COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Fighting for What is Theirs



Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon Join Protest Against the North Dakota Pipeline

“It’s a problem in terms of social justice,” Sarandon told a Los Angeles rally.

Hundreds of people gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday to protest against climate change and show support for activists demonstrating against the construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota.

Several Hollywood stars, including Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon, were among the more than 800 people who attended the climate rally in MacArthur Park. Rallygoers carried signs urging to “shut it all down now” and chanted slogans like “water is life.”

“Not only is it an environmental, but it’s a problem in terms of social justice,” Sarandon told the rally. “We can do it. We can stop fracking. We can stop the pipeline. But really it’s only because of great numbers of people.”

Also among celebrity attendees was actress Shailene Woodley, who earlier this month was arrested in North Dakota while protesting the planned pipeline in an incident that was live-streamed on Facebook.

In North Dakota, more than 80 protesters were arrested on Saturday after clashing with police near a pipeline construction site, according to the local sheriff’s department, which pepper sprayed demonstrators.
For more on environmental change, watch Fortune’s video:

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and environmental activists have been protesting construction of the 1,100-mile (1,886-km) pipeline in North Dakota for several months, saying it threatens the water supply and sacred sites.

The pipeline, being built by a group of companies led by Energy Transfer Partners LP, would be the first to bring Bakken shale from North Dakota directly to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Supporters say the pipeline would provide a safer and more cost-effective way to transport Bakken shale to the U.S. Gulf than by road or rail.

There were no reports of arrests at the Los Angeles rally, where demonstrators assembled into the evening decrying climate change, hydraulic fracturing and oil pipelines as a threat to the safety of future generations.

“I’d rather walk miles today to protest the building of the pipeline than have my children walk miles to get clean water in the future,” 22-year-old college student Steffany Urrea said.

57 comments:

  1. The US Government acquiesces to the occupation rights of European Jews in Israel. Surely, American Indians, who were born and raised on the lands that they never left have rights on a par with Israelis.

    I am sure that all the members of the US Congress will be flocking en masse to the cause of the The Standing Rock Sioux.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Pipeline is preventing them from building a Casino on this sacred ground (and possibly a glue factory).

    Seriously folks, Mr. Ruffalo, a B actor at best and a flaming liberal, has been chastising Obama as of late for not taking a harder stance on fracking, pipelines, etc. Ruffalo voted for Obama TWICE.

    ReplyDelete
  3. .

    The only argument that makes sense to me is that the pipeline is safer than transporting the same oil over roads or rail.

    However, that requires a leap pf faith that the claim is correct. While it seems reasonable to me, I'm no expert. It could be bullshit made up by 'big oil'. Or, it could be that minor spills such as a truck flipping (even if it happens often) could be much easier to clean up than a pipe line spill and obviously each one would cause much less harm to the environment.

    Evidently, the protesters don't buy the argument. Which is their right.

    Jobs? 30,000? Bullshit. I've worked with oil and chemical companies when I was in purchasing. I've seen the amount of people they need. After the line is built, there will be no new jobs.

    If we don't do it, the Canadians will run the line west and ship their oil to someone else or build their own refinery? Bull. It will be a while to before Canada can afford to do it even if they wanted to. And the question is, in a world flooded in oil and adequate refining capacity,why would they want to?

    The money from the oil? These Indians (or most Americans) will never see it. The only ones making money off this will be Canada and the refiners on the coast. In fact, if anything our domestic prices may go up. Our domestic oil prices are usually a lot lower than the world price. Part of that is because is somewhat stuck in the US without the infrastructure to get it to the coasts cheaply. The pipeline would free that oil for shipment to Europe and the world. In that situation, there could be less oil here for domestic use and price and demand would take over.

    The pipeline does nothing for the public. It helps Canada and the oil companies. At least a casino would create a few jobs.

    I'm neutral on the issue from a financial view but I wish the Indians well.

    .



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      As for the Israel analogy, I would compare the Indians more to the Palestinians than to the Israelis (unfortunately).

      .

      Delete
    2. Probably better. We (US Government) don’t give a shit about either of them.

      Delete
    3. Continuing Quirk's analogy I would compare the Poles of Hamtramck, Michigan to the 'First Peoples' and the muzz to the dreaded - certainly should be dreaded - imperialist interlopers.

      STOP MOSLEM IMMIGRATION TO USA NOW

      Save The Poles !

      Delete
    4. I compare Rachel Maddow and Amy Schumer to Chuck Schumer.

      Delete
    5. QuirkTue Oct 25, 10:29:00 AM EDT
      .

      As for the Israel analogy, I would compare the Indians more to the Palestinians than to the Israelis (unfortunately).



      Why Quirk? the fake nationalistic people called "palestinians" history starts in 1966, if you want to call them arabs? then it's a different question altogether

      Delete
  4. .

