Category: government

Republicans lie 3 times more than Democrats

On By Rick McIn ethics, governmentLeave a comment

This study sounds about right to me.

Republicans and supporters of Republicans are more calculating, deliberate and astonishingly blatant in their lying.

A leading media fact-checking organization rates Republicans as less trustworthy than Democrats, according to a new study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) at George Mason University.

The study finds that PolitiFact.com has rated Republican claims as false three times as often as Democratic claims during President Obama’s second term. Republicans continue to get worse marks in recent weeks, despite controversies over Obama administration statements on Benghazi, the IRS and the AP.

Study: Media Fact-Checker Says Republicans Lie More

LiarsThe

related – Eric Ostermeier on February 10, 2011 – PolitiFact Rates Republican Statements as False at 3 Times the Rate of Democrats

Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, John Boehner, Mike Pence, and the National Republican Congressional Committee were the worst offenders in that study.

Republicans lie plenty.

Got it.

Unfortunately the less dishonest Democrats aren’t able to do much for the average American. Obama looks far more like a Republican than a Democrat to me.

Off the Charts: Under Obama, Stocks Do Better

on self-deportation …

On By Rick McIn government, humourLeave a comment

I laughed out loud the first time I heard Romney mention self-deportation.

Self-deportation is an approach to dealing with illegal immigrants in the United States that involves the creation of legal structures which will make life in the US so difficult as to encourage illegal immigrants to voluntarily return to their home countries …

The 2012 Republican Party platform included self-deportation as a response to Illegal immigration to the United States. …

Later it started to make some sense.

Of many possible anti-illegal immigrant policies, I quite like self-deportation. Non violent.

Lalo Alcaraz is a Mexican-American cartoonist.

… the creator of the figure “Daniel D. Portado“, a satirical Hispanic character who in the 1994 called on Mexican immigrants to return south–“”reverse immigration” …

Click PLAY or watch him on YouTube.

He was born in San Diego, by the way.

Like Gay marriage, the anti-Hispanic policies of the Republican Party are a long term losing issue.

Something like the DREAM Act is needed.

Best case scenario, the Mexican economy continues to improve faster than the American. Illegal immigrants decide to go home.

related – Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs is crusading for the Dream Act

gundamentalist propoganda

On By Rick McIn bad news, Facebook, firearms, government, product complaints, things getting worseLeave a comment

The right wing in the USA has many channels by which they push their agenda.

prop·a·gan·da

Noun

Information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

The dissemination of such information as a political strategy.

I see this stuff every day, especially on Facebook.

For example:

Woman shoots intruder after she is raped in front of her children

Screen Shot 2013-04-05 at 1.33.33 PM

Kristy Sage, a young mother living in Lemon Grove, California survived a nightmare and wants her story to be told. Her husband was deployed in the Persian Gulf and although her mom lived with her, her mom worked nights, so Kristy was left home alone at night with her two toddler-aged boys.

Knowing that he was to be deployed, Kristy’s husband made sure that she could adequately protect herself while he was away. He bought a 9mm pistol and made sure she knew how to use it. …

What a story!

It’s perfect for the NRA. Almost as if somebody had invented it. 🙂

Jennifer Cruz did invent it. None of that happened.

But it’s posted on a gundamentalist website. And people are obliviously sharing it with friends and family.

Was Jennifer Cruz paid to write that story?

Is she part of a funded network of believers volunteering to write propoganda?

It hasn’t hit Snopes yet, by the way.

I happen to believe that gun owners have some very good arguments. People like Jennifer Cruz undermine the cause. Make them look like extremist wingnuts.

The NRA should be calling out the liars like Cruz. Debunking propagandists.  They’re not.

The Kill Team: How U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan Murdered Innocent Civilians

On By Rick McIn ethics, governmentLeave a comment

From a 2011 article by Rolling Stone:

… after six hard months soldiering in Afghanistan, a group of American infantrymen reached a momentous decision: It was finally time to kill a haji.

Among the men of Bravo Company, the notion of killing an Afghan civilian had been the subject of countless conversations, during lunchtime chats and late-night bull sessions. For weeks, they had weighed the ethics of bagging “savages” and debated the probability of getting caught. Some of them agonized over the idea; others were gung-ho from the start. But not long after the New Year, as winter descended on the arid plains of Kandahar Province, they agreed to stop talking and actually pull the trigger. …

read more

It’s horrific.

At the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival here’s the trailer for Best Documentary Feature.

I mention this because the USA is just now considering entering into two more wars. Syria and Iran.

So far even John (“maybe 100” years in Iraq) McCain has not called for boots on the ground.

Keep it that way.

The Wire – season 2

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, TVLeave a comment

The second season, along with its ongoing examination of the drug problem and its effect on the urban poor, examines the plight of the blue-collar urban working class as exemplified by stevedores in the city port, as some of them get caught up in smuggling drugs and other contraband inside the containers that their port receives. …

The Wire (season 2)

Click PLAY or watch the opening on YouTube.

