Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Move Your Money!

It's so simple an idea I don't know why it took this long for someone to come up with it! If Washington can't or won't control the Big Banks, we can!

Read the article below and take a look at the video. Then repost this everywhere! Let's put our money where it will do us the most good!

d.


Arianna Huffington
and Rob Johnson

Last week, over a pre-Christmas dinner, the two of us, along with political strategist Alexis McGill, filmmaker/author Eugene Jarecki, andNick Penniman of the HuffPost Investigative Fund, began talking about the huge, growing chasm between the fortunes of Wall Street banks and Main Street banks, and started discussing what concrete steps individuals could take to help create a better financial system. Before long, the conversation turned practical, and with some help from friends in the world of bank analysis, a video and website were produced devoted to a simple idea: Move Your Money.

The big banks on Wall Street, propped up by taxpayer money and government guarantees, have had a record year, making record profits while returning to the highly leveraged activities that brought our economy to the brink of disaster. In a slap in the face to taxpayers, they have also cut back on the money they are lending, even though the need to get credit flowing again was one of the main points used in selling the public the bank bailout. But since April, the Big Four banks -- JP Morgan/Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo -- all of which took billions in taxpayer money, have cut lending to businesses by $100 billion.

Meanwhile, America's Main Street community banks -- the vast majority of which avoided the banquet of greed and corruption that created the toxic economic swamp we are still fighting to get ourselves out of -- are struggling. Many of them have closed down (or been taken over by the FDIC) over the last 12 months. The government policy of protecting the Too Big and Politically Connected to Fail is badly hurting the small banks, which are having a much harder time competing in the financial marketplace. As a result, a system which was already dangerously concentrated at the top has only become more so.

We talked about the outrage of big, bailed-out banks turning around and spending millions of dollars on lobbying to gut or kill financial reform -- including "too big to fail" legislation and regulation of the derivatives that played such a huge part in the meltdown. And as we contrasted that with the efforts of local banks to show that you can both be profitable and have a positive impact on the community, an idea took hold: why don't we take our money out of these big banks and put them into community banks? And what, we asked ourselves, would happen if lots of people around America decided to do the same thing? Our money has been used to make the system worse -- what if we used it to make the system better?

Everyone around the table quickly got excited (granted we are an excitable group), and began tossing out suggestions for how to get this idea circulating.

Eugene, the filmmaker among us, remarked that the contrast between the big banks and the community banks we were talking about was very much like the story in the classic Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life, where community banker George Bailey helps the people of Bedford Falls escape the grip of the rapacious and predatory banker Mr. Potter.

It was a lightbulb moment. And, unlike the vast majority of dinner conversations, the excitement over this idea didn't end with dessert. It actually led to something -- thanks in great part to Eugene and his remarkable team, who got to work and, in record time, created a brilliant, powerful, and inspiring video playing off the It's a Wonderful Life concept. Watch it below.

Within a few days, the rest of the pieces fell into place, including an agreement with top financial analysts Chris Whalen and Dennis Santiago, who gave us access to their IRA (Institutional Risk Analytics) database. Using this tool, everyone will be able to plug in their zip code and quickly get a list of the small, solvent Main Street banks operating in their community.

The idea is simple: If enough people who have money in one of the big four banks move it into smaller, more local, more traditional community banks, then collectively we, the people, will have taken a big step toward re-rigging the financial system so it becomes again the productive, stable engine for growth it's meant to be. It's neither Left nor Right -- it's populism at its best. Consider it a withdrawal tax on the big banks for the negative service they provide by consistently ignoring the public interest. It's time for Americans to move their money out of these reckless behemoths. And you don't have to worry, there is zero risk: deposit insurance is just as good at small banks -- and unlike the big banks they don't provide the toxic dividend of derivatives trading in a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose fashion.

Think of the message it will send to Wall Street -- and to the White House. That we have had enough of the high-flying, no-limits-casino banking culture that continues to dominate Wall Street and Capitol Hill. That we won't wait on Washington to act, because we know that Washington has, in fact, been a part of the problem from the start. We simply can't count on Congress to fix things. We have to do it ourselves -- and the big banks are the core of the problem. We need to return to the stable, reliable, people-oriented approach of America's community banks.

