An amazingly simple way to reform banking

Conservatives will likely water down financial reform just as they did health insurance reform. This web site suggests a way of correcting the problem with the nation's banks in an elegantly simple way that lobbyists can't buy congress into blocking. Spread the word.

http://moveyourmoney.info/ 

The Move Your Money story.

JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, a few friends were having dinner wondering what personal actions they could take to help limit the power of the big banks and create a more sane, stable financial system. How, they wondered, could they help end the era of Too Big To Fail? The financier at the table recommended that everyone could move their money out of the Wall Street banks and into community banks. Community banks are typically more conservative about how they manage their money, they’re more closely connected to the people and businesses who live near them, and they’re more inclined to make loans they know will get paid back. In other words, they have the values that more people would want banks to have.

The filmmaker at the table reminded the others of the story told in the classic film It’s A Wonderful Life — a tale about a small banker, played by Jimmy Stewart, who almost gets crushed by a big banker. In the end, though, the community rallies around the small bank and helps save it.

Three days later, the filmmaker made a short video, displayed on this site. The editor wrote a commentary about the idea. And others started pulling various resources together.

This site was set up as a modest home for the effort. A seed. But the idea will only have an impact if others take it from here.

How? For starters, you could move your money to a small bank. To do so, click on the button that says Find A Bank. But there are dozens of other possibilities: You can get your friends or organizations to do the same. You can use your online social networks to help broadcast the idea. You can look into where your town government keeps its money and, if it uses a big bank, you could try to get it to use a smaller bank. Start your own website (to improve upon or replace this one), dive into the research about smaller banks, and help give rise to a bigger, broader effort.

There is no official organization here. It’s a volunteer project. If you have ideas about how this idea can grow, send us a note and we’ll display the best ideas in the Updates section of the site.

We hope this idea will spread in a thousand different ways.

Thanks for whatever you can do.

More herbicide use reported on genetically modified crops

This is scary. First the over use and misuse of antibiotics causes antibiotic resistant diseases. Now it seems by putting the round up resistant gene into soy beans we may be creating super weeds. Great article in the Christian Science Monitor.

Go to the Christian Science Monitor

I'm a sucker for an explosion

Sarah made it to the top of the list

The political truth-checking group Politifact named the #1 political lie of 2009: Death panels. Former Gov. Sarah “Palin’s claim was one of 155 that earned a False or Pants on Fire rating on PolitiFact’s Truth-O-Meter. The False and Pants on Fire items accounted for 36 percent of the 428 claims PolitiFact examined during the year.”

Speaking of Sarah... “Earth saw clmate chnge4 ions;will cont 2 c chnges.R duty2responsbly devlop resorces4humankind/not pollute&destroy;but cant alter naturl chng.” — Deep thoughts from Sarah Palin criticizing those who believe in climate change.

And you thought Bachman and Palin were the only wackos at the party

At a hearing concerning domestic partner benefits, Republican Mecklenburg County, Virginia Commissioner Bill James took a slightly different tact on the issue: referring to gays as if they were vermin. James spoke of the effort to “de-infest” areas where gays “congregate.”

According to witnesses, Democrat Commissioner Vilma Leake gave an impassioned account of her son’s 1993 death to AIDS. After she spoke, James reportedly leaned over to her and asked, “Your son was a homo, really?”

James later said that he would not apologize for his remarks. He said “homo” is just slang and not meant to be insulting. He added “[p]eople can believe whatever they want, they can believe in the tooth fairy and legend of Atlantis. I don’t determine what I do based on what people think. I determine it based on what I did and what I did was I asked a question and that question doesn’t deserve or require an apology.”

Guy Clark, the granddaddy of alt-country.

There are a number of artists from Texas or parts nearby that intrigue me musically.  James McMurtry , Steve Earle, JJ Cale and the list goes on. The granddaddy of the artists, from that part of the world  is Guy Clark. Hell he who goes back to the 60’s. Perhaps because we’re the same age but the vitality in his newest album impresses me.  As in his previous album he does a great cover of a Townes Van Zandt song, but my favorite is “Hemmingway’s Whiskey”.  The old guy is on his game here.  B+.

Today in the great state of Texas

Taylor Pugh, 4, (known as Tater Tot) is a bit too hairy for Floyd Elementary School’s principal. Taylor and his Dad are growing their hair to donate it for wigs for cancer patients. The suburban Dallas school district, however, insists that boys cannot have long hair and it has suspended him from classes since last month. Rick Perry the Republican Governor of Texas has talked of this state seceding -- can I sign the petition please.

