Weird Enuf Fer Ya? News From Barbaria #134

Jon Stewart takes on a new way corporations have found to dodge taxes

Stephen Colbert looks at the Sarah Palin Channel

• After disagreement, UPS driver hands Georgia man a noose


• While Americans work to make ends meet, here are the real takers in one image


• Get a copy of your latest electric bill, and take five minutes to stop using fossil fuels to power your home, sponsored link from Ethical Electric, America's only progressive power company


• Coca-Cola makes feel-good commercial about modern slavery


• Paying the price for a big garden


• Mother Jones: NRA's top attorney convicted of shooting and killing single mother in 1964


• Bill O'Reilly explains 'the blacks,' the ghetto, the drug war and the 'left'


• Paul Ryan's one crazy trick to hurt all the poor


• Alaska fisheries in midst of an economic collapse


• Megadrought: Huge surge of Pacific heat fails to start El Nino, heats planet to three warmest months


• Boehner calls impeachment talk a 'scam started by Democrats'

North Carolina hospital isolates wing for patient who had visited ‘high-risk’ country

GOP candidate Jody Hice: Christians must ‘rise up’ against hypothetical atheists in Congress

‘Palin of the South’ House candidate flees from interview over Obama birth question

Sleeping 8-year-old Detroit boy shot dead in suspected domestic violence incident

NRA lobbyist: Anti-gun Jews support policies that could create another Holocaust

Church deacon who blamed Satan for sex abuse may have jail time cut from 20 years to one

Retired federal employees busted for $4 million ‘sovereign citizen’ tax fraud scheme

Family finds ‘sacred’ 300-year-old sunken treasure off Florida’s east coast

Meet Ronda Rousey: The woman who shattered the UFC’s glass ceiling with an armbar

Rick Santorum: Same-sex marriage is to blame for single moms — and polygamy is next

Michele Bachmann accuses Obama of wanting to experiment on immigrant children

Utah man fired after boss complains blog post about homophones made school sound gay

‘There are no wild cows’: Neil deGrasse Tyson slams ‘fear factor’ over GMOs

Obama to Republicans: Stop being mad all the time, stop just hatin’ all the time

Rep. Paul Ryan attacks ‘crony capitalism’: GOP should be pro-market, not pro-business

U.S. Peace Corps withdrawing volunteers due to Ebola virus

Obama has rope-a-doped these GOP clowns hard One image that shows the South really and truly is the region with the most freedom GOP impeachment fleecing scam backfires: They've lost the narrative & maybe a midterm advantage Signature needed: Senate will vote on constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and McCutcheon Third crater found in Siberia: Earth's 'Dragon Breath' is coming to life. Turns out George Zimmerman NOT working as a security guard. Patrolling on his own. The facts are catching up with Scott Walker Cartoon: Surgeon General's Warning: NYPD Steve King manages to attack Obama for birth control, rape and refugee crisis in just one sentence Cartoon: Corporate Sky-Deity Bless America Alaskan fisheries are not collapsing Renegade New York Democrats are already trying to back out of their bogus 'deal' to rejoin the party

Indian Woman Beaten to Death for "Witchcraft." One Of 175 Witches Killed Yearly

Indian Witch Hunting

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/indias-witch-hunt-leaves-children-987131

***

While witch hunts may seem to be dusty relics of a bygone age, the persecution, torture and execution of suspected witches continue in many places to the present day.

The problem is especially palpable in India. Two weeks ago in a small Indian village not far from Nepal, Saraswati Devi, 45, was accused of being a witch after a local mystic identified her as having practiced black magic, reported The Washington Post. Over a dozen villagers beat Devi to death as punishment, while her two children tried to intervene. Though Devi's husband identified her attackers and notified police, no arrests were made, news reports reveal.

Saraswati's is just one of many gruesome witch tales out of India. Some 2,097 individuals have been murdered due to accusations of witchcraft between 2000 and 2012, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau in India, as reported by the Indian newspaper Mint. "Once practiced only by tribal communities, witch hunting is now becoming common among Dalits and other minority communities. The idea of a witch is common across all the affected [Indian] states," the Mint report said. (The Dalits are an oppressed group in India who are considered "untouchables" or "outcasts.")

C.I.A. Admits Penetrating Senate Intelligence Computers

Should we be spying on ourselves?

If whistle blowers were adequately encouraged, there wouldn't be reason for spying, although the CIA is probably the last agency to blow the whistle on malfeasance.

***

Priceless! Watch CIA Director John Brennan lie like a rug.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/politics/cia-spying-senate-apologize/?sr=google_news&google_editors_picks=true

***

WASHINGTON — An internal investigation by the Central Intelligence Agency has found that its officers improperly penetrated a computer network used by the Senate Intelligence Committee in preparing its report on the C.I.A.'s detention and interrogation program.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, a C.I.A. spokesman said that agency’s inspector general had concluded that C.I.A. officers had acted inappropriately by gaining access to the computers.

The statement said that John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director, had apologized to the two senior members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and that he would set up an internal accountability board to review the matter. The board will be led by former Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana.

The statement gave almost no specifics about the findings of the report, written by David Buckley, the agency’s inspector general.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/world/senate-intelligence-commitee-cia-interrogation-report.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

"Shut In" From Tim Showalter's Album, "Heal"

Dear Dan,

Delving deeper into "Ten Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing," I'm struck by Tim Showalter's "Shut In." 

