The opposite of single-payer health care ...

... is this craptastrophe - https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/01/31/amaz-j31.html

These are corporations that have overseen massive attacks on working class living standards. Dimon was fully implicated in the criminal machinations on Wall Street that led to the financial crash of 2008 and has been named in a series of financial swindles since then. Bezos has made his fortune by running the world’s biggest sweatshop operation, subjecting workers in his distribution centers to backbreaking labor at poverty wages.

6 Elements of Police Spin: An Object Lesson in Copspeak from FAIR.

1. The Classic ‘Officer-Involved Shooting’

2. Smearing the Victim

3. A Vague ‘Altercation’

4. The Organization That Did the Killing as Sole Source

5. Obscuring—or Omitting—Who Killed Whom

6. Rogue Weapons

 More details at https://fair.org/home/6-elements-of-police-spin-an-object-lesson-in-copspeak/

New word learned today - Biostitute

Biostitute - A biological sciences worker who misrepresents research or commits fraud for the benefit of commercial interests or to make a personal profit. 

More context here -

Death & Biostitutes – The US Opioid Epidemic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI6GWlQHYXw

RIP Robert Parry, 1949-2018

Your legacy will live on.

https://consortiumnews.com/2018/01/28/robert-parrys-legacy-and-the-future-of-consortiumnews/

RIP Eastern Cougar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_cougar#Extinction_recognized

"On January 22, 2018 the de-listing became final and they were officially declared extinct.^[45] "

What a fucking hypocrite Hillary Clinton is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afCZKpVoVXI&t=404s

Hillary Clinton Protected An Alleged Sexual Harasser Within Her Own Campaign

Why is it I look forward to weekends?

Is it because I'm really lazy?

Or perhaps I yearn for something else to do (sleep for one)?

A new thing I hate to love.

Being away from an office.

A new term I love to hate.

'Friendly reminder'.

Frank Serpico - someone I'd like to learn about.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/a-genuine-actor-francesco-serpico/5626757

Winston Churchill - what a life of hatred.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-horrible-truth-about-winston-churchill/5626729

I agree with Peter Frost - Churchill was a terrible man pretty much completely.

Why I don't trust cops.

Looks like I'm not the only person who sees that Scamazon has no transparency when it comes to customer data.

I don't trust them and refuse to do business with them.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/amazon-the-least-transparent-tech-company/?loc=newsletter_featured_related_listing&ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=21455359243242794221985792139624

"What started as a debut transparency report attempt, with all the hallmarks of aiming to appease its AWS customers (and misconstrued by this reporter), quickly became, albeit three years later, a successful effort to mislead and confuse by deliberately avoiding answering a simple question."

The 'false alam' and war.

Yeah what went on in Hawaii was all about war-mongering with North Korea -

"There is no question that once the incoming missile alert was issued in Hawaii, the government and the military, not only in North Korea, but also in China and Russia, were compelled to make their own rapid estimates as to what it meant and how they should respond. The logical conclusion would be that Washington was staging a false pretext for all-out war."

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/01/16/pers-j16.html

Why do I get the feeling the Democrats will cheat in this one?

https://consortiumnews.com/2018/01/16/why-senator-cardin-is-a-fitting-opponent-for-chelsea-manning/

Chelsea Manning - a trans woman I respect a great deal.

Weekend along the beach

These pics are from the Mrs. She's becoming quite the photographer.

Wise and sage advice for liberals, progressives, and left-wingers about the Democratic Party.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/15/democrats-and-the-ends-of-politics/

Despite the heated rhetoric, Donald Trump’s policies are nearly identical to those of the national Democrats. That Democratic Party loyalists claim great differences suggests first and foremost that they know next to nothing about the policies they claim to support. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama may not have been casual with racist blather the way that Mr. Trump is, but their policies were (so far) more effectively vicious than anything that Donald Trump has done as president.

It is in some fair measure the refusal by liberals and progressives to hold Democrats to account for their policies that renders current protestations against Mr. Trump ineffective. As one who regularly travels between classes, the poor and disenfranchised are every bit as intelligent as educated technocrats and they tend to be more resourceful because they have to be. So imagine for a moment that people with whom you may disagree politically are as smart as you are but find themselves living in radically different circumstances.

