R i g h t a r d i a

This blog is dedicated to progressive and liberal thought. It also discusses new technology, how technology affects privacy and developments in Russia, China, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Rightardia fully supports the rights of workers to organize, the feminist movement, and all Americans regardless or ethnicity, sex or gender.It uses humor, satire and parody to expose conservative thought for what it truly is: BS! Rightardia contributes to the DNC, DCCC, DSCC and MoveOn.Org.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

First realistic simulation of the creation of the Milky Way galaxy

In Stephan Hawking's latest book, The Grand Design, Hawking said:

Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist.

He added:

It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the Universe going.

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7976594/Stephen-Hawking-God-was-not-needed-to-create-the-Universe.html

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Politico: Is Rick Perry smart enough to be prez?

The joke that has been making the rounds about Rick Perry:

He’s like Bush only without the brains!

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Rightardia's Alexa demographics

Our demographics have been consistent. Our readers are primarily male. middle aged (45-64) and are over represented with graduate education. We are also over-represented by people in the $30,000 to $100,000 income range.

This suggests our readers are members of that mythological Democratic elite the GOP talks about.

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DCCC: Florida congressman complains about his $174,000 salary

During a town hall meeting yesterday, Representative Steve Southerland (FL-02) complained that his $174,000 a year salary was “not so much” even though his salary is nearly four times more than a typical Florida family or a local police officer’s salary.

Adam Hodge of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee noted, “While he’s complaining about only making $174,000, his constituents are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their head or find a job.”

Southerland went on to tell his constituents that “this job doesn’t mean that much to me” and claimed his salary “would not seem so high” given that “they’re shooting at us.”

Background:

Typical Florida Family Earned $44,500 in 2009. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income was $ 44,755 in 2009. [US Census Bureau Fast Facts, accessed 8/25/11]

Typical Tallahassee Police Patrol Earned $45,081. The median police patrol officer’s salary was $45,081 in Tallahassee, Florida 32308. [Salary.com, accessed 8/25/11]

Southerland Said $174,000 Salary “Not So Much.” “U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland told retirees Wednesday that serving in Congress is a great honor and privilege, but not cushy job with lavish insurance and pension benefits that many disgruntled taxpayers seem to think it is. He added that ‘if you took the hours that I work and divided it into my pay,’ the $174,000 salary would not seem so high.” [Florida Capital News, 8/25/11]

Southerland’s Previous Salary Was $92,000. For calendar year 2010, Southerland reported making $91,917 from Southerland Funeral Homes and Forethought Life Insurance Company. [2011 Southerland Personal Financial Disclosure, filled 6/3/11]

This is an ironic admission form a Republican because the GOP has been stoking anti-government fires for a long time with the "government is the problem" rhetoric and taxes are too high.

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Michele Bachmann featured in Russia Today

Cartoons — Michele Bachmann says the Soviet Union is a threat to America

What people recognize is that there’s a fear that the United States is in an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward.
--M. Bachmann

Of course, the Soviet Union was disbanded 20 years ago when St. Reagan drove out all of the communists from Russia!

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Cheney interview offers a convincing portrayal of an arch-fascist

Dick Cheney was interviewed last night about his memoirs on NBC News. Matt Lauer also interviewed him this morning. Cheney was unrepentant about waterboarding, but there is little evidence that water boarding produced any useful intelligence.

In fact, the ineffectiveness of waterboarding is echoed in numerous articles on this topic.

"I doubt ... that what we regard as torture -- waterboarding -- actually produced information that was instrumental" in preventing terrorist attacks.

--Kim Howells, a former chairman of Britain's Intelligence and Security Committee

Cheney was apparently not an admirer of Condoleeza Rice or Colin Powell. Cheney did not explain his dislike for Rice, but considered Powell disloyal.

There were reports prior to the hostilities that Powell was against the invasion of Iraq as were many flag officers in the Pentagon. These generals and admirals were told to sit down and shut up or to retire. probably by Donald Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld was never popular as Secretary of Defense and many retired generals who had served in the middle east called for him to resign due to his authoritarian style.

Cheney continued to blame the justification for the war on an intelligence failure and conceded there were not WMDs in Iran, but the invasion was the "right thing to do."

