“Congress had hearings for 9 11, for Waco, and for steroid abuse, are the tens of thousands of victims of sex abuse by clergy in the United States any less deserving? I spoke with Jim Robertson, L.A. SNAP leader yesterday, and he told me this is what he plans to say at the event this morning, 11:00, at the Catholic Cathedral downtown L.A. at 555 Temple Street.”
AS IT STANDS my name is Dave Stancliff. I'm a retired newspaper editor/publisher; husband/father, and military veteran. Laker fan for 64 years. This blog is dedicated to all the people in the world. Thank you for your readership!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time
As judged by notoriety, creativity, and number of people duped…
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
Related:
• The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest (full-length article)
A Thursday Morning Primer on America’s Militia Groups
“…people across the militia world, and people like Mark Potok, who tracks extremist groups at the Southern Poverty Law Center, who study it, agree that anxiety within that world is rising — from economic frustrations growing out of the recession, or fear of the Democratic Party leadership in Washington, or both — and that small, outlier groups like the Hutaree are probably the ones to keep on eye on.” Link below:
Militia Draws Distinctions Between Groups
U.S. Agent Infiltrated Militia, Lawyer Says (April 1, 2010)
9th Member of Militia Arrested (March 31, 2010)
Militia Charged With Plotting to Murder Officers (March 30, 2010)
(Video) Homeland terrorism threatens the country
Vatican fights back against pedophile priest accusations
Nothing is going to change in the Catholic Church. It’s continuing to protect pedophile priests, and the Vatican says the pope can’t be tried for their sins as he’s a “Head of State.”
If you’re a Catholic, this must be difficult to process. The man sitting in St.Peter’s throne, the head of the entire church, condones pedophilia. His actions are proving that. Read what he’s saying. So what you think. Here are some links that will help you understand what’s happening:
Best New Catholic Church Defense: It’s not pedophilia if the boys were post pubescent!
How much did the pope know about kiddie-touching priest?
Pope on the Ropes: Your 2010 Papal Scandal Primer
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
How powerful are extreme militia groups today?
Hutaree.com photo above shows trained militia.
Militias more connected than they claim
The common wisdom congealing around the Hutaree story is that the militia members are part of some off-shoot, unique, religious cult that has nothing to do with anything else.
Rachel Maddow scratches the surface of the story with Crooks and Liar’s David Neiwert and finds that common wisdom falls apart.
Nine Michigan Militia members charged with terror plot
Nine members of a violent Michigan militia have been accused of plotting a terrorist attack on law enforcement agents.
“Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and FBI Special Andrew Arena.
Despite doubt, Karzai brother retains power
President Obama recently visited Afghanistan and talked to to their president Karzai about corruption in their government. Karzai said he would work on ending it. His idea of “ending corruption” doesn’t jive with reality. Just look at how rotten his brother is:
Key figure in southern Afghanistan is accused of links to drugs, corruption
What If Fox News Actually Wants Mob Violence?
How easily things get twisted and distorted when a political party has an agenda of “no cooperation.”
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Fox News talkers did their best to trivialize the illegal, terrorist threats made against elected officials, and implied they were deserved.
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Emails: it’s a good idea to question the truth of forwards
Below is an email that is going around right now. It’s one of those “forward this” if you agree with the message.
What I’m curious about is how many people think the information is true in the following email? How many think the writer is totally misinformed?
So what do you think readers?
“For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws.
The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered...in all of its forms. It came out today that the staff that help right this law is exempt as well. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop.”
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
An optical illusion for a rainy day…
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Do you find something unusual in this picture?
If not just move away from the screen and try focusing on the center portion.
Now do you see it?
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Hot Health Care articles in the news today
Photo source- The White House
Insurers agree to fix gap in sick kids’ coverage
New law had been unclear on whether coverage would kick in before 2014
Obama signs health care ‘fixes,’ student aid bill
Measure cuts banks out of the student loan business, costing them billions
How do you get 30 million Americans to sign up for health insurance? With great difficulty.
How Will Health Care Reform Affect You?
A look at how different groups will fare under the new law
Tuesday morning news to you…
Good morning. As I sipped my coffee I accumulated six stories for your inspection. Here’s what happening:
RNC fires staffer over $1,946 topless club visit
The Republican National Committee has fired a staffer who helped organize a $1,946 visit last month to a sex-themed Hollywood club, and the GOP says it will recoup the money from a donor who also participated.
The episode is the latest in a string of questionable spending by the RNC as Republicans prepare for a costly election season in which they hope to take dozens of House and Senate seats from Democrats.
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Fake caviar? Fight against ‘food fraud’ grows
The expensive "sheep's milk" cheese in a Manhattan market was really made from cow's milk. And a jar of "Sturgeon caviar" was, in fact, Mississippi paddlefish.
