo champion.

Kansas...as bigoted as you think!

Unless, of course, you can pay for it yourself.

 

Topeka considers decriminalizing domestic battery

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 1:49 PM 

In news that seems more likely to be coming out of Somalia than Kansas, Topeka's City Council is considering repealing the city ordinance regarding domestic battery. Yes, they're looking at decriminalizing domestic battery. But don't worry! They're doing it for a good reason: to save money. See, Topeka still wants abusive family members to be charged with crimes, but Topeka just doesn't want to pay for prosecuting these jerks. If domestic battery is no longer covered under city law, then arrested asses would have to be charged by the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office. Problem is, the DA says it's too broke to try wife beaters, too. Really. This is happening in America.

The whole kerfuffle over footing the bill to carry out justice for battered family members started in September when Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor announced that the county could no longer afford to pursue misdemeanor charges in Topeka, including domestic battery. This left the city to take on the cases, and with a tight budget and a city attorney's office that hasn't handled a domestic-violence case in more than a decade, it was ill-prepared to do so. In the first week after Taylor made his announcement, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that 30 domestic-battery cases were rejected, and three suspects were released and presumably returned home because no charges were brought. Really. This happened in America.
Taylor told Topeka that his office would resume handling domestic-violence cases if the city gave his office $350,000. But he can't make that kind of arrangement without the Shawnee County Commission's approval. That's the entity that slashed Taylor's budget by 10 percent to set up this disaster. So, that has left the Topeka City Council to consider the work-around of decriminalizing domestic battery, leaving Taylor to take the cases without the budget to handle them. Mayor Bill Bunten told the council: "The question is who prosecutes them, the municipal court or the district court, and who pays for it, the city or the county or a combination?" Really, we're bickering over who pays to protect battered family members. In America.

Loss

As we all know due to much of the technology he helped create, Steve Jobs has died.

The loss will be felt only to a few of his closest friends, his family, and those who worked with him during his incredible career.

But we will be poorer for it.  There are few men or women today who demonstrate the foresight, the tenacity, and sometimes the balls to do the things Jobs did in his life. 

The  simplicity of most of his devices made us aware of their elegance, hence the dedicated development process behind them.

We thank you for your contributions to our world Mr. Jobs, may you rest in peace.

Occupation

Those that are making the sacrifice to spend their time occupying Wall Street and make our voices heard have my utmost respect.

This is not an easy task, it's not made easier by the inappropriate actions of the police, the government and the laissez-faireattitude of the very people who are the target of these demonstartions.

It's not an easy task to sit in a sidewalk in New York while New Yorkers are trying to get to work.  They're taking huge risks with their safety, their own finances, and their future should the coty or the federal government decide to clean up Wall Street of those damn protestors. 

So if an opportunity comes to support them show it.  If you get a chance to participate in a local demonstration do so.  If you can get out your voice and be heard no matter how small the step you make, you WILL make  a difference.  And if you don't it's a good reminder by those bent on turning this country into what it was 100 years ago that we do live in a free republic and they cannot silence our voices forever. 

New York (CNN) -- Several unions endorsed the two-week-old Occupy Wall Street movement and plan to join the protesters' street theater in New York on Wednesday, labor leaders said.
"It's really simple. These young people on Wall Street are giving voice to many of the problems that working people in America have been confronting over the last several years," Larry Hanley, international president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which has 20,000 member in the New York area, told CNN.
"These young people are speaking for the vast majority of Americans who are frustrated by the bankers and brokers who have profited on the backs of hard-working people," Hanley added in a statement. "While we battle it out day after day, month after month, the millionaires and billionaires on Wall Street sit by -- untouched -- and lecture us on the level of our sacrifice."


Transport Workers Union Local 100 spokesman Jim Gannon said the Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces social inequities in the financial system and draws inspiration from the Arab Spring revolutions in Africa and the Middle East, has advanced issues that unions typically support.
"Their goals are our goals," Gannon said. "They brought a spotlight on issues that we've believed in for quite some time now.... Wall Street caused the implosion in the first place and is getting away Scot-free while workers, transit workers, everybody, is forced to pay for their excesses.
"These young folks have brought a pretty bright spotlight," Gannon added. "It's kind of a natural alliance."


President Michael Mulgrew of the United Federation of Teachers, the sole bargaining agent for most non-supervisory New York City public teachers with 200,000 members, said he was "proud" to support the Occupy demonstrators, who have been camping out in New York and elsewhere across the nation.

