"Markets don't work in the way they are supposed to unless there are some well-enforced rules."

-- Elizabeth Warren,

The American solar energy industry installed enough new solar electric capacity to power almost 200,000 homes. This more than doubles the record year in 2009. In addition, more than 65,000 solar water and pool heating systems were installed across the country in 2010. All told, the industry grew by 67 percent from $3.6 billion in 2009 to $6 billion in 2010.

"I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." - Thomas Edison

The US Department of Education's Office of the Inspector General has been raising red flags about charter school fraud and embezzlement, a problem that is increasing.

The economy is terrible, thanks largely to low tax revenue and weak bank regulation.

All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.

Samuel Butler

One of the biggest, long-lasting delusions of progressives is that people are moved mainly by rational arguments. Consequently, to get people to accept a particular policy such as universal health care, all one needs to do is to present strong and persuasive arguments in favor of it.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

"The Tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy." - Montesquieu

They tell us the water leaking from the nuclear meltdown disaster in Japan is no biggie, it would just give you something like a "bad sunburn". A bad sunburn from water? Take action here:
http://ping.fm/3dFGQ

Unions = Jobs

Unions brought you your 40 hour work week, your weekends off, paid sick leave and vacation and did away with exploited child labor...

All hail corporations - hope you enjoy being locked in your factory/office while your building is on fire - morons defending for profit corporations live in la, la land and don't realize that profit being the only thing that matters leads employers to do outrageous acts of larceny, bouncing checks, monitoring bathroom breaks, all in the name of profits.

What kind of world do you want to live in - don't fool yourself in thinking you can go it alone - you - whoever you are you depend on a civil society to protect and support you - from the ambulance drivers, to the traffic cops to the interstate highways, to the farmers picking your food and the truck drivers bringing it to you and your neighbors next door.

A return to the bad old days of supreme corporate power is fascism and that's not going to make this a more peaceful, educated, prosperous, civilized society. Your grandma will be eating cat food and living in the street because you won't be able to afford to help her out and some wall streeter skipped town with her savings. Regulations protect us and create jobs and open up markets that the status quo don't want. Its called competition and its not good for GE, or Verizon.

Why should they pay anyone a living wage? There's always someone else to exploit and who's piloting that plane anyway? You want four or five of them to go down first until the corporate powers wake up and start hiring qualified rested pilots? With a profit first mindset corporations are driven to cut corner after corner, after corner until something breaks down like an exploding oil rig.

Unregulated capitalism is self destructive. Cutting corners is rewarded. Resources (that includes people) are just decimated for short term gain. There is no accountability because that is expensive, and raw sewage is just dumped in your drinking water because that's cheaper to do.

Corporations do not have one iota of macro-economic vision or responsibility to the whole. Its all about "their" bottom line, cut corners, costs and eliminate the competition. Unregulated capitalism is incestuous. Shills for corporate power have absolutely no idea how undemocratic they are being and have no idea that absentee management doesn't work especially when it comes to governing a country. You want the wild west we can all be armed and wander the streets killing each other look at Somalia, Hatti that's what anti-union idiots are pushing for.

Unless you can form a union and strike for better wages, and conditions you are toast and the thugs represent the rich and powerful that's who pays them. And they will shoot you down in the street. Read your history and read your bible. Economic disparity brings bloodshed.

What do you think is going on in the Middle East? A lack of representation has exacerbated the wealth being horded by the few and the majority are expected to live in squalor. So is that the end goal rioting in the street armed conflict among Americans anarchy, killing your neighbor, children and women?

Smarten up people we are all in this together, power has to be checked and held accountable and our system of laws is the only non-violent way to accomplish that. The right to petition the government is encoded in our founding documents and it extrapolates out to the right to redress wrong no matter if its a serial killer or a corporation decimating our public (land or people).

To see how much you can steal by gaming that system is treason and gives birth to fascism. Its been sold as the American way - "its just business". But its self destructive, corrupting and evil - not the key to a successful country.

Take Action Here

Murali Coryell Sugar Lips - Music Review

I recently stumbled into Murali Coryell playing with Joe Louis Walker at the famous Attucks Theater and was blown away by this young mans singing and playing. He can stomp out some guitar leads and he sure as hell can sing as well. When Joe Louis Walker introduced him as Larry Coryell's son I near fell out of my chair. I searched far and wide to find some of Larry's music that would fit into my Folk and Blues show and featured an album called A Quiet Day in Spring. The title track always got the phone ringing and the other DJ's to say what was that. I knew Larry's music from his so called jazz fusion days and his essential LP, his collaboration with Emily Remler "Six Beats, Six Strings" is an outstanding number from that album, and one of my favorite LP's is "Just Like Being Born". I also own "The Coryells" a wonderful acoustic disc and "Inner Urge" both albums I can highly recommend.

