How can we take it back?

[Sandie33]

BTW

Went to the grocery store to pick up a prescription yesterday and there were two guys out front with clipboards petitioning something.
As I approached one of them asked if I would like to sign...so he began to explain what it was - “It’s so Men who look like Women, and Women who look like Men, have to use the bathroom of their born sex.
So I said - “So it’s a petition to discriminate against transgender people?”
Guys stares blankly at me...”it’s so Men, who look like Women...”
“I see, so the military service I did to protect the freedoms of everyone, was just for those who you think are acceptable to receive it?
I rolled my eyes and waved him off as I walked past him and his pal.

Don’t people have better things to do with their time than to try and make the lives of those who already have an extra difficult time - even more difficult and marginalized.
Fuck that.
The guy mumbled something about protecting our women and children.
Yeah...a perv is going to go into whatever bathroom he wants to if he wants to be a perv and being transgender doesn’t make you a perv.
Yet this group them in with the pervs.
Not okay with me.
All their bill would do, would give their bigotry and hate some kind of justification to discriminate - judgements that a good “Christian” would and should leave to a higher power according to their own doctrine.
We have children living in cars here in the US.
We have children who go to bed hungry.
Elderly that go to bed hungry and unable to afford their medications.
We have crumbling infrastructure.
65,000+ bridges in the US are deemed “unsafe”.
On an average day, 93 people are killed by guns in the US.
We have people without healthcare who are dying unnecessarily.
But somehow, according to these assclowns, trans people in bathrooms supersedes all those other issues that need addressing obviously.
Treat others how you wish to be treated.
How much hate do you have in your heart to have to go out and actually petition something like this?
Very sad...karma will come back to them.

Well said!!
I wouldn't have signed their damn petition either! It amazes me, and I'm sure many others, how many people do such things from a knee-jerk reaction of the fear of the unknown. Solution: get to know 'it', in this case it the fear involved when referring to all the wonderful and caring souls comprising the transgender community. It is a worthy shame that the crash and bash prejudicial mindset of many will continue to stomp civial liberties of all type until these biased mindsets are squashed themselves....but wait, putting hand to ear, you hear that? These folks clambering that it is their right to be prejudicial and hateful the same as our right being loving and accepting...how the hell do we win that fight?

 

[Skarekrow]

Well said!!
I wouldn't have signed their damn petition either! It amazes me, and I'm sure many others, how many people do such things from a knee-jerk reaction of the fear of the unknown. Solution: get to know 'it', in this case it the fear involved when referring to all the wonderful and caring souls comprising the transgender community. It is a worthy shame that the crash and bash prejudicial mindset of many will continue to stomp civial liberties of all type until these biased mindsets are squashed themselves....but wait, putting hand to ear, you hear that? These folks clambering that it is their right to be prejudicial and hateful the same as our right being loving and accepting...how the hell do we win that fight?

They can hate and be as prejudicial as they want....but they cannot pass legislation to fit their religious moral viewpoint.
End of story.
Be a dick...but don’t try to make it a law that everyone has to be a dick too.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

And here is our “Asshole of the Day”.

 

[Skarekrow]

"I got into a car wreck on my way to work and was sent by ambulance to the hospital.
I had two fractured ribs and a concussion.
I reached a manager from the hospital, who said it would be ok, and I came into work the next day with wrapped ribs and a concussion.
The front [end] manager then said that they wouldn't accept the doctor's note from the hospital, and they fired me for missing that day."

Walmart needs to accept doctor's notes now, sign on if you agree: united4respect.org/sickhappens

'I just don't call out sick anymore at all’:
New report says Walmart punishes employees for taking sick days

http://www.businessinsider.com/advo...6/#i-just-dont-call-out-sick-anymore-at-all-1​

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

USA Plunges To 114th 'Most-Peaceful' Nation On Earth

by Tyler Durden
Jun 8, 2017 2:45 AM

The 2017 Global Peace Index was released last week and it found that the world has actually become a slightly safer place during the past year. However, as Statista's Niall McCarthy notes, the divisive presidential election in the United States and its fallout has resulted in peace levels in North America deteriorating.

