Monday, June 25, 2012

Things to Know - 26 June


1.  As Immigration Law rulings roll out, here is a glimpse of a political gimmick law in Georgia that was designed purely to draw attention to one Matt Ramsey of Peachtree City.  He got the state leg. to pass a law that has found no one to charge.  However, there may be violators, but law enforcement (where it all happens) found one incident where a woman, Martha Lilia Garcia, was found to have bought a stolen social security card so that she could obtain employment at a produce company.  That fraud could put her in jail for 10 years and a $100,000 fine - Good for you Matt Ramsey, you got your name on a law that saves us from fraud.   However, when you determine that the social security account is not going to have any money going to Ms. Garcia, and that she has a family and young children to feed.....what are you really doing?  Well, the local police saw the humanity and the face of someone who was just trying to survive - and that its where Ramsey's law was ignored:

2.  The Bio-Tech lobbying industry convinced the Senate that there is no need for products to have any labeling information as to whether the contents contain any genetically modified organisms (GMO).  To many people this is a big thing - you know knowing what's in the stuff that they are about to eat.  However, Monsanto - The Big-Chem - does not think people need to know this, and besides it is a federal issue and only the FDA can do this.  So much for states rights.   Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with "States Rights".  Monsanto and the rest of the industry finds it easier to buy and bribe ONE focal point (the FDA), and not 50 separate state agencies.  Solution - grow your own and suck eggs:

3.  Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith with Bill Moyers.  The subject is the greed and corruption on Wall Street, which both guests describe as the "Mafia".   You really should see the video in this article.  I read Taibbi's article in the latest Rolling Stone, and a lot of what he says is shared from that piece.  You will be both enlightened and sick at the same time:

4.  A deeply committed Progressive is wailing here about why it is that the Conservatives are always winning and the Progressives seem to be losing.  It's a good theory.  I don't agree with all of it, but it inspires you to think about the situation:

5.  As we wallow in discussion and reflection on the busted and corrupt systems of politics and Capitalism in this country, there may be room to look at alternatives.  There is nothing wrong with our political system that an enlightened voter base could not cure, so let's look at the other problem; Capitalism.   Here is a story about a real business in Spain that operates in a way that is fair, just, and profitable, and not run on the capitalist business model:

6.  Eugene Robinson chimes in on how the Supreme's ruling on the Arizona immigration law is a real boost for the Obama administration, not to mention any profiled minorities that were affected.  Romney still does not get it, and probably never will:

7.  The elation over the Arizona ruling was more than sucked away and destroyed by the Supreme's action on the State of Montana's law that has now made unlimited and unaccountable corporate money a legitimate part of the political system.  This is the worst thing that has happened in a long time.  The corporate pile of money is everything, while we the people of modest and limited means just cannot compete in a money is free speech environment.  It is going to be a long hard pull to reverse this, but action has begun to seek justice and fairness through a trickle up process.  This is really, overall, a very sad day:

8.  Gregory Rodriguez, in his once-a-month gig with the LA Times, comes through with a really big humdinger of a column.  The success of the Asian-American community, particularly in California, is getting a lot of notice.  Most of it good, but envy and resentment always occurs when one group on a fast-track passes others:

Juan

"There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and the tired man who wants a book to read." 
       -- G. K. Chesterton
"Many would be cowards if they had courage enough." 
       -- Thomas Fuller
"It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power." 
       -- David Brin
"A kleptomaniac is a person who helps himself because he can't help himself." 
       -- Henry Morgan


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