I had no idea what to expect when I purchased Murali's cd during the meet and greet after the show. It had a sexy attractive cover and font that lent itself more to a smooth jazz recording so I was a little reluctant. However, after hearing Murali play and noting that Joe Louis Walker was on the album I figured the blues had to be more than covered. Knowing his Dad was on the disc as well and that he played everything and anything his embellishments would fit in nicely and be creative. So I bought the CD blind which is something I rarely do a leap of faith to say the least but Murial was so fantastic during the show I wanted to support him with at least a little gas money.

Upon loading the disc into my player I was hooked. The first number is a blistering jump blues in the tradition of Roomful of Blues boasting a big horn sound and rampaging piano courtesy of Reese Wynans of the famed Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble Band. The second tune rolls out a more smoldering blues number with plenty of guitar stretches and horn fills plus some nice wah, wah work. Do they still call it that these days?

The third cut is more of a contemporary blues number in the vein of Robert Cray. Its immediately accessible and I could see it having some cross over potential. Mothers Day follows that which is a heartfelt tribute to Murali's mother who passed away back in 2009. Kind of rough to loose a mom so young she was only in her sixties, and this song particularly speaks to the artists integrity by letting us into his world. His dad takes a lead and well if you are not moved by this song check your pulse - you have no heart.

So now all at once we have this honest talent firing off fat, smoking, crunchy, licks, stomping through the blues and ballads and baring his soul and we are only into the fourth track. The next song "What Works on You" has a stadium anthem feel to it and a soaring keyboard. Its a nice lift after Mothers Day with nice acoustic piano fills and growling guitar leads. The dude can play can you tell I'm on board.

Go ahead and pick up this disc. I read one review that compared him to John Mayer - puhhhlease Murail blows away that poser. Sugar Lips the title track has a real nice driving back beat and picks the album back up again into a blues romp and Joe Louis Walker ads his signature sound to the cut with some raunchy slide work. "I Could Have Had You" slows things back down a little bit and I think is my favorite tune. The acoustic guitar and bass add a nice texture and again I think what we are hearing is honest and that kind of credibility can not be faked or bought.

We snap right out of that nice melancholy mood with Still Rockin' a straight up 50's blues romp with Chuck Berry formed leads. Without reviewing each of the remaining songs there's plenty more to come with a great funk number, soulful singing and flourishes of his Dad's jazz riffs. They blend in seamlessly within the constructs of the songs and Murali's fired up guitar. Sugar Lips is fun, well rounded, stomp with plenty of tonal and modulated mood swings to keep repeated listening fresh track after track. And it does swing, rock and funkify your speakers.

It blew all my expectations away.

There is No Such Thing as American Oil for Americans Only....

All the worlds oil transactions are purchased on the spot market - there is no such thing as American oil for Americans only....the little bit of oil we have isn't going to make a dent on the international spot market where all the oil is traded bought and sold to bring prices down. We don't have enough to even make a dent. Its laughable the misunderstanding that's been sold to the hysterical.

So if you are for putting fisherman out of business, destroying local businesses, decimating billion dollar tourism markets, the economies they preserve and run, polluting our food chain and giving your loved ones cancer then by all means drill your brains out.

However, If you want to get off of "foreign" oil - develop a new energy source. If you want jobs develop new energy markets. I'll tell you who doesn't want that to happen big time (the oil lobby)

You all sound like a bunch of hysterical, cry babies. Its over, time to move on and quit your bitching - oil is 8 dollars a gallon overseas.

The dirty energy sector is one of the worse offenders nursing at the tit of government but their days are numbered.

The louder they get the more obvious it is that they know it. As a country we should have been investing in alternatives when Jimmy Carter said we should have during the last embargo in the 1970's but no the oil lobby didn't want to loose any business not one red cent of government subsidies was allowed to go to any potential energy market competitor.

Big Energy will have to be forced into a different business model or go broke - like our financial sector and health industry.

The greedy sure are lazy when they hit upon something that makes them money.

Time to change fellas the future is here and its banging on your door - loudly. Good luck with that.

Learn More and Take Action Here

Solar vs. Nuclear - get the facts http://ping.fm/iTB29

The House GOP's 2011 budget would chop $156 million from the Centers for Disease Control's funding for immunization and respiratory diseases. (Brilliant!)

Grazing Cows Equals More Profit

Isn't it sad in an effort to promote their products industry spokespeople will say and do anything. After all they are on the payroll. When that jack ass from the nuclear industry lobby came out to a press conference yesterday, and said he could look every American in the eye and say the USA's Nuclear Industry was safe I laughed out loud. A half life of a hundred thousand years of the most toxic material we could ever dream up is not SAFE by any stretch of the imagination.