Rightardia has pointed out that intelligence failures seems to plague GOP administrations, but are rare in Democratic administrations.

There is evidence that neo-conservatives had planned to invade Iraq prior to the election of GW Bush.

In fact, President Bush and his cabinet were planning a premeditated attack on Iraq to secure 'regime change' even before they took power in January 2001.

The blueprint called for the creation of a 'global Pax Americana' was drawn up for Dick Cheney (now vice- president), Donald Rumsfeld (defence secretary), Paul Wolfowitz (Rumsfeld's deputy), George W Bush's younger brother Jeb and Lewis Libby (Cheney's chief of staff).

The document, entitled Rebuilding America's Defences: Strategies, Forces And Resources For A New Century, was written in September 2000. Its authors were the neo-conservative think-tank Project for the New American Century (PNAC).

Dick Cheney had been working on a plan to "restructure the middle east" for 10 years. Undoubtedly, Cheney was the chief architect of the plan.

The Iraq debacle was a political failure, not an intelligence failure. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost the US taxpayer $4 trillion.

source: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1221.htm

See http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?268077-British-Intelligence-Bush-is-Wrong-Waterboarding-Produced-No-Useful-Information

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WIN: U.S. Has Lost Ground Since Dr. King Was Alive- 08/30/11

8/29/2011

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka says in many ways the U.S. has lost ground since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive. Jesse Russell reports.

This weekend Washington DC played host to the National Symposium on Jobs, Justice, and the American Dream. The symposium was held at the headquarters for the AFL-CIO and was intended to coincide with the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The unveiling of the memorial was originally scheduled for Sunday, but due to Hurricane Irene it was postponed. The symposium still went on as scheduled. AFLCIO President Richard Trumka spoke at the symposium. He said over the last few years the United States has lost ground on achievements reached during King’s lifetime. He noted the national unemployment rate which is twice what it was when King marched on Washington DC.

[Trumka]: We live in a country less economically equal than in Dr. King’s time, jobs are scarcer, its harder to go to college, and the right to a voice on the job has largely been taking away from workers.

The new date for the official dedication of the memorial will be in September or October.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka says in many ways the U.S. has lost ground since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive. Jesse Russell reports.

The unveiling of the memorial was originally scheduled for Sunday, but due to Hurricane Irene it was postponed. The symposium still went on as scheduled. AFLCIO President Richard Trumka spoke at the symposium.

He said over the last few years the United States has lost ground on achievements reached during King’s lifetime. He noted the national unemployment rate which is twice what it was when King marched on Washington DC.

Trumka said:

We live in a country less economically equal than in Dr. King’s time, jobs are scarcer, its harder to go to college, and the right to a voice on the job has largely been taking away from workers.

The new date for the official dedication of the memorial will be in September or October.

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Monday, August 29, 2011

The biggest Republican mistake of all

The monolithic Republican party is hardly perfect.

Imagine a Republican president who is going into the next election with a 20 point lead in the polls. He decides that he needs to bug the opposition party's headquarters.

He sends "plumbers" to the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.

The plumbers get caught and the president who was a shoo-in for re-election is forced to resign in disgrace.

Yes, the blunderer was Richard M. Nixon.

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Mediamatters4america: The Big Picture on Acts of God

Uploaded by mediamatters4america on Aug 26, 2011

This week on The Big Picture Walid Zafar details how the earthquake shook out some right-wing nonsense, looks at anti-immigrant misinformation deeply ingrained in the conservative media, and exposes an ego-boosting rally thrown by a former Fox host.

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Internet Weekly Report: The Tea Party Chainsaw Massacre

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Hilbilly Report: Trumka Continues Wake Up Call to Democrats

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO president

Trumka Continues Wake Up Call to Democrats

by: RDemocrat
Fri Aug 26, 2011 at 13:46:04 PM EDT

One thing Progressives have been trying to give Democrats, a wake up call. We are sick and tired of voting for the lesser of two evils simply because we have nowhere else to go. We work our hands to the bone at election time and contribute our hard-earned money. For what??