Ah a weekend with screaming, whiny children.

And yet I'm happy about it.

Go figure.

A group of people I certainly won't trust, much less ever vote for.

They voted to extend NSA spying and reject privacy reforms. Including the so-called Democratic Party 'leadership'.

1. Ralph Lee Abraham (LA-5th)
2. Robert B. Aderholt (AL-4th)
3. Pete Aguilar (CA-31st)
4. Rick W. Allen (GA-12th)
5. Mark E. Amodei (NV-2d)
6. Jodey C. Arrington (TX-19th)
7. Don Bacon (NE-2d)
8. Jim Banks (IN-3d)
9. Lou Barletta (PA-11th)
10. Andy Barr (KY-6th)
11. Ami Bera (CA-7th)
12. Jack Bergman (MI-1st)
13. Gus M. Bilirakis (FL-12th)
14. Mike Bishop (MI-8th)
15. Sanford D. Bishop (GA-2d)
16. Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At Large)
17. Mike Bost (IL-12th)
18. Brendan F. Boyle (PA-13th)
19. Kevin Brady (TX-8th)
20. Jim Bridenstine (OK-1st)
21. Mo Brooks (AL-5th)
22. Susan W. Brooks (IN-5th)
23. Anthony G. Brown (MD-4th)
24. Julia Brownley (CA-26th)
25. Vern Buchanan (FL-16th)
26. Larry Bucshon (IN-8th)
27. Cheri Bustos (IL-17th)
28. Bradley Byrne (AL-1st)
29. Ken Calvert (CA-42d)
30. André Carson (IN-7th)
31. Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (GA-1st)
32. John R. Carter (TX-31st)
33. Matt Cartwright (PA-17th)
34. Kathy Castor (FL-14th)
35. Steve Chabot (OH-1st)
36. Liz Cheney (WY-At Large)
37. James E. Clyburn (SC-6th)
38. Mike Coffman (CO-6th)
39. Tom Cole (OK-4th)
40. Chris Collins (NY-27th)
41. Doug Collins (GA-9th)
42. James Comer (KY-1st)
43. Barbara Comstock (VA-10th)
44. K. Michael Conaway (TX-11th)
45. Paul Cook (CA-8th)
46. Jim Cooper (TN-5th)
47. Jim Costa (CA-16th)
48. Ryan A. Costello (PA-6th)
49. Kevin Cramer (ND-At Large)
50. Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (AR-1st)
51. Charlie Crist (FL-13th)
52. Henry Cuellar (TX-28th)
53. John Abney Culberson (TX-7th)
54. Carlos Curbelo (FL-26th)
55. John R. Curtis (UT-3d)
56. Rodney Davis (IL-13th)
57. Val Butler Demings (FL-10th)
58. Jeff Denham (CA-10th)
59. Ron DeSantis (FL-6th)
60. Scott DesJarlais (TN-4th)
61. Theodore E. Deutch (FL-22d)
62. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25th)
63. Daniel M. Donovan (NY-11th)
64. Neal P. Dunn (FL-2d)
65. Ron Estes (KS-4th)
66. John J. Faso (NY-19th)
67. Drew Ferguson (GA-3d)
68. Brian K. Fitzpatrick (PA-8th)
69. Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (TN-3d)
70. Bill Flores (TX-17th)
71. Jeff Fortenberry (NE-1st)
72. Bill Foster (IL-11th)
73. Virginia Foxx (NC-5th)
74. Lois Frankel (FL-21st)
75. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (NJ-11th)
76. Matt Gaetz (FL-1st)
77. Mike Gallagher (WI-8th)
78. John Garamendi (CA-3d)
79. Greg Gianforte (MT-At Large)
80. Bob Gibbs (OH-7th)
81. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5th)
82. Trey Gowdy (SC-4th)
83. Kay Granger (TX-12th)
84. Sam Graves (MO-6th)
85. Tom Graves (GA-14th)
86. Glenn Grothman (WI-6th)
87. Brett Guthrie (KY-2d)
88. Karen C. Handel (GA-6th)
89. Vicky Hartzler (MO-4th)
90. Jody B. Hice (GA-10th)
91. Brian Higgins (NY-26th)
92. Clay Higgins (LA-3d)
93. J. French Hill (AR-2d)
94. James A. Himes (CT-4th)
95. George Holding (NC-2d)
96. Trey Hollingsworth (IN-9th)
97. Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5th)
98. Richard Hudson (NC-8th)
99. Bill Huizenga (MI-2d)
100. Randy Hultgren (IL-14th)
101. Duncan Hunter (CA-50th)
102. Will Hurd (TX-23d)
103. Darrell E. Issa (CA-49th)
104. Evan H. Jenkins (WV-3d)
105. Bill Johnson (OH-6th)
106. Mike Johnson (LA-4th)
107. David P. Joyce (OH-14th)
108. John Katko (NY-24th)
109. William R. Keating (MA-9th)
110. Mike Kelly (PA-3d)
111. Trent Kelly (MS-1st)
112. Steve King (IA-4th)
113. Peter T. King (NY-2d)
114. Adam Kinzinger (IL-16th)
115. Stephen Knight (CA-25th)
116. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8th)
117. Ann M. Kuster (NH-2d)