161 countries were analyzed in the index and the U.S. actually experienced the greatest decline in peace out of all them, plummeting 11 places to 114th most-peaceful country.



You will find more statistics at Statista

Iceland was named the world's most peaceful country with New Zealand and Portugal coming second and third respectively. Unsurprisingly, Syria is has the lowest peace rating worldwide.

Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen also find themselves at the very bottom of the peace list.

According to the index, global violence in 2016 came to $14.3 trillion in purchasing power parity terms, equivalent to 12.6 percent of the world's GDP or $1,953 for every person.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-07/usa-plunges-114th-most-peaceful-nation-earth


Short-term trends are not informative in my view. That the US is 114th most peaceful country no surprise given all your foreign invasions, health policy, crime policy, corruption and other stuff.

Iceland is on top because they put criminal bankers in jail, or what?

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Kansas abandons massive tax cuts that provided model for Trump's plan

• State legislature rolls back Republican governor’s ‘terrible experiment’
• Deep cuts had left the state with a $1bn budget hole and low growth

Kansas governor Sam Brownback championed the cuts as a measure to spur growth – but they have left the state with a $1bn hole in its budget. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP

Wednesday 7 June 2017 16.42 BST Last modified on Wednesday 7 June 2017 17.01 BST

Kansas has rejected the years-long tax-cutting experiment that brought its governor, Sam Brownback, to international attention and provided a model for the Trump administration’s troubled tax plans.

In a warning shot to the Trump administration, even Brownback’s fellow Republicans voted to override his veto of a bill to reverse many of the tax cuts he championed as a way to spur entrepreneurs and the economy, but which have left the state with a $1bn hole in its budget.

Starting in 2012, Brownback’s plan has been to “march to zero” – cutting taxes wherever possible in the belief that the money Kansans saved would flow into the wider economy and drive growth. The governor was advised by Arthur Laffer, the economist who inspired Ronald Reagan’s “trickle-down” economic theory. So radical was his plan that critics called Kansas “Brownbackistan”.

State Democrats and local critics were delighted that Brownback’s plan had finally hit the rocks after earlier attempts to overrule the governor’s veto had failed. Senator Tom Holland, of Baldwin City, cheered the end of “Sam’s march-to-zero madness”.

Judith Deedy, a mother of three from Johnson County who has campaigned against the cuts she blames for an escalating crisis in the state’s school system, said she was “delighted” by the news. “It just didn’t work. This was a terrible experiment that has left our state unable to do what it is supposed to do,” she said.

Brownback’s defeat means the state will end a tax cut for limited liability companies (LLCs) and so-called pass-through businesses – which meant independent business owners and farmers would pay no state tax on the bulk, if not all, of their income. That tax plan is similar to the pillar of Trump’s tax proposal. After it was brought in, the number of LLCs in Kansas leapt from 190,000 to over 300,000 and tax revenues plummeted, but the rate of jobs growth in Kansas has lagged that of its neighbors.

In an interview with the Guardian last month, Laffer defended his theories and said the problem was Brownback had not gone far enough. “When you put an atomic bomb on a place, it will materially change the place – but a cherry bomb probably won’t change the buildings or anything else,” he said.

Under the new tax plan, legislators expect to raise $1.2bn in new revenue over two years to close projected budget shortfalls totaling $889m through June 2019, and also provide additional funds for public schools.

The conservative Republican governor still touts the income tax cuts enacted in 2012 and 2013 as pro-growth policies. But voters soured last year on the governor’s policies, ousting two dozen of his allies from the legislature and giving more power to Democrats and moderate Republicans who then backed this year’s tax increase. The legislature’s action leaves his main political legacy in tatters.