So watch Eugene's amazing video, then go to www.moveyourmoney.info to learn more about how easy it is to move your money. And pass the idea on to your friends (help make this video -- and this idea -- go viral!).

JP Morgan/Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America may be "too big to fail" -- but they are not too big to feel the impact of hundreds of thousands of people taking action to change a broken financial and political system. Let them gamble with their own money, not yours. Let's turn big banks into smaller banks. We'll all be better off -- and safer -- as a result.

Make it your New Year's resolution to move your money. We can't think of a better way to start 2010.





Friday, December 25, 2009

Rock on Santa!

George Thorogood & the Delaware Destroyers!

Crank up the volume and rattle the needles right off the Tree!




Merry Rock & Roll Christmas! From me in the Great White North to you where-ever you are!

















Santa d.

Ho Ho Fucking Ho! Merry Christmas! (X Rated)

Think the Elves have had enough?



Merry! Merry!

d.

Christmas Elf Bootcamp - Not for Children!

What really motivates the Elves!



Merry Christmas!

d.

Merry Christmas From the Kings of Cool!



d.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Sickening indeed...


I never thought it would come to this, but I have to say, there are a lot of Democrats I won't be voting for again, and that includes you, Mr. President.

I have, for well over a year now, proudly displayed your picture in my margin over the words, "Another Union Marine for Obama". You have made me ashamed of that. You have made me doubt myself. How could I have been so blind, how could I have been so fooled? The only answer I can come up with is the one I convinced myself of so long ago, that anybody would have been better than four more years of Republican chicanery. I was wrong.

At least with the Republicans I know what to expect. I know they are against me and those like me. I know that they are self-serving, soul-less creatures who worship at the alter of the almighty dollar. I don't expect anything less from them and I did garner a certain joy in fighting them for eight long years at every turn. I tuned in every night to Keith Olbermann and reveled in his tirades against the Bush Crime Cartel and posted them all right here. I was convinced that once you were elected you would make things right. I looked forward to the end of our military involvement in Iraq. I relished the idea that Gitmo would be closed. I celebrated in the knowledge that justice was finally coming to America and that every American citizen would have access to quality healthcare, regardless of socio-economic status. You, Mr. President, would boldly lead us into the new century and a new America that truly offered the American Dream to everyone. I was so wrong.

Mr. President, in my eyes you have betrayed us. You have sat idly by and watched our dreams get swept away by a handful of Insurance Company cronies led by the ultimate turncoat, Joe Lieberman. You have failed to close Gitmo. You have failed to extricate us from Iraq. And now you have failed us again on an issue of such colossal importance that I can no longer turn away and forgive you your sins.

"Yes We Can" rings empty and unfulfilled.

I can't even credit you with "No we can't", because you just didn't even really try.

You have shown us all plainly that it is, after all, "No We Won't".

Now, excuse me while I replace your picture in my margin with the one best suited to you. The one above, Nobama!

d.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Fix it!


While perusing my feed this morning I came across this from Fixer at Alternate Brain. Sums up the way I feel exactly, so head on over to Alternate Brain and give it a look.


"Fixing shit is what I do, and I do it well. Everything from lawnmowers to jet engines, I can figure out what's wrong with it and make it work correctly, or let you know it's beyond hope. All except our political system. I wouldn't have a clue of where to start. This health care "reform" process shows me it's pretty well beyond hope."

Read the rest here.

While you're there, look around. A lot of good stuff going on over there!

d.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Hey Liz, STFU!

Outrageous... Bimbette, Liz Cheney, who was noticeably quiet as her Father's administration did everything it could to drive Gay men and women back into the closet, and straight women back to the "hanger", has no problem defending torture and Gitmo as "American Ideals". Is this chick confused, or what?

President Obama's speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize this past week has won unlikely plaudits from conservatives, who say he injected a bit of militaristic realism into a committee founded on the lofty notion of world peace. But not everyone is applauding. Liz Chen...
See More

Time to tell Turncoat Joe to Go!


Outrageous... The only good thing about Gore "losing" the Presidential election in 2000 is the fact that, had he won, "Turncoat" Joe Lieberman would have been the vice President of the United States. This would have positioned him to run for President in 2008, instead of Barack Obama. As big a disappointment as Obama has been, I can't imagine what things would be like under a DINO administration led by a closet Likudnik like Lieberman. It's time to divorce him from the Democratic Party completely. Strip him of his Chairmanship! Thanks Connecticut! We owe all this to you!

