Links June 2, 2012

Here are several news stories and interesting links for this week:

New Jersey Senator Lautenberg dies at 89:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/03/nj-sen-lautenberg-dies/

Rest in Peace, Senator Lautenberg.

Supreme Court only allows DNA swabs for serious crime:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/03/supreme-court-dna-cheek-swab-rape-unsolved-crimes/2116453/

Could this be the beginning of the end of racial profiling? 

Tim Samarias Killed in Last Weekend's Tornado

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/tim-samaras-storm-chasers-reality-show-star-killed-in-oklahoma-tornado-1.5394188

Rest in peace, Mr. Samarias.

Trial Begins in the Aiyanna Jones Murder by Detroit Police:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/03/trial-begins-in-death-detroit-police-raid/2383575/

The trial has finally begin.  I hope the jurors give the police officer life in prison since Michigan doesn't have the death penalty. 

Junk Food Media Defends Loserville Reporter Leaking Secrets!

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and many Republican lawmakers run to the cameras calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to step down after it was revealed that he signed off warrants to investigate a Loserville reporter who took classified information and leaked to the rest of the junk food media.

Another episode of GOP Sundays. The five Sunday news programs have at least catered to Republican lawmakers, conservative commentators and issues that have nothing to do with the economy.

I don't know why they try so hard not to be perceived as liberal, but the junk food media continues on this constant drumbeat of Benghazi (this will be a label), the IRS scandal, and the Justice Department looking into people who are leaking classified information to the press. Instead of covering the poor infrastructure, the constant rise in gun violence, the dangerous weather events that destroyed communities, and of course possible conflicts overseas, the junk food media is involved in "scandals".

Months ago, we were talking about North Korea with a nuclear bomb. What happened there?

We just heard of the worst tragedy in American history. No mention of Sandy Hook.

We had the president get death threats with ricin. Two individual men from the south sent the president, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) deadly substances.

Since leaving Iraq, the rise of sectarian violence in the country. The United States left Iraq and the country is spiraling into another civil war. And that moron Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) wants the United States to interfere in Syria.

We seen bridges, highways and sinkholes in the country.

We had powerful snow storms, tornadoes and wildfires.

We have a rise in military sexual assaults. Over the past three months we've seen men in high positions caught doing things that are unbecoming of an officer. Sexual assaults in the military are high and the Justice Department and Defense Department are trying to curb the rise. Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-California) is an outspoken advocate for women's rights and yet she hasn't been on any of the Sunday news shows as far as I know.

That second term curse is happening. Who would of thought the 2012 U.S. Election would continue pass the second inauguration? 

Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Michigan) is a regular feature on Sunday news programs.

The Republicans has went beyond the pale to attack the president for everything. The immigration reform is not being talked about. It's on the verge of being killed by Republican obstruction. 

The conservative media figures over at Loserville and some in the Republican Party are screaming for the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder. The top cop signed off the warrants to look into turdporter James Rosen and those over at the Associated Press.

I remember last year, Republicans and the very same conservative media figures on radio and over at Loserville saying that the president deliberately leaks information about how he handles terrorism.

Now that the Justice Department is getting to the bottom of who's leaking to the press, the very same turdporters are upset over this.

Now seriously, I am all for the freedom of the press and the rule of law. Sometimes the journalists risks their lives to get the best story. We understand that. But if you're dealing with national security, you're messing with the government classified information, we have a problem.

Why would the media defend a person who would take information that may endanger CIA agents or our military?

Jean Stapleton Passes Away!

Groundbreaking sitcom featuring Carroll O'Conner and Jean Stapleton. CBS comedy All In The Family tackled present day controversies such as racism, homophobia, religious intolerance and economic struggles.

Out of Hollywood, the famed mother of the Bunker household Jean Stapleton died.

One of the CBS Network's most controversial comedies was All In The Family. Besides our current crop of  controversial programs on CBS, All In The Family took on issues such as race, sexuality, nationality, religion, political and economic standings.

Produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, All in the Family revolved around the life of a working class bigot and his family. It is based on the British television comedy series Till Death Us Do Part.

Despite being considerably softer in its approach than its BBC predecessor, the show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously considered unsuitable for U.S. network television comedy, such as racism, homosexuality, women's liberation, rape, miscarriage, abortion, breast cancer, the Vietnam War, menopause, and impotence. Through depicting these controversial issues, the series became arguably one of television's most influential comedic programs, as it injected the sitcom format with real-life conflicts.

The show ranked number-one in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976.

It became the first television series to reach the milestone of having topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years, a mark later matched by The Cosby Show and surpassed by American Idol, which notched eight consecutive seasons at #1.

The episode "Sammy's Visit" was ranked #13 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as #4. Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time

Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actress of stage, television and film.

She was best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker, the long-suffering, yet devoted wife of Archie Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor) and mother of Gloria Stivic (played by Sally Struthers), on the 1970s situation comedy All in the Family.

Stapleton remained with the show all through the original series run but decided to leave before the first season of Archie Bunker's Place had wrapped up. At that point Edith was written out as having suffered a stroke and died off-camera, leaving Archie to deal with the death of his beloved "dingbat".

Stapleton appeared in all but four episodes of All in the Family and had a recurring role during the first season of Archie Bunker's Place.

Stapleton died, surrounded by family and friends, on May 31, 2013 in New York City of natural causes.

She was 90 and is survived by her two children, John, a TV director, and Pamela, a TV producer, and several grandchildren.

Conservatives could relate to Archie Bunker.  Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) was a working-class World War II veteran. He is an outspoken bigot, seemingly prejudiced against everyone who is not a U.S.-born, politically conservative, heterosexual White Anglo-Saxon Protestant male, and dismissive of anyone not in agreement with his view of the world.

By contrast, Archie's wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton), is a sweet and understanding, if somewhat naïve, woman. She usually defers to her husband. On the rare occasions when Edith takes a stand she proves to be one of the wisest characters, as evidenced in the episodes "The Battle of the Month" and "The Games Bunkers Play". Archie often tells her to "stifle" herself and calls her a "dingbat". Despite their different personalities they love each other deeply.

I wasn't around during its run, but I've seen the program on TV Land and syndication. Here's an episode on YouTube. Take discretion in viewing this program. This episode contains controversial themes. It features O'Connell, Stapleton, comedian/director Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers.

Kanye West's New Baby!

Rapper/reality star Kanye West announces his album is entitled Yeezus. The entertainer is dating reality television star Kim Kardashian. They're expecting a child in the coming months.

There's no baby born as of yet, but Kanye West, the controversial rapper/reality star/producer is expected to push the bounds in his next album.

Yeah, we are aware that he's dating that annoying celebrity. Yeah, she's putting her big belly out there for the junk food media.

Making masterpieces is a traditional theme for Kanye West.

But what's going to have the conservative agitators upset? The rapper's depiction of the Lord and Savior.

Like Game, the conservative turd flipper will zero in on the new album cover and the controversial title.

Yeezus, the confirmed title of the entertainer's new album. He will recruit the G.O.O.D. members Big Sean, Pusha T, and his longtime mentor Jay-Z on this album.

West is no stranger to controversy. He already makes the news for mostly the outburst. Add that annoying Kim Kardashian in the mixture and you're now calling the relationship KimYe.

Honestly, we wouldn't expect anything less from Kanye West. He's practically in the spotlight now that he's knocked up the hip-hop honey that most rappers sing about.

The reality television star/media mogul Kim Kardashian and her family have been the talk of the news because of their controversial antics while on camera.

Rapper Kanye West kept the sixth album simple. He didn't waste time publishing the controversial artwork. He  just got a clear album cover with the CD inside.

The Yeezus album is considered blasphemy among the conservative Christian and Catholic communities.