The Agriculture INDUSTRY is exactly the same way. If you are still buying Scott's 4 Step Program for your lawn you are killing your lakes, water supply and food chain. Plus you skipped biology class in high school and didn't learn about the interconnectedness of our whole environment, atmosphere and food chain. Just because of artificial, airbrushed, pictures in magazines you as a homeowner throw carcinogens, toxins, phosphorus on your lawn, or have some truck roll up to your house and SPRAY it on.

Talk about tone death deaf. You have been marketed to you have been "sold" a bill of goods that is absolutely no good for you, does nothing to improve your health or your status in the community. Go out in the natural world. Take a walk in the woods. Now tell me do you see a golf course growing or a deciduous forest full of variety and color. People the lawns in the magazines aren't real and the lawns on golf courses are heavily fertilized and treated with all kinds of chemicals.

Brilliant only in its stupefying stupidity trying to achieve an artificial look that has been marketed to you for decades actually kills our lakes, rivers and waterways and POISONS our food chain.

Industrial lobbyists for Agriculture will tell you that if you enforce the Clean Water Act it will mean the collapse of American Farming. If you don't laugh in their face you scare easily, still drink the kool-aid of the "industrial revolution", work or worked directly for them or take their money to get re-elected. No one else is buying their bullshit.

Farmers who graze their herds naturally have lower overhead, lower costs and turn a bigger per-cow profit. They don't spend all that money on pre-fabricated feed, poisonous pesticides and herbicides, or need to spend on the abusive, violent equipment that is used in factory farming.

There are whole groups springing up now across the Country because the demand for organic food is booming. Who cares what they say on television and what the lobbyist say? Americans do not want to be POISONED - by industry, or anyone.

How stupid are the corporations and their water carriers? The only reason the markets hand is invisible is because the status quo won't televise it or promote it. Dow Chemical, General Electric, DuPont these are big, big companies who fully invested in the miracle of chemistry, uranium, and advertising back in the 1950's. A half a century plus later we all realize they over-estimated mans genius, and under-estimated the natural worlds - GODS. Man made chemicals in our food, water and air gives us CANCER.

How about a little common sense.

The Herd Grazers have a network growing. I'm more familiar with the ones in the mid Atlantic because of the Chesapeake Bay and its muti-state tributaries. The Bay itself is just hanging on but there has been a State by State, and individual, by individual effort to stop the TOXIC runoff that poisons our food chain and puts people out of work. We need more folks on board and this post is a call to action and will list some resources.

You do not have to be a farmer to help out. Vote with your dollars and contribute, buy and consume with a peace of mind organic product. I prefer the word natural because the blowhards who are on the payroll (employees, lobbyist and politicians) have a HUGE conflict of interest and their words can not be taken seriously. They absolutely can't not out persuade NATURAL.

Natural is not only the best way to be but the way god intended it all to be. Yes man has his place but he must also know his place. We didn't put this Earth here so we need to act accordingly not with reckless disregard. We are only screwing it up because when we find something we can sell we sell the hell out of it despite unintended or known consequences. Make the money for as long as you can and get out before the law suits and the consumers wise up.

The old fashioned way of grazing is best and routinely produces less nutrient and sediment pollution, the primary pollutants to our water ways. According to studies per-cow profit is almost double for grazers as opposed to the confinement operations. The Farm Bureau much like the Chamber of Commerce is also on the payroll of big business but their numbers have been blasted by independent studies from the University of Maryland.

Sustainable farming INCREASES profits. Organic milk brings a higher price. Keep supporting small, environmentally friendly farms buying direct from farmers through farmer markets and community supported agriculture networks or from retailers who sponsor them. It simultaneously helps to save the small family farms and our water ways and water men.

We are slowly but surly breaking on through to the other side.

In the end big polluters are bad for business for everyone when you factor in the whole market picture and all the inter-related markets. Profit focused, irresponsible, and unresponsive industry is killing us. They can not co-exist in a diversified interrelated market economy if held responsible for their actions. That is why they are always pushing for monopoly status through regulation, lack thereof, conglomeration and rigging the tax code.

Big business, banking, energy, agriculture need to be monopolies on a market field heavily tilted in their favor because the will of the people is against their heavily vested self interest.

When we have alternatives we run like hell from their unhealthy products and business practices. Tariffs block international competition and we are still paying through the roof for pharmaceuticals, demonizing the natural health industry, and prevented from buying high mileage cars that are readily available in Europe.

Its a rigged game for the powerful to keep them powerful despite the ruin they spread on our collective health and well being. Its a scam and it can't stand on its own. Yet they say they hate big government a government who funnels them oodles of money in unnecessary subsidies to goliath corporations and industry, ever consolidating, ever controlling.

So nuclear guy whose going to clean up your mess? Are we sending the bill to General Electric. We should they'd pull out of nuclear power faster than teenagers not practicing birth control.

