US needs to take over BP....

If the government can take over giant global insurer AIG and the auto giant General Motors and replace their CEOs, in order to keep them financially solvent, it should be able to put BP's north American operations into temporary receivership in order to stop one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.--Robert Reich

Robert Reich gives us numerous reasons why BP should not continue to maintain control over the Gulf Oil Clean up. I will add one more reason....the costs of this catastrophe may exceed the total net worth of BP and the American taxpayer and the local small businesses in the gulf region must not be left holding the bag

President Barack Obama needs to take over BP and insure that the BP cover up stops immediately and that the primary goal becomes cleaning up the Gulf Oil Spill regardless of the costs to BP and insure that we get a transparent process.

This needs to be done last week....

Founding Father--Quote for the Day

I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.--Thomas Jefferson

Liz Cheney wants Investigation....So Do I....

Liz Cheney wants an investigation of the Joe Sestak WH job offer. I "suspect" her motives are political.

Personally I want lots of investigations. I would like these investigations to start with the secret energy meetings that Cheney held when he was vice president. Cheney has refused to give up information on these meetings (including who was in attendance).

These meetings are suspected of developing an energy policy by the industry. Many believe that this is the root of the current crisis in the gulf.

So how about it Liz? Let's begin the investigations with your daddy. It seems to me that our country has suffered worst consequences as the result of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush.

In the meantime the Gulf Oil CATASTROPHE (not spill) might be more fairly labeled as the Gulf CHENEY Disaster due to the fact that the Cheney energy policies might have given the oil industry a free pass on many things including appropriate safety measures. We already know that the government agency that was supposed to be the industry watchdog was de-fanged during the Cheney/Bush years.

Hopefully an outraged public will be enough impetus to wake up our elected officials and stop them from pocketing corporate cash long enough to put the teeth back into our watchdogs....in ALL of our regulatory agencies. After all....isn't public safety a major reason for our government's existence?

New Orleans....thinking of you!

I LOVE NEW ORLEANS!! This national treasure deserves our love and our resources.

Net Neutrality Explained...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Net Neutrality Act
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Rep. Glenn Nye Fights for the Big Corporations to Defeat Net Neutrality

Representative Glenn Nye is the lone Virginia Democrat in the US House of Representatives who sold out his constituents to Comcast and AT&T.

Glenn Nye has signed a letter (written by industry lobbyists) asking the FCC to NOT enforce Net Neutrality.

The Democratic Party needs to oust Glenn Nye in a primary. Who needs a corporate Republican when you have Glenn Nye?

Glenn Nye is a lobbyist dream come true and is joining Senator Mark Warner as a huge disappointment who will back big business and sell out their constituents.

Senator Mark Warner expected to WEAKEN Financial Deriviatives Reform

Senator Warner is turning out to be a very big disappointment.

Wall Street is banking on Senator Warner to weaken reforms for the derivatives trading.

If this becomes a reality then this is one democrat that I will NOT vote for again. Senator Warner refuses to tell his constituents how he will be voting (even when called on the day of the vote.) Senator Warner is a go to boy for Wall Street.

Senator Warner is turning out to be the ultimate Wall Street/Corporate/Banker's Democrat.

Unfortunately this is the last thing the citizens of Virginia need in this day and time.

Don't expect to see Warner backing serious campaign finance reform. I don't believe that Warner wants to stop the flow of money into Senator's coffers.

Pek is.....

Music from my memory lane....

Is Obama the ultimate fox in the hen house?

Looks like Obama is going to get things done that George Bush only dreamed about. Prepare yourself for Obama setting up the death of social security.

Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake has the story. Hopefully the net will become one big echo chamber on this one.

Where's the Justice?

The THIRD judge has now ruled that Bush/Cheney administration clearly broke the law with their wiretapping program.

So...the law calls for a penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine fore EACH offense (and it appears there were hundreds of thousands of offenses...possibly millions.

Where's the trial for the "educated" people who knowingly broke the law? Is Justice going to return to America or is the Obama Justice Dept. just a pawn of the Obama White House.

What happened to the change we all voted for? When are we going to demand the change occur or call for the impeachment of the current president if he refuses to change course and continues to cover up the Bush administration crimes?

Disaster Capitalism at Work in Haiti

"MonSatan" loves to use disasters as a capitalistic marketing tool. The Haitian people appear to have a plan for dealing with "MonSatan." (The Haitian people's plan appears to be more effective than what the farmers in India are doing....which is to commit suicide over this issue.)

But "MonSatan" has exhibited this behavior before. In Iraq a law was passed that forbids the Iraqi farmers from using their own seeds (an agricultural practice that has been used for as long as civilization on this planet has existed). In Iraq, the law says that the farmers MUST purchase their seeds from "Monsatan."

