They're the only two states in the US that prohibits gays and lesbians from adopting. It's disgusting, actually, as Florida allows gays to foster children, but not to legally adopt them.
Well, that's on the verge of changing, as a courageous judge a couple of weeks ago ruled that the ban was unconstitutional. I spoke about it briefly here the morning after that ruling came down.
This morning, as I was getting ready to blog -- and say that I wouldn't be able to produce a show today, as I'm flying out to NY very early tomorrow morning and have too much to do -- the phone rang. It was Robert Lamarche of the Alliance for Children, a wonderful adoption agency here in South Florida, who testified at that hearing! So, we spoke for a few moments, and he updated us on what's happening with that archane law... You can contact Robert Lamarche via email or by phone at954-540-2383.
In other news, Barack Obama is in Miami this morning. As I'm writing this, special Radio Or Not correspondent Noah Gray called in from the arena at the University of Miami, where Sen. Obama is expected on stage any moment. In case you don't remember Noah Gray, I met him just over a year ago when, as a 15-year old 10th grader, he organized an anti-war rally, and called in to the show to talk about it. He's also a wonderful budding and award-winning documentarian, and he's video taping the event. As soon as he emails me a link, I'll post his video here... In the meantime, you can see some of Noah's other works, including Virgin Voting, which swept every category in which it was nominated at the recent Miami Childrens Museum Film Festival, at www.cateatcatproductions.com.
So, although I won't be podcasting for the next few days while Alison and I are in NY, I will blog as often as I can, and will post whatever Noah sends me from today's event.
And, in case I don't say it often enough, thank you for following me from the air to this online space. I truly appreciate your support...
Hear today's brief episode by clicking here (runtime 10:53)
Sunday 'No Such Agreement' Toons
1 hour ago
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15 comments:
Hey, why did the Obama website edit the social security page?! They deleted the following sentence, “[Obama] does not believe it is necessary or fair to hardworking seniors to raise the retirement age."
Is he planning to raise the retirement age? I really hope not. I’m planning on retiring in two years! WHY DID HE DELETE THAT SENTENCE?!?!?!?!?!
I'm more concerned with the fact that John McCain has been right in Bush's corner, for years, as far as privatizing at least a third of the Social Security Retirement funds as a starter. With the fiasco that has happened with Wall Street, and the Republicans - yes, the Republicans - being the main proponents of DEREGULATION, starting with Ronald Reagan all the way up to Mr. Deregulator himself, John McCain - we have now become a country of -- as Randi Rhodes and Thom Hartmann have been saying for a long time --"Privatize the profits, socialize the losses." But whose backs is this huge tax burden being put on in order to "socialize the losses?" Not the millionaires who have enjoyed the huge profits over the past two to three decades in the stock market. No. It's the lay-down-and-take-it, scared by the "Obsession" type propaganda - Fox News-lied-to, easily led "sheeple" who keep voting the corrupt "crooks and liars" in. In the 109th Congress, 2005-2006, Barack Obama wrote, sponsored and introduced Senate bill 2280 - STOP FRAUD ACT - which would have created the oversight desperately needed and closed the many destructive loopholes that former Republican Senator Phil Gramm opened wide with the Gramm-Bliley-Leach Act and The Commodity Futures Modernization Act. The SAME PHIL GRAMM that was John McCain's co-chair of his presidential campaign until July 2008, and since then has been his ECONOMIC ADVISOR, and, "mark my words," will have a major position in McCain's administration if "elected." The same PHIL GRAMM who said we are nothing but WHINERS who are having a MENTAL RECESSION. How did the solid majority Repuclican 109th Congress treat Senator Obama's extremely important piece of legislation, SB 2280, STOP FRAUD ACT? They "read it twice" and referred it to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. And you know what? They basically TABLED IT. So here we are, in September 2008, bailing out the RICH STOCKHOLDERS and major conglomerate "conflict of interest-filled" corporations, with estimates of anywhere of $500 billion up to $3 trillion of what amounts to nothing but undeserved CORPORATE WELFARE, while we middle class and poor sink deeper in the hole. There are other ways this Wall Street fiasco could be handled. There is a plan, such as the one mentioned today on the Buzzflash.com website, where basically, for the next six years, the burden would fall on the millionaires to pay back the "bailout." But no. The poor and middle class are being treated as schmucks again. D.R.
