Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire -- "NOT A CHANCE FOR THE GIRLS" Yakima Herald, March 1911

NOT A CHANCE FOR THE GIRLS

Such Appears to Be the Evidence of Conditions Surrounding the New York Fire

DOORS SWUNG INWARD AND ESCAPES BLOCKED

Greater Number of the Employes Were Unable to Speak English Yet There Were No Yiddish or Italian Directions

The Yakima Herald, March 29, 1911

Among the Dead

First a lace of smoke
decorated the air of the workroom,
the far wall unfolded
into fire. The elevator shaft
spun out flames like a bobbin,
the last car sank.
I leaped for the cable,
my only chance. Woven steel
burned my hands as I wound
to the bottom.

I opened my eyes. I was Iying
in the street. Water and blood
washed the cobbles, the sky
rained ash. A pair of shoes
lay beside me, in them
two blistered feet.
I saw the weave in the fabric
of a girl's good coat,
the wilted nosegay pinned to her collar.
Not flowers, what I breathed then,
awake among the dead.

Mary Fell

Details of mural by Ernest Fiene, History of the Needlecraft Industry


For background about the fire, see:

Art ● Memory ● Place -
Commemorating the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

As You Know, Newt Gingrich Will Say ANYTHING!

The March 2011 They Will Say ANYTHING! Award For Valor.  As soon as the Libya no fly zone was established I said to my long-suffering wife Sue, "Just watch what'll happen. Everyone who was for a no fly zone will now be against the no fly zone." She sighed, and then, as always, whispered "Please, go away."

Anyway, I'd planned to look around for no fly zone (NFZ) flip flop examples but got involved in other blog entries and then fell back onto my habit of general laziness, so that was that. For me, but not for blogs like the very energetic Talking Points Memo. See their video below highlighting for posterity Newt Gingoiter's brazen-even-for-Newt flip-flop on the issue. It's a pip!



This is the Newt who, prior to our establishing the NFZ with a coalition including the UK, France, Qatar, and the UAE, actively supported the NFZ in every media forum that would put up with him. He went as far as suggesting that the United States undertake the NFZ without allies; just do it, said Newt. He was aghast that President Obama wouldn't act.

Then, of course, he did act. And, as day follows night, Ginggrowth struck out on a new path. The video says it all, and is actually a summary of Newt's political life, especially in re Obama.

Questions always arise.  Newt ceaselessly self-promotes as a technology futuristic guru. So, is he unaware that video and audio can be saved for posterity?

Is he truly so inept and stupid that he doesn't realize he flip flopped on the NFZ?

Did he really believe he would not be taken to task for it?

[Secret answers - No, No, No]

The Real Answers Are Not Necessarily Reality Based.  How does one explain this apparent self immolation, this immense self destruction? It's simple, he knows that his base will not merely accept his new position against the NFZ, Newt knows that the base will accept both opposing positions equally.

The goal here, among his (relatively few) supporters, is to defeat Obama in 2012, and to render his presidency ineffective until then. The means to do so rely upon keeping unrelenting negative pressure on the President, and the key word is "unrelenting." As in never stop. As in oppose Obama on everything. As in he was wrong to not impose an NFZ; and he was equally wrong to impose an NFZ. Who knows what position Gingroid really supports? As far as the GOP far right is concerned, who cares? (How this Newtonian misbehavior can impress independent voters I'll never know, and Newt'll need them in 2012 . . .)

I wrote more on the phenomenon of far right/far left propaganda in a March 12, 2011 article, Public Sector Union Bashing: Lies, Damn Lies, And CrossroadsGPS.org.

(The references below are to Karl Rove, but they apply equally to Ginggravygut)

For Rove and other propagandists (right and left), their audience, their "base," exists to be manipulated without mercy, regardless of their collective needs. To the Rove's of this world, manipulation is an amoral activity, it is simply a practical necessity to gain and retain political and economic power for themselves or for their clients. Yet, one can't succeed at manipulation without knowing one's audience very well. And they do.

Most often, and usually through no fault of their own, many in Rove's anti-union base are unsophisticated, under-educated, hidebound fans of FOX Newsiness, suspicious of joint action to assist anyone but their inner circle of family and friends, and just plain angry at modernity and the received history of recent times. It's likely that the average person in the Rovian base (1) will not investigate the Crossroads GPS anti-union claims, or examine Bob Chanin's NEA speech, and (2) will not believe any "liberal" blow back they may accidentally hear or read. Rove knows they are allergic to anything not already believed. He has, after all, been one of their principle cattle dogs, keeping them in the herd, yapping and biting at their heels and flanks, keeping them voting for politicians and policies that, for most of his base, are genuinely against their interests, and the interests of their children.

Finally, I also wrote:

Never, Never Plead Guilty! In closing, here's an expert demonstration of the use of another arrow in the propagandist's quiver, complete denial. Once caught in a preposterous lie, they most often simply do not admit it, and, most importantly, and with bravado and bravura,they continue to stay on the message the lie or misrepresentation advances.

Let's keep tuned to the Newt Gingrich frequency.  Watch how he denies that there are any inconsistencies whatever in his two No Fly Zone positions.  He's so oddly good at this, we'll almost believe him.

