Sunday, April 28, 2013

CISPA Internet Killing Bill Dies in Senate

The U.S. democratically controlled senate blocks CISPA from being voted on. My defeated, depressing blog post about CISPA passing the house should still be read though! Link below ;) It contains a list of every house member who voted for the internet killing bill. Find your representatives name on the list and call them to tell them you support privacy and internet freedom and your pissed about their vote. If you don't find your congressman or women on the list then call them anyway to say thanks for supporting your privacy and supporting internet freedom by not voting for this anti american bill.


Monday, April 22, 2013

Amanda Palmer attacked by Fox's "the Five" for Poem









 Below is the poem by Amanda Palmer


Curtsy of http://amandapalmer.net/blog/20130421/   


you don’t know how it felt to be in the womb but it must have been at least a little warmer than this.
you don’t know how intimately they’re recording your every move on closed-circuit cameras until you see your face reflected back at you through through the pulp.
you don’t know how to stop picking at your fingers.
you don’t know how little you’ve been paying attention until you look down at your legs again.
you don’t know how many times you can say you’re coming until they just stop believing you.
you don’t know how orgasmic the act of taking in a lungful of oxygen is until they hold your head under the water.
you don’t know how many vietnamese soft rolls to order.
you don’t know how convinced your parents were that having children would be, absolutely, without question, the correct thing to do.
you don’t know how precious your iphone battery time was until you’re hiding in the bottom of the boat.
you don’t know how to get away from your fucking parents.
you don’t know how it’s possible to feel total compassion in one moment and total disconnection in the next moment.
you don’t know how things could change so incredibly fast.
you don’t know how to make something, but the instructions are on the internet.
you don’t know how to make sense of this massive parade.
you don’t know how to believe anyone anymore.
you don’t know how to tell the girl in the chair next to you that you’ve been peeking at her dissertation draft and there’s a grammatical typo in the actual file name.
you don’t know how to explain yourself.
you don’t want two percent but it’s all they have.
you don’t know how claustrophobic your house is until you can’t leave it.
you don’t know why you let that guy go without shooting him dead and stuffing him in some bushes between cambridge and watertown.
you don’t know where your friends went.
you don’t know how to dance but you give it a shot anyway.
you don’t know how your life managed to move twenty six miles forward and twenty eight miles back.
you don’t know how to pay your debts.
you don’t know how to separate from this partnership to escape and finally breathe.
you don’t know how come people run their goddamn knees into the ground anyway.
you don’t know how to measure the value of the twenty dollar bill clutched in your hurting hand.
you don’t know how you walked into this trap so obliviously.
you don’t know how to adjust the rearview mirror.
you don’t know how to mourn your dead brother.
you don’t know how to drive this car.
you don’t know the way to new york.
you don’t know the way to new york.
you don’t know the way to new york.
you don’t know the way to new york.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

CISPA Passes In the House

Well congress just used the Boston bombings to pass CISPA.  The internet was nice while it lasted :(  Everyone's hard work fighting SOPA and PIPA slowed them down but wasn't enough. I will always remember the casualties in this fight, especially Aaron Swartz. The final vote in the house was 288 ; 127. There is still a shred of hope. President Obama has promised to veto the bill if it comes to his office siting privacy concerns as a basis for doing so. Please everyone call his office and make him feel the pressure. MAKE him veto this bill his phone number is

1-202-456-1111

Here is the names of every representative who voted for it. If you can, look up your representative to see how they voted and if they sold you out call them and bitch. I have called many on the list today and will continue.