    From the previous stream...

    QuirkTue Oct 25, 10:55:00 AM EDT

    Christ on a Harley, no doubt about it.

    Trump would have to successfully run the field in all the battleground states. When he spent 15 minutes of his time in yesterday's speech condemning the women coming forth against him, what do you really think his chances of doing that are?

    The real issue the GOP should worry about (and I'm pretty sure they are) is how long are the coattails on Clinton's pantsuits. Hillary is so confident she is politicking in areas that should be Trump safe areas. Obama is out campaigning for Democrats all the way down to the state legislature level.

    What we should be worried about now are big losses in the House and the real possibility of actually losing the Senate. The worst possible scenario is if Hillary is able to claim a mandate with numbers to back it up.


    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      On the other hand, an OP-ED from the WSJ...

      The FBI’s Clinton Probe Gets Curiouser

      New evidence of a conflict of interest and a double standard.

      Hillary Clinton may win the election in two weeks, but the manner of her victory will bedevil her in the White House. Specifically, evidence keeps turning up suggesting that the FBI probe into her emails was influenced by political favoritism and double standards.

      The latest news is the Journal’s report Monday that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend of Hillary and Bill, steered money to the campaign of the wife of a top FBI official. Political organizations under Mr. McAuliffe’s control gave more than $675,000 to the 2015 Virginia state Senate campaign of Jill McCabe, the wife of FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe.

      Mr. McCabe, director James Comey’s right-hand man, helped oversee the probe into whether Mrs. Clinton mishandled classified information on her server.

      Some $467,500 of the money came directly from Mr. McAuliffe’s political action committee, Common Good VA, while $207,788 came from the Virginia Democratic Party, which the Governor essentially controls. The funds amounted to more than one-third of all the money Mrs. McCabe raised...


      .

      Delete
    2. .

      Mrs. McCabe announced her candidacy the same month (March 2015) as the news broke about Mrs. Clinton’s private email server. Mr. McCabe was running the FBI’s Washington field office at the time, and he was promoted to the No. 3 FBI slot not long after the formal FBI investigation began in July 2015.

      The FBI said in a statement that none of this is an issue because Mr. McCabe wasn’t promoted to the No. 2 position until February 2016, months after his wife lost her race, and only then did he assume “for the first time, an oversight role in the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s emails.”

      All of this asks voters to believe that Mr. McCabe as the No. 3 official at the FBI had nothing to do with the biggest, most sensitive case at that agency. This strains credulity. Before he became No. 3 at the FBI Mr. McCabe ran the bureau’s Washington, D.C. field office that provided resources to the Clinton probe. Campaign-finance records show that 98% of the McAuliffe donations to Mrs. McCabe came after the FBI launched its Clinton probe.

      Director Comey, the self-styled Boy Scout, somehow didn’t think any of this would look suspicious? Add this to the list of special treatment for Mrs. Clinton: no grand jury, grants of immunity to her aides, no interview until the last minute, a special exonerating public declaration, and a pre-Labor Day dump of damaging FBI notes.

      The contrast couldn’t be greater with the FBI and Justice Department determination to convict retired Gen. James Cartwright—former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—of a felony for lying to the FBI. The general told a federal court last week he regretted he didn’t tell the bureau the truth about conversations he’d had with reporters about a secret cyberattack disrupting Iran’s nuclear program. He could serve up five years in prison...


      .

      Delete
  5. There's a lot of money in 'sacred sites'.

    Especially when one can claim the entire reservation as a 'sacred site'.

    It's all about a paycheck.

    Forked tongue pale face is a dumbshit.

    Susan Sarahwrap is the biggest phoniest dumbshit of all.



    ReplyDelete
  6. You can’t defend that the Israelis have a superior claim to the land because of history and deny the same claim to the American Indian tribes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And yet America has set aside lands for the American Indians, gave them nations status and funds them every year to the tune of 20 billion a year

      http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/10/09/20-billion-total-us-support-american-indians-162020

      Delete
  7. Every time the Idaho Transportation Department wants to arrange a shipment of big equipment through the reservation here to the tar sands of Canada they got to negotiate about moving some stuff across 'sacred sites'.

    It's all bullshit, and negotiating a paycheck.

    If they don't like electricity and natural gas let them all live in tepees with little wood fires inside.

    You don't EVER see that these days, though.

    What I see is huge pickup trucks from the Casino money.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They given up the earlier scared transportation mode of the old days - the dog sled, and two feet.

      Now it's a Ram 4x4, often with camper.

      Delete
    2. (camper with shitter/shower inside, and propane stove and heat, sleeps six, internet access)

      Delete
    3. (fridge, air conditioner, cargo carrier on top....)