Just In: Speaker of the House Boehner's Letter To President Obama Seeking Clarity On Libyan Political And Military Policy.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, just sent a letter to President Obama asking him to explain the reasons behind the military mission in Libya. While, in some cases, the questions are certainly fair and reasoned, some appear to be questions that the GOP failed to ask of other U.S. military actions as recent as the Bush II administration. Yet, it is critical that a clearer statement of purpose is needed by the administration, and I'm looking forward to the administration's answers, if any. Bad stuff, it is said, often comes in threes, and we do not need, nor does the world need, a third American war. History may judge we did not need the earlier two as well. . .

Here's the Speaker's letter. See what you think. More from here on this later.


Wednesday, 03-23-2011i letter from Speaker of the House John Boehner to President Obama about administration policy in Libya

Egypt Interior Ministry Fire: FOX News, After Exhaustive Investigation, Names The Culprits.

As of 2:15 pm (EDST) the investigation of the fire at the Ministry of the Interior in Cairo concluded. FOX News announced its findings after nearly four hours of digging through its predispositions.  FOX pinpointed the culprits as the "police protesters" who had assembled earlier in the day to demonstrate for better wages and living conditions.

FOX positively named an unnamed Egyptian "security official" as their source. This compelled the closing of their investigation. FOX also exposed that this latest example of criminal and civil disobedience fits within the larger conspiracy of those continuous mass demonstrations by "laborers seeking to improve their lot."

As you will read below, FOX has completed so thorough an investigation that the thousands of police and interior ministry protesters at the ministry site today will soon be apprehended and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. For the lesser disobedient among them, re-education will be enabled so that each learns how well off one is when compared to many others, such as those lost for years in caves in the Sinai. According to my own unnamed sources  they will also be taught to think often of the many people around the world who at nearly every moment are vomiting. Finally, Charlie Sheen will be considered.

Here's a story that should inspire:

Protesters Set Fire to Egypt's

Interior Ministry Building

CAIRO -- An Egyptian security official says police protesting in front of Egypt's Interior Ministry have set fire to part of the downtown complex.

TV footage shows flames licking up the building's top floors and a huge plume of black smoke filling the sky.

The official says protesters lit Tuesday's fire in the building housing in the ministry's personnel department. It then spread to an adjacent building.

The fire followed a protest by thousands of low-ranking police officers calling for better wages and working conditions.

Mass demonstrations that toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11 have set off frequent protests by laborers seeking to improve their lot.


[See the original here]

Egypt - Interior Ministry Burning In Cairo

UPDATE   1:55 (EDST).

REUTERS' Mohamed Abd El-Ghany reports the following:

Egyptians shout from the top of a burning building in the Egyptian Interior Ministry compound in central Cairo March 22, 2011. Fire tore through the Egyptian Interior Ministry building in central Cairo on Tuesday and a ministry source said it was probably linked to a protest by police demanding the minister's resignation. Ambulances and at least five fire engines raced to the scene of the blaze, which appeared to have ripped through all seven storeys of the building, part of an Interior Ministry compound in central Cairo.

11:20 am (EDST) CNN TV just reported that the Interior Ministry is on fire in Cairo. They report a serious fire.

Al Mousry Al Youm reported today that Interior Ministry employees were protesting at the ministry:

Hundreds of Interior Ministry employees and police personnel protested Tuesday in downtown Cairo, calling for better working conditions.


Protesters demanded receiving a minimum wage of LE1200, cancelling military tribunals and improving their financial and social conditions.


They also wanted fair shares of the housing units allocated for police, suitable commuting to and from work and taking all their leaves.


Protesters also called for promoting all police officers who hold bachelor's degrees in law to higher positions, as well as establishing social funds to boost service benefits.


A security source said the ministry’s officials are considering the demands.

Al Mousry has just reported:

A huge fire erupted in the building of the Ministry of Interior in Downtown Cairo on Tuesday afternoon.

Witnesses say the fire was visible in the two upper floors of the building.

Four fire trucks arrived on the scene to try to put out the flames.

The reason behind the fire remains unknown.

The Libyan No Fly Zone - Is Abstinence The Best Policy? Russia and China Say "Yes"

"Thus, Russia avoids the military intervention of her more zealous
partners from using force, while expressing her concern to protect civilian lives . . ."

Pravda, March 19, 2011

Silence. Not Golden.  On March 17th, the Libyan No Fly Zone resolution, UN Security Council Resolution 1973 passed the UN Security Council 10-0 with five abstentions. Abstaining were all four of the so-called BRIC countries: Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, and China, with Germany as the fifth abstainer, in all, they represent 3.3 billion people, 48% of the world's population. And they all chose to remain officially abstinent when it came to a vote, neither approving, nor disapproving UNSC Resolution 1973. However, when the UN ambassadors of countries representing nearly 50% of the masses goes silent, and when two of them, Russia and China are permanent members, something needs explaining. And explain they did.

Membership in 2011

The UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members — China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States — and ten non-permament members (with year of term's end):

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2011)
Brazil (2011)
Colombia (2012)
Gabon (2011)
Germany (2012)
India (2012)
Lebanon (2011)
Nigeria (2011)
Portugal (2012)
South Africa (2012)

UN Security Council

UNSC Resolution 1973 authorized, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, "all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights."  In addition, 1973 allows:

. . . all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory. . .

China's Shout Across The Bow.  Following the vote, China's UN Ambassador Li Baodong, explained his abstention to the People's Daily.

"The continuing worsening of the situation in Libya has the great concern of China. We support the Security Council's adoption of appropriate and necessary action to stabilize as soon as possible the situation in Libya and to halt acts of violence against civilians.