And grazing is more profitable than confinement agriculture. Don't you just love it arrogant man thinking he can outsmart the NATURAL way as if WE put the Earth here. Hey corrupt captains of industry we are guests on this planet pretend you understand that someone/thing greater than you can even imagine put it all here for everyone to flourish together act accordingly or get out.

Here are some very useful links:
The Maryland Organic Food & Farming Association
Future Harvest A Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture
The Maryland Grazers Network Pool on Flickr (awesome shots of grazing in action)

Thank you Tom Zolper for your article "Raising Cows Green, Equals More Green", Save The Bay Magazine Winter 2011

The average pay for the top 25 hedge fund managers was $1 billion each in 2009

Every year, 386,000 tons of hazardous air pollution spew from America's coal-fired power plants and literally rain down on our communities, contributing to frightening health threats, including:

* Cancers of the lungs, bones, kidneys, and stomachs;
* Brain damage, birth defects, and learning disabilities;
* Damaged immune and reproductive systems;
* Heart and lung diseases; and more.

If you live in the United States, there's a good chance you are being exposed to mercury, arsenic, acid gases, and even radioactive pollution that spew by the hundreds of thousands of tons every year from America's coal-fired power plants.

Colin Hay - Man at Work Gathering Mercury

I finally got to see Colin Hay perform in a small intimate theater in Clayton North Carolina outside of Raleigh, "where its all happening". The show was attended by a maximum capacity of around 700 people and Colin delivered a heartfelt, entertaining, often hilarious, poignant and full show. He took a short break and by himself put in over two hours of playing and storytelling. Roughly eight to eleven pm, and in that theater in Clayton it was a real slice of heaven. He's touring his ass off so check his schedule and do yourself a favor - go to one of his shows.

What impressed me the most after his general overall attitude and being (he took real time with his fans) was his guitar playing. Seriously his playing and chord progressions, finger-picking styling and melodies are more than accomplished. He's got it down kids.

Colin Hay should not be passed over by guitar enthusiasts who worship the Leo Kottke's, Michael Hedges, and Tommy Emmanuel's of the world. "Goodnight Romeo" is a track on his new album that could appear on anyone of theirs and you wouldn't guess it was Colin. Hey Colin you could do a whole album like that as far as I'm concerned. It's beyond beautiful.

I knew about Colin's voice and his wit and choice lyrics, his phrasing, melody and heart in his songwriting, but I never actually witnessed his guitar playing. It way surpassed my expectations. He was playing consistently sophisticated movements and flirted with some very beatle-esque arrangements. But it wasn't to impress with dexterity it served the musical thought and journey foremost.

My wife and I had a terrific and joyous time and took a few minutes to speak to a very tired musician at the end of a long night. But it is getting weird for Colin. Not only did someone pinch his personal affects back stage in Atlanta, glasses, wallet, credit cards, phone, etc., which is just lousy. But some strange little dude towards the end of a long line in Clayton asked him for a lock of his hair. When Colin laughed that off referencing his bald head the dude asked for nose hair.

My mind went right to sad then to voodoo wanna be. Something was off there maybe just a real loyal fan looking for something to hang onto in life. Regardless please people listen to his music, enjoy his show but show some restraint and lets respect some boundaries. Certainly stealing from the man is incredibly uncool. The hair thing is off the charts. Colin is trying to lay down something positive lets not run him off.

I had a ton of things I wanted to say to Colin but only expressed one. I'm taking this moment to say the rest; Colin thank you for coming back out on the road and reinvigorating your career, writing beautiful material, the fun stuff, the poignant stuff and the stuff from the heart. The world needs as many honest, positive forces as it can get right now.

We have loved you from the first time you came blaring across MTV back in the 80's and I think at this moment in time you are doing some of your best work ever. Smart, brilliant and honest that's my take on you as an artist and your music. Thank you for sharing all those wonderful stories and songs.

Get some rest, have some fun and don't work too hard. True art, true music stands the test of time. Good on you, good luck to you and god's speed.

New Album Review: Colin has a new album out called "Gathering Mercury". It is a very well produced disc with exceptional lyrics, wonderful melodies, excellent progressions, and the mix is outstanding. You can actually hear all the instruments interplay and all with Colin's unique, one of a kind voice and delivery. Its really quite good. Excellent accompaniment of piano, percussion and voice. It's very well put together at once stripped down but not without its well placed power chords. Like a wonderful meal the whole CD has just the right touch of this and that. Like a wonderful painting a dash of this color a dash of that vibrancy and we are enjoying it immensely.

In fact its time to get into your back catalog and I'll be shopping soon - thought you might like to read that.

In an often noisy, violent, unnecessarily hyper aggressive world this album and Colin Hay are an antidote - like half a million angles singing very clear.

Thank you Colin!

Very Sincerely,

Paul & Kris

NPR is known as National Pentagon Radio to staffers and insiders.

