"The Global Consciousness Project, also known as the EGG Project, is an international multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers, artists and others continuously collecting data from a global network of physical random number generators located in 65 host sites worldwide. The archive contains over 10 years of random data in parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials every second."
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, February 3, 2020
Rush Limbaugh wears bilateral (both sides) cochlear implants to hear. His deafness resulted from his long-term abuse of OxyContin and other prescription narcotics, which is a well-known and highly-documented result of their abuse. In October 2003, he opened up about his years-long deliberate abuse of opioid pain relief medications which dated back to the mid-’90s, around the same time he discovered cigars.
Earlier, on October 5, 1995 on his short-lived teevee show, Limbaugh said that, “Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. … And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up.”
After his arrest, he then went to rehab for about a month, and was given a sweetheart deal by prosecutors – an expunged record – if he stayed clean.
Limbaugh has a long history of venomous vitriol and drug abuse, and became infamous for his mocking derision of women as “feminazis.” He had twice checked into drug rehab programs in the last 6 years, which he sarcastically described as “a wonderful process … as important as the first grade and maybe the second grade.” He added that, “I’m not a role model. What I did, I did knowingly. What I did, I did because I wanted to do it, but I knew it was wrong the whole time.”
The irony of his hypocrisy hasn’t gone unnoticed. When Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia died, Limbaugh openly mocked tributes to the renown musician, saying, “Jerry Garcia destroyed his life on drugs. And yet he’s being honored, like some godlike figure.” And in 1995, around the time he started abusing OxyContin, Limbaugh said, “Too many whites are getting away with drug use. The answer is to find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river.”
UPDATE Wednesday, 05 February 2020:
In the State Of The Union Address last night, the President stated in part that Limbaugh “…just received a Stage 4 advanced cancer diagnosis. This is not good news…” He is correct. Limbaugh has a literal death sentence on his head… or, more accurately, in his chest/abdominal cavity, and elsewhere. Stage 4 cancer means that it has metastasized (spread to other body parts/organs/systems). Lung Cancers are divided into 2 types – Non Small Cell (NSCLC), and Small Cell (SCLC). NSCLC is the most common, is diagnosed in stages I-IV, and accounts for approximately 84% of all lung cancers, while SCLC is staged as limited, or distant, and is most strongly associated with smoking. Stage 4 lung cancer survival rates are in the single-digit range, less than 5%. The average age at diagnosis is 70, and the 5-year relative survival rate for NSCLC is 24%, while SCLC is 6%. The American Cancer Society states this about NSCLC treatment options: “Stage IV NSCLC is widespread when it is diagnosed. Because these cancers have spread to distant sites, they are very hard to cure. Treatment options depend on where the cancer has spread, the number of tumors, and your overall health.” They state this about treatment options for SCLC: “If cancer growth in the lungs is causing symptoms such as shortness of breath or bleeding, radiation therapy or other types of treatment, such as laser surgery, can sometimes be helpful. Radiation therapy can also be used to relieve symptoms if the cancer has spread to the bones, brain, or spinal cord. If you are in otherwise good health, treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy (chemo), targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy may help you live longer and make you feel better by relieving symptoms, even though they aren’t likely to cure you.”
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Today, Rush Limbaugh, a controversial political talk radio show host well known as a “conservative political shock jock” and lighting rod for criticism, announced that he has “advanced lung cancer.”
“Advanced” means it is probably late stage 3 or more likely, stage 4, which is metastatic, meaning that it has spread to other organs and body systems.
Limbaugh, known for his 31-year history of caustic commentary, radical right-wing views, and vitriolic remarks which alienated numerous sponsors, cost him millions, and widespread loss of respect, wrote in part that,
“I have been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, diagnosis confirmed by two medical institutions back on January 20th. I first realized something was wrong on my birthday weekend, January 12th. What led to shortness of breath that I thought might have been asthma or — you know, I’m 69 — it could have been my heart. My heart’s in great shape, ticking away fine, squeezing and pumping great. It was not that. It was a pulmonary problem involving malignancy. So I’m gonna be gone the next couple days as we figure out the treatment course of action and have further testing done. But, as I said, I’m gonna be here as often as I can.”