Lieberman Tells Reid To His Face: I'll Vote Against Current Health Care Bill


stein@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting

Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a face-to-face meeting on Sunday that he will vote against a health care bill that includes a public option or a provision that would expand Medicare, a Democratic Senate aide tells the Huffington Post.





Full story here.

It's time for the Democrats to grow a set and let Turncoat Joe know that there is a price to be paid for his outrageous betrayal - strip him of his coveted Chairmanship!

Hit the road, Joe! We don't want you.

d.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Big Giant Head Rips Wolf; Law & Order

Bill O'Reilly Slams "Law & Order" Creator Dick Wolf: 'Despicable Human Being'

Huffington Post | Danny Shea

First Posted: 12-11-09 03:28 PM | Updated: 12-11-09 05:09 PM


Bill O'Reilly slammed "Law & Order" and its creator, Dick Wolf, Thursday night on "The O'Reilly Factor." O'Reilly took particular offense to a recent segment in which one character said:

"Garrison, Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly, all of them. They're like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate. I mean, they have convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system."

O'Reilly called that "simply defamatory and outrageous," and labeled Wolf "a coward"...

Full story here.

Crazy... Pure, unadulterated bullshit from the Big Giant Head!

I have worked on every Law & Order show there is, including the original series. I can tell you that Mr. Wolf puts his money where his mouth is. He uses Union labor. He pays extremely well. His employees all have one of the best healthcare plans available. He cares about those he employs.

There have been times in the past, when other shows pulled out of New York to seek cheaper labor in Canada or Right to Work states, with little care for the hard working, dedicated people they left behind. Mr. Wolf is NOT one of these. He has helped to shape the New York Television Production industry more than any other single person or company and he has fed my family countless times and will continue to do so in the future.

It is not often that a behind the scenes crew member will publicly defend a producer or production company, but in this case I have no problem putting my name on the line in Mr. Wolf's behalf. If Mr. O' Reilly did half the good for people that Dick Wolf does, he would be a saint. As it is, all he does is sit on his butt and criticize those who do.

So STFU Billo! You aren't fit to be a pimple on Dick Wolf's ass!

Chris "Snaggle" Markunas
Shop Craftsman
IATSE
Local #52

Updated 12/12/09, 2:42 pm, est, to correct omission of source and author

Friday, December 11, 2009

Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah to Those who Serve...


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.










The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.


The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.


Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.


"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..


To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.


No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.


I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.


I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother...
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."


" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."


Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Semper Fidelis to ALL who serve...

d.

Cross posted at The American Patriot Institute

He wore a cane and derby hat...Goodbye Bat...





















Another part of my childhood has died...Goodbye Gene. Thanks for all the great memories!

Gene Barry, Actor of TV, Film and Stage, Dies at 90


Published: December 11, 2009

Gene Barry, who portrayed debonair lawmen on television but whose career of more than 60 years ranged from song and dance on Broadway to science fiction, died Wednesday in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 90 and lived in Beverly Hills until about a year ago.
Read more here.




d.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Betrayal!

I never expected this much betrayal from the Dems...I guess it's time to reopen deuddersun says... and go back on the offensive. These folks need to know that we won't forget and we certainly won't forgive.


www.huffingtonpost.com
A group of Democrats friendly to Wall Street interests forced a delay in consideration of the landmark financial regulatory reform bill scheduled to hit the House floor on Wednesday, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told reporters in the Speaker's lobby. ...




Monday, November 30, 2009

Blackwater? Black deeds...

I found this this morning at Walk of the Fallen. It's a must see. As a United States Marine, it makes me sick to my stomach. I may, we may, have to fight these people some day and it breaks my heart to think I might have to take up arms against fellow Marines, but they made their choice...



Hat tip gratefully given to Walk of the Fallen.

d.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Saving Grace, by Amanda Mueller



This is a guest article by Amanda Mueller and it really hits home on the Abortion issue. Take a minute and read it. It's well worth it.