De-fund NPR - its 4% of their budget and maybe they can get back to "independent" journalism. For the past four decades NPR has overwhelming voiced Corporate Americas point of view.

Conceive of Nothing While you live And I give you Heaven.

~ Jack Kerouac

I haven't understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it.

~ Igor Stravinsky

On March 26, 2011, join the global community in turning off your lights at 8:30 pm for Earth Hour, a worldwide initiative to show our commitment to saving our living planet.

Learn more about this important event, and how you can participate. When you sign up to participate in Earth Hour, you also pledge to go beyond the hour by making daily changes in your life to protect our planet.

If you live in the U.S. please visit: http://ping.fm/DJN9X

If you live outside the U.S., please visit: http://ping.fm/k8nX5

"Congress is on a cost-cutting spree, looking for any place to trim the federal budget, but one line item appears safe: The $235,000 allocated each year for expense accounts for top leaders of each chamber...Unlike other official accounts, these expense accounts go largely unitemized, so there is no telling what the money is used for.

Evan Bayh inked a contributor deal with Fox News, continuing the network's tradition of hiring Republicans with ambitions for public office.

Wall Street, Wisconsin, Wages, and Warlock Blood

Where do I start? Charlie Sheen is a god. I hope he wins his lawsuit. The man is living outside the box and speaking up. He can do what he wants but step outside of societies supposed norms, and the powers that be that want us all to tow the company line come down on you. Bottom line is that a truly free man scares the shit out of people especially those trying to manipulate the masses, and those letting themselves be manipulated. Look for a whole lot of, "he's crazy" screaming from the corporate controlled orchestrated media.

News flash he's not crazy he's kickin' ass...I mean winning. And he's going to win his law suit because they had a decade to exercise their morality clause and they didn't so that constitutes a waiver. Go Charlie go.

I'm for a live and let live world. So what - he has a couple of babes living with him. He can afford it and as long as the children are clean and taken care of as well as educated no one should say squat. If he wanted to home school them aren't there plenty of others doing the same? Or do you have to belong to a certain religion or political party to get away with that?

Politics - Are the Republicans really that worried about the budget? Not since Ronald Regan turned America from the hugest creditor nation to the biggest debtor nation so the answer is a resounding NO. Billions of dollars in tax cuts that have done nothing to create jobs over decades the trickle down experiment is over and a complete failure.

The only people hanging onto this thievery in search of an economic theory are the ones who stand to gain an enormous amount of money.

That brings us to Wisconsin. God bless the people in the streets and good luck with the recalls. As usual arrogant conservatives are their own worst enemy. Instead of actually managing the country in an efficient and meaningful way they spent us into a hole, gave away no-bid contracts, gave tax breaks to their financiers, and drove the economy into the ditch.

Now they want to bust up collective bargaining as they try to take control of literally everything. This is about politics, not about a budget. It's about controlling the legislature and voting laws to try and ensure Barack Obama doesn't win the State. This is also about their greedy financiers wanting to own the public water, and electric utilities because that's where the money is, and they dream, droll and orgasm over billing each and every one of us directly. Enjoy your rate hikes republican voters. Don't say you weren't warned.

Pathetic cronyism at best but the voters voted republican because they fell for the wedge issues, and the labeling and the marketing for Republican campaigns.

Can we now stop pretending the Republicans give a shit about any of us left, right or middle. Unless you cut them a monster check you do not count. Stop being so damned delusional about the flag, and the bible, and abortion, and gay people.

None of that shit really matters to them except in using it to bamboozle you to get your vote. They stand for only themselves and their billionaire financiers on Wall Street and in the Energy Sector. You have toxins swimming around in your blood because industry doesn't want to be responsible for their by-products and cancer causing pollution and what are the Republicans proposing to protect YOU who voted for them - eliminating the EPA.

It's a tooth and nail fight between the future and the status quo. Guess what the status quo is going to loose. You can not stop progress but they are trying. My recommendation is to VOTE in every election and vote the progressive ticket. I didn't say democratic I said progressives because they are the ones who still have a heart who think that we are all in this together and that we should protect the environment in order to protect ourselves...not because a wolf looks like a dog but that god put wolves here for a reason. Whether we know what that reason is or not is irrelevant we didn't create any of this Earth but we sure have created a few messes.

When you put profit first, when you celebrate rugged individualism you can not preserve a civil society. So ignore the ads on television or in print. Get online and investigate the financiers behind the politicians and if you vote republican be prepared to have your ass further owned by those that only see you as a source of income to be exploited.

Kiss your civil rights good-bye. They don't care about you or your pointless points of view. All each one of you represents is a dollar bill to them and that's all.

They don't care about your religion or your sex just what can they sell you and how can they capture you completely for their markets. They see you as a commodity only. Because profit is their only guiding principle and they are proud of that. Nice way to run a company but a lousy way to "govern" a Country.