118. David Kustoff (TN-8th)
119. Darin LaHood (IL-18th)
120. Doug LaMalfa (CA-1st)
121. Doug Lamborn (CO-5th)
122. Leonard Lance (NJ-7th)
123. James R. Langevin (RI-2d)
124. Robert E. Latta (OH-5th)
125. Al Lawson (FL-5th)
126. Daniel Lipinski (IL-3d)
127. David Loebsack (IA-2d)
128. Billy Long (MO-7th)
129. Mia B. Love (UT-4th)
130. Nita M. Lowey (NY-17th)
131. Frank D. Lucas (OK-3d)
132. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3d)
133. Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-1st)
134. Thomas MacArthur (NJ-3d)
135. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18th)
136. Kenny Marchant (TX-24th)
137. Tom Marino (PA-10th)
138. Roger W. Marshall (KS-1st)
139. Brian J. Mast (FL-18th)
140. Kevin McCarthy (CA-23d)
141. Michael T. McCaul (TX-10th)
142. Donald McEachin (VA-4th)
143. David B. McKinley (WV-1st)
144. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5th)
145. Martha McSally (AZ-2d)
146. Patrick Meehan (PA-7th)
147. Gregory W. Meeks (NY-5th)
148. Luke Messer (IN-6th)
149. Paul Mitchell (MI-10th)
150. John R. Moolenaar (MI-4th)
151. Seth Moulton (MA-6th)
152. Markwayne Mullin (OK-2d)
153. Stephanie N. Murphy (FL-7th)
154. Dan Newhouse (WA-4th)
155. Kristi L. Noem (SD-At Large)
156. Donald Norcross (NJ-1st)
157. Devin Nunes (CA-22d)
158. Tom O'Halleran (AZ-1st)
159. Pete Olson (TX-22d)
160. Steven M. Palazzo (MS-4th)
161. Gary J. Palmer (AL-6th)
162. Jimmy Panetta (CA-20th)
163. Erik Paulsen (MN-3d)
164. Nancy Pelosi (CA-12th)
165. Ed Perlmutter (CO-7th)
166. Scott H. Peters (CA-52d)
167. Collin C. Peterson (MN-7th)
168. Robert Pittenger (NC-9th)
169. Bruce Poliquin (ME-2d)
170. Bill Posey (FL-8th)
171. Mike Quigley (IL-5th)
172. John Ratcliffe (TX-4th)
173. Tom Reed (NY-23d)
174. James B. Renacci (OH-16th)
175. Kathleen M. Rice (NY-4th)
176. Tom Rice (SC-7th)
177. Martha Roby (AL-2d)
178. Harold Rogers (KY-5th)
179. Mike Rogers (AL-3d)
180. Todd Rokita (IN-4th)
181. Francis Rooney (FL-19th)
182. Thomas J. Rooney (FL-17th)
183. Jacky Rosen (NV-3d)
184. Peter J. Roskam (IL-6th)
185. Dennis A. Ross (FL-15th)
186. Keith J. Rothfus (PA-12th)
187. David Rouzer (NC-7th)
188. Raul Ruiz (CA-36th)
189. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-2d)
190. Steve Russell (OK-5th)
191. John H. Rutherford (FL-4th)
192. Paul D. Ryan (WI-1st)
193. Adam B. Schiff (CA-28th)
194. Bradley Scott Schneider (IL-10th)
195. David Schweikert (AZ-6th)
196. Austin Scott (GA-8th)
197. David Scott (GA-13th)
198. Pete Sessions (TX-32d)
199. Terri A. Sewell (AL-7th)
200. John Shimkus (IL-15th)
201. Michael K. Simpson (ID-2d)
202. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-9th)
203. Albio Sires (NJ-8th)
204. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (NY-25th)
205. Adrian Smith (NE-3d)
206. Christopher H. Smith (NJ-4th)
207. Jason Smith (MO-8th)
208. Lloyd Smucker (PA-16th)
209. Elise M. Stefanik (NY-21st)
210. Chris Stewart (UT-2d)
211. Steve Stivers (OH-15th)
212. Thomas R. Suozzi (NY-3d)
213. Eric Swalwell (CA-15th)
214. Scott Taylor (VA-2d)
215. Claudia Tenney (NY-22d)
216. Glenn Thompson (PA-5th)
217. Mike Thompson (CA-5th)
218. Mac Thornberry (TX-13th)
219. Patrick J. Tiberi (OH-12th)
220. Scott R. Tipton (CO-3d)
221. Norma J. Torres (CA-35th)
222. Michael R. Turner (OH-10th)
223. Fred Upton (MI-6th)
224. David G. Valadao (CA-21st)
225. Marc A. Veasey (TX-33d)
226. Ann Wagner (MO-2d)
227. Tim Walberg (MI-7th)
228. Greg Walden (OR-2d)
229. Mark Walker (NC-6th)
230. Jackie Walorski (IN-2d)
231. Mimi Walters (CA-45th)
232. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23d)
233. Brad R. Wenstrup (OH-2d)
234. Bruce Westerman (AR-4th)
235. Joe Wilson (SC-2d)
236. Robert J. Wittman (VA-1st)
237. Steve Womack (AR-3d)
238. Rob Woodall (GA-7th)
239. David Young (IA-3d)
240. Don Young (AK-At Large)
241. Lee M. Zeldin (NY-1st)

