Liberal Forum

Still laughing at teacher.Sittin here, minding my own bidness, reading. behaving, and then that. Where does that come from?

Sittin here, minding my own bidness, reading. behaving, and then that. Where does that come from?I've got plenty of reasons, but chief among them is the fact that you are a generally funny guy.And while I have your attention, Happy Thanksgiving teach. Edited by Fearlessly Expressive, 22 November 2012 - 09:51 PM.

I've got plenty of reasons, but chief among them is the fact that you are a generally funny guy.And while I have your attention, Happy Thanksgiving teach.Oh, well, that's okay I guess. For a second there I was thinking I was a bad person. Makes sense, now that you've splained it and I thought about it. (And now I gotta say sumpin nice, holiday niceties, I'm not fond of these, I'm more the kinda, "why not everyday" sorta fellow. "Merry Christmas"". Why not "hey, a swell and prosperous August 13th to you?". Yes, I am a curmudgeon. Not in a bad way, I don't think, more like spread all this cheer to all the other days.)*Okay, here we go...Backatchya.*Cept for the 4th of July. That's extra joy. Alcohol, charred dead animal flesh on the grill and explosives. What's not to love?

Florida man shoots and kills 17-year-old teen after argument over loud music at gas station.A Florida man asked a group of teens at a gas station to turn down the loud music blaring from their car and, after an exchange of words, opened fire on the vehicle, killing a 17-year-old boy, authorities said. Michael Dunn, 45, of Satellite Beach, has been charged with murder for the Friday slaying of Jordan Davis, 17, a black high school student from the Jacksonville area. His lawyer said Dunn, who is white, thought he saw a gun and felt threatened during the incident, indicating that he may seek protection under the states controversial Stand Your Ground Law, according to local reports. "Self defense applies because Mr. Dunn was threatened," attorney Robin Lemonidis told CNN. "We can't say what the defense will be at this stage but Stand Your Ground is a possibility." The alleged murder occurred on Friday as Dunn and his girlfriend were traveling to Jacksonville for his sons wedding, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The pair pulled into a gas station parking lot and stopped next to an SUV, which Davis was sitting in with three other teens, authorities said.While his girlfriend was inside the store, Dunn asked the teens to turn down the loud music they were playing, cops said. Davis said something back and there was a heated exchange, authorities said. Dunn then pulled a gun and fired at least eight shots, hitting Davis twice, cops told the Sentinel. Dunn and his girlfriend then left the scene. The Sentinel said the two were staying in a Jacksonville hotel on Saturday when they heard news reports about the teens death and drove back to his home in Satellite Beach. He was arrested at his home on Saturday and charged with murder and attempted murder. He remains in jail after being denied bond on Monday. No guns were found inside the teens car, authorities said. Davis family demanded justice, saying there was no way Dunn fired in self-defense. "He did something that there was no defense for," Ron David, Jordans father, told CNN. The shooting immediately drew comparisons to the murder of Trayvon Martin in February, which sparked protests over Floridas self defense laws and accusations that George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot him, was a racist. Lemonidis said his client was no vigilante.There are no comparisons to the Trayvon Martin situation," Lemonidis told CNN. "(Dunn) is devastated and horrified by the death of the teen." Jordan, who was a student at a magnet school in Duval County, will be buried in his hometown of Marietta, Ga., where his mother lives, according to reports.Dunn and his girlfriend then left the scene.Why? You fire eight shots into a vehicle because you felt threatened, and then just leave the scene?