Capitalism is NOT democracy. Unregulated capitalism collapses onto itself and rape and pillage the natural resources of which people are counted as one.

Unless you are financing their campaigns to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars you are a chump to be taken advantage of, romanced during the campaign and then left at the alter after the inauguration...boo, hoo, those are the facts - grow up America. Stop acting like a bunch of schmucks.

Vote your pocket book all the other cultural bullshit should be left at your front door. Once you hit the street its nobody's business but your own. Its up to the individual.

That's what this Country is supposed to be about; freedom of choice, the pursuit of liberty, happiness, and freedom. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, live and let live and stop trying to make everyone the same. We won't put up with it and its not in our nature. You have no right telling anyone else how to live. Government is a way to "manage" our society, level the playing field, prevent fraud, corruption and promote ethics, and personal, and corporate responsibility.

Government is supposed to organize and manage the macro realities that confront it including education, self defense, and inter state commerce. It's based on the realities on the ground not some pie in the sky ideology or by how one segment of the population wishes things were.

America has lost its way.

For instance the war on drugs is a complete waste of money except to the weapons industry. Legalize marijuana and collect the taxes the way alcohol and cigarettes are taxed and regulated and use the money in your home town on your schools. Smoking anything is an individual choice that I rarely practice, but if someone wants to smoke what comes out of the ground naturally I'm fine with it. The laws about operating machinery impaired already exist.

A practical approach not an ideological one will return us to a common sense government. If your lifestyle is a success, your religion so great, people will arrive to it sooner or later. Everyone wants to be successful.

Now lets understand once and for all the enemy is GREED and most of them work on WALL STREET. Those bastards gamed the system, played both ends against the middle, lied to their clients and bet against the success of America. They walked away with billions of OUR tax dollars. It was an eight year scam and heads should roll. What to do? Prosecute. Goldman Sachs, AIG, Lehman, etc. violated an implied if not stated fiduciary responsibility to their customers. No one would sign up with them if they said, "hey were going to lie to you and sell you crap," and then collect insurance when our products designed to fail failed. It's called fraud.

Jail time for Larry Summers!

We can put to rest that blanket deregulation works. Because of their imagined warlock blood Wall Street, and the Koch brothers think they are entitled to our natural resources. They take our tax subsidies and turn around and want tax breaks. THEY ARE TRYING TO STEAL AS MUCH AS THEY CAN from the public trust.

Politicians are a dime a dozen compared to drilling the Grand Canyon or not cleaning up after themselves (BP Oil Disaster).

I know you don't realize it but its "your" public resources. But they don't see it as a privilege to drill, cut, and burn to exploit it they see it as their right and screw you if your town's water gets ruined. Good luck suing a multi-national corporation with your tiny mountain town budgets. And they would kill to make class action suits illegal. That's already in the works.

Finally corporations are not people the Roberts court screwed up royally. They are the last dupes and minions to act out on the philosophy that Corporations are better able to Govern this Country than an actual Government.

I've got news for everyone. If you put these single minded industries in charge of our public utilities they will bleed the middle class dry. The fact that we won't have any discretionary income left over to support the mom and pops and small business of the world is FINE with them. Even a small business is their competition if one dollar alludes their grasp. When profit margins, numbers and percentages are all that matter we are all just reduced to being a number in a mathematical equation.

Is that the world you want? Is that who you are 50 years of earning power a commodity to be exploited, a cog in the wheel? Is that why god created you to be a mindless drone in their profit margin only world. Isn't there more to life?

What would happen if we switched from a me society to a we society and actually helped one another along the way. The economy would sparkle and thrive and we would all live meaningful, fulfilled lives.

But until then you are just a number and work your whole life for the benefit of five multi-national corporations and 400 hundred people who don't care whether you live or die unless they took an insurance policy out on you (they do that you know) and you're more valuable to them dead than alive?

God forbid we have to work for these heartless bastards ever talk to someone who worked for Wall-Mart or FOX or the Koch companies? They hate it because its draconian and you're a soulless cube mole punching the clock while they try desperately to find someone who will work cheaper overseas.

"Small business is the backbone of America," - Ronald Regan.

He said that and he was right.

Diversity keeps the markets healthy and un-incestuous. Monopolies and oligarchy stamp out innovation and the competition. Its all about cornering the market people and YOU are the market. Do you feel cornered yet like a trapped rat?

Whats your alternative to gasoline? They have you by the short hairs. Whats your alternative to electricity (burning coal)? They have you by the short hairs. Whats your alternative to the phone? They have you by the short hairs.

That's their goal. They are an automated profit only mind set and they will gobble it all up, and spit us out to die on the streets broke and alone, cold and dying, and they won't give one shit about what happens to you in a shelter and tell you you can't sleep in your car.

The American Dream is their design to capture you like mice to run on the treadmill thinking you might actually join them some day at the billionaires yacht club. Fat chance they don't like to share.