Pulling up to the home of Gail and Robert Anderson, a large statute of the Virgin Mary sits in the yard welcoming guests into the home, while protecting the family that lives there. Next to the statute of Mary, inside of labyrinth of daisies, daffodils, tulips and roses is a stone engraved with the word grace. For the Anderson’s grace is not just a word or a concept taught through their strong Catholic faith, but the name of the daughter their hopes and dreams hung onto. It is the name of the daughter they said goodbye to in the Kansas office of a man named Dr. George Tiller.

Both coming from large families with faith deeply-rooted in the Catholic church, the Andersons looked forward to starting their own family with great anticipation, eagerly awaiting pregnancy test results each month in hopes that they would discover they were to become parents. The April morning that their hopes were realized is described by Robert as being one of the best days of his life. After breakfast, they went to the local bookstore together to purchase books on pregnancy, for him and for her, and celebrated by inviting their parents to dinner, sharing their news between the gumbo and the dessert.

“We were the first of our families to marry and were the first in our families to have children. With our parents around the table, we celebrated a generation being added – being first time parents and first time grandparents. It was a moment of love, hope and joy,” Gail says, thinking back to the day that was to change their lives forever, unknowing exactly how much would change.

Their world was now filled with routine doctor visits, baby name books and trying to decide what color to paint the nursery. With no complications known to them, the Andersons enjoyed their last moments together as husband and wife before they would also become mother and father.

It was during a routine ultrasound, Gail’s first, when concern was raised over the development of the child. Told by their doctors that there was no cause for alarm, the Andersons were referred to specialists who referred them to another set of specialists. Finally, at 27 weeks, a doctor out of Baton Rogue gave them the honesty they had needed, informing them with regret that cystic masses were covering the child’s left lung, forcing pressure on a heart that had not fully developed.

Gail would be forced to deliver her child through c-section, as the stress of a traditional birth would be too much for their baby’s body to handle. Their baby would need to be on life support machines for months until able to have the surgeries required that could repair the damage of the child’s suffocated heart and remove the masses from the undeveloped lung. As painful was it was for the Andersons to hear that this child they wanted so badly may not live even after the surgeries intended to repair damage, they were forced to make a decision that not only challenged their personal strength, but where they fit into their Catholic faith.

After a frank discussion with their specialist, they decided that not only did the quality of life of their unborn child need to be questioned, but the life expectancy even if surgeries were successful. There were no guarantees and one day, one month or one year could be added to the life of their child, but not much more than that. After discussing every option available to them, the decision to visit Dr. George Tiller’s office in Kansas to have a late-term abortion was made. Both the Andersons sunk into a depression, feeling as if they were losing both their child and their religion.

“We are catholic. We are supposed to be against abortion, but the church teaches mercy as well. The church examines quality of life. It isn’t a black and white issue as so many like to make it, ” Robert says, looking away while fondling with his fingers the golden crucifix he wears around his neck.

As they packed their car to travel to Wichita, Kansas, members of their parish came, trying to talk them out of their decision. Unable to deal with the confrontation, Gail admits she almost called the trip off at the last minute, unsure of how she would be able to sit next to these women in mass. This group was the same women she had gathered with outside of a clinic that performed abortions in Metarie, Louisiana, once a month coming together, praying for the souls of the unborn babies; for the souls of those making this choice. They traveled in silence, both trying to come to terms with their own perceived failures in the choice they were making.

“It was the longest car ride I had ever been on. I didn’t know what to say to my wife. I didn’t know what to think for myself, ” says Robert, recalling the trip that led them from Louisiana to Kansas, finally reaching the one-story, beige Women’s Health Care Services building where Dr. Tiller practiced.

“Dr. Tiller was a very gentle man to my husband and I. He wasn’t the villain that people, me included, had often painted him. He was soft-spoken. He held our hands while we mourned our loss. He even prayed with us.”

Explaining the procedure to the Andersons and the efforts the clinic would make to help them memorialize their child, Dr. Tiller showed the Andersons the compassion and support they so badly wished they had received from their neighbors and friends.

The next day as they arrived to the clinic, they found themselves surrounded by protesters chanting, begging the Andersons to change their mind and group of children holding a pro-life model of a fetus while calling the Andersons murderers, telling the Andersons that God would not save their souls for taking away the life of another. What was already a traumatic experience, was now infused with guilt, panic and fear.

“The staff was respectful and allowed me to have a little bit of dignity where I didn’t think I had any left. It made me sad that I didn’t get that from my friends or my religious community, but from strangers in a hospital setting. To this day, I am bitter about that,” Gail confessed.