To be stabbed in the back and treated like the illegitimate stepchild when it is time to fight for policy. We are completely disgusted with the cowardice and complicity that insures that every single time we are the only folks who are not represented . . .

"For too long, we've been left after Election Day holding a canceled check, waving it about-'Remember us? Remember us? Remember us?'-asking someone to pay a little attention to us," recalled AFL-CIO union leader Richard Trumka, who like many union leaders was frustrated with the failure of the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and other needed labor law reforms.

Trumka added:

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've had a snootful of that shit!"

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Britethorn: Evolution Story, Texas style

Uploaded by britethorn on Aug 29, 2011

Gov. Rick Perry (Republican of Texas) and his Science Adviser explain the truth behind evolution, science and Jesus.

http://www.britethorn.com
My apologies to Woody and the rest of the Toy Story Gang from Pixar!

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Rupert's big booboo gets even bigger

Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire has revealed the names of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World staff who authorized the phone hacking, his solicitor (attorney) has confirmed.

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Gawker rates Florida 12th worst state

Florida just edged out Texas, another Southern utopia. Texas was rated 13th worst.

Texas has Rick Perry as governor while Florida has Rick Scott.

It's no wonder that Florida edged Texas. Florida has the least popular governor in the entire nation.

See http://gawker.com/5833941/the-worst-50-states-in-america-day-5?tag=50states

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State of a purple state, Florida

Rightardia was hoping to see an improvement in the Gallup ratings, be we saw this instead. We have noticed that weekend Obama ratings are usually down, but they pop back up by mid-week.

The Intrade prediction market shows the president with a reasonable chance for re-eelction.

The Democrats need to raise the enthusiasm gap it has with the GOP, the GOP is more energized at this time. However, chances of the GOP taking the US Senate are diminishing.

The GOP has been attacking the record of Sen. Bill nelson after Rick Scott's "boy," Mike Haridopolis dropped his senate bid.

Could the Democrats take back the House? The Bohener 112th congress has the lowest rating of any standing congress.

Yes, the Democrats could take it back.

On the state level. Rightardia is wondering how the Florida House and senate races will be conducted under the leadership of Florida Democratic Chairman Rod Smith. The Democrats are having a convention at Disney world in Orlando in October. We hope the convention revs up the Florida Democratic Party.

After years of tinkering with the school system, the GOP has created a mess. Education Week’s latest annual Quality Counts assessment of American education awarded Florida an
80.3 percent grade overall, or a B-minus.

However, Student achievement (scores on national standardized tests): were D-minus and funding per student (compared to the national average) received an F. College readiness was also given an F.

Gov. Rick Scott wants to change the Florida constitution that was written in the 1880s to privatize the Florida public school saystem. Republicans are trying to claim that Florida constitution has an anti-Catholic bias and the public school constitutional provisions are illegal.

Many Floridians don't understand that parents will have to pay for textbooks and school uniforms at a private school, participate in fund raisers and also volunteer a lot of time.

Rightrdia's staffers has been involved in public school for years as well as student recreational volunteer work. Private school volunteer requirements were even more intense.

We are hoping for an anti-incumbency campaign after 13 years of GOP rule in Florida. We hope Rod Smith goes after Gov. Rick Scott, too.
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Americans support tax increases to reduce the deficit and income inquality

Found this link on Dangerous Intersection that sites 19 different polls on this subject.

http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/bruce-bartlett/2292/americans-support-higher-taxes-really

The affluent were heavily taxed during the great Depression to pay for the war and to pull the nation out of the Great Depression.

Of course, it was the affluent who most benefited form the Guilded Age in the 1920s and it was many of the same people who caused the Great Depression. Deregulation and greed were big factors in the depression and the country marched into war and depression under the leadership of three GOP presidents.

A big question is why didn't the the congress and the president fix the tax code when they had the chance while the Pelosi 111th congress was in session?

Were the Democrats timid and afraid of a GOP backlash that occurred anyway? Did Democrats think they could negotiate with the GOP if they kept tax cuts off of the table?

Regardless, the Democrats lost a historic opportunity to fix the nations ills. Instead the Democrats squandered a year on a medical bill that the Supremes may gut out.

Sarah Palin asked a germane question when she said:

How's that hopey, changey thing workin' out for you?