It is also interesting that the so called Justice system in the USA allows "MonSatan" to contaminate the fields of farmers who do NOT want to purchase "MonSatan's" seeds. Then the farmers cannot sue "MonSatan" for spoiling seeds which they may have been developing and handing down through generations. But the so called American justice system adds insult to injury and allows "MonSatan" to sue the family farmer for using "MonSatan" seeds for free. This is definitely another sign that democracy has been replaced by a plutocracy.


"MonSatan" is a descriptive term that I have adopted after hearing it used to refer to Monsanto business practices which eliminates choice. "MonSatan" appears to have a pervasive influence on the agricultural education at Virginia Tech (and the other American universities that allegedly teach agriculture.)

When Governments are criminal....

What the city of Baltimore is doing is nothing less than criminal!

US Presidents promote war not peace....

Our latest President--Barack Obama--seems to have the same war agenda as George Bush.

Why do American's allow our tax dollars to be used to kill people worldwide so that corporations can increase their profits?

The latest on US war crimes courtesy of Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh.

HIP HOP -- Healthy Independent People Helping Other People

Hat tip to the Huffington Post for covering this LINKTV video featuring Chicago hip hop artist D-Nick The Microphone Misfit teamed up with B-Boy Super inLight to create "Abnormality", a track for the opening of Graffiti and Grub, the Chicago health food store founded by activist LaDonna Redmond.

The Banker's Party versus the People's Party

Over at the Huffington Post, Dylan Rattigan reveals the truth of the two party system. Forget the Republican or Democratic Party labels. From now on it's Mark Warner (B-VA) and Jim Webb (P-VA). Here's the real deal that corporate media will do it's best to make you forget:

BANKSTER PARTY
Daniel Akaka (B-HI)
Lamar Alexander (B-TN)
Max Baucus (B-MT)
Evan Bayh (B-IN)
Michael F. Bennet (B-CO)
Christopher S. Bond (B-MO)
Richard Burr (B-NC)
Thomas R. Carper (B-DE)
Saxby Chambliss (B-GA)
Susan M. Collins (B-ME)
Kent Conrad (B-ND)
Bob Corker (B-TN)
John Cornyn (B-TX)
Christopher J. Dodd (B-CT)
Dianne Feinstein (B-CA)
Lindsey Graham (B-SC)
Chuck Grassley (B-IA)
Judd Gregg (B-NH)
Orrin G. Hatch (B-UT)
Kay Bailey Hutchinson (B-TX)
Daniel K. Inouye (B-HI)
Johnny Isakson (B-GA)
John F. Kerry (B-MA)
Amy Klobuchar (B-MN)
Herb Kohl (B-WI)
Jon Kyl (B-AZ)
Frank R. Lautenberg (B-NJ)
Joseph Lieberman (B-CT)
John McCain (B-AZ)
Claire McCaskill (B-MO)
Mitch McConnell (B-KY)
Robert Menendez (B-NJ)
Lisa Murkowski (B-AK)
Bill Nelson (B-FL)
Jack Reed (B-RI)
Charles Schumer (B-NY)
Olympia Snowe (B-ME)
John Thune (B-SD)
Mark Udall (B-CO)
George Voinovich (B-OH)
Mark Warner (B-VA)

PEOPLE'S PARTY
Mark Begich (P-AK)
Jeff Bingaman (P-NM)
Barbara Boxer (P-CA)
Sherrod Brown (P-OH)
Roland Burris (P-IL)
Maria Cantwell (P-WA)
Bejamin Cardin (P-MD)
Robert Casey Jr. (P-PA)
Tom Coburn (P-OK)
Byron Dorgan (P-ND)
Richard Durbin (P-IL)
John Ensign (P-NV)
Russell Feingold (P-WI)
Al Franken (P-MN)
Tom Harkin (P-IA)
Edward Kaufman (P-DE)
Patrick Leahy (P-VT)
Carl Levin (P-MI)
Blanche Lincoln (P-AR)
Jeff Merkley (P-OR)
Lisa Mikulski (P-MD)
Patty Murray (P-WA)
Mark Pryor (P-AR)
Harry Reid (P-NV)
John D. Rockefeller IV (P-WV)
Bernard Sanders (P-VT)
Richard Shelby (P-AL)
Arlen Specter (P-PA)
Debbie Stabenow (P-MI)
Tom Udall (P-NM)
Jim Webb (P-VA)
Sheldon Whitehouse (P-RI)
Ron Wyden (P-OR)

One VA Senator is a KEEPER!!