Some honey makers dilute their honey with sugar beets or corn syrup, their competitors say, but still market it as 100 percent pure at a premium price.
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Study: Magnets can alter morality
Magnets can alter a person's sense of morality, according to a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Using a powerful magnetic field, scientists from MIT, Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are able to scramble the moral center of the brain, making it more difficult for people to separate innocent intentions from harmful outcomes. The research could have big implications for not only neuroscientists, but also for judges and juries.
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Man fleeing Ohio police jumps fence — into prison
Police say a motorist fleeing officers in Cleveland abandoned his car and jumped a fence — landing in what turned out to be a prison yard.
Garfield Heights police say the chase started in that suburb early Monday over a traffic violation and reached speeds of 90 mph
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DNA testing emerges as weapon against cancer
Francis Collins, who helped map the human genome, did not get around to having his own genes analyzed until last summer. And he was surprised by what he learned.
Collins has a predisposition for type-2 diabetes, something he had never suspected. The lanky, former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) discovered this through tests offered by Navigenics, 23andMe and DecodeMe — companies that charge customers a few hundred dollars for a peek at their genetic makeup.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Man arrested for threatening to kill Cantor
House Republican had accused Democrats of publicizing threats for political gain
This proves that extremists on the Left have anger issues too. People like the guy who threatened Cantor seem to believe that violence is the only answer. Make no mistake. There are extremists on both sides of the political spectrum. They’re also getting more dangerous – and bold - every day.
Rhetoric is wreaking havoc in America. Never before has the opposition to our government been so bold. There’s too many people in this country whose idea of “taking the country back” means violence. This isn’t really about political parties. It’s about a growing divide in this nation that may result in the break-up of the union. There’s no doubt that’s what the Neo Confederacy, the Neo Nazis, the Christian Cults that wear Camouflage, the Aryan Nation, the KKK, and the rest of these fringe groups want.
Try to imagine how much these extremists are enjoying watching our two main political parties batter each others with lies and rhetoric. The problem is, they’re no longer sitting on the side waiting. They’re getting motivated by national hate speech’s by both parties. Ever hear the expression: “Waving a red flag in front of a bull?” (BTW-Bulls are color blind. It’s the waving part that angers them!)
Excerpt from the Reuters article.
“WASHINGTON - U.S. authorities have arrested and charged a man with threatening to kill the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, Eric Cantor, and his family, according to court documents filed on Monday.”
ABOVE PHOTO: House Republican Eric Cantor
Feds: Militia members sought to spark uprising
The Faces of Domestic Terrorists - This is the result of inflammatory rhetoric. People start believing that our President is the Anti-Christ, and that all police and government bodies in America are working for the devil. This group is the tip of the iceberg. Don’t be surprised to see more of this kind of thing happen as Tea Baggers call for revolution and other extreme Conservative groups ramp up the hate meter.This is the kind of extremist scum that believes in the destruction of democracy to achieve their own selfish violent ends. Take a good look at them. One day it’s going to be your neighbor if things don’t change. They wanted war, but got caught before they could attack.
They also do it in the name of religion, which is really sick. When people like Sarah Palin call for the rightwing nuts to “Reload” and to “take their country back” this is the result. Mainstream Conservatives are swimming in the same pool as the militias and other radical anti-government groups these days. Unless the rhetoric is toned down, expect to see more of this kind of thing.
Eight arrested, one on the run; they allegedly plotted to attack police
Toxic Chemicals found at military bases and aboard ships poses a serious health threat
From Jim Davis (Veterans-For-Change):
“As most are aware, seen on TV, in the newspapers, and from veteran sites across the country, TCE/PCE is a major issue.
TCE a chemical degreaser used on all bases and board ships is a carcinogenic chemical, and on the many military bases nationwide was disposed of into the ground behind buildings eventually contaminating the ground water and getting into the drinking wells.
Same thing with PCE which is a dry cleaning chemical used both on bases and off base nationwide, also being disposed of into the ground and eventually contaminating the ground water and getting into the drinking wells.
Most recently CNN did a broadcast show highlighting the male breast cancer cluster surrounding Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.
Personally I feel the anchor didn’t bother to do his homework very well, didn’t bring to light all the other medical issues or the families harmed by these chemicals.
There is also currently a bill in committee to award benefits, but in my humble opinion is limited in scope and restrictive to those who served at Camp LeJeune and doesn’t mention any of the 130+ bases nationwide listed on the EPA Superfund list.
