What was the alternative?

Feb 15 – A riot in Benghazi is triggered by the arrest of human rights activist Fethi Tarbel, who has worked to free political prisoners, Quryna newspaper says.

Feb. 24 – Anti-Libyan government militias take control of Misrata after evicting forces loyal to Gaddafi.

March 1 – The U.N. General Assembly unanimously suspends Libya’s membership of the U.N. Human Rights Council because of violence against protesters by forces loyal to Gaddafi. U.S. Senate unanimously passes resolution calling for no-fly zone over Libya.

March 10 – Warplanes sent by forces loyal to Gaddafi bomb the oil town of Brega, extending attacks deeper into rebel-held territory in the east of Libya, rebels report. Gaddafi takes back control of Zawiyah, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli. France recognises the Libyan National Council, the rebel body fighting to oust Gaddafi, as the legitimate representative of Libya’s people, the first country to make such a move.

March 12 – The Arab League calls for a U.N. no-fly zone over Libya. A meeting in Cairo decides that “serious crimes and great violations” committed by the Gaddafi government against his people have stripped it of legitimacy.

March 17 – The U.N. Security Council votes to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya and “all necessary measures” – code for military action – to protect civilians against Gaddafi’s army.

March 22 – Western warplanes fly more than 300 sorties over Libya and fire more than 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the mission to protect Libyan civilians.

March 28 – President Obama addresses the nation:

“Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.”

Given the unique circumstances of this situation, we helped form an unprecedented coalition, thwarted mass-murder, and gave the Libyan people an opportunity to forge their own future. In my opinion, the President acted quickly and carefully. Some say we should have done a lot more, some say we should have done nothing.

What do you think?

What is hell?

leave the bible alone.. stupid

That’s just one of thousands of comments aimed at Rob Bell, author of the controversial new book “Love Wins“:

At the heart of Bell’s position is that God’s love can triumph over every obstacle, including sins that Christians have long believed would consign them to anguish in the afterlife. But that notion is appalling to many people, Bell argues, and is minimized even by those who uphold its truth.

“The book is saying we need to take hell more seriously,” Bell told The Associated Press, “Because the people who warn about hell when you die don’t seem to talk about it very much.”

Pastor Chad Holtz of a United Methodist Church in Henderson, N.C. was fired for posting a Facebook message supporting Bell’s position.

This is basically what loving Christians have to say on the subject:

The bible describes what hell is.   The bible also tells that the world is an imperfect place and the original sin of Adam and Eve is causing the suffering of man.   If you don’t believe this that is your choice, but be prepared for “your choice”.

This just in: the rich don’t pay taxes

By now everyone on the planet knows that G.E. paid no taxes on $5.1 billion in profits in 2010 and actually claimed a $3.2 billion tax credit. I find it unfathomable that I have to defend President Obama over this story. Yes, the President recently tapped G.E. CEO Jeffery Immelt to be his “Jobs Czar”. Somehow, that action proves G.E. hasn’t paid any taxes in twenty years solely due to Obama.

First, the Right’s been hammering Obama for surrounding himself with too many academics. Obama calls on a businessman, all of a sudden there’s something murky going on.

Second, John Boehner’s been silent on this one, probably because G.E. has a plant in Boehner’s district. This plant employs Boehner’s constituents, who build F-35 Joint Strike Fighter backup engines.

Third, no multinational corporation has paid any substantial taxes in decades. The minority owner of NBC Universal is just one of many.

Fourth, it’s the President whose been calling for an end to the tax loopholes multinational conglomerates have been utilizing all these years.

Fifth, it’s the republicans who’ve been giving, and continue to give, tax breaks to the multinationals. These tax breaks have never resulted in more American jobs, they have, however, been a major contributor to our debt crisis.

I could go on, but you get my point. What annoys me most it that everyone’s mind is made up on this issue, and no amount of truth will change whatever conclusions they’ve reached. But let me close with this. The corporate share of the nation’s tax receipts has declined from 30 percent of all federal revenue in the mid-1950s to 6.6 percent in 2009.

That that is is, that that is not is not

The law is the law despite the law. Pretty commonplace for Wisconsin these days. After illegally ramming through union rights-stripping legislation, now state republicans have illegally published the bill, henceforth, it is now the law. Or is it?

A judge last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking any further implementation of the law while the court considers several lawsuits. The order specifically blocked Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law. So he didn’t.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald got Wisconsin’s Legislative Reference Bureau to publish it instead:

“It’s my opinion it’s published, it’s on the legislative website, it’s law,” Fitzgerald said. “It was clear to me after our discussions this morning, if it in fact it is posted and it says published and there’s a specific date on it, it would be very hard to argue this was not law.”

Wisconsin is still part of the United States, isn’t it?

Redistribution of wealth

Can we talk facts for a minute?

New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie’s budget calls for cutting mental health services, withholding property tax rebates for seniors, and $540 million in cuts to Medicaid. While giving $200 million in tax cuts in business tax cuts this year, on top of the breaks he gave them last year.

Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder’s budget calls for slashing $1.2 billion in funding for schools, universities, local governments and other areas, and raising personal taxes on Michigan’s lowest income residents by 30%. While cutting business taxes by 86%.

Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott’s budget calls for laying off 6,700 state employees, cutting education funding by $4.8 billion, and cutting Medicaid by almost $4 billion. While slashing corporate income and property taxes.

You know what. This post would be too long if I recorded all the incredible, head-scratching schemes that 12 Republican Governors are currently working on. Read the whole sordid story here. The other victims are Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Maine, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Kansas, and Arizona.

Let’s be absolutely clear about this – it’s not about cutting deficits. It’s not about jobs. It’s about redistributing wealth from the poor to the rich.

Forget about Libya

We have a new enemy of the state to be worried about, a new monster hiding in the dark for politicians to play the fear-card over. A six year-old first-grader in Edgewater, Florida, with an allergy to peanuts so bad her school has had to resort to drastic measures to accommodate her. They have little choice, thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

To protect the girl, students in her class at Edgewater Elementary School are required to wash their hands before entering the classroom in the morning and after lunch, and rinse out their mouths. A peanut-sniffing dog was even brought in over spring break. Parents of other students are outraged. They’ve been protesting, calling on peanut-girl’s parents to home-school her.

One of those irate heroes put it this way:”If I had a daughter who had a problem, I would not ask everyone else to change their lives to fit my life.”

And of course the greedy union-thug teachers are bending to the will of the girl’s parents, doctors, the school board, and federal laws.

The bastards…