Complaint filed against Kentucky teacher who wrote 'You can't be a Democrat & go to heaven'.The mother of a Laurel County high school student has filed a complaint against a teacher who wrote "You can't be a Democrat & go to heaven" on her classroom whiteboard. The teacher, Kendra Baker, wrote the statement denigrating Democrats in her room at South Laurel High School the week after the Nov. 6 election, said Mary Gilbert.Gilbert's daughter, Chelsea, 17, was in Baker's psychology class. "I feel like she was bullied by a teacher," Gilbert said of her daughter.Gilbert said she filed a complaint against Baker with the state Education Professional Standards Board, which issues credentials to teachers.Attempts by the Herald-Leader to reach Baker for comment were not successful.Laurel County Superintendent Doug Bennett confirmed Monday that the teacher's actions violated the school district's policy and that the issue had been addressed with her.Bennett declined to confirm the teacher's name or say what had happened to her. However, he said he felt the district's response had been appropriate and is confident there would not be another problem with the teacher, a veteran educator popular with many students."She realizes it's inappropriate," Bennett said of putting the statement on her board.Gilbert said Baker continues to teach, and that she is not satisfied with the district's response.The Kentucky Equality Federation condemned Baker's act in a statement released Monday, which said the group plans to file complaints with state officials.The statement had no place in a classroom, where it could intimidate students or make them feel like their views were less valuable, members of the federation said in the news release.Gilbert said the problem started before Baker wrote the statement on her board. The day after the election, there was discussion in Baker's psychology class about the presidential vote.President Barack Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney, but in Laurel County, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 3 to 1, Romney trounced Obama by a vote of 18,151 to 3,905.During the classroom discussion, Baker made remarks in class against same-sex marriage, Gilbert said.Chelsea Gilbert, an admirer of Obama, told Baker she was offending people, Mary Gilbert said.There are gay students in the class, Gilbert said.Gilbert said Baker responded by telling Chelsea she would someday have to take her parents to the emergency room and watch them die because of the president's health care reform law, commonly called Obamacare.The exchange upset Chelsea, who came home crying, Gilbert said.Gilbert said she called the principal at South Laurel and asked that Baker be required to apologize to Chelsea and other students, but that did not happen.The following Tuesday, Nov. 13, is when Baker wrote the line about Democrats on her board.Baker said she had heard the line from a student, and that it was one of her new favorite quotes, Gilbert said."My daughter was very offended by it," Gilbert said.Gilbert said her daughter did not want to talk with the Herald-Leader about the incident. She recounted what Chelsea told her.Gilbert said she called the superintendent's office the next day, and school officials looked into her complaint.School officials later told her Baker had apologized to Chelsea, but said she had felt Chelsea would be able to take a joke, Gilbert said.Gilbert said Baker apologized to her as well, saying she considered the statement about Democrats a joke and that she put it on her board to share with a colleague and forgot to erase it.Gilbert said she doesn't buy Baker's explanation."I believe it was put up for my daughter's sake," Gilbert said of the statement.Gilbert withdrew Chelsea from school and plans to teach her at home for the remainder of her senior year.Gilbert said she didn't want her daughter to face repercussions or comments because she had complained about Baker, but that it's a shame Chelsea won't be at school to take part in activities her senior year."She's going to miss a lot," Gilbert said.Baker responded by telling Chelsea she would someday have to take her parents to the emergency room and watch them die because of the president's health care reform law.No, that's what happens to people without health insurance.This POS has no place in a classroom.

Dunn and his girlfriend then left the scene.Why? You fire eight shots into a vehicle because you felt threatened, and then just leave the scene?His lawyer said Dunn, who is white, thought he saw a gun and felt threatened during the incident, indicating that he may seek protection under the states controversial Stand Your Ground Law, according to local reports.It works for cops.

Grover Norquist's Budget Is Largely Financed by Just Two Billionaire-Backed Nonprofits Grover Norquists iron grip over much of the Republican Party is somewhat puzzling. Why should Senators and other lawmakers listen to a guy caught laundering money for Jack Abramoff? But consider Norquists tax pledge and political power another way: that hes just a proxy for the powerful interest groups that finance him. In the nineties, it was big tobacco that used Norquists tax pledge as a cover to lobby lawmakers against cigarette taxes (Norquist still uses an e-mail system donated to him by Altria to send out Tea Party action alerts against tobacco taxes). Now, big PhRMA and other industry groups provide grants to Norquist while his foundation endorses other giveaways, like protectionist support against importing cheaper drugs from Canada and the classification of tax subsidies to refineries as tax cuts that must not be cut. I took a look at the last available budget numbers for Americans for Tax Reform, Norquists group. Though they do not reveal their donors, we can cobble together much of Norquists donors using foundations and other nonprofits that donate money to him. The disclosures show that only two billionaire-backed groups have provided over 66 percent of Norquists funding: The Center to Protect Patients Rights donated $4,189,000 to Americans for Tax Reform in 2010, 34 percent of the groups budget that year. Crossroads GPS donated $4,000,000 to Americans for Tax Reform in 2010, 32.46 percent of the groups budget that year. The Center to Protect Patients Rights is the foundation used by the billionaire clique led by the Koch brothers to distribute grants to allied groups. In 2010, wealthy moguls like Steve Bechtel of Bechtel Corporation and Steve Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group met behind closed doors to help lend money to these types of efforts. Crossroads GPS is the undisclosed group run by Karl Rove. The only known donors are folks like Paul Singer, the vulture hedge fund king who benefits enormously from tax strategies like the carried interest loophole. Norquists pledge largely benefits billionaires like Singer and Schwarzman, who pay almost nothing in payroll taxes and likely pay a lower rate than their secretaries. When Norquist promises consequences for the few GOP members willing to break with his pledge, what hes really saying is that his donor network will retaliate with attack ads and money for primary challenges. So as our country descends into a position where now 1 percent of society owns more than one-third of the wealth, it should be no surprise that the guy preventing any equitable tax system is fully financed by the privileged few at the top.I find it curious that whenever Grover is asked why legislators should sign a pledge to him, he's quick to say that they haven't sworn an oath to him, but to the American people. I guess what he means by the American people is a few rich cronies like Karl Rove's buddies and the Koch Brothers.

