Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Archive for August 2013

The Daily F Bomb, Thursday 8/22/13

Interrogatories

Have you taken a side on the Richard III story? Innocent or guilty?

How much were teeth worth (apiece) back in the days that the tooth fairy still visited you?

Did your parents give you an allowance? How much? Did you spend it all on candy like me, or were you wiser in your purchases?

What punctuation mark or marks do you have the most difficulty with?

The Twitter Emitter

AIDS Walk Austin – be nice to people, and dance

Hi, it’s me again, about the AIDS Walk again. Yeah, I know, it gets old, me always asking for money. But this is money to help people, right now. AIDS Walk Austin benefits organizations that have foodbanks & are giving out food right now, that are helping people keep their housing, that help people get to their gazillion medical appointments. Donating to this cause today will help someone tomorrow. If you want to help & don’t want to hear the music, here’s my AIDS Walk Austin page.  

President Obama to Speak on the Affordability of Higher Education

From President Barack Obama, via email … “A Personal Mission”

Hello, everybody —

Michelle and I know exactly how tough it can be to pay for higher education. By the time we finished paying back the loans we took out to go to college and grad school, I was on my way to being a U.S. Senator.

I believe that anyone who works hard should have the same opportunities that our educations gave us. That’s why, as President, I’ve made it a personal mission to make higher education more affordable — and why I’m going to be visiting school campuses later this week.

Learn more about why this is the time to take action.

The facts are clear. Over the past three decades, the average tuition at a public four-year college has more than tripled. At the same time, many state governments are actually reducing their support for education, and many middle-class students are getting stuck with the tab. Today, the average student taking out loans to pay for education graduates with more than $26,000 in debt.

Just tinkering around the edges won’t be enough: To create a better bargain for the middle class, we have to fundamentally rethink about how higher education is paid for in this country. We’ve got to shake up the current system.

That’s why, starting Thursday, I will be embarking on a bus tour to offer my plan to make college more affordable, tackle rising costs, and improve value for students and their families. My plan includes real reforms that would bring lasting change. They won’t all be popular with everyone –including some who’ve made higher education their business — but it’s past time that more of our colleges work better for the students they exist to serve.

Over the past four and a half years, we’ve worked to put college in reach for more students and their families through tax credits, improving access to financial aid, and new options that make it easier to repay those loans.

But if we’re going to keep the doors of higher education open to everyone who works for it, we need to do more — much more. And that’s exactly what I’m going to be talking about this week.

So learn more here, then help to spread the word:



http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/college-affordability

Thanks,

President Barack Obama

The Daily F Bomb, Wednesday 8/21/13

Interrogatories

In what ways do you try to shrink your ecological footprint?

What’s your favorite Motown tune or artist?

Do you wash your own car or take it to the car wash? Do you have that damn Car Wash song stuck in your head now? (Sorry)

Do you consider yourself artistic? In what ways?

The Twitter Emitter

Wednesday Watering Hole: Check In & Hangout for the Herd

Good morning, Moosekind. Don’t forget to let your peeps know where to find you.


  PLEASE Do Not Recommend the check-in diary! 

        Recs on the weather jar comment are still welcome.

The common Moose, Alces alces, unlike other members of the deer family, is a solitary animal that doesn’t form herds. Not so its rarer but nearest relative, Alces purplius, the Motley Moose. Though sometimes solitary, the Motley Moose herds in ever shifting groups at the local watering hole to exchange news and just pass the time.

photo moosewater_zps7351cbaf.jpg

Military Spending Doesn’t Equal Military Strength

By: inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

One of the great themes in American politics involves national security. Right-wing hawks argue that America must increase military spending to protect itself from its enemies. This is a very common theme, and it works. America spends five dollars on military spending for every dollar that China (ranked #2 in military spending) does. It spends ten dollars for every dollar on the military that Russia (ranked #3) spends.

But this doesn’t mean that America will win the next big war.

More below.

Charlotte NC: Forward Together!




photo forwardtogethermovement_zps1bbdf087.jpg

Photo: NC Advancement Project

The Forward Together movement Moral Monday protests continue to gather momentum in North Carolina. Yesterday they gathered in Charlotte NC to continue protesting draconian voting restrictions legislation, House Bill 589, churned out by Republicans and signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory.

The central focus of this movement is captured in these words:

“Protection of voting rights must be at the center of a democracy, or do you not have a democracy”  Rev. Dr. William Barber, President, NC NAACP.

Amen Rev. Barber, amen.

IA-GOP County Co-Chair Leaves Party

The co-chairman of the Polk County Republican Party has resigned and changed his party registration to independent, saying the GOP has become too conservative and is condoning “hateful” rhetoric.

Steve King’s crazy finally set off a morality alarm in someone in the GOP:

Brown said in a phone interview that he became disgusted by a party he believes is being run by the Christian right and the National Rifle Association. He cited Congressman Steve King’s recent, controversial comments on illegal immigrants as an example of his philosophical conflict with the party.

“No one’s really stood out to really fight him on those. I think they’re hateful statements,” he said. King made national news with his comment that illegal immigrants were more likely to be drug traffickers “with calves the size of cantaloupes” than valedictorians.

It seems Mr. Brown values science as he feels the GOP has “declared war on science and common sense” That common sense thing goes right along with knowing Steve King is a certifiable loon. (no offense meant to birds)

Brown’s resignation letter:

   Dear Polk GOP Executive Committee Member,

    I am writing to inform you that I changed my voter registration to Independent today – severing all ties to the Republican Party. Having been a Republican all my life, I did not take this decision lightly.

    Having spoken with a pastor and having prayed about this for hours, I came to the conclusion that this is my only recourse. I’m disappointed with the Republican Party at the National level. I’m disappointed with the Republican Party at the Statewide level. I’m disappointed with the Republican Party at the Countywide level. I find it increasingly difficult to defend issues and statements made by Party leaders and officials from all three levels.

    I decided to get back in this arena following the “contentious” 2012 Polk County GOP Convention. I was upset by what happened at the conventions, and I entered into the arena with the intent to help fix the problems. However, I think this level of dysfunction is not going to be fixed any time soon.

     I donated time and financial resources to the Polk GOP and haven’t had a good return on my investment. In the 2000 Presidential Election, the Polk GOP lost Polk County by about 16,000 votes. In fall of 2000, the Polk GOP had no headquarters. The Polk GOP had no paid staff. The Polk GOP didn’t even have a working telephone number. Fundraising was minimal.

     In 2012, the Polk GOP lost Polk County by over 32,000 votes. Until 2002, Republicans were elected to the State House from Des Moines. In 2012, Republicans lost 2 State House seats in suburban, Republican-leaning districts and came two dozen votes from losing a third. Facts are stubborn things. I think we are now headed in the wrong direction on several fronts and regretfully must step aside.

    It’s my opinion that rather than fix the problems that led to such a massive 2012 defeat, the GOP does not seem to seriously want to fix the issues. I think helping a dysfunctional Party that does not want to address its problems is enabling. I do not believe in enabling. I debated this for weeks and am certain this is the only course.

    I wish you the best of luck,

     Chad Brown

     

The Daily F Bomb, Tuesday 8/20/13

Interrogatories

Have you ever built sand castles? Are you particularly good at it?

Have you ever had any celebrity sightings? Who?

Would you be in favor of raising the minimum wage for tipped employees and discontinuing tipping? Do you think tipping is a fair way to reward servers?

Are you now or have you ever been skilled with a hula hoop?

How late is “sleeping in” to you? Is your internal clock the same as when you were younger, or has it changed since becoming a wage earner?

The Twitter Emitter

Previous

Next