[...]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/07/kansas-tax-cuts-sam-brownback-trump-plan


As though the tax cuts did not go far enough. The tax-cut genie is back in the bottle and we are not letting it out again.

 

[Skarekrow]

USA Plunges To 114th 'Most-Peaceful' Nation On Earth

by Tyler Durden
Jun 8, 2017 2:45 AM

The 2017 Global Peace Index was released last week and it found that the world has actually become a slightly safer place during the past year. However, as Statista's Niall McCarthy notes, the divisive presidential election in the United States and its fallout has resulted in peace levels in North America deteriorating.

161 countries were analyzed in the index and the U.S. actually experienced the greatest decline in peace out of all them, plummeting 11 places to 114th most-peaceful country.



You will find more statistics at Statista

Iceland was named the world's most peaceful country with New Zealand and Portugal coming second and third respectively. Unsurprisingly, Syria is has the lowest peace rating worldwide.

Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen also find themselves at the very bottom of the peace list.

According to the index, global violence in 2016 came to $14.3 trillion in purchasing power parity terms, equivalent to 12.6 percent of the world's GDP or $1,953 for every person.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-07/usa-plunges-114th-most-peaceful-nation-earth


Short-term trends are not informative in my view. That the US is 114th most peaceful country no surprise given all your foreign invasions, health policy, crime policy, corruption and other stuff.

Iceland is on top because they put criminal bankers in jail, or what?

Surprised we aren’t last considering the discontent we have sown around the world.

 

[dang]

Every American needs to watch and think about this song and video before the next election. It was prophetic.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Thursday, June 15, 2017
Common Dreams
In 'Significant' Win for Water Protectors, Judge Orders Review of DAPL Permits
"We applaud the courts for protecting our laws and regulations from undue political influence and will ask the court to shut down pipeline operations immediately," said Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II
Jake Johnson, staff writer

"This decision marks an important turning point," said Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice. (Photo: Joe Brusky/flickr/cc)

Water protectors celebrated a "very significant victory" on Wednesday as a federal judge deemed safety evaluations of the Dakota Access Pipeline insufficient and ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to "reconsider" its analysis of the risks the crude oil pipeline poses to the environment and the public.

In a 91-page ruling (pdf), U.S. District Judge James Boasberg declared that the Corps "did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline's effects are likely to be highly controversial."

While acknowleging the ruling—which resulted from a lawsuit filed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe—as a partial victory because the judge did not order the oil flow stopped, Native American tribes and activists across the country deemed it a substantial win nonetheless.

BREAKING: Court finds that Trump admin approval of Dakota Access Pipeline violated the law https://t.co/h5HrTdSsL1 #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/dFHjescBMB

— Earthjustice (@Earthjustice) June 14, 2017

JUST IN! Court rules that Dakota Access Pipeline needs further environmental review. @IENearth https://t.co/lbSy0Yagmx #NoDAPL

— 350 dot org (@350) June 14, 2017
Federal court: Dakota Access & Army Corps violated the law. Status conference next week to determine remedies. SHUT IT OFF. #NoDAPL

— tara houska (@zhaabowekwe) June 15, 2017

Huge news! We may kill that black snake after all!!! #nodapl #StandingRock https://t.co/Kx4FuGYnla

— Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) June 15, 2017
"The previous administration painstakingly considered the impacts of this pipeline, and President Trump hastily dismissed these careful environmental considerations in favor of political and personal interests," said Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II in a statement. "We applaud the courts for protecting our laws and regulations from undue political influence and will ask the court to shut down pipeline operations immediately."

Jan Hasselman, an attorney for Earthjustice, said the ruling should not be downplayed as merely exposing "minor, paperwork transgressions."

"This decision marks an important turning point," Hasselman said. "Until now, the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have been disregarded by the builders of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Trump administration—prompting a well-deserved global outcry. The federal courts have stepped in where our political systems have failed to protect the rights of Native communities."