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/here-are-the-256-lawmakers-members-who-just-voted-to-reject-privacy-reforms-and-extend-nsa-spying/?loc=newsletter_featured_related_listing&ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=21455359243242794221985792139624

Quote of the day - 01-11-2018.

Bernie Sanders:

"There are millions of people who remain on their jobs today, not because they want to be there or enjoy their work, but because their present employer provides decent health care benefits - and they have no option."

That's so me.

Chances are I won't vote for anyone touted as a neoliberal capitalist.

While I'd wait to hear the political positions, I'm not going to hold my breath in anticipation.

Sigh - first full week of work.

Yes. There are times I really don't want to be here.

There are times I don't want to get up when I'm not ready to wake up.

Or get into a vehicle I wouldn't otherwise know outside of work, nor be forced to listen to crap on a radio that's otherwise a waste of my time.

Yes I complain. But there's really no one else to blame.

Just have to focus and get things done one thing at a time.

Public or private - it's still a witch-hunt.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/01/06/merk-j06.html

Sexual harassment and assault are emotive and very real issues. But portions of the American establishment have not taken up these questions because they suddenly feel deeply about abuse and injustice. They feel nothing about such matters. This is a coldly calculated political operation directed by the Democratic Party and its media orbit, including the Times.

It is one element of the reaction of the Democrats to their defeat in 2016. They hope to leverage this, the sexual misconduct/assault issue, into electoral and political success. At the same time, they want to muddy the waters and divert attention from the conditions of life for millions and the malignant social polarization.

This campaign falls into the same fraudulent category as the “fake news” censorship drive and the hysterical Russophobia that has gripped considerable layers of the upper-middle class.

First week back at work.

Life is as busy and hectic as before, if not more so.

Moon shining bright