Is Kanye West saying he's bigger than Jesus?

Or it's another attempt to generate shock value?

Anyway, the rapper's album is coming out in June (technically to be determined). It's expect to have radio play in the coming days. The controversial singles "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves" are surely going to piss off the conservative/white supremacist bubble.

Kanye West appears on Roc-A-Fella Records. He is affiliated with Getting Out Our Dreams (G.O.O.D.) Records and RocNation.

Infrastructure Crumbling!

Did you know it cost from $100 up to $5,000 to replace a road sign?

Of course infrastructure isn't a topic in the junk food media. That's not a big issue in the junk food media say if a bridge collapse or a sinkhole swallows you up in a instant. How about a tornado ripping through a community? Ah, that's a ratings grabbing event. To see American families cry on national television about their lives being ruined by an event that could have been prevented.

Seriously, the president's main goals are being squandered away for short-term political gains by those Republicans who continue to harp on these "scandals". The furor over Benghazi, the IRS and the Department of Justice snooping on leaking information making it to the press has the junk food media booking every Republican to complain or threaten the president with impeachment.

Keeping the finger cross on bridge safety.

We have hundreds of roads, bridges and seaways in need of serious repair. The low approved Congress isn't maintained on the job its representatives were elected to do. Their job is pass legislation for the better of all. Not a chosen few, but a majority of us all.

That's why it was better days during the Democrats control of the Congress. They sucked, but at least they've managed to do things that most Republicans refused to do. All Republicans want is to get back in power so they can push forth these bills that may hurt the middle class. They may end up throwing around impeachment hearings if they should have full control the Congress.

You notice that Republicans are willing to pass infrastructure bills only if they can throw in a repeal of Obamacare, that stupid Keystone XL pipeline and getting rid of the IRS. Things that they know the president isn't going to do. But yet, they're willing to do it for the sake of their rich corporate donors who pour millions into their competitive races.

With America's roads and bridges collapsing, who's left to pick up the tab. Mainly local leaders and you the taxpayer.

Wonder why there's always a tax levy on the ballot?

It's for repairs to schools, roads, services that cater to community needs and transportation for those who have no car.

Many American and Canadian cities use the flashing yellow arrow turn signal as a way to reduce bottleneck left turns.

Many conservatives reject levies and ballot issues because it infringes on their tranquility. Say if you live in a suburban community a few miles from the city. The suburb has a hospital, a shopping center, a college campus and industrial lot. A ballot measure for the election says that public transportation is required for shopping and work.

I bet you that the suburban folks (mainly conservative minded individuals) will turn out in droves to prevent bus service to their communities. Say I have an area that's kind of like that.

Okay, we have nine bridges in the area and six of them are considered too dangerous for travel. Usually a representative from the area request funds for repair and replacement. Let's say if you have a Tea Party endorsed Republican member of the Congress refuse to take a dime to repair the bridge. He claims that's an earmark. Maybe he's right on that. But say if a heavy vehicle happens to cross a structurally unsound bridge and falls into the river or lake. Then we'll have a tragedy right?

Yeah, transportation bills have earmarks in it. It's common among many legislators to bring some point of interest to their hometowns. Usually the bridge will have redesigns and landscaping (say if it had a special fountain located near the bridge and a playground near a park).

The Republican will not support it. That's probably why they've crowed over the Stimulus. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was designed to help jumpstart the economy.

Many Republicans claim that it was a disaster waiting to happen. Yet, they've taken a portion of that money to fix things in their respective districts. And they still complain about it.

It's not fair for the country's woes to fall upon a bunch of politicos who sole purpose is to defeat one another.

The Congress returns Monday for a least three more weeks of talk about Benghazi, the IRS and whatever else happens to cross the conservative blogosphere. And after those three weeks pass, they're off for the Independence Day weekend.

And wait til August when the low-approved Congress is off. They'll be off until mid-September.

Hot dog! More time spent outside of their offices doing what they do best. Not representing the people who put their asses there in the first place.