'Occupy Wall Street' protests spread

"The way our society is now headed it does not work for 99% of people, so when Occupy Wall Street started ... they kept to it and they've been able to create a national conversation that we think should have been going on for years," Mulgrew said.
The labor officials couldn't provide a projection on how many of their members will take the day off from work Wednesday and join the protests.
The demonstrators have bivouacked in the park in New York's Financial District, calling for 20,000 people to flood the area for a "few months."
The protest campaign -- which uses the hashtag #occupywallstreet on the microblogging site Twitter -- began in July with the launch of a simple campaign website calling for a march and a sit-in at the New York Stock Exchange.
Over the past two weeks, demonstrations have addressed various issues, including police brutality, union busting and the economy, the group said.
Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless movement made largely of twentysomethings upset with the state of the economy, the state of the war in Afghanistan, the state of the environment, and the state of America and the world in general.

In less than three weeks, the movement has become a magnet for countless disaffected Americans at a time when an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults say the country's on the wrong track.
Occupy protests have been held in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and Boston.
Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots have clear strains of liberal economic populism -- a powerful force in U.S. history during various times characterized by growing economic stress. That said, it could be a mistake to label or tie the movement to a specific agenda, said Susan Olzak, a Stanford University sociology professor.
"It's difficult to classify a social protest movement early on in its history," Olzak told CNN. "Clearer goals could eventually emerge, but there's no guarantee."
"Many movements fizzle out. Others become more organized," she said. But "I think we run a risk (by) taking a snapshot at any one point in time, and trying to categorize the movement in any one way based on that snapshot. The only way to study these protest movements is to follow them over time."

And so it goes:

Why then oh why can't I?

Well mostly you can't because if you live in Kansas and you're unemployed, you've been cut loose.  The state government doesn't care about you at all..at ALL...AT ALL!

The following article demonstrates that though Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon  perhaps does care about is constituents, he's a bit misguided in his efforts.  Because not everyone is cut out for health care work.

It's long hours, sometimes longer.  It's dealing with people at their worst...when they're sick. And it's dealing with fluids and bodily functions that many people cannot deal with.

Personally, I found it enthralling, but after they started teaching my particular field at the Brown-Mackie College I decided I'd rather not be associated with it.  Besides my particular expertise was a young man's job. i.e. long periods of boredom, punctuated by short bursts of panic.

But at least Gov. Nixon is trying something.  Governor Brownback...well, he's trying stuff...he's trying to starve the state government so the Koch Brothers can take it over.

Dick.

So without further ado, here's the article, and a picture I find priceless in it's stupidity.

from governor Nixon's own website-

September 26, 2011

Missouri community colleges receive major competitive grant, application efforts coordinated by Gov. Nixon's administration

Missouri community colleges to invest $20 million to train Missourians for health care careers, Gov. Nixon announces

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon announced today that Missouri community colleges will invest $20 million through MoHealthWINS, a statewide effort to educate 4,600 more Missourians for health care jobs and careers.  Under Gov. Nixon's leadership, Missouri's 12 community colleges and Linn State Technical College collaborated with the Missouri Department of Economic Development and the state's Workforce Investment Boards to apply for these federal funds to retrain unemployed Missourians for jobs and careers in growing health care fields.
The colleges estimate that MoHealthWINS will provide educational opportunities for approximately 4,600 additional Missourians.  The grant specifically targets unemployed adult learners who are seeking new career opportunities.
"From the moment I became Governor, we have worked closely with Missouri's outstanding community colleges to train more Missourians for the jobs and careers of tomorrow and to get folks back to work," Gov. Nixon said.  "Missouri's health care industry is growing quickly, and hospitals, clinics and other employers need more nurses, lab techs and other workers with the right education and skills today.  By expanding educational opportunities for Missourians in these fields, we'll open the door for employment for more folks and keep our economy growing.  This is a strategic investment in the growth of our economy and the future of our state."
Individual colleges will use these funds to develop or expand training programs in the health services and health sciences industry, which is a targeted industry under the Missouri Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth.  The application focused on this industry because it offers immediate and long-term employment opportunities and relatively high-wage jobs.  Training will target specific occupations within this industry, including:

• Health information technologist
• Information systems
• Certified nursing aide
• Certified medical technician
• Licensed practical nurse
• Associate nursing degree
• Pharmacy technician
• Hearing instrument technician
• Medical lab technician
• Phlebotomist
• Radiologic technician
• Maintenance technician
• Mechanical technician

