Monthly Archives: March 2011

Tsunami Relief And Preparedness Cut In GOP Budget Proposal

Republicans hate…foreign aid, tsunami preparedness, and accurate weather reporting

Part of the GOP’s plan to “cut the budget” AKA pay for rich people’s tax cuts is to kill the National Weather Service, end foreign aid, and defund the Tsunami Warning system.

You know, the systems the protect us from violent storms and flooding threatening the nation, the means to provide aid to our friends in Japan today and New Zealand last month and whoever tomorrow.

Oh, and also to save lives when dangerous tsunamis birthed far away threaten our shores.

But hey! We can make now make sure Wal-Mart NEVER pays a cent in taxes so they can keep on destroying Mom and Pop grocery and hardware stores across America.

The horrible truth about the Aztecs

People tend to forget that, aside from the ritual sacrifices, the Aztecs – and a lot of other American societies – were WAY more advanced than those of the Europeans “discovering” them. Ulises Silva delves into this here.

The Aztecs had a major city, clean, using nature instead of subverting it. Of course it was buried in mud and made into what is now Mexico City. So much for beauty or cleanliness.

The Iroquois inspired our nation’s founders. Except for the parts involving peaceful resolution to disputes and giving women power.

The Inca fitted together dozens of disparate tribes over a large variety of terrain in ways seemingly impossible.

But they were all savages and deserved to be wiped out, right?

Republicans hate…disabled kids

Granted, conservatives hate the regular Olympics as well. Anything that says Americans should respect and see other nations as equals to us just pisses that kind off.

So it is no surprise that GOP cuts also take aim at eliminating funding for Special Olympics training facilities among other things.

Because, disabled Americans should know – just like minorities, women, and gays – they aren’t equal and shouldn’t think they are in Republican America.

Robert Reich: The Birth of the People’s Party

Robert Reich gets heated up about a lot of things. I always approve of the energy if not always the conclusion. That said, his call for a People’s Party to channel the energy of those opposed to the anti-union halfwits struck me as a bit too wonky.

That said, it is growing on me. I don’t like the comparisons to the Tea Party, that’s just a bunch of racists taking over a pack of folks who want all the benefits and none of the tax responsibility. A mob overwhelming a “me first!” parlor movement isn’t exactly a model to follow.

That said, if you can do this while educating people, staying civil, and following the law, maybe it’s not so bad of an idea.

He follows up with a manifesto to follow that someone sent to him. Okay, fine, a “statement of principles” if you feel queasy about the other term. Whatever floats your boat.

We’ve got a president that truly bends over backwards to listen to his opponents. Even the ones who insult his family and besmirch his patriotism. That’s admirable, but someone needs to call them out for what they are, point out why they are doing what they are doing, and offer reasonable and factual counterpoints and an agenda that doesn’t call for enriching the rich and screwing everyone else.

This country isn’t broke, the money is just piled up in one place. And those folks don’t care about sharing the pain of patriotic responsibility with the rest of us. We fight their wars, pay for their gambling blunders and keep the trade lanes, stores, and networks safe for their profits.

And if a People’s Party can do a better job of getting that message out, then more power to them, please.

Medical Science of the Future…is Here!

So the other days I heard this story about 3D printing of skins and potentially organs.

Pretty neat, huh? I mean, I just want a 3D printer so I can make some toys for Gabriel. I didn’t think you could score a kidney this way.

Here’s a TED lecture on doing just that.

Five boys had urethras grown from their own cells. After six years, all are doing fine.

Of course, our populace has been frightened into electing Republicans again so expect all these scientific advances to go unfunded, be outlawed, or debunked by some “intelligent design” shill. These scientists will be replaced by alchemists trying to finally grow a heart for Cheney that won’t try to self-abort on contact with his slimy soul.