The article’s subtitle states that “The GOP is best understood as an insurgency that carried the seeds of its own corruption from the start.”
To be certain, when he cited corruption, he acknowledged that he didn’t mean to refer to “the kind of corruption that regularly sends lowlifes like Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic former governor of Illinois, to prison,” specifically noting that “those abuses are nonpartisan and always with us,” and excluded another kind of corruption such as “vote theft of the kind we’ve just seen in North Carolina – after all, the alleged fraudster employed by the Republican candidate for Congress hired himself out to Democrats in 2010.”
Rather, he states that the particular corruption to which he refers is not based upon one, two, or even three specific examples of types of corruption, but instead “has less to do with individual perfidy than institutional depravity. It isn’t an occasional failure to uphold norms, but a consistent repudiation of them.”
“A consistent repudiation of norms” – that is the very essence of today’s perversion of the modern GOP, as George Packer wrote.
“The Republican Party, both in this state and nationally, is a broad party. There is room in our tent for many views; indeed, the divergence of views is one of our strengths. Let no one, however, interpret this to mean compromise of basic philosophy or that we will be all things to all people for political expediency.
“In our tent will be found those who believe that government was created by “We, the People;” that government exists for the convenience of the people and we can give to government no power we do not possess as individuals; that the citizen does not earn to support the government, but supports a government so that he may be free to earn; that, because there can be no freedom without law and order, every act of government must be approved if it makes freedom more secure and disapproved if it offers security instead of freedom.
“Within our tent, there will be many arguments and divisions over approach and method and even those we choose to implement our philosophy. Seldom, if ever, will we raise a cheer signifying unanimous approval of the decisions reached. But if our philosophy is to prevail, we must at least pledge unified support of the ultimate decision. Unity does not require unanimity of thought.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, February 22, 2014
At the federal level, TEApublican types have decried our national deficit, much – if not most – of which came about as a result of placing the price of a decade of warfare on a proverbial credit card. I refer, of course, to the Persian Gulf War, Gulf War II, Operation Desert Shield/Storm and the invasion of Afghanistan, etc., all of which occurred during the previous administration.
Compounding that problem was that corporate and personal income tax rates upon the wealthiest was cut, while simultaneously, the veritable house of cards was crumbling, having been built upon the miry, sinking sands of Wall Street deregulation & greed gone wild.
Nevertheless, as our nation has struggled and clawed its way back to some semblance of fiscal sanity, there have been voices arising whom assert that the federal government’s “bailout” of banks & other large, corporate enterprise has been a gross mistake, and that such a bailout should have never occurred. And, while there will doubtless be volumes written, and debates held about the good and the bad of the ordeal, what’s been done, has been done, and it’s practically all over, but the crying. So the only thing we can do now, is live & learn, and move on.
And yet, respecting one underlying problem which arose corollary to the matter, is the loss of jobs here at home. Again, it was complicated by ‘globalization,’ which – good, bad, or indifferent – is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, November 23, 2012
The high cost of low living…
“Walmart’s employees receive $2.66 billion in government help every year, or about $420,000 per store.
They are also the top recipients of Medicaid in numerous states.
Why does this occur?
Walmart fails to provide a livable wage and decent healthcare benefits, costing U.S. taxpayers an annual average of $1.02 billion in healthcare costs.
This direct public subsidy is being given to offset the failures of an international corporate giant who shouldn’t be shifting part of its labor costs onto the American taxpayers.”
You’re the life of the party, everybody’s host
Still you need somewhere you can hide
All your good time friends
And your farewell to has-beens
Lord knows, just along for the ride
You think you’re a survivor
But boy, you better think twice
No one rides for nothin’
So, step up and pay the price
Dedicated to the GOP & other radical TEApublicans who worship the “almighty” dollar, tax cuts for the über wealthy, and their multinational corporate prophets.
Hidden Taxpayer Costs
Disclosures of Employers Whose Workers and Their Dependents are Using State Health InsurancePrograms
Updated January 18, 2012
Since the mid-20th Century, most Americans have obtained health insurance through workplace-based coverage. In recent years there has been a decline in such coverage caused by a rise in the number of jobs that do not provide coverage at all and growth in the number of workers who decline coverage because it is too expensive.