China & Russia Question UN Res. 1973:

how will the NFZ be maintained?

how would it be enforced and by whom?

what are the terms of engagement?

In the Security Council's consultations on Resolution 1973, we and some other council members asked some specific questions. However, regrettably, many of those questions failed to be clarified or answered. China has serious difficulty with part of the resolution.

Meanwhile, China attaches great importance to the relevant decision by the 22-member Arab league on the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya. We also attach great importance to the position of African countries and the African Union.

In view of this and considering the special circumstance surrounding the situation in Libya, China abstained during the vote on the resolution, Resolution 1973. We support the secretary-general's special envoy for Libya and the African Union and the Arab League in their continuing efforts to address by peaceful means the current crisis in Libya." [Italics added]

Russia's Shout Across The Bow.  To Pravda.org, the UN envoy of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Churkin, explained Russia's position on the No Fly Zone resolution:

"We strongly support the consistent and unconditional protection of civilians. According to this principle and essential humanitarian values Russia shares with co-authors of the project and other members of the Security Council, Russia has not stopped its adoption."  Citing the failure of the Security Council to answer Russia's questions about the resolution, Churkin mentioned that the "absolutely logical and specific questions regarding maintenance of the exclusion zone area had no response." [Italics added] 

Pravda's reporter, Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey, wrote:

[Churkin] stated that work on the resolution was not in tune with the practice of the Security Council, with many questions remaining unanswered, including how it would be enforced and by whom, and what are the terms of engagement. His country did not prevent the adoption of the resolution, but he was convinced that an immediate ceasefire would be the best way to prevent loss of life. Russia, in fact, had pressed for an earlier resolution calling for a cease-fire that could have saved many more lives. Cautioning against unforeseen consequences, he stressed that there was a need to avoid destabilizing the region.

Russia thus did not veto the draft resolution because she wanted to act according to the basic principles of the UN including the protection of civilians, said Vitaly Churkin. However, he also said that another resolution, proposed by the Russian Federation on March 16, on the need to appeal for a ceasefire in Libya (which happened today) has not, unfortunately, "received support from other partners more interested in measures of force."

[Churkin went on,] "The final document has nothing to do with the original that was proposed, which contained references to a large-scale military intervention, which the Russian Federation and its partners (Germany, Brazil, China PR, India) avoided." [Italics added] 

UN Report.  The United Nations Security Council released an unofficial record summary of the session that approved the resolution.  The report included a one paragraph item featuring China and Russia. It tracks well the comments to the People's Daily and Pravda cited above:

The representatives of China and the Russian Federation, explaining their abstentions, prioritized peaceful means of resolving the conflict and said that many questions had not been answered in regard to provisions of the resolution, including, as the Russian representative put it, how and by whom the measures would be enforced and what the limits of the engagement would be. He said the resolution included a sorely needed ceasefire, which he had called for earlier. China had not blocked the action with a negative vote in consideration of the wishes of the Arab League and the African Union, its representative said.

There's a hard place in Yemen.

The Oh My Zone.  We'll see where this so-called No Fly Zone leads - will the coalition implementation, in the view of China and Russia, become so aggressive and destructive that both countries will raise their objections to a higher level?  And what of the Arab League, Brazil, Germany, and India? As mentioned above, these five countries (and now, with the Arab League included) represent well more than 50% of the world's population and possess vast diplomatic and economic resources. Would, for example, extreme violence against Libya under the resolution, with its unavoidable civilian casualties, reopen the Middle East to more energetic Russian influence? Would China play its economic card to rein in the United States and others now heavily indebted to them? Or, quite to the contrary, is it possible that China would quietly applaud our being lost in another Middle Eastern desert and thus unable to compete effectively in the global commercial and economic contest? And should oil exports from the Middle East be reduced, to favorably manipulate European policies, would cash-strapped Russia use its vast oil resources: proved reserves - 8th worldwide; exports - 2nd worldwide. European importers include Italy,France, the Netherlands, and Spain. Germany imports, by far, the most Russian crude, 25% of its daily needs.



The future is well hidden until it gets here.  True. Yet, one thing we all know about military "adventures" is that once in, it's nearly impossible to get out.  Also, initial victories come quickly when the mismatch of forces is as startling as that between the coalition and Libya. Military victory, though, in the Middle East means little; it has  led to far more complicated and uncontrollable tasks and responsibilities involving diplomacy, political damage, human loss, infrastructure demolition, long memories, and an unpredictable period of instability "on the street" and in a transitional government.

 The forces that may be brought to bear on a post-Qadaffi Libya potentially include the big players, including the Russian Federation, China, and an Arab League that may feel it has again been betrayed by the European and American powers. This is no Bay of Pigs, it's no Vietnam, it's certainly no Grenada or Panama. Let's hope Operation Odyssey Dawn doesn't slip into another Afghanistan, or worse, doesn't encourage more violent reactions throughout the region, not merely within indiginous countries in the region, but in Europe, the U.S., and against those who are like us or our allies, and perceived as enemies by many in the Middle East.  In effect, today, we've already crossed the threshold to this God knows what . . .

Libyan No Fly Zone - First Engagement By French Fighter Against GROUND Target.

French Air Force Rafale F1m Fighter likely
involved in the opening NFZ engagement.

