Contributions by tom-jjbt   Proposed 28 voxes • endorsed 68 voxes

About tom-jjbt
"America was built by the working man; and they had to fight the Republican party for their rights and recognition every step of the way."
27 proposals approved (96%)
20 comments made
Denies 3 voxes
125 points total
Identifies with 16 blocs
  • 0/2
    2
    0
    We support VA chief Shinseki

    We support VA chief Shinseki He may be an easy target but he is not the source of current Veterans Affairs problems. As stated by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, “He is determined, focused and wants to factually understand a problem so he can get a sensible solution.” He is a soft-spoken soldier who does not pound the table or raise his voice. In 2003 he stood up to Rumsfeld when he said thousands more troops would be needed to secure postwar Iraq. For that he lost his job but not his integrity. We do not want a competent and honest man to be replaced with a glad-hand politician.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (1) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • 0/1
    1
    0
    RIP Al Feldstein

    RIP Al Feldstein The activists of the 60’s got their early exposure to satire and inept government from the pages of Mad Magazine. Al cared about humor, kids and country and he made a difference.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (1) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • 0/3
    3
    0
    America's congress, a sad but true April Fool (from Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader)

    America's congress, a sad but true April Fool (from Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader)

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

  • 0/3
    3
    0
    Spring brings new life to Hays as the first eaglet

    Spring brings new life to Hays as the first eaglet emerges from it’s shell. Pittsburghers are jubilant as we pray for his health and await the hatching of his two siblings.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (4) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

  • 0/2
    2
    0
    Senator Yee, what in hell have you done?

    Senator Yee, what in hell have you done? Bribes? Wire fraud?? Conspiracy to deal firearms?!! Your selfish attempt to make money any way you could shows a total lack of respect for the people who trusted you to represent them. Your actions have inflicted serious harm on the Democratic party and especially on the image of hard working Chinese Americans. Resign your position immediately. >Californians do not want you. "Shrimp Boy?" Give us a break.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (1) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • 0/3
    3
    0
    Mexico’s Avocado cartels

    Mexico’s Avocado cartels >Americans, particularly >foodies, face another dilemma as conscience shoppers; are we supporting violence against Mexican farmers and workers by snacking on our beloved guacamole? The Knights Templar, one of Mexico’s most violent gangs, extorts nearly every working citizen in many areas of Michoacan. Through kidnapping, assault and intimidation they collect at least 10% of earnings from everyone in the avocado business: from growers, pickers, truckers and exporters to sellers of pesticides and other farm products. We praise brave >Mexicans as they band together in armed citizen defense groups and begin to openly oppose the gang. Their actions have forced the Mexican government, notoriously corrupt at every level, to finally stand up to the cartel and provide additional support to the people of Michoacan. Thanks to KCRW for the broadcast on their Good Food blog: “Jose de Cordoba: Avocado Cartels”

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (1) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

  • 0/3
    3
    0
    >Americans and >Environmentalists love Bald Eagles

    >Americans and >Environmentalists love Bald Eagles, but none more so than Pittsburghers who have a nesting pair within city limits incubating three eggs. Bald Eagles had been absent from the Pittsburgh area for about 250 years but thanks to reintroduction efforts, which began 30 years ago, there are currently nests on all three rivers according to the Audubon Society of Western Penna. Outsiders may be surprised to learn of the nesting eagles within city limits but Pittsburghers are well familiar with the wildlife that exists in their many wooded areas. Not the least of which are wild turkeys, another majestic bird that, if Benjamin Franklin had his way, would have replaced the Bald Eagle as our national symbol. Click the link to see live activity from the Hays Bald Eagle cam.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (5) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • By irishphili for the
    Thursday, March 06, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Pizza - ummm

    Pizza - ummm We love the new fast fired pizzerias. Custom pizzas at a decent price and prepared within 10 minutes. The ones we tried are surprisingly tasty; as good as those you will find at the best mom and pop pizza shops. They will surely impact the business model of the major chains like Dominos, Pizza Hut and Round Table. Serves them right. The new shops have names like Blaze, 800 Degrees, Pieology and MOD Pizza. Check’em out.

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • 0/2
    2
    0
    We are heartened by the rain.