Faced with the unavailability or unaffordability of health coverage on the job, growing numbers of lower-income workers are turning to taxpayer-funded healthcare programs such as Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
This trend is putting an added burden on programs that are already under stress because of fiscal constraints caused by medical inflation and federal cutbacks. Many states are curtailing benefits and tightening eligibility requirements.
It also raises the issue of whether states are being put in a position of subsidizing the cost-cutting measures of private sector employers.
Across the country, policymakers and others concerned about the healthcare system are pressing for disclosure of information on those employers whose workers (and their dependents) end up in taxpayer-funded programs.
The following is a summary of the employer disclosure that has come to light so far. It includes two cases (Massachusetts and Missouri) in which the information was produced as a result of legislation. The other cases involved requests by legislators or reporters. The latter situations have sometimes resulted in data that are incomplete or imprecise, which suggests that only legislatively mandated, systematic disclosure will tell the whole story.
This compilation was originally produced by Good Jobs First as part of its preparation of testimony given before the Maryland legislature on an employer disclosure bill. A version of that testimony can be found here [1].
Alabama
In April 2005 the Mobile Register published an article citing data from the Alabama Medicaid Agency on companies in the state with employees whose children are participating in Medicaid. The newspaper obtained a list from the agency of 63 companies whose employees had 100 or more children in the program as of mid-March 2005. At the top of the list was Wal-Mart, whose employees had 4,700 children in the program. Following it were McDonald’s (1,931), Hardee’s (884) and Burger King (861). The data were similar to information obtained from the same agency by the Montgomery Advertiser two months earlier.
Sources: Sean Reilly, “Medicaid Providing Health Care for Kids of Working Families,” Mobile Register, April 17, 2005 and John Davis and Jannell McGrew, “Health Plans Not Family Friendly,” Montgomery Advertiser, February 22, 2005, p.B6.
Arizona
In July 2005 the state Department of Economic Security issued data on the largest private employers with workers receiving taxpayer-financed medical insurance through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. At the top of the list was Wal-Mart, with about 2,700 workers–or 9.6 percent of its Arizona workforce–participating in the program. It was followed by Read the rest of this entry »
The long and short of it is this: Government spending on economic infrastructure (including education) is a good investment because it yields significant immediate and long-term results.
Why?
Because Materials and Manpower ALWAYS come from the private sector.
Naysayers and critics miss one very important factor in their analogy, which is that the Federal government has the power and authority to print money. The way that factor relates to the issue at hand is this: While the government could – in theory, and in reality – print enough money to give $10,000 to every man, woman and child in this nation the net effect of so doing would be to devalue the money, which would be resulting from inflation.
How to correct, resolve or work within the guidelines of that factor is to understand that one very important role of government is to provide OPPORTUNITY for entrepreneurs and private enterprise. By providing opportunity, government is also encouraging private enterprise and entrepreneurship. And, for the strict Constitutionalists, courts have continued to uphold and acknowledge that such power is contained within the Preamble’s clause “to promote the general welfare.”
Further, for the “anti-Big Government” naysayers, it is preposterous (contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous) to imagine that, in this era, with every technological advance, invention and discovery which has been made since 1776, and with our population (now approaching 312,000,000), that we would have fewer laws, rules and regulations than when we first began.
And, for those who say we should balance our budget, I would agree. However, I hasten to point out, that the last time that was done was under Eisenhower and LBJ. That does not excuse us from an ongoing civil discussion and debate about how to effectively manage our nation’s budget. Perhaps a formula of some type which would take into account GDP, debt (outstanding Treasury notes), trade deficit, population growth, birth rate, and other factors – with an “escape” mechanism for times of civil emergency or war, of course.
For such, we need technocrats – experts in areas of operations – rather than bureaucrats. Perhaps in an advisory role. But then again, we have those.