1:33 pm (EDST). CNN has just reported (confirmed at approx. 1:40 pm EDST), as of this writing) that a French Air Force fighter engaged a "military vehicle" in Libya, apparently the first engagement under March 17th's U.N. Resolution 1973.  [JUST REPORTED,1:48 pm (EDST), CNN, the vehicle was a Libyan tank.] The resolution authorizes establishment of "a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians. . . [and] to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights "

The interesting and provocative aspect of this engagement is its apparent French Rafale fighter attack on a "military vehicle," apparently a tank.  Does this indicate a variance, intentional or incidental, from the wording of Resolution 1973, which outlines a no fly zone? 

If not a tank, as just reported by CNN, a Libyan "military vehicle," however, may be tasked with air surveillance, or directly in air defense, and, in that case, armed with military ordnance related to air defense. Also, a "military vehicle" may be used in air defense supply.  If so, in these cases, ground vehicle would be directly within the terms of the resolution.

If the attack was against a Libyan tank, as confirmed, and if that tank were not involved in air-related defense, it would appear to go beyond the plain words of Resolution 1973.  However, the clauses "in order to help protect civilians," "to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights," and to "protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack" provide a clear path to ratify the attack on a ground target..  The resolution, in particular, names Benghazi, the rebel stronghold in the east of the country. In a legal sense, the resolution is broad enough to validate such an attack on a Libyan tank in operation around Benghazi (as this tank was).

A no fly zone, in general, requires "scrubbing" or "sanitizing" of the battle theater, and that necessarily requires the surveillance and probable destruction of air-to-air defense assets such as targeting facilities, electronic support systems, mobile air defense and supply - basically anything that supports Libyan air operations, offensive and defensive. This fact also emphasizes the full military impact of a no fly zone.  This operation against Qaddafi and his forces will likely have very extensive consequences for Libya, of course, an also for the credibility of the U.N., the safety of the region, the no fly zone partners, and its effect on uprisings across the Middle East.

Sendai Earthquake And Tsunami - A Chart Of A History of Disaster.

Click on the image below, if you are interested in learning about the long history of earthquake activity of Honshu island, Japan's largest island, and the location of Sendai, Fukushima (nuclear reactors), and Tokyo. This will take you to docstoc.com where I have published my data chart. It tracks Honshu earthquake activity, by order of magnitude, from 1762 to March 11, 2011.
The data source I used for the chart is the CATDAT Damaging Earthquake Database.   According to CATDAT creator, Australian James E. Daniell, a "damaging earthquake," for CATDAT purposes,

. . . is defined in the CATDAT database by the following criteria:-

• Any earthquake causing collapse of structural components.

• Any earthquake causing death, injury or homelessness.

• Any earthquake causing damage or flow-on effects exceeding $100,000 USD, inflation adjusted to 2010.

Source: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DAMAGE OF HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKES AND THEIR SECONDARY EFFECTS ON THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION INFRASTRUCTURE, James E. Daniell, 2010,

By this standard, of course, the Sendai earthquake qualifies by a factor of hundreds. Mr. Daniells, a Phd. candidate at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, points out, "Earthquakes can impact any human being on earth, whether it be from direct shaking or from secondary effects such as tsunamis, fire, landslides, liquefaction and fault rupture." Sendai suffered from each of these follow-on effects, and continues to suffer from many. Another category will hereafter be added to the impacts as well: follow-on radiation poisoning due to destruction and disabling of nuclear reactor cooling infrastructure. . .

(Click on image)
(If clicking on image doesn't work, try clicking here.)

Public Sector Union Bashing: Lies, Damn Lies, And CrossroadsGPS.org

"I would rather tell seven lies than make one explanation.”
Mark Twain - Letter to John Bellows, 11 April 1883

Who Knew?  For three days, a no holds barred anti-public sector union t.v. spot created by Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS has been running on cable t.v. , and its a humdinger. It discloses an overly and overtly cozy financial relationship between public sector unions and the Democratic party.

The 30-second clip below (clip 1) was cut by Crossroads GPS from their primary one minute ad. In it we see a shoddy performance by the National Education Association's general counsel, Bob Chanin, who strongly suggests the NEA is less about education and more about collecting dues, influencing elections, and increasing its political power. At the outset, Chanin says "it is not because we care about children, and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are such successful advocates because we have power . . ." Chanin continues in this vein and offers a hugely unflattering portrait of the organization, in existence since 1857, purportedly to speak out for public education. 

Thanks to Crossroads GPS, and its apparently hidden camera at the NEA's 2009 annual meeting, we learn how secondary the cause of public education was to its brutal power grab.  Who knew?  Crossroads GPS did. But as with anything involving Karl Rove and a bunch of Bush II era political right wing  journeymen, the affair needs a full examination, fore and aft.  And here you go.

Context Schmontext! Clip 1 is the 30- second version of their lengthier t.v. spot, discussed above.  It's the 30 seconds (out of a 24 minute speech) that Crossroads GPS chose to feature out of then General Counsel Bob Chanin's 2009 farewell address.

Clip 2, however, presents the 30-seconds of Mr. Chanin's speech chosen by Crossroads GPS in context.  See what you think.

Somethin's happenin' here,
what it is is exactly clear,
there's a man with a video editor over there . . .

(apologies to Buffalo Springfield and 

music enthusiasts everywhere)

Crossroads GPS Presents!	Excerpt, Bob Chanin's farewell speech, 2009 NEA annual meeting.