    We are heartened by the rain. And it is not the typical light sprinkles that puts the local networks on “Storm Watch.” It’s a bonafide winter storm from the Pacific. On Friday it dropped 2 1/4 inches on downtown Los Angeles and more in the foothills. The storm generated warnings of flash floods and mudslides and created 12 foot waves at some beaches. Last night some San Gabriel Valley residents were awakened by two reverse 911 calls; the first warning of a tornado (“…take shelter now…”) and the second warning of flash floods. Despite our elation over the rain experts say it will do little to relieve the drought. Nevertheless it’s better than nothing. And we love it.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (1) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • 0/5
    5
    0
    Plant milkweed; save the monarch.

    Plant milkweed; save the monarch. Monarch butterflies have one food source: milkweed. American farmers are destroying milkweed in their rush to plant genetically modified corn and soybeans. First through the use of herbicides that kill all plant life (save the modified corn and soybeans) and second by increased planting of corn and soybeans on acreage that historically grew milkweed. The winter migrations of monarch butterflies used to blanket over 16 acres of forests in western Mexico. This year they were recorded on only 1.7 acres; a 90% decrease. Our elected officials must take the lead in restoring milkweed. One easy to implement recommendation is to plant milkweed on the sides and medians of US roads along the butterflies’ migratory route. In the meantime each of us can act by planting milkweed around our homes and neighborhoods. Seeds are available for the cost of postage (copy/paste URL in your browser) https://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds... The disappearance of the monarch would be an ecological tragedy and we can prevent it. Act now.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (2) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

  • 0/3
    3
    0
    We stand behind LA’s Republique restaurant and

    We stand behind LA’s Republique restaurant and their decision to add health care for their 85 full-time employees. The money to do so comes from a three percent surcharge added to each customer’s bill. Very reasonable; especially when you consider how many restaurants treat their employees, especially the wait staff. Republique’s method surprised some patrons and actually offended others (notably whining Yelpers). Sure they could have simply raised their prices by 3% but we agree with the statement they are making and the trust they are seeking from their customers

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • 0/4
    4
    0
    Drought emergency in California

    Drought emergency in California - declared by Governor Brown. This is the driest year on record and we support the conservation efforts proposed by Brown; not only in California but in all areas that face water shortages. Conservation will be easy once we recognize the condition and take responsibility for minimizing waste in our households. Examples include: - Take “navy showers:” get wet, turn off the water, soap up, turn on the water and rinse. - The same method applies for washing your hands: wet your hands, turn off the water, soap up then rinse. - Do not let water run down the drain as you rinse your dishes - rinse over a sink basin then transfer the water to a bucket where it can be used to flush toilets or water plants. - Replace grass lawns with drought tolerant native plants. The single most important thing we can do is to decide to do something about water waste. Once that is done the solutions will follow.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (1) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • By lovejoy for the
    Sunday, January 19, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Related image

    Should we believe what the chairman of the House of Intelligence Committee is saying? Did Snowden actually end up in the "loving arms of an FSB agent in Moscow?" I don't think so. I smell diversion.

  • By mike for the
    Saturday, January 18, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    We welcome Obama's remarks but more must be done.

    We welcome Obama's remarks but more must be done. His speech struck us, mainly throughout the first half, as cluttered with rhetoric, deflection, and rationalization. Eventually, he rattled off a slew of Presidential directives and orders (more internal oversight and restrictions, annual internal reviews to declassify information and address private and foreign interests, and time limits on NSL gag orders and storage of foreign citizen data). We give him some credit for these executive orders, but they're flimsy. They can be rescinded at any time, by Obama or successive Presidents. So we demand Congress resolve this permanently, and affirm a commitment to prevent similar crises in the future. Our trust in government rests largely on our ability to hold Congress accountable, so we take any action that inhibits accountability as a manipulative, abusive affront to democracy. We want oversight, because oversight motivates restraint. And as technology continues to amplify the effects of these transgressions, in questionable cases we prefer our government errs on the side of transparency rather than secrecy, as we accept that a free and open society fundamentally entails risks to our physical safety. So Obama's most important statements were in this very spirit. We look forward to the replacement metadata collection program he intends to take to Congress, and on his call for them to create an independent civilian panel to argue significant cases in FISC. We expect Congress to go further, not only to strengthen oversight and other checks on existing programs, but also to institute a general oversight framework for *any* secret powers granted now or in the future (we cannot know that all such secrecy has already been made public). An American once wisely said, "A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency." Today, five years later, he outlined a few steps his administration is taking to uphold that.