Jon Stewart on the last teabagger event of 2009

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Hooters and Health Care Reform

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s opposition to health care isn’t new. But their use of online ads, offering readers a chance to win a $150 Amex Gift Card for use at Hooters by signing up for “free emails” from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which will explain “how to protect your family’s future and bring common sense solutions to the health-care debate.” In other words, getting involved with the Chamber’s campaign against reform could lead to beer and busty ladies.

It looks like Al Franken's bill to protect employees of military contractors from RAPE will pass

I knew I was going to like Al Franken in the Senate. The first thing he did when he got there was to sponsor a bill that would protect employees of defense contractors from rape. Any contractor doing over a million dollars of business with the Pentagon that prevents employees from suing over sexual assault and other grievances would lose their contract. Republicans, who voted no on the amendment in lock step, have been unable to get his amendment removed.

The bill, released yesterday, includes Franken's original language. Since the amendment survived conference the only way Republicans can stop it is stop it is vote against defense spending. With our armed forces in harm’s way in the middle east hopefully they won’t do that. It’s likely to be passed by both the House and Senate this week. What a breath of fresh air.

Time lapse view of the recession - scary, really scary

Today in why we need health insurance reform

A new study out of Harvard Medical School finds that “uninsured children were over three times more likely to die from their trauma-related injuries than children who were commercially insured, after adjustment for other factors such as age, gender, race, injury severity and injury type.” The data, from the National Trauma Data Bank, shows a significant disparity that seems unlikely to be explained by any other factor than insurance.

“My wife said to me, ‘Why do you always end up being the point person here?’"— Sen. Joe Lieberman on his obstruction. You know, Senator, blocking health reform that could save up to 44,000 deaths a year isn’t something that we’d be caught “flashing a broad grin” about. [

Hawk lodged in tree

Coconut-case Octopus

I saw this on Rachael Maddow last night. It's worth a watch.

The insurance companies appear to be winning

The Democrats have been negotiating with an illusion. Conservatives have been stalling right from the get go. One of the ways they have slowed health insurance reform is by constantly changing their positions. Republocrat Joe Liberman (the Senator from the insurance industry) is a sad example. When running for Vice President with Al Gore he actively promoted extending Medicare for all. As recently as September he was for opening Medicare to all. So to get his support his idea was included in the insurance reform bill. Now that it’s there he’s opposed. The disingenuous nature of the negotiations has stalled and watered down this bill to the point it may be useless in getting health insurance for the 50 million uninsured Americans.

Listen to old Joe:

More evidence of why if you have a cat you care about you keep them inside

More reasons of if you care for your cat you keep them inside

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/environment/story/79283.html

Apparently conservatives forgot the constitution

A federal judge Friday ruled that the move to cut off Acorn’s funding was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon ruled ACORN had been “singled out by Congress for punishment” without “any judicial, or even administrative, process adjudicating guilt.”

Clean Energy Jobs in Michigan

Luke Canfora, director of Repower Michigan joins the 590KZO Saturday Morning Show at 7:45 to update us on progress in Copenhagen and headway being made on reducing Michigan's dependence on coal. Michigan spends over three billion dollars on coal each year, Luke Canfora will discuss how jobs can be created while reducing dependence on dirty energy sources.

Sometimes wild animals take time to play

I'll guess the new New Jersey Gov will just have to make do

NJ Gov.-elect Chris Christie (GOP) wanted Bruce Springsteen to play at his inauguration, but The Boss said thanks, but no thanks. Instead, Christie instead has to have the “B Street Band,” a tribute cover band which usually plays “bar mitzvahs and birthdays.”

Assif Mandvi sees need for India to invade U.S.

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Palin/Huckabee -- not so much

Over the past couple of weeks, the media has been hounding Mike Huckabee for his decision in 2000 to grant clemency to convicted armed robber Maurice Clemmons, who was the lead suspect in the killing of four policemen in Northwest Washington and last week. Tuesday in an interview, Sarah Palin criticized Huckabee’s decision to pardon Clemmons, saying it was a bad decision and she feels even worse for the victims’ families in this situation. While Huckabee recently expressed admiration for Palin in a recent interview, earlier this year he criticized the former Alaska governor’s interview with CBS’ Katie Couric saying it was not a good interview and if anything,Couric was being gentle. It doesn't look like this Huchabee/Palin thing is going to work out.