It's Not A Lie, It's Just A Schmear Of Untruthiness.  What Mr. Chanin said and what Crossroads GPS did with it might make you a little nauseous, and, then again, it may provide a lot of insight into how propagandists operate, particularly Karl Rove protegees.  The gist, of course, is obvious, the ad so thoroughly misleads with such breathtaking dishonesty that it ought to be a case study in bullshit detection for criminology majors. Is it any surprise that Karl Rove's in charge?

Crossroads GPS will also be remembered as near idiots who hadn't figured out that their content can be examined and shot down. Someone remind Rove and Associates that for years now it's been lots easier to fact check by using mysterious machines like computers, “the Google,” and video and audio history. Old-fashioned folks (me) still take handwritten notes. And videos, audio tracks, handwritten notes, speech notes, and memories are there in abundance when it comes to Bob Chanin's farewell address.

All this Crossroads GPS nonsense gives a good view into the right wing propagandist mind. And their anti-public union tidbit puts some key features of their approach on display. The ad is so obviously manipulative and utterly dishonest; how did they think no one would pick up on the sneaky Bob Chanin edit? It's as obvious as coming home with a bottle of booze in one hand, a joint in the other, and proudly telling your spouse, “Late night at the office, love of my life.”  The fact is they didn't care if they got away with it.

Truthy Thinking Is Just So 20th Century.

Steve Carell captured our present age as a time of “truthiness.” I think we've all noticed for some time now, the truth isn't just taking a beating – that we could all understand. What shakes us up is that truth is way too often irrelevant. Truth has, by some, been kicked to the curb and left for dead.

Why?  For Rove and other propagandists (right and left), their audience, their "base," exists to be manipulated without mercy, regardless of their collective needs. To the Rove's of this world, manipulation is an amoral activity, it is simply a practical necessity to gain and retain political and economic power for themselves or for their clients. Yet, one can't succeed at manipulation without knowing one's audience very well. And they do.

"In the long run, hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance."

George Orwell,
1984, Ch. 3.

Most often, and usually through no fault of their own, many in Rove's anti-union base are unsophisticated, under-educated, hidebound fans of FOX Newsiness, suspicious of joint action to assist anyone but their inner circle of family and friends, and just plain angry at modernity and the received history of recent times. It's likely that the average person in the Rovian base (1) will not investigate the Crossroads GPS anti-union claims, or examine Bob Chanin's NEA speech, and (2) will not believe any "liberal" blow back they may accidentally hear or read. Rove knows they are allergic to anything not already believed. He has, after all, been one of their principle cattle dogs, keeping them in the herd, yapping and biting at their heels and flanks, keeping them voting for politicians and policies that, for most of his base, are genuinely against their interests, and the interests of their children.

Never, Never Plead Guilty! In closing, here's an expert demonstration of the use of another arrow in the propagandist's quiver, complete denial. Once caught in a preposterous lie, they most often simply do not admit it, and, most importantly, and with bravado and bravura,they continue to stay on the message the lie or misrepresentation advances.

Let's now turn to the maestro, Crossroads GPS Communications Director Jonathan Collegio who told TPM:

"Bob Chanin provided a breathtakingly candid assessment of what government unions are all about -- electing politicians who will in turn protect fat union benefits at the expense of unsuspecting taxpayers," and, "Thankfully, he said it in his own words so we don't have to."

Mr. Collegio, you are an "assducken" - an ass inside an ass inside a turkey.

Look Both Ways Before Crossroads (GPS)!  This little dust-up will pass, as has been the habit lately since the Democratic party is now categorized in the taxonomic table as “invertebrate.” And, it's truer than true, we all do this opportunistic lying at times to get ahead, individuals and political parties and unions all, (although my experience is that the right wing GOP is far more committed, religiously, it seems, to telling such categorical lies that it takes one's breath away.)

In any event, given their full coffers, Crossroads GPS will go on and on and on, but maybe, in time, the truth will catch up with them.

More Economic Pain On The Way For States and Local Communities, Courtesy Of The U.S. Congress.

Tipping point?

"The fiscal problems of state and local governments have also had national implications, as their spending cuts and tax increases have been a headwind on the economic recovery."

Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Ben Bernanke speech at the Citizens Budget Commission in New York, March 2, 2011.

Challenges for State and Local Governments

A Sampling of H.R. 1 Cuts
Adversely Affecting States and Localities

• Community Development: H.R. 1 would cut the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program from $4 billion to $1.5 billion - nearly two-thirds (62 percent).

• Head Start Early Childhood Education: Head Start is providing comprehensive early childhood services to almost one million low-income children and their families. The cut of $1.1 billion, or 14 percent, below the FY2010 appropriation . . . causing nearly 218,000 children across the country to be kicked out of the Head Start program this year, a 20% cut and close more than 16,000 Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms.

• Railroads and Transit: The bill cancels over $3 billion in high speed rail (51 projects in 22 states) and surface transportation projects (TIGER grants = 76 projects in 40 states) that were awarded with fiscal year 2010 funds. These projects are estimated to have created more than 100,000 new construction jobs.

• Public Safety: The CR cuts funding for Justice Department state and local law enforcement grants by over $1 billion, or 27 percent (including COPs, the Office of Justice Programs and the Office of Violence Against Women).

* For more, go here.

