For the purposes of this question, all the bills are paid, your savings are in good shape, and a generous benefactor has handed you cash with instructions to spoil yourself: What's your favorite way to spend $20?
Meet-Up Cancellation
My sincerest apologies, but the meet-up scheduled for this Saturday will have to be cancelled due to my health problems, as I still cannot sit for more than about 10 minutes at a time. I'm so sorry for the late notice, and I promise to reschedule as soon as possible.
Important Announcement
"Oh yeah. You blend."
Mona Lisa Vito is one of the greatest characters ever committed to film. That is all.
GOP Attempting to De-fund Planned Parenthood (& NPR) ... and Title X.
Late last week, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), the chairman of the House Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, released draft legislation (.pdf) that eliminates funding Planned Parenthood by name, threatening that unless the organization eliminates all abortion care services there won't be any federal money. While at it, the legislation also eliminates any funding for NPR (among other things).
It is a very long read but here is the relevant section on Planned Parenthood:
SEC. 524. None of the funds made available by this Act may be made available for any purpose to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. or any affiliate or clinic of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. unless such entities certify that Planned Parenthood Federation of America affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion.
(1) This limitation shall not apply to an abortion:
(A) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or
(B) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.
(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall seek repayment of any Federal assistance received by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any affiliate or clinic of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., if it violates the terms of the certification required by this section.
And here is NPR:
CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTINGBut what I also want to call your attention to is are these bits (emphasis mine):
Of the funds provided to the ‘‘Corporation for Public Broadcasting’’ in title IV of division D of Public Law 111– 8 117 for fiscal year 2012, $6,000,000 shall support the digitization program: Provided, That none of the funds made available to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 11 in title IV of division D of Public Law 111–117 for fiscal year 2012 may be used to pay dues to, acquire programs from, or otherwise support National Public Radio.
SEC. 209. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be made available to any entity under title X of the PHS Act unless the applicant for the award certifies to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and that it provides counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities.So if none of the funds appropriated in this enormous fiscal Act can pay for Title X...just what funds are going to pay for Title X? You can check out just what Title X does for where you live here.
[...]
SEC. 222. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be used to carry-out title X of the PHS Act.
Here are some random bits I found as I was scanning:
(D) No funds shall be available for the Green Jobs Innovation Fund;I don't even know what to say to this crap. Ugh.
[...]
SEC. 112. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to administer, implement, or promote the Department of Labor program known as ‘‘Bridge to Justice’’ or any similar attorney referral program that refers individuals with complaints relating to employment violations to private attorneys.
SEC. 113. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to continue the development of or to promulgate the Right to Know Under the Fair Labor Standards Act regulation (Regulatory Identification Number 11 1235-AA04) being developed by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor.
[...]
SEC. 122. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to continue the development of or to promulgate, administer, enforce, or otherwise implement the Lowering Miners’ Exposure to Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors regulation (Regulatory Identification Number 1219-AB64) being developed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor.
[...]
SEC. 219. None of the funds made available in this title may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control.
[...]
SEC. 503. (a) No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used, other than for normal and recognized executive legislative relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, for the preparation, distribution, or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, electronic communication, radio, television, or video presentation designed to support or defeat the enactment of legislation before the Congress or any State or local legislature or legislative body, except in presentation to the Congress or any State or local legislature itself or designed to support or defeat any proposed or pending regulation, administrative action, or order issued by the Executive Branch of any State or local government;
(b) No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall be used to pay the salary or expenses of any grant or contract recipient, or agent acting for such recipient, related to any activity designed to influence the enactment of legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative action, or executive order proposed or pending before the Congress or any State government, State legislature or local legislature or legislative body;
(c) The prohibitions in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall include any activity to advocate or promote any pending or future Federal, state or local tax increase or any pending or future requirement or restriction on any legal consumer product, including its sale or marketing, including but not limited to the study, advocacy and promotion of gun control;
This is, apparently, the product of the GOP, not the whole committee:
"[The] draft injects a whole host of new, contentious legislative issues into the process," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat. "If these documents represent the position that Chairman Rehberg intends to take into negotiations with the Senate, it looks like we're in for a long, difficult process."Seems to me this is regular order...for the GOP.
Democrats on the Appropriations Committee criticized Republicans for relegating them to the "role of bystanders."
Rep. Norm Dicks, the ranking Democrat, said in a statement Thursday that the draft bill was Rehberg's product, not the committee as a whole. The draft had yet to be marked up during the committee process and that "regular order has been short-circuited."
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by sparrows.
Recommended Reading:
Hena: Brown Power at Occupy Wall Street!
Out Man Out: About That Extra-Protection Money…
Lee: Koch Industries Bribed Foreign Officials, Sold Petrochemical Equipment to Iran
Pam: [TW for racism] I wonder who wasn't welcome at Rick Perry's 'N*ggerhead' family hunting camp?
