I’ve come to expect that the name of new legislation is a contradiction to actual intent. Such is the case with HR5175, or the DISCLOSE Act, which prevents some organizations from disclosing factual details about political candidates in the period preceding an election.
Say WHAT?
Talking about anything, especially voting matters, is protected by the First Amendment. Right? Congress doesn’t think so. And if the dominating political party gets its way in the Senate, the answer will be: Wrong.
Freedom - by SIVKOFF
The VERY FIRST Amendment, Freedom of Speech, has successfully been raped by Congress and by a few powerful, complicit organizations which have been granted exemption from the act. That’s right – if an organization generates enough money (political clout), and if it agreed to withdraw from the fight in exchange for playing nicely with Congress’ agenda, it may be exempt from the act. As did the NRA. Yes, our old friend, the NRA withdrew from the fight in this assault on the very First Amendment of the United States’ Constitution. This was not an act of omission – they were in and then agreed to be out.
If the Senate Majority gets its way, when We The People want to know about a politician’s voting record or about his/her character (and I hope everyone does) before We vote, We cannot look to those whom We have chosen, for ourselves, to trust. The information must come from an “approved source”, such as one of these organizations in bed with the political class. This gives them the opportunity to select what information will be DISCLOSEd, without worrying about contradiction from a lesser, perhaps more honest group. If We can’t look to grassroots political groups for the scoop on politicians, to whom can We look? Incumbent endorsements? (We all know how that works, don’t we?) MoveOn.org? The NRA, who made this deal with the Devil?
Probably the most concerning point to this unconstitutional act is that it silences groups less likely to have been corrupted by big money and politics – and leaves all the talking to the groups that have. It’s no coincidence: Look at the current political climate. The People are angry and paying attention. For the prevailing agenda to succeed, grassroots organizations MUST be silenced. That’s what our chosen leaders are trying to do, by dismantling Freedom of Speech.
Congress cannot be trusted to uphold that which every one of them swore to protect. Can the Senate? We will find out soon enough.
Call your Senators and urge them to preserve whatever thread of trust is left.
What would justify burying a woman up to her chest and smashing her with stones?
Would the unproven accusation of adultery be enough?
http://missionfreeiran.wordpress.com/
“To suppress the people, to strengthen its bloody foundations, this regime needed stoning…it would decide to stone someone, and it would hunt its prey this way. If there was unrest, if there was a strike or protest in a city, if a region did not submit to the regime, they dug a hole, buried a woman to the waistline, and tortured her to death so others learned a lesson.” (missionfreeiran)
The world leaders are aware of this practice, and have been for over three decades (missionfreeiran), if not more.
It’s time for those of us who live in “free” countries to question our leaders about their dealings with The Islamic Republic. We should tell them, among other things;
1. Their silence on these matters amounts to complicity.
2. Treating such thugs with respect and dignity on the political stage gives a worldwide perception of legitimacy.
3. By failing to stand up against the rape of human rights, our leaders demonstrate how they will likely fail with matters regarding their own people.
4. If our confidence in them is already weak, how much more when we see this?
I’ve never been a gambler, but during the 1100 mile stretch between SoCal and home, Las Vegas was always a welcome diversion. On the one hand, I’m the kind of road-tripper who races the clock, and does not stop unless the car needs fuel. On the other hand, I’ve always had a tough time passing up the nice, yet super cheap rooms, $4 steak & lobster and of course, the dancing girls.
But alas, what exists there today is not the Las Vegas of yore, and although I haven’t spent but a few hours there over the past decade, I suspect the transition was akin to a frog in gradually boiling pot. I stood up at my buddy’s wedding there last weekend, and I was shocked to find that the water, so to speak, was at full tourist-trap boil.
The Hotel and Casino in which we stayed is a world renowned…dive (I’d hyperlink it, but this is really a shame, and I have no need to salt the wound). Granted, they’re under construction, but for twice the rate of a typical Super 8, I got an offensive smelling, overheated room with none of the standard conveniences; refrigerator, coffee maker or functional air conditioning (it was almost too hot to sleep, even with the AC on full blast and the curtains drawn all day). Wireless internet? That will be $9.95 a day, please.