Recently, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities issued a survey of state budget concerns.  Their comments about federal assistance to states and localities is not optimistic:

Federal assistance for states, which has been enormously helpful in allowing states to avert some of the most harmful potential budget cuts, will be largely gone by the end of fiscal year 2011, the current fiscal year. . .

The fiscal jihad that is taking place in the House of Representatives, using H.R. 1 as its present vehicle, cuts valuable and critical financial resources from federal assistance to states and localities (see sidebar). 

With state governments also, by and large, cutting programs and state employee salaries, the fiscal jihad is trickling down to what economists like to call Main Street.  Moreover, what is not generally discussed in the media is the fact that states themselves provide assistance and grants to local governments - Main Street as a reality, not a metaphor.  As federal aid to states declines greatly for the foreseeable future under GOP plans, states' abilities to provide funds to localities also will decline, and, let's face it, many states already are planning these cuts despite the loss of significant federal grant money. Then, of course, on Main Street, community services are cut substantially, everything from law enforcement to school teachers.  That's trickle down, RepubliCut style.

And even without this huge round of federal and state budget cuts many Main Streets, for years now, have been awash in unemployment, community decline, and rising poverty.  The combination of state and federal cuts coming in the remainder of 2011 and 2012 will, I fear, dampen the very mild recovery we are experiencing now, and, to carry the metaphor maybe too far, drown the national economy in another deep recession, or worse, including widespread social unrest, making Madison, Wisconsin seem tame. 

A week ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, addressed the Citizens Budget Commission of New York about this growing problem.  As a leading former member of George Bush II's economic team, Chairman Bernanke is no cheerleader for governmental spendthrifts.  Yet, below, he also appears nervous about the massive cuts in the pipeline;  I don't like our Ben nervous . . .

The recession's effects on state governments have been substantial. In calendar year 2009, state tax revenues were about 12 percent lower than they had been in 2008; declines in wages, salaries, capital gains, and profits reduced income tax revenues, and sales tax collections dropped along with household and business spending. Reflecting somewhat better economic conditions, state tax revenues for the first nine months of 2010 were 3 percent higher than during the comparable period a year earlier--a relatively modest improvement in comparison to the earlier decline. Meanwhile, on the spending side of the ledger, demand for publicly financed medical care and other public services soared as the economy weakened. Most notably, Medicaid caseloads rose from less than 43 million at the start of the recession in December 2007 to more than 50 million in June 2010--an increase of nearly 18 percent. . .

In contrast to the sharp drop in state tax revenues, local tax revenues across the country have held up relatively well over the past couple of years. In part, this difference reflects localities' greater reliance on property taxes. Changes in real estate values typically feed through to tax assessments and property tax bills with a considerable lag; some jurisdictions have also raised their property tax rates to offset weakness in assessed values. The continued softness in real estate prices, however, does not bode well for local government revenues. Moreover, many localities have been hard hit by reductions in state aid, which in 2008 accounted for about 30 percent of local revenues. Indeed, the fiscal 2011 budgets of more than 20 states contained either outright reductions in local aid, changes to revenue-sharing agreements, or cuts in funding for specific programs that are run by local governments--such as education for grades kindergarten through 12, road maintenance, and property tax relief.

Assistance from the federal government--mainly through the stimulus grants included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the additional Medicaid and education grants provided last summer--has relieved some of the fiscal pressure on states and localities. In addition, many of them have tapped financial reserves--or “rainy day” funds--and pursued asset sales and other one-time actions to satisfy balanced budget requirements.  Nonetheless, many governments have laid off or furloughed workers, frozen salaries, and cut other operating expenses. Job cuts have been especially pronounced at the local level, where payrolls have fallen roughly 350,000, or more than 2 percent, over the past 2-1/2 years; nearly half of the loss of local jobs has been in education.

In addition, state and local governments have cut their capital expenditures. To be sure, construction of highways and transportation facilities has been well maintained over the past couple of years, partly because of the infrastructure grants and the Build America Bond program provided under the ARRA. . .

Although the economy is recovering, it is still operating well below potential and unemployment remains high. Stimulus grants from the federal government are winding down this year and will largely have ended by 2012. Demands on Medicaid and other social service programs will likely remain elevated. Moreover, reserve funds are low, and the list of unused one-time fixes has been substantially depleted. . .

. . . the fiscal 2011 budgets of more than 20 states contained either outright reductions in local aid, changes to revenue-sharing agreements, or cuts in funding for specific programs that are run by local governments--such as education for grades kindergarten through 12, road maintenance, and property tax relief. [Read his entire speech here, and you really should because, despite my childlike innocence, I do edit selectively.]

Cuts Have Consequences.  Republicans like almost any word or phrase that precedes "have consequences." Holding them to that when they're the punch line to ". . . have consequences" has generally failed. But, extreme budget cuts at any governmental level bode poorly for an economy only slightly on the mend. Recall that despite a mild softening of unemployment last month (and to be revised next month), the ranks of the unemployed do not, by any measure, signal a return to prosperity. The long-term jobless rate is at a record percentage of the unemployed, more than a million of whom have been out of work - and most of them still looking - for two or more years. (See, More Sobering News Coming About Record-Breaking Longterm Unemployment.)