Uh, Oh Cheerios!

A cute commercial gets vitriol from ignorant bigots.

Only in America, we can have hundreds of people on YouTube make nasty references to an adorable commercial about an interracial couple and their daughter. Only in America, people look at this commercial as "racial genocide" and the family as "coal-burners".

The commercial is there to make you buy a popular cereal brand. A shame they're working themselves into ulcers over it. The cereal is approved by the American Heart Association. And yet the very cereal will cause these online bigots to have heart attacks.

According to The Huffington Post, a lot of nasty comments appeared on the video. It promoted the official Cheerio's YouTube to pull the plug on the comments.

It's still shunned by many White males (conservative and liberal). Interracial marriage and children.

Black men dating White women and having children with them. It's happening. The demographics are shifting towards a browner nation. The Hispanic population will increase. Interracial marriage bores more children.

Last May it was confirmed that interracial births surpassed White (non-Hispanic) births.

And it's pissing off the angry White guy who listens to King Hippo. He's clicking on That Guy Who Throws Shit to The Wall. Or maybe he's visiting one or two, maybe three of those shitholes for the angry White guy!

You know what's more discouraging about YouTube and the social networking websites is the constant racism. I mean social networking websites can't stop all the online racism and hatred, but it's really a discouraging thing for people to see constant nonsense from a bigot.

 It's usually men who engage in this type of behavior. Men are likely to create phony profiles of people, cyberstalk, cyberbully and engage in hostile debates.

The New York Times report that the Cheerios spot shows a young girl asking her mother if the cereal is “good for your heart.” Her mother assures her that is so. The girl runs away with a cereal box, and in the next scene, the girl’s sleeping father awakes with a pile of Cheerios atop the side of his chest where his heart is.

The commercial ends with the word “Love” on screen.

The spot, heartwarming to many, began on national television on Monday and was uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday. But it has caused a furor for the maker of Cheerios, General Mills, because an interracial cast portrays the family.

The advertisement, which features a black father and white mother, has generated vituperative comments online, but General Mills says it stands by the commercial.

The ad will “absolutely not” be withdrawn, Meredith Tutterow, associate marketing director for Cheerios and Multigrain Cheerios at General Mills in Golden Valley, Minn., said Friday.

“There are many kinds of families,” Ms. Tutterow said, “and Cheerios just wants to celebrate them all.”

The casting has attracted angry comments, many of them overtly racist. The volume of negative remarks on YouTube reached the point that General Mills has temporarily disabled the commenting function.

On the approval/disapproval counter accompanying the video, which continues to register likes and dislikes, there were more than 700 “thumbs down” as of Friday evening, compared with more than 6,400 “thumbs up.”

As those numbers suggest, the preponderance of comments online and in social media about the commercial was positive, and Ms. Tutterow added, “We’re really gratified.”

But the fact that there were so many negative remarks — including racist language — has attracted widespread attention. For example, the AdFreak blog that is part of Adweek.com ran a post under the title “It’s 2013, and People are Still Getting Worked Up About Interracial Couples in Ads.”

Ms. Tutterow said she was not taken aback by the amount of negative reactions or their tone, but, “We’re a bit surprised it’s turned into a story.”

General Mills always hears from consumers, pro and con, about its ads, especially a major brand like Cheerios, Ms. Tutterow said. She added that the YouTube comments would be enabled again, but she did not know when.

The interracial family cast might be the first for a Cheerios commercial, Ms. Tutterow said.

Proud to play the mom in this adorable new @cheerios commercial! bit.ly/13XhPC2
— Whitney Avalon (@whitneyavalon) May 28, 2013

But it is certainly not the first TV commercial for a major consumer brand to depict an interracial family.

There was speculation that the presence of an interracial family in an ad for a brand as familiar and ubiquitous as Cheerios may have generated the attention, or perhaps it was the debate on the front page of the popular social-news site Reddit.