      Delete
  8. KAINE PLAYS TO 30 IN FLORIDA....DRUDGE

    ReplyDelete
  9. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvnbBv0VYAEHWTU.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Bully Party

    I’ve been trying to figure out what common trait binds Clinton supporters together. As far as I can tell, the most unifying characteristic is a willingness to bully in all its forms.

    If you have a Trump sign in your lawn, they will steal it.

    If you have a Trump bumper sticker, they will deface your car.

    if you speak of Trump at work you could get fired.

    On social media, almost every message I get from a Clinton supporter is a bullying type of message. They insult. They try to shame. They label. And obviously they threaten my livelihood.

    We know from Project Veritas that Clinton supporters tried to incite violence at Trump rallies. The media downplays it.

    We also know Clinton’s side hired paid trolls to bully online. You don’t hear much about that.

    Yesterday, by no coincidence, Huffington Post, Salon, and Daily Kos all published similar-sounding hit pieces on me, presumably to lower my influence.

    http://blog.dilbert.com/post/152293480726/the-bully-party

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. gee Doug, do you think he might be typing that stuff with his toungue in his cheek?

      "The part of the Periscope session that got shadowbanned (maybe) was where I said all Trump needs to do to win is display a detailed understanding of the PROCESS of handling the nuclear codes, but using only public sources. That would demonstrate that he is serious and understands the gravity of it. The public needs to know he takes it seriously.

      But Trump would also need to use what I call the “high ground maneuver” to frame his critics as people who think offensive words are as important as nuclear war. Sure, Trump sometimes says things that are politically incorrect, but our adversaries in the world know what they are getting with Trump. They have televisions. No one will be surprised by anything he does.

      And Trump could point out that he has a lifetime of experience making important decisions under pressure. Say directly to the American people that they are safe with him in control of the military arsenal.

      We also have some recent news that changes the frame from Trump supporters being dangerous to Clinton being dangerous. Project Veritas showed us that Clinton allies incited the violence at Trump rallies. We heard Vice President Biden say he wanted to take Trump behind the bleachers and beat him up. And we observe Clinton provoking Russia at every opportunity. That all sounds dangerous to me – at least enough to change the frame.

      If you talk to Clinton supporters about why they are afraid of Trump, about half of the problem is their concern about his “temperament” and the nuclear codes. That comes from Clinton’s persuaders doing a good job of making the case that Trump’s choice of words indicates he would be dangerous with the nuclear codes. If Trump addresses that illusion directly, he removes the biggest fear that people have about him.

      And he wins."

      http://blog.dilbert.com/post/152204980091/twitter-and-periscope-shadowban-update

      Delete
    2. I think it was a clever way for him to find out how Canadians spell "tongue."

      Delete
  11. The Gold Codes are the launch codes for nuclear weapons provided to the Presidents of the United States in their role as Commander-in-Chief of the United States armed forces.[1] In conjunction with the nuclear football, the Gold Codes allow the president to authorize a nuclear attack.[2] Gold Codes, as well as a separate nuclear football, are also assigned to the Vice President in case the president is incapacitated or otherwise unable to discharge the duties of office pursuant to the 25th Amendment.[3][4][5] Gold Codes are arranged in a column and printed on a plastic card, nicknamed "the biscuit".[6]

    The card is similar to a credit card, and the president carries it on their person. Before it can be read, an opaque plastic covering must be snapped in two and removed.[7]

    Gold Codes are generated daily and provided by the National Security Agency (NSA) to the White House, The Pentagon, United States Strategic Command, and TACAMO. For an extra level of security, the list of codes on the card includes codes that have no meaning, and therefore the president must memorize where on the list the correct code is located. The concept behind the codes is that they permit the president to positively identify themselves as the commander-in-chief and thereby authenticate a launch order to the National Military Command Center (NMCC).[8][9]

    Since the sequences have to be memorized, I wouldn't worry to much about Trump having access, since according to a few of you, he is too dumb to memorize anything. If Clinton is president, she can have the codes written on the inside of her prism eye glasses or have them on her private server in her bathroom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. POTUS can pull the trigger!

      Delete
    2. Apparently so can a few folks at the NSA, the Pentagon, the USSC, and TACAMO. And the VP in certain circumstances. Ya'll are worried about Trump but not crazy Uncle Joe and the frickin idiot Kaine?? Paleese.

      Delete
    3. The premise of the TV show Designated Survivor is interesting in this context. Have you seen it?

      Delete
    4. The Donald is very unlikely 'to pull the trigger'.

      He likes life in Trump Tower.

      Hillary is the warmonger in this election, make no mistake.

      Vote Peace
      Vote Trump !

      Delete
    5. Trump ain't gonna give up his chance with Ivanka.

      Delete
  12. Hillary, the smelly gash, seems to have fallen again, and put a gash in her cheek.

    See pic of gash at Drudge.

    GASH ON SIDE OF HILLARY FACE RAISES CONCERNS...