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/




Robert Aderholt (Al-04)
Rodney Alexander (LA-05)
Mark Amodei Nevada's 1st
Spencer Bachus (Al-06)
Ron Barber Arizona's 2nd
Lou Barletta (PA-11)
Andy Bar Kentucky's 6th
John Barrow Georgia's 12th
Barton
Beatty
Benishek
Berra (CA)
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Black
Bonner
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Brooks (IN)
Brooks (AL)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burgess
Bustos
Butterfield
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Capito
Cardenas
Carney
Carter
Cassidy
Castor (FL)
Chabot
Chaffetz
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Coble
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Connolly
Cook
Cooper
Costa
Cotton
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Cuellar
Culberson
Daines
Deham
Dent
DesJarlais
Deutch
Diaz-Balart
Dingell
Duckworth
Duffy
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers
Enyart
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Forbes
Forenberry
Foster
Foxx
Frankel (FL)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Fudge
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia
Gardner
Gerlach
Gibbs
Gingrey (GA)
Goodlatte
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grimm
Guthrie
Gutierrez
Hannabusa
Hanna
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Heck (NV)
Heck (WA)
Hensarling
Higgins
Himes
Horsford
Hoyer
Hudson
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Israel
Issa
Jeffries
Jenkins
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jordan
Joyce
Kaptur
Kelly (IL)
Kelly (PA)
Kilmer
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger (IL)
Kirkpatrick
Kline
Kluster
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Langevin
Lankford
Larsen (WA)
Lathum
Latta
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lummis
Maffei
Maloney, Sean
Marino
Matheson
McCarthy (CA)
McCarthy (NY)
McCaul
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
Meehan
Meeks
Meng
Messer
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Moran
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Noem
Nunes
Nunnelee
Olson
Owens
Palazz
Pastor (AZ)
Paulsen
Payne
Pearce
Perlmutter
Perry
Peters (CA)
Peterson
Petri
Pittenger
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Pompeo
Price (GA)
Quigley
Radel
Rahall
Rangel
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Richmond
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Royce
Ruiz
Runyan
Ruppersberger
Ryan (WI)
Salmon
Sanchez, Loretta
Scalise
Schneider
Schock
Schrader
Schwartz
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Scott, David
Sessions
Sewell (AL)
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
Sires
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Southerland
Steward
Stivers
Stutzman
Swalwell (CA)
Terry
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Titus
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Vargas
Veasley
Vela
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walorski
Weber (TX)
Weber (FL)
Wenstrup
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
Young (IN)

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Boston Marathon Bombing



Yesterday normal Americans gathered for the annual Boston Marathon celebrating patriots day. As the marathon was coming to a close, two bombs went off near the finish line- killing 3 and injuring 170 including 17 critical injuries. Some of the injuries endured were vicious- as the bombs were intended to maim individuals. Improvised explosive devices packed with nails, shrapnel, and small metal objects tore through the sidelines. Limbs were lost, worlds were shaken and America suffered it’s most recent tragedy.

President Obama took a lot of heat for not calling the tragedy a terrorist attack right away. He said we shouldn't jump to conclusions until we know the facts. Was this a terrorist attack? Were the engineers of this plot domestic, or did they come from abroad? What constitutes terrorism? Everyone has a lot of questions and yet, no one has any answers.

I find it interesting that this week holds the anniversaries of three prior american tragedies. The siege by the federal government of the cult church in Waco Texas came to a bloody end on April 19th 1993. The Columbine high school shooting on April 20th 1999. And finally, the Virginia Tech college shooting on April 16th 2007. The twisted souls who carried out Columbine used improvised explosive devices, but we do not call that attack terrorism.

By the close of the last decade, we were all comfortable labeling every crime under the umbrella term ‘terrorism’. Hell, even Daniel McGowan a member of the ‘Earth Liberation Front’ was labeled a terrorist and sent to terrorist prison for destruction of property while trying to save the Environment. No one was ever injured or killed during his quest to save wild horses from becoming glue or prevent priceless old growth forests from becoming paper mills.

The Boston marathon bombing may turn out to be an act of Terror-Ism. It may be the plot of angry domestic militias taking revenge for Waco and gun control. It may turn out to be Al Qaeda or some other terrorist group from the middle east. It may also turn out to be some pissed off teenager taking too many psych meds; but I agree with president Obama, we should wait for all the facts before we jump to conclusions.


Source: Mt Shasta News

Thursday, April 11, 2013


“Fracking for Bad Gas”    

April 11, 2013                               

            Out of breath and sweating, I flashed my student ID card and stepped onto a bus branded with the slur: “powered by clean, natural gas.” Looks like the work of a clever magician revealing only the point of combustion, rather than exposing the pollution lurking in every step of extraction of “natural” gas.

As a student at UC Berkeley, I’ve realized natural gas is a complex, politicized issue, and the media often provides the public with misinformation. The media frames fracking as a “clean burning” “bridge fuel” which will make America “energy independent.” Advertisements, talk about gas as an abundant source of domestic energy, which will “free” us from dependence on foreign oil and coal.

When I first heard the term “fracking,” I did not understand the reference, unless of course they were talking about Battle Star Galactica. After staring open mouthed at a documentary or three, and obsessively researching at UC Berkeley, the sweet smell of controversy still lingers in the wake of pressing political priorities—energy and GDP.

“Fracking” is short for hydraulic fracturing, or the controversial technique used to extract oil or natural gas, located thousands of feet underground, using millions of gallons of water, sand, and thousands of gallons of chemicals. So what’s the fracking problem?

TV and multimedia narratives persuade people to believe that natural gas extraction is not a risky business. The truth is, when you hear “unconventional gas” mentioned in commercials, they are not referring to simply tapping a giant underground gas reservoir, but rather, shattering shale rock with high pressure chemical water to release gas bubbles tightly contained within the rock.