On our way up to our room, we had passed what looked like a new, just-getting-started eatery. “Pasta & Vino”, the painted wall announced. It looked like my kind of lunch, and considering appearances, it would be reasonably priced. We ordered a bottle of Chianti and got a head start with a nice chafing fuel buzz from the buffet line. The marinara was pretty good, but the rest of the food was mediocre. One dish was flat out nasty. We were nearly done with our plates when the waiter arrived and said they were out of the wine we had ordered. By that time, I was ready to pay the double-what-was-expected bill and go somewhere else for a post-road-trip cocktail.
On a positive note, circumstances beyond my control kept the best man (yours truly) from attending the drink-fest which ensued after the ceremony (another Piss & Vinegar topic for another time). The positive note was not what kept me from the debauchery, but the fact that I did not wake up late, hung-over in a sweltering room with an 11 hour drive ahead.
Still, I could not get home fast enough.
I thought I was pretty damn cool at age 18, showing off my new home-spun tattoo. I’d had some dill-weed parolee try to duplicate a lion’s profile on my right shoulder.
For a few days I thought it looked pretty cool, but the look on a friend’s face brought me around to the harsh realization that what I was sportin’ looked more like a cross between a wolf and a porcupine.
It coulda been a lot worse considering…
I coulda wound up with something like:
Or worse yet:
This one’s been floating around the ‘net for a while. I’m thinking the only way to make amends for that would be amputation.
Anyway, a couple years later, I had my own tattoo fail covered up by a fairly well known black-work specialist. It turned out really nice and the detail was incredible. Problem with all that detail is that after a decade or so, it starts to fade into green/black tattoo hell
. I got it touched up a couple times over the years and now I just want it gone.
Looking at a couple options, but first on the list will be this one:
As long as ya don’t burn a limb off, how can ya go wrong? I’ll give it a crack this summer and post results.
If you have tat pics you want to share or experiences with tattoo removal, post ‘em up!
At one time, I believe the IAFF’s mission was to represent the firefighter who risked life and limb for low wages in unsafe conditions. The organization fought hard, became very strong and won many a political victory, making a firefighter’s career very competitive and desirable, not unlike a pro-athlete’s. It is frequently called the best job in the world, (and when we actually get to fight some fire, I would wholeheartedly agree). Even today, if our profession needs a new piece of safety equipment, it is invented and provided, thanks to both union efforts and ultimately, to the tax-payer.
In many departments, we are well paid, and in some, we live in luxury. But while the rest of the population faces cutbacks, furloughs and layoffs, union-biased firefighters are indignant at the prospect of another paltry cost-of-living increase, and they angrily demand the next higher notch in wages and benefits. Most of my colleagues seem content to ignore the fact that our cousin, United Auto Workers (UAW) was mostly responsible for bankrupting the domestic car companies. The fact that they share a similar attitude is no coincidence: The IAFF is just another one of 56 unions associated with the AFL-CIO, or the “American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Unions”. Faced with such selfishness from firefighters, one has to wonder if expressions like “civil servant” and “community first” are just hurdle phrases used by candidates in interviews.
It’s often said of unions that they protect the lazy guy. While lazy doesn’t survive for long in the fire service, the union mentality certainly promotes a sense of entitlement. The concept of seniority is deeply seated in the fire service, and it’s well suited to the advantage of those who would use it for personal gain, and to the disadvantage of those who would not.
Those who are prone to the culture of entitlement give us company officers who are content to sit with their feet up while the work is done by less senior members. They’re often more interested in being canceled en route than how their crew can help when they get on scene. They’re the same guys who give junior members shit because of their political party affiliation. They indoctrinate and intimidate the “probies” or the “boots” with admonitions like “The Democrat Party is the party of your profession”. Confronted with this comment from a Lieutenant about a decade ago, I responded that I could not allow my profession to dictate my vote. He has uttered nary a word to me since. 
My colleagues are sometimes heard complaining that a cop denied them “professional courtesy”, - the corrupt notion that law enforcement officials should give their brothers-in-blue a break, - and wrote them a speeding ticket anyway.
In executive level politics, the IAFF has become a giant with the power to force our profession into a similar condition of unsustainability as the big 3 auto companies.
At the line level, it has become, not a brotherhood, but a boy’s-club fraternity with a status decal for your monster truck.
My own vehicles do not sport the decal. That makes me no less a civil-servant, but perhaps it makes me more. My brothers are firefighters, not Union activists.