There is another excellent article on Truthout.com today, "Paulson Bailout Plan a Historic Swindle," by William Greider, of The Nation. It really lays out in "non-expert in economics" people's language, what the H happened, and how this massive "Paulson Bailout Plan" IS A HUGE SWINDLE ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC. When are the true conservative Republicans going to kick out the Neocons who have hijacked their party? When are the CENTRIST DEMOCRATS going to realize you are not helping the middle class and poor when you go against the basic principles of the Constitution and long held hard core principles of the Democratic Party? Centrist Democrats, you have lost your backbone. What has happened on Wallstreet is now being shoved down the middle class' throats. I am so sick of all of this. I am one of those that no matter how hard I work, because of the dollar not being worth much today, I don't get out of the hole. But yet, I thank God every day that I still have a job. One of my son's co-workers (who is in his 40s) went literally bullistic on Friday morning, when, after not having had work for three days, he was so happy to be called in - only to be told he was being laid off. It literally brought tears to my eyes, hearing how this co-worker reacted when he lost his job. It is disgusting what is happening to the middle class and how we are being destroyed from within. Now, even though I've never invested one penny in the "fraudulently run, insider manipulted" stock market, as Randi Rhodes said the other day, "I've become a banker." I am one of the tens of millions of average and ordinary hard-working people out there, that is now being expected to pick up the tab for these greedy criminally irresponsible people involved with Wall Street and their lobbyists, who have not been for decades and are not today being regulated; where they are going to be allowed to get rid of their bad debt and basically continue on with their same criminally irresponsible behavior. Apparently, it's okay to bail out the super rich corporations and their stockholders, and help them get rid of their bad debts, but they won't do a thing to help the middle class with their "loan shark type credit card interest rates," foreclosures, etc.? I am so tired of this hypocritical crap that we are continually expected to swallow. AND again, now, I will take more time away from my work in order to write a letter to my two CENTRIST Democratic representatives in congress. Hopefully, this time they will get it. But I'm not holding my breath. D.R.
I don’t expect you liberal progressives to answer this question, but here goes: Since you all agree that choosing Sarah Palin was a purely political move (some of you even think it shows McCain’s lack of care for the country), would you consider saying the same thing about Obama, when Joe Biden has some “health problem” and gets replaced by Hillary Clinton? I know that Randi and Thom will tell you what to think after it happens, but I want to see if anyone commits to an opinion of their own before hand.
I don’t expect and answer or any consistency in your assessments, but I thought I’d ask since I am trying to show my son a valuable lesson about the differences between Republicans and Democrats. The hypocrisy of the left is very predictable and I know I will get the old “that’s different” response, or simply a failure to respond at all. Either way I will prove my point that the only thing that is consistently right to Democrats is what a Democrat has just done, even if they lambasted a Republican for doing the same exact thing. He laughs at how obvious your Kool-Aid induced rhetoric is. You guys make this aspect of being a parent easy. Thank you.
This bailout is a buyout. I call it an economic expansion with the boards and CEO's walking away with the lions share of it since it is the only way to make extra money in the economy.
What frustrates me more is the fact we are, hat in hand, expected to give away without accountability 700 bil dollars that would be spent before January and they made damn sure when they would allow for the restructure of loans for the common taxpayer to stay in their home to remove any chance of equity if they sold the house before I think 10 or 15 years. They can't wait to seed more of these huge retirement well homes for CEO's in FL in case they can't get out of a bad situation but leave the poor guy paying taxes suffering.
What about we do this? We do a bailout with salary caps just like we wanted for sports figures. We take the SPR and sell off up to 25 to 30% over the next year to fund the buyout and reduce the cost of fuel to the common guy as well as fund green fuel initiatives. We make these people accountable and do investigations on the institutions we assist and if there is criminal wrong doing we hold them accountable by taking their pay for the period the fraud started as well as jail time.
ENOUGH!