MistyBlue, on 28 November 2012 - 11:40 AM, said:Dunn and his girlfriend then left the scene.Why? You fire eight shots into a vehicle because you felt threatened, and then just leave the scene?His lawyer said Dunn, who is white, thought he saw a gun and felt threatened during the incident, indicating that he may seek protection under the states controversial Stand Your Ground Law, according to local reports.It works for cops.Cops who flee the scene after they fire?Many of the articles about this incident describe Dunn as a gun enthusiast.I wonder if they would describe him that way if he was black and the victim was white?Ya think?

Cops who flee the scene after they fire?Many of the articles about this incident describe Dunn as a gun enthusiast.I wonder if they would describe him that way if he was black and the victim was white?Ya think?oh. now we have the blatant dishonesty of little miss marxist shining through again.maybe if you weren't such a shameless liar and social deviant, you'd have a point. /> lol. thought you might be missing that $h!t by now.

oh. now we have the blatant dishonesty of little miss marxist shining through again.maybe if you weren't such a shameless liar and social deviant, you'd have a point. lol. thought you might be missing that $h!t by now.Yeah, I really miss being called a 'social deviant'. LOL

Fix The Debt CEOs Shorting Their Employees' Retirement FundsNo wonder conservatives hate public education. It makes it so damn easy to see what they're up to when you know how to do simple arithmetic. Imagine having the audacity to say Social Security is too generous when you're pillaging your own employee pension fund. They're pretty consistent that way! With Pete Peterson behind them, all they have to do is show up and say their lines, and in exchange, Peterson will fund ALEC's legislative wish list. Corporate synergy!WASHINGTON -- A group of high-profile corporate CEOs are lobbying Capitol Hill this week to put Social Security and Medicare cuts at the forefront of deficit reduction negotiations. Their own retirement funds, however, are secure: The coalition includes 54 CEOs who have amassed combined pension assets of more than $649 million from their companies' executive retirement plans, according to a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies, titled "A Pension Deficit Disorder: The Massive CEO Retirement Funds and Underfunded Worker Pensions at Firms Pushing Social Security Cuts." The CEOs' employees are much less secure in their retirement than the CEOs. According to the report, less than 60 percent of the 71 public companies offer pension plans for their employees. Of the 41 companies that do, 39 of them haven't contributed enough to their workers' pension funds to enable the plans to pay out their anticipated obligations. Among the companies with employee pension funds in the red, these deficits exceed $100 billion. The CEOs are among 71 chief executives of publicly traded companies who belong to the Fiscal Leadership Council of the influential Campaign to Fix the Debt, a group which has raised more than $60 million to lobby for a debt deal driven by cuts to "entitlements." The coalition will meet Wednesday morning with congressional leaders, according to sources familiar with the group's lobbying activities. The group, funded in part by former private equity magnate Peter G. Peterson's foundation, has pledged to push for austerity during the lame duck congressional session, and beyond. Peterson has spent nearly half a billion dollars in recent years pushing his austerity agenda. As the debate heats up over whether to cut Medicare, Social Security or Medicaid in order to maintain federal spending and corporate tax breaks, companies with well-compensated CEOs who preside over underfunded employee pension funds invite a new round of questions about the motives, and methods, of the CEOs pressuring Congress and the White House to cut programs for the middle class.Yes, I think you could question their motives!The companies in arrears on their pension funds include defense giant Boeing, which paid CEO Jim McNerney $23 million last year; Honeywell, where CEO Dave Cote earned more than $55 million in compensation in 2011; and AT&T, which docked CEO Randall Stephenson's pay by $2 million last year after he orchestrated a failed takeover of T-Mobile. The $2 million penalty meant that Stephenson made only $22 million total that year, as opposed to the $24 million he would otherwise have been paid. Boeing, Honeywell, and AT&T represent just three of the dozen companies who are cited in the IPS report as having CEOs with individual retirement assets totaling more than $20 million each, despite the fact that their companies have underfunded pension funds for their employees. If each of these 12 CEOs were to convert his retirement accounts into annuities at age 65, the report shows each would receive a monthly check for at least $110,000 for life. By contrast, the average montly Social Security payment was $1,237 in October. Still, the CEOs argue that Social Security benefits are too generous.