    Majority of Doctors Say She Has Abnormal Eye Movement...

    Cause could be 'disabling neurological condition'...

    EMAIL: Huma says she's 'still not perfect in her head'....DRUDGE


    Oh come on, Huma, she's always been crazy as hell.

    And has never made any improvement in that regard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rachel Maddow wants to palpate that gash.

      Delete
  13. Whoopie !

    I'll never make another Life Insurance payment again in this life, bar mates.

    For awhile I tried to drink my self to death to get out from under those payments.

    I have tried smoke my self to death.

    Nothing has worked.

    Finally, I'm at the point where the dividends finally do all the paying.

    Yippeeeeeeeeeeee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (can't help but share good news even if it's my own)

      Delete
  14. More good news -

    Mills Leads Nolan in Tight 8th District Race

    October 23, 2016 10:49 PM

    In a rematch of one of the closest congressional races in the country two years ago, Republican Stewart Mills leads Democratic incumbent Rick Nolan by four points in Minnesota's 8th District, 45 percent to 41 percent, in our exclusive KSTP/SurveyUSA poll. However, a significant number of voters remain undecided, 14 percent, and could swing this election either way....

    http://kstp.com/politics/stewart-mills-rick-nolan-8th-congressional-race-kstp-survey-usa-poll/4299301/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is called a har binger of things to come....

      I'll be laughing for joy when Hillary loses.

      Delete
    2. Trump Doing Well Among Blacks

      http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/10/trump-track-win-black-votes-gop-candidate-since-1960/

      Delete
    3. Deuce will stage a bar bringer if Trump wins.

      Delete
  15. PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — When the Affordable Care Act open enrollment period begins next week customers will see some changes, including fewer choices and higher prices.

    In Pennsylvania, the number of insurers in the marketplace has gone from 13 to eight. In Philadelphia, just two insurers are left and premiums are expected to rise 53 percent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arizona Obamacare Plan To Jump By 116 Percent When Premiums Go Up Next Year

      However, in Arizona, unsubsidized premiums for a hypothetical 27-year-old buying a benchmark “second-lowest cost silver plan” will jump by 116 percent, from $196 to $422, according to the administration report.

      “Enrollment is concentrated among very low-income individuals who receive significant government subsidies to reduce premiums and cost-sharing,”

      http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/25/arizona-obamacare-premiums/

      Delete
    2. They're following the college loan model for jacking up the cost of healthcare:

      "The Government" (us) loans free money to students, colleges jack up their rates, we give students more money.

      We end up broke, students end up slaves to their college loans.

      Delete
  16. FoxNews just reporting on the latest Wikileaks - over the past 8 years, the Dept-of-Justice has been fining banks for discrepancies and using the fines to fund left-wing advocacy and get-out-the-vote groups. To the tune of $650 MILLION.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ash, yes I like Designated Survivor. Very entertaining. I've been kind of bored now that Ray Donovan is off the air.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I Robot, and Better Call Saul are worth a look.

      Delete
  18. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif both travelled to Quetta after the attack and participated in a special security meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the prime minister's office said.

    One of the top military commanders in Baluchistan, General Sher Afgun, told media that calls intercepted between the attackers and their handlers suggested they were from the sectarian Sunni militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

    LeJ, whose roots are in the heartland Punjab province, has a history of carrying out sectarian attacks in Baluchistan, particularly against the minority Hazara Shias. Pakistan has previously accused LeJ of colluding with al-Qaeda.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ash would be better off listening to Country/Western, like me.

    Very little politics in it, just the deeper perpetual themes of human life....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love gained and lost, saddles, love lost and gained, horses, grandpa died, cattle, City Slickers taught a lesson, cattle drives, saddles, whiskey and saddles and horses and women.....

      Delete
    2. The Lord, and saddles, and whiskey, and horses, and women.....the meaningful things.....

      Delete
    3. There's someone for everyone, and Tommy's love was Becky.
      In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man.
      One day while he was working, the Gatlin boys came calling
      They took turns at Becky, n'there was three of them).

      Tommy opened up the door, and saw Becky crying.
      The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand.
      He reached above the fireplace, and took down his daddy's picture.
      As the tears fell on his daddy's face, he heard these words again:

      Delete
  20. Megyn Kelly's turned into a total asshole.

    She refused to say the words 'sexual predator' in regard to BillyGoat when Newt Gingrich dared her to do so !!

    bwabwabwahahahahaha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Newt 10
      Megyn 0

      in last exchange.

      It was quite humorous.

      Delete
    2. She's a lawyer:

      How was she to know Bill didn't pay 900 Thousand for nothing?

      Delete
    3. Cunt speak with painted face.

      Delete
  21. Politics sure does make for strange bedfellows:

    Michael Moore luvs Trump

    https://youtu.be/ufrt-UIztJw

    ReplyDelete