In any event, this is the place where the rubber meets the road for GOP/TP economics theory which basically features a number of morally and economically suspicious principles. Here are a few of their mantras that come to mind:

• what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine too (Hosanna Ayn Rand!)
• cut taxes savagely, particularly on the wealthiest 10%
• cut spending savagely on everything that does not benefit the wealthiest 10%
• privatize everything to benefit the wealthiest 10% at the expense of the dwindling middle class and the poor, and, the corollary, inevitably run privatized public services poorly with the eye primarily on the bottom line
• steal whatever tax revenue of the middle class and the poor and recycle it through federal contracts, privatization, and old-fashioned theft to the wealthiest 10% (this is called Kleptocracy!)
• financial regulation gets in our way! Period. Paragraph.
• and bringing things strangely in a full circle, almost all tax cuts increase government tax revenue (Hosanna Arthur Laffer, Peter Stockman, Ronald Reagan, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, etc., etc., ad nasuem)
There's more, of course, but I'm tired and need to get back on my meds. If you'd like to continue the list of the characteristics of the present day GOP/TP majority, please do so in the comments section.

************************ 

Here's an interesting Census Bureau report, Federal Aid to States, 2010.



Federal Aid to States - Census Bureau - Aug. 2010

Wisconsin Senate Sneak Attack On Collective Bargaining May Have Violated "Open Meeting" Law.

Just a few hours ago on March 9th, the Wisconsin State Senate, using GOP shock tactics, and brooking no interruptions, speedily passed a proposal to severely limit the collective bargaining rights of most Wisconsin public sector employees. The RepubliCon senators found a way to bring the bill to the floor by stripping out all fiscal provisions, thus obviating the need for a super-quorum required by the Wisconsin Constitution:

Vote on fiscal bills; quorum. Article VIII, SECTION 8. On the passage in either house of the legislature of any law which imposes, continues or renews a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues or renews an appropriation of public or trust money, or releases, discharges or commutes a claim or demand of the state, the question shall be taken by yeas and nays, which shall be duly entered on the journal; and three−fifths of all the members elected to such house shall in all such cases be required to constitute a quorum herein.

For bills without fiscal measures, like the one the GOP senators cobbled together today to crush collective bargaining rights, a simple majority is sufficient for a vote to be taken. Since the GOP senate delegation outnumbers the minority Dems, the trap was complete. In effect, removing the fiscal provisions literally mooted the Senate Democrats' two week long diaspora to Illinois.

The maneuver, though, did not moot
Assembly Democratic Minority Leader, Peter Barca, D-Kenosha who was the only Democratic member present at the ambush. (See video at right.)

He immediately and loudly objected, mincing no words, "Mr. Chairman, this is a violation of law," invoking the state's Open Meeting statute that, among other things, requires (with a few exceptions) 24 hours notice before legislative action.  And with this, Barca raised the possibility that the GOP tactic of using speed, shock, and awe may yet crash against the battlements of government in the sunshine. Violations of the law may lead to voiding of the GOP actions taken tonight.

The document below provides the text of the Open Meeting law, with certain irrelevant sections omitted. (To see the entire law, go here, pg 24, et seq.)

Also, I've highlighted various key provisions, sections that may be "in play" soon. The really crucial sections are highlighted in white with maroon colored text. See what you think!

Wisconsin Governor Walker Diagnosed With "Outsider Induced Allergy Syndrome" (OIAS).

“I’m not going to be intimidated, particularly by people from other places.”

NYT Interview, February, 19, 2011

". . . there’s a much smaller group of protesters—almost all
of whom are in from other states today."
and
"The guys [protesters] we've got left are largely from out of state,
and I keep dismissing it in all my press conferences saying,
‘Eh, they're mostly from out of state.' "

Gov. Scott Walker speaking to the Buffalo Beast's Ian Murphy
who was impersonating billionaire David Koch

(Audio and partial transcript of the Buffalo Beast prank conversation

with Gov. Scott Walker, February 22, 2011)

As more and more protesters come in from Nevada, Chicago and elsewhere,

I am not going to allow their voices to overwhelm the voices of the

millions of taxpayers from across the state who think

we're doing the right thing. This is a decision that Wisconsin will make.

Governor Walker during his "Fireside Chat," February 22, 2011



On a secluded Wisconsin road near the state capitol in Madison,
mounted scouts report in to senior jihadis from Pennsylvania.

During a February 23rd press conference about his chitchat with the fake David Koch, a seemingly humbler Scott Walker clarified his feelings about pro-public employee union protesters, “I appreciate the protesters from Wisconsin who are here." Then he spoke more kindly of those people who he notmally seemed to think of as a plague of locusts: "I welcome those who’ve come from other states.” Wow! From outside agitators to welcome guests. For someone who touts the consistency of his views, that's quite a turnaround.

Of course, this newly outsider-friendly Walker is the exception, by far. For Walker, distrust and disdain for the "outsiders” protesting alongside Wisconsin's state employees is the norm. Moreover, his anti-outsider comments quoted above point to a general dislike for "out-of-staters" who try to influence Wisconsin politics, not just those who "invade" Wisconsin in support of government unions.

It's hard to see it any other way. After all, Walker is consistent in applying his principles; for example, he points with pride to his record as Milwaukee's County Executive where he reduced public employees by 20%. He's constantly pushed an austere version of fiscal responsibility; is an unwavering anti-abortion advocate; and always gets "tough on crime." Obviously, he doesn't like unions very much. . . Oh, yes, and “outsiders” give him hives. Perhaps that's a clue.