I Like Birds -- different version

A higher energy version of I Like Birds. Thanks Jim

Toxic Ignorance is Not Bliss

There are over 62,00 chemicals that are brought into or built into our homes. Fewer than 200 have been tested. See if this article from Environmental Defense makes you as nervous as it made me.

http://blogs.edf.org/personalnature/2009/12/07/toxic-ignorance-is-not-bliss/

Say goodbye to Republicans and hello to tea baggers

Think the Tea Party movement has eclipsed the Republican party from which it sprung? A new Rasmussen poll says you’re right, and that if the Tea Party was a full-fledged political party, it would overtake the GOP on the generic Congressional ballot. For the question “Okay, suppose the Tea Party Movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district,” the results were : Democratic 36%, Tea Party 23%, Republican 18%.

I like birds

I have had several requests for info on this song that is played on occasion at the bigging of Birdwatch.The song is I Like Birds by Eels.

Guess the source of the smuggled money

According to Afghanistan’s Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, $10 million is smuggled out of the country every day, “most of it through Kabul International Airport.” Where does it all go? “Much of the hot cash ends up funding the Taliban insurgency, U.S. and Afghan officials said.”

Jobs go to Illinois -- not Michigan

The Obama administration is set to make a state prison in rural Thomson, Illinois the new home for a number of terrorism suspects now housed at Guantanamo Bay, despite GOP opposition. If all goes well, the administration anticipate a handover of the facility by late winter. The town, which is suffering from a 10.5 percent unemployment rate, may be a fan of the new facility; the White House suggests that as many as 3,000 jobs could be created in the area.

An ounce of prevention at the dentist office is worth a pound of NOT cure in the ER

Michigan has been forced to make many budget cuts and Medicaid dental benefits were just one of them. Now we have a death linked to this cutback and the expense of defending the state’s lack of funding the program in a lawsuit. A developmentally disabled Alpena woman who was covered by Medicaid died last week as a result of a dental infection that was not treated.

On the 590KZO Saturday Morning Show Dr. Steve Kujacznski, medical director of the Borgess Emergency and Trauma Center talked about seeing patients make multiple ER visits (paid for by Medicaid) for the same dental condition. These cases were previously handled far more cost effectively in a dentist office. The bigger issue is emergency rooms are neither staffed nor equipped to handle dental issues.

The legislature had an opportunity to restore funding earlier this fall but Republicans in the Senate rejected the idea. Now there is a death linked to the decision. Another far less significant concern is from a monetary perspective. With just $5 million in state funds, the adult dental Medicaid program secured more than $16 million in federal funds. Not to mention the tragic death, the pain and expense of treating dental issues in an ER -- the state’s economy is denied millions of dollars in economic activity.

Today in why we need health insurance reform

Health insurance giant Aetna plans to jack up consumer insurance prices and add up to 650,000 customers to the uninsured in 2010. Aetna explains it wants to increase profits.

Thomas Friedman with Jon Stewart

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A great example of compassionate conservatism

Right-wing radio talker Rush Limbaugh sat down with William Shatner for an interview this week...and that’s not the weird part. The talk veered into the subject of health care, at which point Rush said poor people don’t deserve to get health care, saying they “should have no more right to quality healthcare than they have to purchase ‘a house on the beach’.”

The evidence for global warming is still conclusive

From Talking Points Memo, on the hacked British climate-change emails: “As for the larger issue, supporters of action on global warming might be well-advised, for the sake of argument, to concede more than they should. OK, they might say to the deniers, we’ll treat all of CRU’s data as irrevocably compromised, and never refer to it again. From now on, we’ll rely only on information from NASA, NOAA, and the Japan Meteorological Agency, as well as the affirmation of the UN’s Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change. The consensus that warming is happening would be unaffected.”

We don't need any foreigners asking Palin questions

The Mall of American put out an internal statement before former Gov. Sarah Palin’s book tour visit on Dec 7th saying that “only English speaking press” were permitted. That’s not exactly a common requirement for the Mall, and as soon as the communique was made public, the Mall apologized saying that it was “an internal miscommunication” that was “inadvertently distributed.”

Mothers don't raise your children to grow up to be fisherman

According to an international research team of top scientists, in about 50 years, we’ll be out of fishable seas. “Stocks have collapsed in nearly one-third of sea fisheries, and the rate of decline is accelerating.”