You might have heard about Halliburton- an oil and gas company from Texas, and BFF of George Bush- who “revolutionized” the industry in 1991 with technology to drill horizontally- in multiple directions, multiple times. This meant they could drill beneath people’s homes without the owner’s consent! Second, they introduced liquid chemical cocktails called “slick water.” This toxic lube maintains the intense pressure necessary to physically fracture the rock at depths averaging 10,000 feet underground, releasing the gas.

To make it worse, companies are not required to disclose the chemical cocktail recipes to the public, because of protection under Trade Secret Laws. The chemicals are claimed to be proprietary information, essential to protecting their profit margins. Not only is the slickwater riddled with ingredients that are known carcinogens (cancer causing), or endocrine disrupters (hormone mimickers), but at depths of 10,000 feet below the surface, naturally occurring arsenic and often radioactive materials join with the slickwater. Unfortunately, only about 50% of processed water returns to the surface, and is considered hazardous waste.

This gas is none other than the gas that forms inside the bellies of you and me! It is the same gas cows burp up all day, every day, at factory farms. It is the same gas forming inside sealed landfills. It the same powerful green house gas that scientists warn to be more potent than carbon dioxide by contributing to global warming and climate change. The gas itself is primarily, methane; a colorless, odorless gas that is flammable, thus, an excellent source of energy.

Why are we targeting a potent green house gas as a source of energy? Ode to the dollar bills, the only grease making the economic wheels go-round. Flash back to 2005, when the Bush Administration’s Energy Policy Act allowed companies- such as Halliburton- to remain exempt from critical laws that protect social and environmental justice. Because of this legislation, oil and gas drilling companies who frack, do not have to follow or pay for violating the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, or the public’s Right to Know Act. This issue is not about a “bridge fuel” and it’s not about “freedom.” The Energy Policy Act made “unconventional” gas, an artificially profitable resource to increase GDP- BOOM.                       

Fracking needs some major policy reform to hold companies accountable to federal regulations, which protect human health, such as the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. At the very least, the public should have the Right to Know! The boom needs to slow while scientists carefully evaluate the climate impact of fugitive methane “leaking” into the atmosphere from every fracking drill site.

By: Shannon Davis, a student at UC Berkeley and a Commissioner for the City of Berkley’s Zero Waste Commission

Monday, April 8, 2013

U.S. Iranian Foreign Policy


The united states has been foolish in its foreign policy toward Iran in many ways over the past few decades. In 1953 a CIA operation ousted Mossadegh, the democratically elected leader of Iran  for the rule by the Shah. The U.S. government failed to predict the high levels of Iranian nationalism as well as the hatred for the shaw’s lavish lifestyle and western influence many Iranians felt. As well the U.S. failed to expect the level of blowback that culminated with the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

For fear of the new Iranian theocracy we helped Saddam Hussein and his secular republic flight Iran from 1980-1988. We stood by and watched as Iraq used chemical weapons on Iranian soldiers, the hypocrisy is palpable. Also in 1988 an american destroyer mistook an Iranian passenger plane for a jet fighter and fired on it killing 290 souls. In his state of the union address George W. Bush referred to Iran as the ‘Axis of Evil’ alongside Iraq and North Korea hardening extremists and increasing nationalism as well as anti american sentiment. 

Iranian president Ahmadinejad’s comments regarding Israel are often misconstrued. He was not talking about nuking them but rather that they should not exist on the map. He was talking about the the Palestinian’s claim to the land and not scorching the earth where the jews stand. He was talking about a fundamental belief that an intergovernmental body such as the united nations does not have the authority to take land from one people and give it to another. Benjamin Netanyahu has said himself that Iran is a threat to “zionism”. This is different than claiming Iran is a threat to Israel. President Netanyahu understands that in order for zionism to work jews from all over the world must continue to immigrate to Israel. A nuclear armed Iran make jewish individuals fearful and discourage them from immigrating to the holy land. 

In the future perhaps the US should leave Iran alone. Trying soft power for once might work. A carrot and stick approach, carrot being trade, stick being attitude toward their nuclear program. However it should remain just that an attitude! The Iranian people have seen the U.S. repeatedly meddle in it’s affairs and as far as I’m concerned they want a nuclear weapon as a deterrent to keep us away and they should get it. Iran is an independent nation who has the right to get a nuclear weapon, launching an attack or smuggling out a nuke is suicidal and Iran does not appear suicidal. Let us not forget that Ronald Reagan allowed Pakistan to develop nuclear weapons. This idea that the united states gets to choose which countries can have nukes and which can not is arrogance and foolishness and will lead to much larger problems for Americans in the future.