The depression we’re in is essentially gratuitous: we don’t need to be suffering so much pain and destroying so many lives. We could end it both more easily and more quickly than anyone imagines—anyone, that is, except those who have actually studied the economics of depressed economies and the historical evidence on how policies work in such economies.
President Obama on a tour of the Master Lockfactory in Milwaukee with the company’s senior vice-president, Bon Rice, February 2012; Susan Walsh/AP Images
The truth is that recovery would be almost ridiculously easy to achieve: all we need is to reverse the austerity policies of the past couple of years and temporarily boost spending. Never mind all the talk of how we have a long-run problem that can’t have a short-run solution—this may sound sophisticated, but it isn’t. With a boost in spending, we could be back to more or less full employment faster than anyone imagines.
But don’t we have to worry about long-run budget deficits? Keynes wrote that “the boom, not the slump, is the time for austerity.” Now, as I argue in my forthcoming book*—and show later in the data discussed in this article—is the time for the government to spend more until the private sector is ready to carry the economy forward again. At that point, the US would be in a far better position to deal with deficits, entitlements, and the costs of financing them.
Meanwhile, the strong measures that would all go a long way toward lifting us out of this depression should include, among other policies, increased federal aid to state and local governments, which would restore the jobs of many public employees; a more aggressive approach by the Federal Reserve to quantitative easing (that is, purchasing bonds in an attempt to reduce long-term interest rates); and less timid efforts by the Obama administration to reduce homeowner debt.
But some readers will wonder, isn’t a recovery program along the lines I’ve described just out of the question as a political matter? And isn’t advocating such a program a waste of time? My answers to these two questions are: not necessarily, and definitely not. The chances of a real turn in policy, away from the austerity mania of the last few years and toward a renewed focus on job creation, are much better than conventional wisdom would have you believe. And recent experience also teaches us a crucial political lesson: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Seriously.
They are.
It’s kinda’ like the gun saying, albeit with a peppermint twist:
“When ‘they’ outlaw science, only outlaws will be scientists.”
The whole scientific process means that folks get up and argue about it, and demonstrate their findings, and argue their conclusions, and implications for the same.
This is a prime example of Republican idiocy.
Utter stupidity brought to you by TEApublican TEAvangelical radicals.
After a state report predicts higher ocean levels, based in part on global-warming data, new legislation seeks to all but outlaw such projections. The bill has drawn ridicule, as well as scrutiny of the state’s new political climate.
RALEIGH, N.C. — When scientists at a state commission predicted that North Carolina’s sea levels could rise 39 inches by 2100, coastal business and development leaders weren’t alarmed at the prospect of flooding. They were outraged by the report itself.
They complained to state legislators, saying the projection could trigger regulations costing coastal businesses and homeowners millions of dollars.
Waves lap against Johnnie Mercer’s Pier at Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington, N.C. (Paul Stephen / The Star-News / May 29, 2012)
The result is House Bill 819, a measure that would require sea level forecasts to be based on past patterns and would all but outlaw projections based on climate change data.
The bill, now under discussion by a legislative conference committee, has been ridiculed nationwide. It was mocked by comedian Stephen Colbert and savaged in a Scientific American blog post titled “N.C. Considers Making Sea Rise Illegal.”
It has also focused attention on the political shift in North Carolina, where Republicans in 2010 won control of the state Legislature for the first time in a century. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 21, 2011
I continue to write about how the GOP (that’d be the Republican Party) has been hijacked by radicals, most notably and recently the “TEA Party” movement, which I call “TEApublicans.”
Here, we have not mere prima facie evidence, but irrefutable proof positive – Newt Gingrich in his own words – say,
“You’re going to see from me extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America.”
What many – if not most – do not know, is that Newt Gingrich has never been considered “conservative” by conservatives.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, August 20, 2011
Ed Note: What you’re about to read is a letter which I had sent to a long-time and very close friend after having read the article supplied via link at the close.
This is as clear a picture as any.
The driving & motivating philosophical ideology of those Radical Republicans – among whom Newt Gingrich is chief – is wholesale de-regulation in every area, even to the extent that government is disbanded – thus resulting in anarchy.
They believe in a “Free Willy, Free Market” that is utopian & idealistic in nature, meaning it is a fantasy, rather than a solution based upon reality.