It works for cops.Cops who flee the scene after they fire?Many of the articles about this incident describe Dunn as a gun enthusiast.I wonder if they would describe him that way if he was black and the victim was white?Ya think?Don't be disingenuous, Misty.You read what I emphasized.Most times a cop doesn't flee the scene. Sometimes they just create evidence and witnesses to support their stories.

Don't be disingenuous, Misty.You read what I emphasized.Yes, you emphasized that Dunn 'thought he saw a gun'.And we should believe him why?If he felt that he was justified in shooting, then why leave the scene?Most times a cop doesn't flee the scene. Sometimes they just create evidence and witnesses to support their stories.I don't think I ever denied that there are some crooked cops.

Glenn Beck has officially gone 'round the bend. He created an 'art piece' called 'Obama in Pee Pee', then attempted to auction it off on eBay, but the online auction service removed the listing. Also came across this on YouTube: Michael Savage Attacks Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh as Scam Artists SAVAGE TRANSLATIONS: Hemorrhoids With Eyes = (Glenn Beck) The Wallbanger = (Sean Hannity) The Golfer = (Rush Limbaugh) The Leprechaun = (Bill O' Reilly) ROFLMAO

Glenn Beck has officially gone 'round the bend.He created an 'art piece' called 'Obama in Pee Pee', then attempted to auction it off on eBay, but the online auction service removed the listing.Also came across this on YouTube:Michael Savage Attacks Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh as Scam Artists SAVAGE TRANSLATIONS:Hemorrhoids With Eyes = (Glenn Beck)The Wallbanger = (Sean Hannity)The Golfer = (Rush Limbaugh)The Leprechaun = (Bill O' Reilly)ROFLMAOPretty much. They're just entertainers making money, a lot of money.

Yes, you emphasized that Dunn 'thought he saw a gun'.And we should believe him why?If he felt that he was justified in shooting, then why leave the scene?We should believe a cop, why?Brisco v. LaHueI don't think I ever denied that there are some crooked cops.Just throwing it out there.

Senate Republicans Vote Down International Disabilities Treaty The U.S. Senate today (yesterday) killed the ratification of a United Nations treaty designed to improve the prospects of those with disabilities around the world by a vote of 61-38, ending the best chance of any significant treaty making its way through the lame duck session. All “no” votes came from Republicans and the measure fell just five votes short of achieving the two-thirds of the Senate approval required for passage. In voting down the Convention on the Rights of People with Disability, Senate Republicans have rejected a treaty based principally around the United States’ own Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which passed 91-6 in 1990. The major provisions of the treaty were modeled after ADA’s requirements of providing equal access to all citizens regardless of disability; it’s passage also would have given the United States a seat on a committee charged with aiding in implementation. [...] Opposition to new treaties has become endemic among Republicans. GOP obstruction also lead to the blocking of the Convention on the Law of the Sea during this session, despite the united support of business and military leaders behind it. The near failure also implies that the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, both opposed by the 2012 GOP Platform, won’t be moving forward anytime soon. Former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS), also a previous Senate Majority Leader and 1996 candidate for President, was on the floor to lobby for Republican votes to help pass the treaty, but not even his presence, just days after being released from a brief stay in the hospital, was enough to save the vote. Instead, Republicans chose to stand with former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) in his castigation of the treaty’s provisions. In doing so, they’ve managed to prevent millions of parents around the world from being afforded the safe protection of their children with disabilities that Santorum enjoys and denied the United States the ability to prompt other states to live up to its standards.

If the premise is that people with disabilities are equal, then there's no call for extra rights and preferential treatment. By the way, according to the board, your thread is HOT. Think I might have to rub one out too it.

If the premise is that people with disabilities are equal, then there's no call for extra rights and preferential treatment. No extra rights or preferential treatment. The treaty was designed to 'promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity'. By the way, according to the board, your thread is HOT. Think I might have to rub one out too it. I'm flattered.

GOP obstruction also lead to the blocking of the Convention on the Law of the Sea during this session, Excellent.