So far Rightardia has been disappointed in the performance of the Democratic Party in Washington DC. Obama may have a real credibility problem with his most ardent supporters, The Progressives, in the next election

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Stephan Colbert likes Rick Perry

Stephan Colbert on the Ames Straw poll in Iowa:

I called dibs on Rick Parry a long time ago," said Stephen Colbert.

Colbert is President and Assistant Equipment Manager for Colbert Super PAC. "

I recognized that he's got the tough talk, the cowboy boots, and the history-of-shooting-coyotes-during-morning-jogs that our country needs. So if anybody is going to be taking unlimited donations and then not be coordinating with his campaign, it's going to be not us. So to prove we're truly uncoordinated, we're asking voters to write in Parry with an A - as in America, IowA, or PresidAnt. You can feel confident he's not asking us to do that.

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Huffington Post: IMF chief suggests GOP economic policies won't fix US economy

Chrstine Lagarde, new IMF Director

JACKSON HOLE, WY. -- The new head of the International Monetary Fund said the U.S. needs to stimulate the economy and fix the housing crisis.

New IMF chief Christine Lagarde, said the United States should reach a "credible" plan to control government debts in the future and also push for stronger economic growth now.

Lagarde added:

Who will believe that commitments to cut spending can survive a lengthy stagnation with prolonged unemployment and social dissatisfaction?

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GOP has the wrong agenda for America

Michelle Bachmann is Sarasota:

I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending.

Was the ongoing economic crises caused by the government or government spending. No, it was caused by greedy mortgage lenders and banks.

Most of the government overspending occurred during the Bush administration and much of it resulted form the middle eastern wars. Half of the debt that has been accrued during the Obama administration was rolled over from the Bush administration.

Will the Republican agenda of tax cuts for the affluent, deregulation and reduced government spending fix the economy? That is very unlikely. The GOP could easily push the country into another depression like it did in the 1930s.

Invoking God won't help either. Rick Perry tried that in Texas during a drought that is still on going.

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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Al Jazeera English: Who funds Muslim-baiting in the US?

According to the Al Jazeera article, the top seven contributors to promoting Islamophobia in the USA are:

Donors Capital Fund

Richard Mellon Scaife foundations

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

Newton D. and Rochelle F. Becker foundations and charitable trust

Russell Berrie Foundation

Anchorage Charitable Fund and William Rosenwald Family Fund

Fairbrook Foundation

Some of them are directly involved with AIPAC. This appears to be an organized conspiracy to defame a religion.

source: Who funds Muslim-baiting in the US? - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

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Washington Whispers: Wrong vacation spot for Obama?

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Saturday, August 27, 2011

Man invented God

John Lennon write these lyrics "no heaven … no hell below us … and no religion too."

In an LA times article, scientists support the conclusion that it was humans who created God, it was not the other way around.

Of interest, ancient priests often use the science of hydraulics and pneumatics to magically open temple doors and to make statutes weep to convince people of a supernatural presence. Of course, this mystical religion always supported the local king and state against the gods in the next village.

Most early religions were polytheistic because each village and city had their own god. When a king gained control over a region, a a pantheon of god and goddesses were incorporated into this regional religion that respected the god of each village.

Monotheism originated in Egypt. Pharaoh Akhenaten abandoned traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, the sun god. Of course, Pharaoh Akhenaten was descended from Aten. This was an early version of the divine right of kings.

Of course, the French discovered it was easy to remove the heads of nobles and kings, so the Divine right of Kings theory quickly fell out of fashion.

Many Christians think Judaism was a monotheistic religion but Jaweh was created by El or Elohim and Jahweh had a wife named Asherah. Asherah was more popular than Jahweh who was a knave so the Israelite priesthood with King Joseph's blessing decided to get rid of her. Poof, Judaism was monotheistic!

Did men invent god? This is more plausible than the myth in Genesis. Most religious texts were written in the Bronze age before logic and science arose. Many Americans hold the ancient Israelites in higher regard than the Greeks who were the true superstars of the ancient world.

The Greeks had their mythology and Gods,too, but they also gave us science and logic.

source: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/18/opinion/la-oe-thompson-atheism-20110718

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