These competitive funds were made available under the U.S. Department of Labor's Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program.  When the grant process was announced, Gov. Nixon brought Missouri's community colleges together to submit a joint, comprehensive application.  In the application, the colleges looked for ways to develop collaborative and targeted programs that would capitalize on the unique resources of each college, avoid duplication, and save money.  Colleges will share equipment and faculty, emphasize online and distance learning and take other steps to expand access, improve efficiency and reduce redundancy.
Throughout the application process, senior leaders within Gov. Nixon's administration worked closely with community college and Workforce Investment Board leaders to develop and craft the grant application.  In April 2011, Gov. Nixon submitted a strong letter in support of the application, noting that this investment supplemented his "Big Goal" for higher education: Increasing the percentage of Missourians who hold a postsecondary credential from 37 percent to 60 percent by 2020.  Gov. Nixon also discussed the importance of this application directly with federal leaders, including Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
"This grant is a major step forward for our community colleges in our efforts to expand opportunities for adult students across this state," said Zora Mulligan, executive director of the Missouri Community College Association.  "Throughout this process, Gov. Nixon has been a steadfast partner, and his leadership was instrumental in making our application so successful.  We look forward to continuing to work closely with Gov. Nixon and with the state's Workforce Investment Boards to turn this grant into real learning opportunities for folks in every corner of Missouri."
Gov. Nixon will visit several community colleges in the coming days to detail specific programs that will be developed or expanded as a result of this grant.

And then there's this:

 Just in case no Americans have demonstrated to you how stupid they actually are today.

Quo Vadimus?

Dear God

I don't know how to respond to this.  -ed

Leaving Kansas? Sam Brownback thinks income taxes are the reason why

Posted by David Martin on Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 8:15 AM

When Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback thinks of a typical Kansan, he imagines somebody like Tiger Woods. Woods, a California kid, moved to Florida when he turned professional. Why would he leave one warm-weather state for another? Florida has no state income tax. Brownback seems to think regular people act like money-worshipping superstar athletes. The governor is of the mind that Kansas will be a bright prairie flower on the withering Plains if it lowers income taxes. “You’re going to see the middle of the country — our area will be the one that will grow,” he said last week at an annual dinner of the Kansas Policy Institute, a free-market think tank, according to The Wichita Eagle.
The notion that tax burdens have a big influence on migration patterns is far from settled, however. One study, for instance, looked at New Jersey after the state introduced a “millionaire tax” in 2004. The study, written by Cristobal Young of Stanford University and Charles Varner of Princeton University, found that tax had “minimal effect.”
The New Jersey study squared with other studies that indicate tax increases don’t cause people to put “for sale” signs in their yards. In an e-mail, Young says he hasn’t looked at tax decreases, which is what Brownback is contemplating. “But I can’t think of a compelling reason why people would be sensitive to a tax decrease when they are not sensitive to a tax increase,” he writes.
Still, don’t go waving your fancy university studies around the Brownback administration.
“Be careful when these theoretical guys, who haven’t been in the real world, start splitting hairs based on statistical databases,” cautions Steve Anderson, the governor’s budget director.
Anderson is a certified public accountant from Edmond, Oklahoma. Before he joined the administration, he worked as a consultant for Americans for Prosperity, a group bankrolled by the super-rich and ultraconservative Koch brothers. In 2009, he worked on a “model budget” for Kansas that, among other things, recommended higher tuition at public universities. “There is no reason to tax the majority in the state who do not have children attending a state institution in order to subsidize those who do, especially when there is evidence it is the more affluent citizens who are more likely to have children enrolled in higher education,” the document said.
To Anderson, the evidence is clear. Florida, Texas and other states that don’t tax income are growing. Therefore, tax cuts lead to growth. “What I have seen is that income taxes change behavior,” he tells The Pitch. “It’s just as clear as the nose on your face.”
Anderson likes things that are plain as noses. Because he doesn’t fully trust those college professors with their tweed jackets and standard deviations.
“There really is no punishment for them if they put something out that doesn’t really have any validity,” Anderson says.
He's a real-world guy. “My clients don’t pay me to take wild guesses," he says. "Which is why I’ve always thought that college professors that have never practiced should get out and practice awhile. They might be surprised what they’d learn in reality. Things are much different when you get off the college campus.”

Quo Vadimus?