  • By mike for the
    Wednesday, January 15, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    How many more senseless shootings must occur before we come together to bring responsible measures to gun ownership?

http://nyti.ms/1almPEt

    How many more senseless shootings must occur before we come together to bring responsible measures to gun ownership? http://nyti.ms/1almPEt

  • By mike for the
    Thursday, January 09, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Classroom iPads will do more harm than good. While we think that it's important to keep pace with technology and to provide a "test bed" for educational software developers, large-scale iPad rollouts are bound to carry impossible expectations and create headaches for educators and students. As a "magical" piece of technology, it would seem the iPad could be the panacea that cures all educational ills. This naive impression can justify enormous capital outlay. But the fact is, they are simply electrified books and pencils. It's on teachers to creatively weave them into lessons, which seems problematic since many teachers barely understand tablets or computers themselves. Students, on the other hand, will never cease to devise ways to break any restrictions on the devices. This will lead to lackluster results and mobs of taxpayers with pitchforks roaming the streets.  Physical books and pencils will likely be displaced by electronic devices in the future, so it's important that we consider them in education today. But the magic is in careful, even restrained, integration of their capabilities into the classroom. And much more research into this needs to be done before much can be expected from them. Small experimental classroom rollouts, overseen very closely by teams of educational technology specialists, seem to us to be the appropriate next step.

  • 0/1
    1
    0
    Patient dumping is disgusting.

    Patient dumping is disgusting. We believe few actions are more despicable than a hospital discharging indigent and/or mentally ill patients by dumping them on city streets; usually skid row. If this is how hospitals treat the helpless what can we expect from Wall Street, banks and other institutions? History shows that corporate corruption goes on for years before the justice system takes action. And what are the penalties? A financial fine, i.e. a slap on the wrist. We want these criminals brought to trial, the way the rest of us are. And the guilty should be imprisoned, the way the rest of us are. Financial fines are no deterrent for the wealthy, perhaps the prospect of ten years hard-time would nudge them towards decency.

    Bloc Replies▶ Member Comments (1) Respondents Share Share Detail page Show more

Endorsed by tom-jjbt
  • By mike for the
    Friday, January 03, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    We're surprised the >british accept net censorship. It's certainly necessary to take action to reduce child sex abuse and pornography, but the mandatory internet obscenity filter they're implementing seems to vastly overreach. First, it is managed by private corporations without clear transparency controls. Corporate partnerships with government are ominous to begin with, but are much more so when they're charged with enforcing "acceptable behavior standards" (as Commons Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz put it). Second, the content filter is installed at ISPs and enabled by default, requiring customers to opt-out of it to access content that is legal but deemed "obscene and tasteless". In a post-Snowden world, divulging anything to government should spark skepticism, but having to identify yourself as interested in obscene material in order to remove a corporate-managed filter seems to ask for trouble. Third, although supporters have referred to a slippery slope from consuming tasteless material to consuming illegal material, there is also concern for the slippery slope from filtration to protect children to filtration to protect against dissenting views of politicians or the government. In light of recent surveillance abuses, how can one expect anything less than a voracious appropriation of authority from government agencies. The filter's technical infrastructure expands the nanny state, but can be repurposed for a police state. It is easy enough for parents to install (or have installed) content filtering software on their computing devices. And the UK already has the Cleanfeed system for filtering child pornography. So this new content filter, originally sprung from the government's desire to address rising "commercialization and sexualization of childhood" and then expanded in the response to two highly-publicized child murders, is an overreaction that will have harmful consequences. We'd be content to silently observe all of this from a distance. But the American and British governments seem to be of the same mind lately when it comes to digital privacy. And, while more can and should be done to address child sex abuse, we are scared by the basic notion of empowering corporate and political entities to judge for us what information is and is not "acceptable".

  • By liladmin for the
    Friday, January 03, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    We hold that the key to healthy living is *balance

    We hold that the key to healthy living is *balance*, as illustrated in this piece about the unexpected negative effects of rigid adherence to what is stereotypically considered "healthy".

  • By mike for the
    Friday, January 03, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Clemency for Snowden! He shined necessary light on unconstitutional & antidemocratic government actions in the only meaningful way possible

  • By mike for the
    Thursday, January 02, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Short workouts can be great! We're excited by studies showing that short but intense workouts can provide substantial health benefits. This is welcome news for those of us whose schedules are very impacted, and since this addresses one of the largest psychological barriers to exercise, we hope this can help turn the tide on the obesity epidemic afflicting so many. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/for-fi...

  • By mike for the
    Wednesday, January 01, 2014 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Happy New Year, world!

    Happy New Year, world! May tolerance and understanding of others allow us to leverage our differences to make the most of 2014 and the challenges it holds!