Big business is not your friend, they eliminate jobs, they destroy the competition, they don't pay their taxes, and they covet the poor labor markets overseas. They are designed to gobble up everything for themselves and get away with as much as they can because overhead and taking responsibility for their actions eats meagerly into their bottom line. Ultimate money making efficiency is all they care about sorry about the toxins and the cancer and the pollution and the corruption and the stealing and the destruction of democracy.

In less than 250 years - shameful.

Millionaire politicians voting to lower their own tax rates and you don't get its us against them? Left right is just to keep the middle class squabbling amongst themselves. Its called divide and conquer. Hold your politicians accountable.

Big government is the only cop on the beat and big multi-national is trying desperately to weaken it, make it smaller and completely buy it off. They are so close they can taste it.

The Wisconsin protesters are the real patriots.

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

~ Abraham Lincoln

Yet in December, the Republicans in Congress forced us to extend tax cuts for the rich for two more years, at the cost of $70 billion a year. And now, they want to cut social services by . . . $70 billion a year. Here are some of their cuts, to pay for more tax cuts for the rich:

They want to cut Community Health Centers, which provide care to 3 million patients, by 46%.

They want to lay off all food inspectors for 30 to 45 days.

They want to eliminate the COPS program, and lay off over 1000 police officers.

They want to cut Title 1 education funds, laying off 17,000 teachers and aides.

They want to cut 200,000 children from the Head Start preschool program.

So there it is: tax cuts mean school cuts. And health cuts. And safety cuts. This is the Republicans’ jobs program: lay off thousands and thousands of workers.

George W. Bush cut taxes on the rich. Bush Jr. added $4 trillion to the federal debt, and vaporized 20% of our national wealth in the last 18 months of his administration.

Ronald Reagan cut taxes on the rich. Reagan added $1 trillion to the federal debt, and turned America from the largest creditor nation into the largest debtor nation.

Corporate tax dodgers need to pony up. Making corporate tax dodgers pay their fair share would make cuts to state budgets unnecessary.

We're already paying enough. In fact, you pay more money in taxes than many well-known U.S. corporations.

We're not broke. Governments Are Cutting Budgets and Jobs When They Should Be Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes.

"If all earnings were subject to the payroll tax, but the base was retained for benefit calculations, the Social Security Trust Funds would remain solvent for the next 75 years."

In a party-line vote the House voted 3-2 to instruct the House general counsel to get the ball rolling on a legal defense of DOMA. John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthey voted in favor while Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer voted against the proposal. Doesn't your heterosexual marriage feel safer now?

Inside Job - Only Jail Time Will Enable The Politicians To Make Changes

Finally watched this documentary last night and I literally got sick to my stomach. I kid you not I'm still a little queasy today. Like the model American I am I have my hard earned money invested through 401K's, 403B's, mutual funds, stocks and bonds. I'm devastated that the sociopaths and douche bags are in charge not only of Wall Street but our Government. We have to fix congress and get the money out. Our representatives aren't bold enough to not care about getting re-elected. Nothing will be done until the old moniker "the guy with the gold makes the rules" is abolished permanently.

Because the guy with the gold is a sociopath, type A know it all, douche bag, who laughs at ripping grandma off, and who gets the same rush out of making money as gamblers and cocaine addicts. Science backs that claim up.

I was more than blown away by the colossal stupidity in playing both ends against the middle and blowing the middle up. The Wall Street madmen bet against both sides of the investment community, rated crap investments triple AAA, and then insured themselves against the crappy investments failure. It was a money making scheme that let them collect fees up front for the investments and then collect insurance money on the back end after the failure.

Then after they destroyed their companies they went home. So much for having a fiduciary responsibility to your clients, and stockholders. The CEO's skimmed millions and billions off the top and bottom, pocketed the money and then walked away. Most of them went back into academia at leading institutions like Columbia, Harvard and Berkley, and went back to teaching the art of the rip off to a new batch of students.

Some of them revolved right back into politics and now advise the current administration on economic policy.

You can be sure that there will be no significant regulatory change or policing of the industry as long as they are ALIVE.

Unless Congress and the political system is changed Wall Street owns our ass and they will continue to act like charlatans until they start going to jail in large numbers,and the public financing laws are changed. Until then the politicians can not act for fear of being blown out of office by the overwhelming amounts of money these guys, and their institutions, and lobbyist command.

Jail, prosecution and handcuffs are the only way to clear the way for new legislation. If these guys aren't thrown in jail we won't be able to change the laws. Since they want to continue raping the country, and stealing our wealth they will not stand idly by while regulations are put in place or restored.

Prosecution and jail is the only way to change the system...Eric Holder are you listening? Not as long as Larry Summers is on the White House staff.

I am in talks with my investment adviser right now about moving all of my funds out of the United States. The European Union has passed the regulations the United States can't. Because the guilty are in charge of the policy makers.