On the wall of their living room, next to a crucifix and a painting of the Virgin Mary and St. Brigid of Ireland, is a plaque that holds on it two tiny foot prints.

“They do not just look at this as being abortion mills – the staff,” Robert says, looking up at the footprints of their baby Grace.

“She was real. They made her real for us. Those footprints was Dr. Tiller’s idea. He wasn’t a man with crazed-eyes anticipating the kill like some anti-abortion activists would like you to picture. He understood the difficult position we were in. He allowed us to still have a piece of the family we wanted. He even called the baby be her name, by Grace.”

It was very difficult for the Anderson family to learn of the murder of Dr. Tiller. Because he was one of the few individuals that showed them understanding, he became an unofficial member of their family, the quiet uncle that sits in the corner, observing, quiet except for a few pieces of sage advice.

“The people that praised Dr. Tiller’s murder - they are the real monsters.”

The Andersons have not left the Catholic church, still strong in their faith, believing that the church has begun to rely too much on the word of man rather than church teachings, becoming dangerously involved in politics and losing sight that the world simply is not black and white.

They continue forward, despite for some calling of their removal from the church, because they know that they are not alone. They move forward because it is their hope that other Catholics faced with similar situations will realize that they are not alone. They move forward by the Grace of their daughter. They move forward, with two beautiful boys, ages five and four, who send kisses to their sister in heaven each night, their head held high, believing their only crime was showing mercy to the meek.


Amanda Mueller is an independent journalist based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. Her reporting on human rights issues has been published in syndication and internationally and she serves as a researcher and the only United States member of Press for Peace, an organization focused on advocacy, research, education and networking in peace, human rights and environment related issues. She is also the winner of the 2009 SIANS Human Rights Award and serves as the United States Development Officer for PNN English. Her website can be found at amandamueller.com

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ali G on Drugs

A little humor to warm you up for the really funny shit below...



Any questions?

d.

The Reagan"Purity" test

This is too dam funny! They never cease to amaze me with their absolute ignorance of facts!



d.

Give Unto Ceasar...

Chris Matthews schools Bishop Thomas Tobin in the separation of church and state.



The arguments put forth by Bishop Tobin, that religion trumps all and therefore justifies any activity, might well have come from Osama Bin Laden. You make the call.

Keep your bible off of my laws!

d.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Happy Birthday Marines!

234 years of service to the United States of America






Mess With The Best...Die Like The Rest






HAPPY 234th BIRTHDAY TO ALL MY BROTHER AND SISTER MARINES!

SEMPER FIDELIS!

d.


Brother Mike The Marine has an excellent video up at his place. One he did himself. Definitely worth a look. Go wish him a Happy Birthday!

From The Halls To The Shores

Sunday, November 08, 2009

On Tuesday, November 10, 2009, the United States Marine Corps will celebrate it's 234th Birthday. For 234 years, United States Marines have been defending and protecting each other and the citizens of the United States and her allies. In recognition of this event, I will be posting videos and tributes to the Corps. As one young fellow once said, "Becoming a Marine is the proudest achievement in my life." Forty years later, I still feel that way. For my Brothers and Sisters, Semper Fi! For everyone-else, we have always been, are now, and will always be, there to protect and defend you! Here is a little slice of what it means to be a United States Marine! OohRah!

d.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Shall The Circle Be Unbroken?




And so the Lion is laid to rest. The son of a wealthy family who, along with his older brothers, fought tirelessly for the poor and underpriveleged, the common man and woman, upon whose backs this country was built. America has lost a Champion.


The words he spoke at his brother Bobby's funeral echo in my mind today, and ironically, apply themselves to him better than any tribute I could make.


"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."


Who now will pick up the torch? Who now will Champion the masses? Who now will seek for justice and equality for all men and women?


It is no accident that Senator Kennedy so fervently endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for President. In passing the torch he annointed a new Lion. A young Lion. In our grief, let us affirm what Ted Kennedy stood for. Let us throw our stength and will behind the new torch bearer and complete Senator Kennedy's dream. In doing so, we will ensure that he didn't struggle on our behalf in vain.





For Jack, Bobby and Teddy. Thank you all so very much.



d.