Whereas "Brother, Do You Know The Road" can result in Repetitive Intensity Overdose, "Shut In" flies from the gate and keeps flying right through the end. 

"Shut In" - http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=334080369&m=334437784

Lyrics: http://www.unpopularlyrics.com/strand-of-oaks-shut-in-lyrics.html 

For more info on Showalter's album "Heal" check out: http://strandofoaks.net/about

Here's Showalter's SoundCloud page. https://soundcloud.com/strandofoaks

Pax tecum

Alan

***

Dan's Reply:

Hey Alan,

I meant to thank you for introducing me to NPR's Ten Songs series. I was not familiar with this series, and it is a real treasure-trove! I got lost in the archives last night exploring other Ten Songs, as well as the one you shared. There are, as you say, many songs that "fly from the gates"!

I have been a casual fan of Strand of Oaks, but now I will give Showalter even more attention. He deserves it!

In the spirit of reciprocity, here are a couple of Spotify links for Playlists that I think you will enjoy:

Nnenna Freelon – Blueprint Of A Lady

Spiderbite

The former is a great album by Durham native Nnenna Freelon, the latter is an eclectic playlist that I stumbled across by accident, but one in which Strand of Oaks would be quite at home.

Finally, here is a kick-ass death metal version of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata that will knock your socks off. I think it's amazing!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/29/heavy-metal-beethoven-moonlight-sonata_n_5630251.html

Hope you are enjoying having Maria home again. I'm getting ready to send Anna off in 3 weeks.    :'-(

Best,

Dan

Polls: Hillary Leads Decisively In Key States

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 
speaks at the Bronx Children's Museum on July 25, 2014.

Hillary Clinton leads potential 2016 GOP contenders in Ohio and Florida

By Michele Richinik

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads a number of potential GOP presidential candidates in the swing state of Ohio, according to a new poll.

Residents of the Buckeye State favored Clinton in hypothetical match-ups with possible 2016 Republican contenders, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (46%-37%), Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (48%-37%), and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (46%-42%), according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. She also beat Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich, 47% to 40%.

Ohio is considered a key prize in presidential elections. Clinton won the state during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. President Obama won the state during both his 2008 and2012 general election campaigns. 

The GOP recognizes the importance of clinching the state’s 18 electoral votes. The Republican National Convention has chosen Cleveland as the host city for its 2016 presidential convention. 

More than half – 52% – of Ohio residents hold a favorable opinion of Clinton, a potential contender in the 2016 presidential election, according to the poll. Her approval rating was 92% among Democrats and 14% among Republicans in the poll.

A similar Quinnipiac poll published last week also found Clinton beating all potential 2016 GOP contenders in the battleground state of Florida. 

RELATED: Katy Perry offers theme song to Hillary Clinton

Clinton released her long-awaited memoir, “Hard Choices,” last month among nearly constant speculation about her presidential ambitions. She has been touring the country while promoting the book, which focuses on her time at the State Department.

Earlier this week, the former first lady said she isn’t certain if she will run for office again, but said she thinks it would be “healthy” for the Democratic Party to have a contested primary. Former President Bill Clinton recently said he doesn’t know whether his wife will make a bid for chief executive officer of the United States.

The poll, conducted between July 24 and July 28 among 1,366 adults, also found that only 36% of Ohio voters said they approved of Obama’s job performance. The figure was close to his all-time low of 34% in Quinnipiac polling.

ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES, 7/28/14, 9:39 PM ET

Hillary Clinton makes more 2016 news

Borowitz: Furious at Being Called "Crazy Assholes," Republicans Sue President

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Republicans who were angered to learn on Wednesday that the former I.R.S. official Lois Lerner had referred to them as “crazies” and “assholes” responded later in the day by voting to sue the President of the United States.

“Calling us crazy assholes is insulting, derogatory, and beneath contempt,” House Speaker John Boehner told reporters. “And now if you’ll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I have to go sue Obama.”

Determined to burnish their reputation as extremely sane people who are not assholes at all, House Republicans in their lawsuit accuse the President of “coldly and arrogantly seizing power granted to him by the United States Constitution.”

The lawsuit alleges that “having signed 181 executive orders to date, Barack Obama seems intent on chasing the records of such notorious renegades as Dwight Eisenhower (484) and Theodore Roosevelt (1,081).”

Future Generations Will Despise Ronald Reagan. Here's Why

Ronald Reagan's core message that "government is the problem" unleashed the obstructionism, dysfunction, incivility and decline that characterize contemporary "conservatism." No American president has so corroded America's collaborative purpose. Almost singlehandedly, Ronald Reagan seeded the demise of America's Social Contract and with it the principles of Common Good and General Welfare. 

Future generations will despise this man. 

"How Ronald Reagan Infantilized America"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-ronald-reagan-infantalized-america.htm

"Future Generations Will Despise Ronald Reagan. Here's Why"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/07/future-generations-will-despise-ronald.html

"Reagan Administration Shot Down Commercial Airliner, Then Created Massive Cover-Up"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/07/reagan-administration-shot-down.html

"Ronald Reagan's Shameless Legacy: Violence, The Homeless, Mental Illness"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/09/ronald-reagans-shameless-legacy.html

The Iran-Contra Affair

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/reagan-iran/

"Pax On Both Houses: A Compendium Of Ronald Reagan Posts"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/07/pax-on-both-houses-compendium-of-ronald.html

The above quotations are verbatim.

http://www.allhatnocattle.net/reagan%20quotes.htm

http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/quotethis/a/reaganquotes.htm