General Mills reacted quickly to the negative comments as they began arriving in midweek. After a Twitter user wrote on Wednesday about the “horrible, racist comments” on YouTube, a reply was sent from the official Cheerios Twitter feed that thanked him “for the head’s up,” adding, “They've since been removed.”

The commercial was produced by Saatchi & Saatchi in New York, part of the Publicis Groupe.

Lynne Collins, a spokeswoman at the agency, said, “It is important for us to make sure the work reflects the people we’re trying to sell products to.”

This stuff continues online and the general public. Since Barack Obama was sworn into office in 2009, we seen a spike in racial activity through social networking websites.

It takes one white person (particularly white males) and their gutless outrage over things that they apparently disagree with. White people (again mostly white males) are very uptight about Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, Muslims, undocumented workers, independent women, same sex couples and President Barack Obama.

Virginia School Board Member Forwards Anti-Obama Emails! [NSFW]

Continuous racist attacks against First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama.

This is getting ridiculous.

A Virginia school board member is catching heat for sending a forward letter about First Lady Michelle Obama. This is like the umpteenth racist email being sent from some conservative bigot.

The utter disrespect to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama is out of hand. These keyboard warriors are entitled to their opinions and all, but at what price will these so-called professionals pay when their students (and likely their parents) get wind of this type of behavior from those who are trusted in the public and private sector.

Courtesy of MyRightWingDad.net 

FW: FWD: FW: REUNION!!

CAN YOU GUESS ....WHAT THIS IS?

MICHELLE OBAMA'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION !!!!!!!

I'm surely going to hell for this one.....

A real laugh riot. Herb DeGroft had thought this was a joke. He didn't realized that his email being sent to his co-workers was a mistake. Or did he?

Regardless, this clown and his email are under some serious flack. This went as far to getting him ousted from his elected post. A string of racist emails and controversial remarks have shaken up a school board in southeastern Virginia's Isle of Wight County, and now one of the people responsible is facing intense pressure to resign.

Angry White people attack Michelle Obama.

On Thursday, board members voted 4 to 1 to officially call for their colleague Herb DeGroft to step down over emails he sent this month from his board email account attacking first lady Michelle Obama. DeGroft was the only one who voted against the measure.

According to NBC12, one of the emails DeGroft sent to colleagues depicted bare-breasted, African female warriors along with the caption, "Michelle Obama's high school reunion." Another message claimed the first lady was paid $50 to model in National Geographic.

The emails didn't stop with DeGroft's initial sending. Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Byron “Buzz” Bailey forwarded them to other board members and county employees. Bailey drew criticism earlier this month for saying "the South will rise again" during a board meeting on budgetary issues. Those comments, as well as his involvement with the racist emails, led to the resignation of Isle of Wight Division Superintendent Katrise Perera.

Isle of Wight NAACP Chapter President Dottie Harris and other community members have called for both DeGroft and Bailey to resign over the recent flare-up, the Daily Press in Hampton Roads, Va., reports. They've also threatened to mount a recall effort against Bailey.

DeGroft has apologized and expressed regret for his involvement in the controversy, claiming that "there was no intention or motivation...to be inappropriate...discriminatory against anyone," according to WAVY. But NBC12 reports that some school board members said they've been receiving similar emails from him since January 2012.

This is Herb DeGroft. He's the guy with no racist bone in his body!

Bailey has admitted that the emails were inappropriate, but noted that he wasn't directly responsible for their content.

"The emails that they're talking about are some that I just sent along from somebody else," Bailey said, according to the Daily Press. "None of them I initiated, if you look at them. They were all initiated by somebody else."

Last week, Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors voted to keep Bailey in his position as vice chairman.

DeGroft hasn't heeded the calls to resign.

This is what the Republican Party does. They pass around emails that some find offensive. They act like they didn't know and want to "sincerely" apologize for this.

Look, you don't have to apologize. We understand!

You have plenty of "black friends".