WASHINGTON — Just when freshman House Republicans have finally learned their way to the Cannon Caucus Room, how to vote on a motion to proceed and which commissary serves the best tuna sandwiches, someone back home — worse, someone from their own party — wants to take it all away. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, May 14, 2011
Recently, U.S. SenatorRand Paul, a “TEA Party” Republican from Kentucky, and ophthalmologist specializing in cataract and glaucoma surgeries, LASIK procedures, and corneal transplants, was quoted as saying that “a right to healthcare… means you believe in slavery.”
Dr. Paul is the ranking member of the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging subcommittee, and made his comments at a Wednesday, May 11, 2011 hearing about emergency room use in American hospitals.
He said that, “With regard to the idea whether or not you have a right to health care you have to realize what that implies. I am a physician. You have a right to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, May 7, 2011
Certainly, there’s little or no disagreement that much change is needed in the way that national politics works. At its heart however, politics is the art of compromise. And politics, first begins in the home – because neither daddy, mama, nor children always get their way; but on occasion, daddy gets his way, mama gets hers, and by mutual consent with mama & daddy, on occasion the children get theirs. Changing the tenor of political operation in this nation begins with a few points, the first of which is that that we all love this nation, and seek the best for the people. One thing I’d like to see – which others have similarly expressed – is Term Limitations in the House and Senate; perhaps five in the House (10 years) and two in the Senate (12 years), for a grand total of 22 years service.
House conservatives prepare strong demands to raise the debt-ceiling
By Erik Wasson – 05/07/11 09:55 AM ET
House conservatives appear comfortable with being unable to get Medicare reform in exchange for the debt ceiling being raised and are coalescing around other strong demands including enactment of a balanced budget amendment.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, March 3, 2011
Does history repeat itself?
If history is any indicator, then President Obama will be re-elected.
The astute political observer will note that political events are playing out much like they did during President Clinton‘s first term. There is an angry Republican party whipped up by a vitriolic Speaker of the House, a government shutdown, allegations of a federal government that is too large, a domestic debt that is unmanageable, foreign turmoil, involvement in international armed conflict in the Middle East, anger by Republicans over health care reform, and a mid-term loss to Republicans… it’s uncanny.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, August 30, 2010
Is it ~really~ all about the money?
It certainly seems that way. Even cynical voices in the “opposite” camp acknowledge speaking/appearance fees exceeding six figures for S. Palin & millions for G. Beck’s media enterprises. But upon what authority and principle does it rest? -…Click here to foment civil unrest and agitation…>
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, August 27, 2010
A good friend of mine composed this homespun style letter, which I find heartfelt and equally expressive. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. It is published here with express permission, and anonymity, at the author’s request.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to hear my brother say something about Sarah Palin.
It wasn’t that it surprised me that he would opine – though in recent history, I don’t recall him sharing any opinions – but what he said.
It was that his observance of Sarah Palin’s words and actions were nothing really short of whacky. (I am paraphrasing – those were not his exact words.)
Though I suppose I would identify him in years past as “conservative” (whatever THAT’s supposed to mean), but his …Continue…
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, April 8, 2010
So-called “tea” partiers may be disappointed
The Tax Policy Center (TPC), a non-partisan policy analysis and collaborative effort of the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, both Washington, D.C. think-tanks, recently reported that 47% of all Americans will not pay income tax for the 2009 tax year.
President Obama’s “Making Work Pay” tax credits, and his American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) have further reduced income tax burdens on Americans.
Because of his initiatives, more than half of all elderly households, families with children, and other Americans will pay no income tax this year. More than 75% of married couples and single heads of households with income between $30,000 – 40,000 will pay no income tax. And more than 90% of all households with children will have no tax liability this year.
The Tax Policy Center estimated President Obama’s policies significantly lowered the tax burden on average Americans, …Continue…
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, March 25, 2010
How dare you!
“For the desire of money is the root of all evils; which some coveting have erred from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (DRV)
You either do it for love, or for money. If you do it for money, that makes you a… …Continue…
Warm Southern Breeze 