Veterans-For-Change has a bill which was drafted back in February 2009 along with a petition to which we’re trying to collect at least 40,000 signatures in order to get either a Senator or Congressman to sign off and present the bill to the floor which will not only address TCE but PCE as well, and opens it up to all military, veterans and family members who served at any base where these chemicals were used and disposed of improperly thereby contaminating all who drank the water or who used the chemicals in their daily jobs.
Veterans-For-Change needs your support desperately to meet the number of signers on the petition. This is NOT an electronic petition, but a hard copy petition. We ask that everyone please go to www.veterans-for-change.com, and if you’re not a member to please subscribe, go to the documents section, then to the TCE/PCE and other Chemicals section and download the petition.
Sign and try to obtain at least 10 more signatures and mail the complete form into our California office ASAP.
Should you have any questions, please click HERE and send us an E-Mail and we’ll be more than happy to reply!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
As It Stands: If the truth sets you free, the Catholic Church is in captivity
Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 03/28/2010 02:26:41 AM PDT
Facts can fracture foundations, but once they are exposed they can also be repaired. The current scandals involving the Roman Catholic pedophile priests in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, the Netherlands and Italy are rocking the church's credibility and stability to the core.
When Pope Benedict XVI recently sent a letter to Ireland apologizing for the chronic child abuse within the Catholic Church, after offering no help to three official Irish investigations that revealed 100 years of abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese and the rural Ferns diocese, he followed the road paved by his predecessors. Over 15,000 victims of sexual abuse by priests have been discovered thus far.
In his letter, the Pope urged priests to confess if they're child molesters, but didn't say what he'd do with them when they did. He mentioned facing the law. But whose law? The Vatican's track record with the church's pedophiles is not very reassuring. The church outright refused to help in the 2001-2009 probes that revealed the scale and longevity of the abuse suffered by Irish children throughout the 20th century.
UPDATE: Web site carrying today’s column (11:45 a.m., PST):
Wayne Seelinger: New Jersey Church Insurance Specialist
UPDATE: Former Eurekan, Kay Ebeling, shares her story of early age abuse in the Catholic Church. Go to her blog City of Angels: Action 2010 for the whole story.
An article (March 27) by her appeared in AlterNet.
Special thanks to you Kay for fighting for justice. Someday, people like you will force changes within the Catholic Church. Someday, they won’t protect pedophiles.
U.S. lawyer takes on Vatican over abuse cases
updated 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
He shared documents with New York Times, sees Ore. lawsuit as critical
Saturday, March 27, 2010
What was the most costly punctuation error in history?
Probably the comma left out of the computer program for NASA's Mariner I Venus probe, which resulted in the craft's destruction.
Want to know some more interesting tidbits? Go here.
How Crazy is the Conservative rhetoric lately? You decide
MMFA President Burns: "Glenn Beck Is The Single Most Dangerous Person In This Country"
No Surprise That Harris Poll Finds Republicans Believe GOP Smears Of Obama
No…Beck doesn’t mean to really riot…or does he? Click link below.
"You Need To Riot": Right-Wing Uses Violent Rhetoric
The Poll Comes After More Than A Year Of Conservative Media Figures Forwarding Outrageous Smears Of Obama... Rush On Harris Poll: "The Facts Are Facts. The President Is A Socialist"
Beck Responds To Passage Of Health Care Reform With Violent Rhetoric... Beck Laughably Denounces The "Politics Of Fear"... Boehlert: Fox News, Health Care, And The Right-Wing Nervous Breakdown
Chaotic politics: how ugly will they get before people realize they are out-of-control?
The so-called “Conservative Woodstock” is happening today at Searchlight, Nevada.
I figure this will produce some great photos like the one on the right. The world will get to see what these wackaloons believe. Hint: Reality is NOT on the agenda. Rhetoric will rule. Note: guy in lower right corner wearing t-shirt that Glenn Beck is his hero! I guess that sums it up. Meanwhile, at least one Tea Party candidate is in trouble with the law.
Nevada tea party candidate facing felony charges
What Happens When Congress Fails to Do Its Job?
“What drove Bayh from office, rather, was that he'd grown to hate his job. Congress, he wrote in a New York Times op-ed, is "stuck in an endless cycle of recrimination and revenge.
The minority seeks to frustrate the majority, and when the majority is displaced it returns the favor. Power is constantly sought through the use of means which render its effectiveness,once acquired, impossible."
Friday, March 26, 2010
What we have here is a failure to communicate
The Burning of Cities Only Exists in Trump's Imagination
Fact versus fiction is in the news today...again. Trump's apocalyptic view that American cities are war zones on fire is right out of a...
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It's hard to believe that so many people viewed this column ( There's a monopoly on marijuana growing & research in America. ...
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If it's Sunday then it's time for As It Stands! Today's column is - Prosthetic ears, thieves, and payback. This, unlike last we...