VA Senator James Webb voted for the people to break up the big banks so that we would never again have to bail out the "too big too fail" banks that bring our economy on the brink of economic collapse.

Unfortunately, VA Senator Mark Warner decided to step over the line and join the big banks agenda and voted against the people who voted to put him in office. I'm one of those constituents and I'm NEVER going to support this type of politician who is definitely voting against my best interests. I'm thinking that this is the type of thing I would have expected from George Allen.

So Senator Mark Warner be forewarned....none of us will forget that you decided to support big banks over the Virginians you are supposed to represent. I'm sure you will be out spinning with all sorts of explanations and excuses (probably penned for you by the Bank Lobbyists who got your ear....and played the legalized bribery game with you.) I plan to never let any of my associates forget what you have done on this vote.

Another thing Senator Warner....your staff told me when I called yesterday that you did not have a position on this amendment.....you couldn't even tell me to my face what you were going to do.

Hang your head in shame Senator Warner. You belong with the Wall Street Bankers. I'm not even going to waste my time contacting Senator Warner again. Why bother? He's not a straight talker and he doesn't even have the decency to tell his constituents that he votes for the Big Banks to keep on getting bigger and bigger at my expense.

Thanks so much Senator Webb. You can walk with us down Main Street today!

Time to call Senator Webb with a big thank you call....Hopefully an independent or a democrat willing to represent the people will run against Warner next election cycle since I don't see any moderate Republicans able to survive in VA's current political climate. One thing for sure....Mark Warner will never see another vote from me!

I wonder if Goldman Sachs gets to keep gambling with our money at zero interest? If that's the case no wonder Goldman Sachs no longer cares if their customers trust them or not...who needs customers when you have the US Treasury and Federal Reserve in your big pockets?

Governor McDonnell Supports Eco-Terrorists

Virginia's Governor Bob McDonnell continues to support Eco-Terrorists who want to put Virginia at an unnecessary risk in their pursuit of Big Oil Profiteering.

Why won't McDonnell endorse Wind Farms for energy and not place our seafood and tourism industries at risk?

I "betcha" it boils down to money money money....for the special elites.... Does anyone who thinks that the money (or oil) will stay in VA (except for the legalized bribes lining our politicians pockets...)? If they do I have a mid town tunnel and a profitable port to sell them....ooopppps...McDonnell is trying to sell those to special foreign interests too under the "spin" of public private partnerships.

Drill Baby Drill McDonnell needs to visit the Gulf Coast and get a real taste of reality and clear that Big Oil spin out of his head. 868 large oil spills since 2001 is the reality (with large numbers of workers dead or injured.)

Virginia needs to have a governor that will protect our natural resources and not sell them out to Big Oil Profiteers who will take the money and run leaving us with a big mess to clean up.

The reality is not IF there's a big mess it's a matter of when.

Wind Farms....lets Spin Baby Spin....but make the Spin positive and in the public's interest for a real change!!

Gulf Oil Rig Disaster a critical part of the Bush/Cheney Legacy

The Obama administration has assigned nearly 2,000 federal personnel from the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, EPA, NOAA and Department of Interior to deal with the spill -- an impressive response. Still, the current White House is not without fault -- the government should, for example, be requiring a far greater deployment of absorbent booms. But the real culprit in this villainy is a negligent industry, the festering ethics of the Bush Administration and poor oversight by an agency corrupted by eight years of grotesque subservience to Big Oil.--Robert Kennedy Jr. Source

Why do the Big Oil Culprits (Bush/Cheney/BP and Big Oil) get away with no accountability and no negative consequences for their actions? When will the Obama administration STOP protecting the big guys and START protecting us?

Oil Rig Fact Check

According to the Federal Minerals Management, since 2001, 858 fires and explosions have occurred on Gulf Oil rigs which caused 69 deaths, 1349 injuries...there were also numerous small spills. Meanwhile the Republican Party's mantra has been Drill, Baby, Drill regardless of Spill, Baby, Spill.

Politicians NEED to be fact checked and our corporate news media has NOT been doing this. Corporate news media dispenses lies and myths so that corporations may profit at our expense.

We NEED to invest in the future with clean sustainable energy. Instead of Oil rigs we need wind farms off our coast. But then our politicians would not profit which is probably why mKKKdonnell continues the Republican's Drill, Baby, Drill mantra.

Such a disappointment. The majority of Virginians have opposed and continue to oppose off shore drilling along with all the other east coast states.

When is our democracy going to be restored? When will the people's well being become a government goal to replace the current regime's goal of increasing corporate profits irregardless of the cost to the people?

Hat Tip to Andy Singer at No Exit for the facts on Gulf Oil Drilling.