From my files & memory lane an old McCain / Palin supporter's portrait

Makes me wonder what she is wearing now.

I always loved Lawrence Wilkerson's honesty...he is on with Rachel right now and said:

paraphrasing:

I cannot tolerate what the Republicans (of which I am one) are doing in working to the detriment of the country just to get rid of this President at all cost.
It will probably be the reason I may have to leave the party in the future.

A magnificent holiday greeting! Indulge yourself and get in the spirit.

NC governor vetoes death-row racial bias bill

NC governor vetoes death-row racial bias bill
By The Associated Press


RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue has vetoed a bill that would have essentially repealed a 2009 law designed to address alleged racial bias in death penalty cases.
Perdue announced her veto Wednesday of the measure that would eliminate key provisions of the Racial Justice Act.
Perdue also signed the 2009 bill into law. It says a judge must reduce a death sentence to life in prison without parole if he determines racial bias was a significant factor to impose the death sentence.
Prosecutors who pushed the repeal said the act would clog up the court system with new appeals, creating a permanent moratorium on capital punishment.
Perdue's decision means she must call the Legislature back to Raleigh by Jan. 8 to consider an override.
 source: AP and
http://www2.journalnow.com/member-center/share-this/print/?content=ar1713507

Can Financial Markets Avoid Collapse? by Danny Schechter

The world's financial system continues to teeter near a very nasty brink, with the United States and Europe disagreeing about how to pull back from the edge.

By Danny Schechter

Earlier this week, comedian Stephen Colbert announced dramatically that there were important developments underway in Europe that we should know about. True to form, Colbert didn't talk about the big problem. His story, ha ha ha, was about a butter shortage in Norway.
We all know that European countries have been wrestling with what to do about saving the Euro. There have been warnings of an economic catastrophe if the Euro falls, and it's plain that the already shaky American economy will take a big hit if it happens.
The drama in Europe seems to be beyond the ability of both comedy and "serious" financial programs to explain. Perhaps it's more of a divine comedy in the Danteian sense, because we are all perched on the edge of a circle of hell that many of us don't want to wrap our minds around.
While many news outlets prefer to recycle endless sound-bites of Newt Gingrich bashing Mitt Romney and vice versa, and as American diplomats seem to be cranking up a war against Iran as if that can save the economy the way World War II pulled us out of the Great Depression, the world economy is tottering thanks to all the debt American firms sold Europeans who then managed it so stupidly and corruptly.

for the rest:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Can-Financial-Markets-Avoi-by-Danny-Schechter-111213-832.html

Polling ability is needed by the Photographers

I know you have your hands full with the new site and all the requests and bug fixes.
I have my hands full with 30 gloriously beautiful entries for the December contest, and I cannot make the polls to run it.

Is there any time table I can pass on to the group?
The photo contests are a visual treat, and people like them, and they would help make the new place feel a lot like home, so please remember that when you schedule priorities.

Thankyou!

Unhinged Chris Matthews Shrieks on show: 'Deadly,' Satanic Newt Gingrich Is a 'Political Killer'

Hardball's Chris Matthews on Monday spewed hatred for Newt Gingrich, excoriating him as voicing "deadly" contempt for Barack Obama. Matthews trashed, "He's a political killer, a gun for hire."

The unhinged Matthews compared Republicans who support the former Speaker to those who would make a deal with the devil. Using violent rhetoric, the MSNBC anchor constructed reasons why conservatives embrace Gingrich: "Because he voices in cold, nasty, deadly tones the words of their contempt, because he's an opportunist ready to seek any route to his opponent's heart and thereby kill it."

little video here:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2011/12/12/unhinged-chris-matthews-shrieks-deadly-satanic-newt-gingrich-politic#ixzz1gNFWw7k5

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2011/12/12/unhinged-chris-matthews-shrieks-deadly-satanic-newt-gingrich-politic#ixzz1gNFWw7k5

Bernie Sanders on the floor: Proposing to amend the Supremes Citizens United decision

December 12, 2011

Saving Our Democracy

By Senator Bernie Sanders

Op-ed from Sen. Bernie Sanders announcing his proposed constitutional amendment to overthrow the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.

::::::::

The Constitution of this country has served us well, but when the Supreme Court says that attempts by the federal government and states to impose reasonable restrictions on campaign ads are unconstitutional, our democracy is in grave danger. That is why I have introduced a resolution in the Senate calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

I did not do this lightly. In fact, I had never done it before. The U.S. constitution is an extraordinary document. In my view, it should not be amended often. In light of the Supreme Court's infamous 5-to-4 decision in the Citizens United case, however, I saw no alternative.

I strongly disagree with the ruling. In my view, a corporation is not a person. A corporation does not have First Amendment rights to spend as much money as it wants, without disclosure, on a political campaign.
Corporations should not be able to go into their treasuries and spend millions and millions of dollars on a campaign in order to buy elections.

The ruling has radically changed the nature of our democracy. It has further tilted the balance of the power toward the rich and the powerful at a time when the wealthiest people in this country already never had it so good. History will record that the Citizens United decision is one of the worst in the history of our country.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G9qZZVqSQdo&noredirect=1


rest of the text

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Saving-Our-Democracy-by-Senator-Bernie-San-111211-20.html

I got up, I opened DU (3) as I must every morning,

AND SUDDENLY
I felt at home again.

Hello everyone, DU family, I think we are settling into our new digs.

Simple Alert to the submitting photographers: "December Contest" is nearly filled

We have 2 more spots open.
I'm a little nervous that considering the change over and the fact that things are not yet "normal" may produce extra submissions, and I would so dislike having to disallow anyone's entry.

So please pay close attention, two more after Alfredo's entry "Being Green", and then we're filled up.
Thanks. I love the entries. Some time in the hopefully near future, when you least expect it, we'll run the contest.