Governor Scott Walker meets
with unknown campaign 
contributor on election night 2010 

“I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.” James Thurber.  Like those allergic to cat dander, but not to cat noses, allergies are mysterious. I'm allergic to some cats, but not others. I can spend hours petting our cat, but wind up wheezing and weeping within minutes with my friend's. It occurred to me, perhaps Governor Walker's apparent moral inconsistency about out-of-staters is a serious allergy, beyond his control, even with medical science backing him up. Is there an inoculation for close contact with Democrats? No, there isn't, and I checked this with a friend who nearly got into a Wisconsin medical school, but is now a semi-retired lawyer under investigation.

Real doctor's agree, however, one can become resistant to hives, runny noses, and teary eyes by spending more time with some of those things that make you allergic. That seems like a sure loser, I know, but I tried it. My doctor advised I spend more time with my cat. I did, and despite some early medical difficulties including bleeding from my ears and stroke, I have developed an immunity to my beloved cat's aller-stuff.

Every time I Pass An Illinois Democrat In The Hall My Tongue Swells. Perhaps the same problem I faced with my cat is true of Governor Walker: He's generally allergic to out-of-staters but for those he spends more time with, like out-of-state billionaires or members of Americans for Prosperity, the less allergic he is to them. After countless hours with these billionaire out-of-state allergen dispersal units, he's free of allergic reactions. However, conversely, since he spends little time with those outsiders protesting in Madison, or with Democratic senators presently residing in Illinois, the more they continue to cause him coughing fits, hives, leeches, and carbuncles.

Arrivals From Vermont.

Illinois Is Contagious.  And that, my friends, is why the Governor cannot meet with Senate Democrats outside of Wisconsin's border. He suffers from what is called "Outsider Induced Allergy Syndrome" (OIAS). Yesterday, he demonstrated his fear of the condition, when he answered Democratic Senator Mark Miller's request for a March 7th meeting at the Illinois-Wisconsin border with a resounding “No!” Although he didn't fess up to this, Walker can't get his doctors' approval for fear of a flare up of OIASS. 

And this despite the obvious: Those Democratic senators in Illinois are, after all, still Wisconsinites, and as in-staters, Walker ought to be resistant to their allergens. Medical authorities within Wisconsin, though, are unwilling to take the chance that the senators-in-absence have become contaminated by crossing the border and remaining in Illinois. Also, of equal concern, there are suspicions that Walker is generally allergic to Democrats as a group. Moreover, according to one medical researcher, quoting an intern, who remembered something a public sector nurse said, “There are indications Walker's also hyper-allergic to the middle class.”
 

Money, However, Is Hypo-Allergenic!  Out-of-state campaign contributors are another group of outsiders Governor Walker has been able to tolerate medically. The chart below shows these medically-tolerable out-of-staters contributed more than $615,000 to candidate Walker's campaign. Wisconsinites, to whom Walker is immune, contributed the lion's share, of course. And the third category, “Unknown,” are apparently ghosts, extraterrestrials, little brown bats, or very confused short tailed weasels. They contributed sparsely, and therefore do not count in this comprehensive study. The important point is, however, that Walker suffered no medical harm from outside contributors' allergens, proving there are some contacts with out-of-staters he can survive.  His OIAS has some chinks in its armor. . . where money is concerned, the Governor is immune!



Data from National Institute on Money in State Politics

Even outsider thugs were shipped in from
as far away as Minnesota!

We Cannot Sit Idly By. Given Walker's testy attitude, we might want to idle in neutral, even when we know of his disabling medico-political condition. But, we're talking human being here, at least arguably. O.K., it's a rabbinic-level argument. But we simply cannot allow Governor Walker's OIAS to go unaddressed, although medical science, as we've seen, has bupkus to offer.

It's quite likely that, but for his bouts of OIAS,  he wants to meet with his political opponents and carve out a compromise that keeps public employee collective bargaining rights strong. Maybe he'd be happy to back away from his draconian collective bargaining proposals, which, after all, he thought up – and he's too embarrassed to admit it - after viewing a really squirelly Glenn Beck episode. Surely, you can see, something needs doing if anything is going to get done. Let's save Governor Walker! Get him allergy-free and there's a chance - I believe, a good one - that all of Wisconsin's Governor-induced mayhem (GAM) will disappear like a badger down a rat hole (if such a thing is possible, please advise).

Here's a first shot at it. It's not a longterm solution, but it'll do until a cure for Outsider-Induced Allergy Syndrome is discovered, and just think, if an allergy protected Governor Walker, employing the simple solution I feature below, then actually funds medical research, the cure for OIAS may be uncovered in Wisconsin itself! Now that's a win-win for all.

Here's my proposal for a temporary solution for Governor Walker's OIAS suggested by NASA, NOAA, DOD, HHS, and ASPCA:

Demonstration of Outsider-Induced Allergy Syndrome (OIA) Communication Enhancement
Device (OIACED). Man on right enacts how Governor Walker can be both close enough to
negotiate with a Humanic Allergen Delivery Device (HADD), like the Democratic hippie from
New York, illustrated above, yet be armed well enough so that should the OIACED Allergen

Warning Default System (OIASCEDAWDS) indicate dangerous levels of outsider allergens,
Governor Walker may trap and smother the aller-assailant hippie Demorcat from New York,
or a State Senator from Wisconsin who is residing in Illinois just to be a pain in the neck.

***** Mercifully, there is no "Read More" for this posting *****