Mike in Ft Lauderdale
Mr.M. I understand your fear but what I don't see from you is the horror of McCain getting to throw SSTax into the stock market and it tanking like it did last week. I mean if Bush had gotten his way do you realize how old you would be if you could NEVER retire?
BTW I couldn't locate and change in his website or any statement that would indicate he was changing his position on Social Security.
Mike in Ft. Lauderdale
here is the article in slate:
http://www.slate.com/id/2200517/
In case you haven't heard, George Bush is telling the congress he wants them to sign off on a 3-page document that gives Henry Paulson the exclusive right (under total secrecy, with no right of court interference) to decide when, if and how to bail out any corp. he sees fit to on Wall Street. No oversight, no regulations - NOTHING. Henry Paulson used to be the CEO of Goldman & Sachs. He was known as "Mr. Risk," because of all the "junk" Goldman & Sachs bought during his tenure. The way congress is being rushed into this is causing most experts to be very concerned. This is now being described as the greatest swindle on the American Public ever in history. If you haven't done so already, please take the time to contact your reps. in congress, or at least sign the petition that's available on Buzzflash.com. They need to know that they cannot cave in to this pressure from the Republicans who are pushing this in congress and the "19 percent approval rating Bush" anymore. ENOUGH! D.R.
mr.m they say it was there and that is good but slate couldn't get a statement from Obama?
Again even if me made a concession on the retirement age, going up for many years not just because Obama wants it to, and does go for 65. Is it better than what would have happened with Bush's effort if he had been successful or McCain's statement he still wants to invest SS funds into wall street. You think that is better?
The Obama Democrat Congress has less than 9% approval rating. LOL.
My son keeps laughing. Also, Barrack's freedom of speech ideals rapidly evaporated when young black students were forced out of his rally by security at U.M. for holding up signs that offened him.
"Again, you're asking an apples and oranges question." In other words, "that's different" LOL.
So typical of the loyal Republican trolls on other sites. Never on subject. With what is going on this past week, your main concern is what happened at the U.M. Right. Distract-obstruct-blame game. Do yourself and your son a favor and read the history of what was going on in Germany leading up to the rise of Hitler. Seems as if the Rove/Bush/Cheney group has it pretty down pat. D.R.
If you are against the 700 billion bailout
www.sanders.senate.gov and sign the petition.
Mike in Ft Lauderdale
Kinda off subject but I hope you took Alison to a Yankee game. Not a Yankee fan but it's history. You two should watch the movie "A Field of Dreams" great bonding moving. I still wellup when James Earl Jones gives the speach about baseball and America and steamrollers. Good stuff. Hope you enjoyed your trip.
Now, we are really cracking up! LOL.
I am a PhD in 19th–21st century military history. Peace loving idiots like yourself are the reason Hitler got so powerful before he killed so many. All along, Churchill was calling for an invasion of Germany and he was labeled a war monger. Bush is modern day Churchill, only he took Saddam out before it was too late.
You talk about a woman being dragged down the street at the Republican convention and Bush’s low approval rating. I mention Obama asking security to remove young black students for simply holding up signs he didn’t like and his lower approval rating and you say I am going of topic.
I have an idea since you think you are so much better educated than me on history and politics. Let’s go on stickam and have a debate. We can record it and send it to Nicole so she can show how smart her listeners are. How about it?
Speaking of D.R. how is it that the chairman of the House Ways And Means Committee (the guys who right the tax code) is caught trying to get away with not claiming $75,000 from a rental property in D.R. and Democrats aren’t calling for his resignation. Let’s see what happens if a Republican is caught forgetting to claim 1 penny. I could see the outraged morons and hypocrites now.
I wonder what you all would be saying if Sarah Palin said the following: “When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on television, and didn’t just talk about, you know, the princess of greed. He said look, this is what happened.”
I wonder if you would be saying about her what you are saying about Biden, now.
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT GOT ON TV IN 1929!!!!!!!
He wasn’t president when the Market crashed and didn’t appear on television until 1939.
I want to see the hypocrisy when Sarah Palin misspeaks after the response, or lack of response, to Joe Biden’s moronic comment from the liberals on Radioornot.com. Keep up the good work.
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