Andy: UK Passports Update 'Mother' and 'Father' Language to Accommodate Gay Parents
Michelle: [TW discussion of eating/disordered eating] Eating and Permission
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Sheep On Drugs: "15 Minutes of Fame"
(Trigger warning for anyone that may experience photosensitive epilepsy.)
Photo of the Day
"This lady joined in because she had her house foreclosed upon."—Julia La Roche, in her pictorial "The Truth about Spending All Night and Day Protesting Wall Street."
Quote of the Day
"The study of the Bible has many rewards. I'm not sure that God intended a lube discount to be among its many riches."—Dallas attorney Andy Siegel, who nonetheless notes that Plano, Texas business owner Charlie Whittington's offer of discounted oil changes in exchange for customers quoting a Bible verse, is legal.
[Via.]
Occupy Wall Street: News Round-Up
globalrevolution on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free
Above, the live stream of the goings-on at the Occupy Wall Street protest. Below, some of what I've been reading this morning...
Occupy Wall Street Protesters General Assembly—Declaration of the Occupation of New York City:
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.Reuters—More than 700 arrested in Wall Street protest: "Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday evening after more than 700 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested for blocking traffic lanes and attempting an unauthorized march across the span. ... Witnesses described a chaotic scene on the famous suspension bridge as a sea of police officers surrounded the protesters using orange mesh netting. Some protesters tried to get away as officers started handcuffing members of the group. Dozens of protesters were seen handcuffed and sitting on the span as three buses were called in to take them away, witnesses and organizers said."
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers' healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people's lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
* These grievances are not all-inclusive.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek—Wall Street protesters: We're in for the long haul: "Protesters who have been camping out in Manhattan's Financial District say their movement has grown and become more organized, and they have no intention of stopping as they move into their third week, following the second weekend in a row of mass arrests."
Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times—The Bankers and the Revolutionaries: "The protesters are dazzling in their Internet skills, and impressive in their organization. The square is divided into a reception area, a media zone, a medical clinic, a library and a cafeteria. The protesters' Web site includes links allowing supporters anywhere in the world to go online and order pizzas (vegan preferred) from a local pizzeria that delivers them to the square. In a tribute to the ingenuity of capitalism, the pizzeria quickly added a new item to its menu: the 'OccuPie special'."
Cavan Sieczkowski in the International Business Times—Occupy Wall Street Protest: 'Lost Generation' Still Lost? "When 700 people were arrested Saturday on the Brooklyn Bridge, Erin Larkins was there. Larkins, a Columbia University graduate student at who says she and her boyfriend have significant student loan debt, told The AP that a friend persuaded her to join the march and she is glad she did. 'I don't think we're asking for much, just to wake up every morning not worrying whether we can pay the rent, or whether our next meal will be rice and beans again. No one is expecting immediate change. I think everyone is just hopeful that people will wake up a bit and realize that the more we speak up, the more the people that do have the authority to make changes in this world listen,' she wrote in an email."
Open Thread
This week's open threads have been hosted by things that are red and made of plastic.
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: Discocunt. lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Quote of the Day
"When you put money in a bank, it's your money. The bank uses that money to lend out to others, and make more money itself off interest. The bank hands you a little card that allows you to pull out your own money. The bank isn't lending you the money; it's simply allowing you to use the money in your account. ... Charging a fee for using the bank's debit card to access your own money is an amazing insult—especially when considering how many banks offer 'free' checking accounts on condition that consumers—you guessed it—use their debit cards at least once a month.—David Atkins, on the decision of several big banks to start charging customers fees as high as $5 to use their debit cards, because of a new regulation capping the fees they can charge merchants for processing debit card purchases. So, instead, they've decided to charge users.
That's the thanks we get for bailing them out with our tax dollars, I guess.
Maude forbid that anything cut into their record-breaking profits during the not-depression engulfing the rest of the country.
Yeah, it's a real fucking mystery why Wall Street is flooded with protesters.
Recommended Reading
Since Queen Femifart of Freako Mountain is all laid up with a bad back, which she says is from taking a spill while moving some shit but is probably really from too much fuckin'--I know that's what always does my back in (LADIES)--I figured I'd pass on a super great article I read written by tremendous American hero Ron Swanson, star of my favorite documentary, Parks and Recreation: Ron Swanson's nature diary, excerpted from Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America.
Go read that shit, man.
Lighten Up
There are a lot of reasons to be against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his possible entry into the presidential race, but his weight shouldn't be one of them.
I'm looking at you, Michael Kinsley and Eugene Robinson.
Crossposted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.
Daily Dose of Cute
Breakfast with Dexter and Dougie (a month ago):
"Hey, um, is that peanut butter toast?"
"PEANUT BUTTER TOASSSSST!"