Shortly after entering office, President Donald Trump made clear he would do everything he could to ensure the $3.8 billion project moves forward. As environmental groups feared, the pipeline almost immediately began to spring leaks.

The judge's ruling on Wednesday represents the "first legal victory" for those looking to cease the oil flow before more damage is done.

"We've been saying the Environmental Analysis was not in line with the law, and that based on treaty rights, this project should never have been built," Joye Braun, Cheyenne River Lakota community organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, said in a statement. "While we wish the flow of oil would be stopped until the hearings are completed, we trust that through prayer and continued vigilance we will stop the flow of oil and make Energy Transfer Partners and this administration keep fossil fuels in the ground."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...r-protectors-judge-orders-review-dapl-permits


The black snake is nearly dead. This is wonderful news.

The DAPL pipeline is leaking. This issue needs to be addressed by the courts.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Common Dreams
Involuntary Manslaughter Charges for Top State Health Official for Role in Flint Water Crisis
Advocacy group says new charges boost call for governor to resign
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Michigan's top health official was among five people charged with involuntary manslaughter for their role in the Flint water crisis. (Photo: Flint Rising/ Facebook)

Michigan's attorney general announced Wednesday that the head of the state's health department and four others have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for their role in the years-long Flint water crisis.

Nick Lyon, director of Michigan Health and Human Services, "failed in his responsibilities to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Flint," state AG Bill Schuette said at a press conference Wednesday.

A press statement from Schuette's office alleges that Lyon waited a year before alerting the public about the outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease as a result of the crisis, an act that led to the death of 85-year-old Robert Skidmore. He also thwarted an independent researcher from investigating the cause of the outbreak, the statement says.

Lyon was also charged with misconduct in office.

The others now slapped with involuntary manslaughter charges are former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley; former City of Flint Water Department Manager Howard Croft; Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's Drinking Water Chief Liane Shekter-Smith; and Water Supervisor Stephen Busch.

Those four, the Detroit News reports, "had been charged with less-serious crimes during the past year."

NPR writes: "More than a dozen former state and city officials have been criminally charged in connection with the Flint water crisis," and thus far, "Lyon and Wells are the highest-ranking state officials to be charged."

According to Lonnie Scott, executive director of advocacy group Progress Michigan, the new charges stemming from Schuette's investigation "show that the failure in Flint lies squarely at the feet of Governor Rick Snyder."

"Now that these charges have been levied against a top cabinet official, we renew our call for Governor Rick Snyder to immediately resign," Scott added

Yet Snyder, who on Wednesday offered a statement in support of Lyon and Wells, continues to evade accountability.

The Washington Post reports:

" Schuette on Wednesday addressed the pressure he has gotten to charge Snyder, who has heard repeated calls to resign for his appointment of emergency mangers in Flint and the state's delayed and inadequate response there. "

" "We only file criminal charges when evidence of probable cause to commit a crime has been established," Schuette said. He later revealed that investigators have been unable to speak with Snyder about his role in the catastrophe. "We attempted to interview the governor. We were not successful," he said. "

The announcement of the new charges comes a day after Flint activists delivered over 1,000 water bottles to the office of Snyder, each filled with a letter from a Flint resident saying what he or she feels is owed by the governor as a result of the water crisis. One message read: "you owe me clean water and money if not, you schould [sic] go to jail"

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...state-health-official-role-flint-water-crisis

We are waiting for the bigger fish to be caught too. A public apology would be considerate.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

The German Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble

It is not just Jeff Sessions. Skare, you should know that Keebler elves exist in Europe too.

 

[Skarekrow]

The German Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble

It is not just Jeff Sessions. Skare, you should know that Keebler elves exist in Europe too.

Evil Twins...separated at birth....or they are both changelings.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

This is the age of WikiLeaks.​

 

[Professor Snep]

 

[Skarekrow]

This is the age of WikiLeaks.​

Ahhh...Wikileaks is full of shit too man.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Monsanto just patented this beautiful flower which is for sale only to Wall Street brats.​