I’d never thought much about ports or stevedores before watching this series. Fascinating subculture.

On to season 3.

Though that season was 10yrs ago, the issues are still very contemporary.

What measures should law enforcement be allowed to catch and deter crime?

Boston Globe – Surveillance cameras a tool for deterrence:

GOOD CAMERA work played a key role in the identification of the suspects in Monday’s bombings. But the reliance on store-mounted cameras and cellphone video from the public suggests that Boston Police could benefit from updating their approach to surveillance cameras — particularly by placing cameras more systematically at sporting events and other locations where large numbers of people gather. …

more security, less privacy

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, happiness, health & fitness, things getting worseLeave a comment

Like pretty much everyone, I’m pissed off.

Pissed off that two yahoos had the freedom to maim and kill innocents.

Martin

I, for one, am willing to have less freedom in exchange for more security.

Yes I know that authorities will abuse that power. I’m willing to chance it.

More cameras. More intercept of communication.

Drones I’m less certain about. But probably yes to drone surveillance, as well.

Martin Richard’s Family ‘Applauds’ Boston’s Heroes

gun deaths in Australia

On By Rick McIn firearms, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

The most amusing commentary I’ve seen yet on the illogic of American gundamentalists.

The Daily Show’s John Oliver makes a trip down under to interview former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/64432171

related – Gun politics in Australia

AIDS in South Africa

On By Rick McIn economics, government, health & fitness, travelLeave a comment

… South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world.

The 2007 UNAIDS report estimated that 5,700,000 South Africans had HIV/AIDS, or just under 12% of South Africa’s population …

The other top five countries with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence are all neighbours of South Africa. …

The four main HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns in South Africa are Khomanani (funded by the government), LoveLife (primarily privately funded), Soul City (a television drama for adults) and Soul Buddyz (a television series for teenagers).

Soul City and Soul Buddyz are the most successful campaigns although both campaigns experienced a slight loss of effectiveness between 2005 and 2008. Khomanani is the least successful campaign, although its effectiveness has increased by more than 50% between 2005 and 2008.

The dubious quality of condoms which are distributed is a setback to these efforts. In 2007, the government recalled more than 20 million locally manufactured condoms which were defective. …

free condoms available at Addo Elephant Park
free condoms available at Addo Elephant Park

One local told me that there are some poor South Africans not worried to get AIDS so they can go on benefits.

Some of those, of course, are pregnant.

Red Location museum, South Africa

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, travelLeave a comment

The Red Location Museum is an Apartheid museum in New Brighton township of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

… the floor space contains various “memory boxes”, each one exhibiting the life story or perspective of people or groups who fought against the Apartheid regime. …

Red Location

It’s in the middle of one of the Townships, a place where the poor live.

We visited at night, a private tour after closing.

Very impressive.

Very moving.

… Many prominent political and cultural leaders were either born or lived in Red Location and a number of significant “struggle” (umZabalazo) events occurred here. …


official website

District 6 Museum – Cape Town

On By Rick McIn ethics, government, product endorsements, things getting better, travel2 Comments

District Six … is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. It is best known for the forced removal of over 60,000 of its inhabitants during the 1970s by the apartheid regime. …

joyceMUST see attraction.

After World War II, during the earlier part of the apartheid era, District Six was relatively cosmopolitan. Situated within sight of the docks, it was made up largely of coloured residents which included a substantial number of coloured Muslims, called Cape Malays. There were also a number of black Xhosa residents and a smaller numbers of Afrikaans, whites, and Indians.

identity card

Government officials gave four primary reasons for the removals.

In accordance with apartheid philosophy, it stated that interracial interaction bred conflict, necessitating the separation of the races. They deemed District Six a slum, fit only for clearance, not rehabilitation. They also portrayed the area as crime-ridden and dangerous; they claimed that the district was a vice den, full of immoral activities like gambling, drinking, and prostitution.

Eurpeans only

Though these were the official reasons, most residents believed that the government sought the land because of its proximity to the city center, Table Mountain, and the harbor.

On 11 February 1966, the government declared District Six a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act …

white persons only

… in 1994 the District Six Museum came into being. It serves as a remembrance to the events of the apartheid era as well as the culture and history of the area before the removals.

Floor

The ground floor is covered by a large street map of District Six, with handwritten notes from former residents indicating where their homes had been; other features of the museum include street signs from the old district, displays of the histories and lives of District Six families, and historical explanations of the life of the District and its destruction.

In addition to its function as a museum it also serves as a memorial to a decimated community, and a meeting place and community center for Cape Town residents who identify with its history. …

Face

District 9 is a 2009 science fiction film produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp. Although set in an alternate Johannesburg, it is inspired by the events surrounding District Six. …