Watch the movie - now. Stop what you are doing and go over to NetFlix and put it at the top of your que or stream it but watch it, get educated, and then get active.

Here and Here

Otherwise it is just going to happen again and probably sooner than latter.

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

~ Josh Billings

A move by farmers in developing countries to ecological agriculture, away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, could double food production within a decade, a UN report says....

Republican lawmakers who have lambasted state workers have actually benefited from honest-to-God wasteful government largess. At least three Republican Senators in the Badger State have applied for, and received, hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal farm subsidies. From 1995 through 2009, Sens. Luther Olsen, Dale Schultz and Sheila Harsdorf had received between $315,000 to $342,000 in taxpayer subsidies.

"It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much."
- Yogi Berra

"Alan Simpson ramped up his attack on entitlements today, probably because some neighborhood kids were skateboarding in front of his driveway..." - HuffPostHill

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.

Jack Kornfield

Opec minister Mohammad Ali Khatibi had told the Reuters news agency that there was "no shortage in the market" and "no need for further Opec supply". He added: "But the consumers (speculators - commodity traders) are worried, this is psychological."

Charlie Sheen's response to his firing form 2 and a half men, "This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge (his nickname for his home) because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at whatshisc**k again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension." Charlie sheen rules - stay alive dude and keep stickin' it to the man!

Financial Services Committee Chairman (!) Spencer Bachus addressed the Institute of International Bankers, offering tips on how they might best accomplish their agenda on the Hill, Shahien Nasiripour reports. Undoing swipe fee reform won't get past Dick Durbin in the Senate, he advised, but they might succeed in stripping Elizabeth Warren's power to run the consumer protection bureau and replace her with a commission -- ideal for getting nothing done. "I think the Senate and House could come to an agreement to form a commission" to run the CFPB, Bachus said.

God not only plays dice with the universe, but he cheats.

Stephen Hawking

There is only one religion though there are a hundred versions of it.

~ George Bernard Shaw

The Wall Street Journal reports -- "Conservatives in Wisconsin are getting nervous that three Republican state senators may defect on the collective-bargaining reform vote."

Today just 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined - http://ping.fm/7Ci6e

The Republican budget would destroy 700,000 jobs, according to an independent economic analysis.

Congressional Research Service REMINDER: "If all earnings were subject to the payroll tax, but the base was retained for benefit calculations, the Social Security Trust Funds would remain solvent for the next 75 years."

Texas Republicans want the government to quit regulating your life, which is why they're defining what life is and subsequently regulating its gestation in your womb

It just came to light that so-called "Citizens United", was the driving force in paying for and running ads to promote the confirmation of Thomas to the Supreme Court. Impeach Thomas Action Page: http://ping.fm/2LEPC

Bank of America, a firm which in spite of receiving $45 Billion in tax payer bailout funds in 2008 and 2009, and billions in profits, has paid no taxes in the last two years.

. . . there is no urge in the astrological, in the vocational, in the hereditary or the environmental which surpasses the will or determination of the entity . . . it is true there is nothing in heaven or hell that may separate the entity from the knowledge or from the love of the Creative Force called God, but self.

Edgar Cayce Reading 5023-2

If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.

~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Yesterday, 236 House Republicans joined 13 Democrats to vote down a motion to end taxpayer-funded subsidies for Big Oil, which would have saved the American people tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. (bought and sold - what a moronic decision)

Giving is the secret of abundance.

~ Swami Sivananda

Rupert Murdoch has exploited his vast media empire to push war in Iraq, elect George W Bush, spread resentment of muslims and immigrants, block global action on climate change, and undermine democracy by viciously smearing politicians who refuse his orders.
http://ping.fm/Ee8GB

Judging from their proposed budget, House Republicans would prefer to have Wall Street firms, billionaire CEOs and corporate lobbyists writing the rules instead of playing by them.

Tweet of the day from Stephen Colbert: “@StephenAtHome: The Koch brothers don't want to be dragged into the light of day. That's why they work so hard to blot out the sun.”

Several Wisconsin republican senators are vulnerable to recall "NOW"

In Indiana, an official in the state Attorney General’s office says he wants to “use live ammunition” against peaceful protesters.

The Hindu god Shiva is said to have enjoyed smoking cannabis.....

A Public Policy Polling survey of Wisconsin voters indicates that if given the chance to redo November's elections, they would vote for Walker's opponent, Tom Barrett. If an election were held today, Barrett would defeat Walker 52 percent to 45 percent, according to the firm's findings. Most of this change stems from a sharp decline in support from union families (go figure) who would vote against Walker by 31-points, up from 14 in November. The good news for Walker is that a good chunk of that 17 point drop is camped outside his office building at this very instant. So if he acts now he can avoid a tiresome statewide campaign swing in one fell swoop