Layoff Notices sent to Thousands of U.S. Teachers

http://coto2.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/layoff-notices-sent-to-thousands-of-us-teachers/

SHAME ON ARIZONA

NFL DRAFT DAY- Overkill

How far has the NFL Draft come?
Here is a strange fact... when Hall-of-Fame Tight End Kellen Winslow, Sr. was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 1979 from the University of Missouri, he didn't find out he was drafted by the Chargers UNTIL THE NEXT DAY.
Reason was his telephone (pre-cell phone era of course) was out of order at his residence and he had to go to the newspaper stand the following day to find out he was a San Diego Charger.
Strange, but true.
The 2010 NFL Draft begins Thursday night (yeah, Thursday night) and continues for three days.
WTF?
Overkill is the word here for this football fan.
Just keep it simple because far too often the rookies do not make that much of an impact on a team in so far as getting to the Super Bowl in that particular season.
Plus the fact the money is ridiculous.
These kids do not deserve that kind of money prior to lacing up the cleats at the pro level.
Get it back to the days when players actually had to PROVE THEMSELVES as pro football players before the monetary rewards came their way.
Besides, baseball season just started, and the NBA and NHL playoffs are in full stride.
Football season starts in just over four months and that is when it truly matters.
As for now, the St. Louis Rams are on the clock.

It's Obama's choice, not the right's choice

They had their way for eight years and saw their boy, former president George Bush, Jr., choose two hard core right wing idealogues for the United States Supreme Court bench.
When Bush chose John Roberts in 2005 for the Supreme Court, there was a buzz of controversy surrounding this choice. Ultimately, Roberts was confirmed by the Senate, and rather rapidly appointed as the Chief Justice after William Rehnquist left and passed away in short time.
Fast forward to selection number two for Bush, Jr. as he selected Samuel Alito (after a complete gaffe in his initial pick of Harriet Miers) to the high court of the land.
Three and a half years later, President Obama chose Sonya Sotomayor as Supreme Court Justice and she was hailed as "too liberal" by the right.
We all knew that was coming because of the haggle Bush had with his two picks, in particular Alito in early 2006. The late Senator Ted Kennedy really grilled Alito in the confirmation hearings.
So here we go again as Obama will make HIS CHOICE (he is the President) and no doubt the right will howl and scream when the choice is announced.
I say Obama should pick someone to the left, perhaps even the far left, to balance the power of the Supreme Court and it's right wing slant.
The top court says it's fine for corporations to donate unlimited funds to campaigns and thus drown out the voice of the people in the matter when it comes to future elections and that's dangerous because that will eventually lead to an oligarchy.
Just ask Spain and Italy how that worked under Franco and Mussolini some seventy-plus years ago.
Oligarchy allows corporations to rule and that has been a slow and methodical plot of the right here in the United States and look at how things have gone right here at home for a majority of Americans as a result.
Thirty years of Reaganomics and tax breaks for the top two percent of income earners have left this country ravaged and now we are stuck with a Supreme Court decision in favor of the corporate agenda that has contributed heavily to the current economic mess.
The fact is President Obama has the right to make the choice and hopefully he will lean left with his choice. Although I'm skeptical because he seems to want to appease the minority party in Congress.
No matter what the choice be, the nominee will no doubt face intense scrutiny from the right and all the masters of propaganda on right wing radio and TV will paint an ugly picture of the nominee.
That's just the way it is today in the United States of America.
Hell, Obama could choose Don Blankenship and the righties would scoff.
Get ready folks because it is going to be ugly when the choice is made and no doubt they will eventually be confirmed by the Senate.
They (almost) always are.
President Obama ... choose wisely and choose for the people of the land, not the corporate agenda.
After all, the cororations already have FIVE of the nine justices on their side.

Media balance tipping even more to the right

What is this with CNN going the way of Fox News and bringing hard core right wing commentators to their broadcasts?
With the hiring last month of Erick Erickson (sounds like a stage name to me, like fellow righty Lars Larsen) the CNN cable news network shows the direction they are leaning and now balance between the three top cable news outlets (CNN, MSNBC and Fox) is tipped to the right.
Anyone with a brain can see where this is going because just four years ago CNN was bringing heat on the Bush administration with the likes of the commentators and guests frequenting their network.
Hell, Lou Dobbs of all people regularly had Joe Madison, Randi Rhodes and Lionel (LIONEL for crying out loud) on his nightly show.
That was before Dobbs turned hard right and started running with the "conspiracy theory" crowd, evidenced with the birther movement demanding that President Obama show his birth certificate and all that nonsense.
There was a constant bombardment by CNN showing all the chaos in Iraq when our troops were dropping like flies on a daily basis by suicide bombers, IEDs, etc.
What happened?
Why the sudden shift away from the left to the right?
Is it because the corporations that rule the news want it so.
I can just see it now as they figure out the way to paint Obama as the bad guy by constantly showing him in a negative light with the likes of the tea party protests, the group funded by Operation Freedom Works (Dick Armey and his cronies run this group) and insist on showing Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and any other righty you care to name bashing the president and his policies.
Sure, that's been going forever people will say. But it just seems overwhelming and now with two outlets on the cable circuit going against one, the balance is definitely swinging more right than ever before.
MSNBC makes no bones about the direction they have taken and thank God for that or it would unanimous the other way.
After 9/11, the country seemed to be united, but shortly there after, Bush-Cheney and the hard right started to force one thing after another through congress and very few people said anything because of the "fear factor" still pervading the United States.
That was nine years ago folks and the right is still getting it's way it seems even though THEY LOST in the 2008 Presidential election.
They are like spoiled school brats who can't have it their way 100 percent of the time anymore.
Tough!
There was a decision BY THE PEOPLE to change things.
That's they way it works, so deal with it.
But No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Now comes along CNN with their inane decision to go right by hiring the likes of this Erickson character, a Glenn Beck wannabe who is a hard core right wing blogger and recently stated on his CNN radio show that he would "take his wife's shotgun and point it at (Census Bureau) workers" when they show up at his door.
Sounds like a threat to me.
There have been arrests made recently with nut cases threatening the lives of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) and of course the infamous threatening phone calls recently to retiring U.S. House Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Michigan).
One of the guys arrested watches a lot of Fox News, according to his mother. The AP reported this two days ago.
Go figure!
Now tell me something I don't already know.
Not to mention the irresponsibility of Palin putting "gun scope targets" on congressional districts on web site that the republicans will attempt to win over in November's mid-term elections.
These nut cases need to be slammed hard and put away for a long time to show what will happen to any and all who attempt to intimidate in like manner.
There is no reason for that at all.
The way to fight intimidation is to punch the bullies right in the mouth!
POW!
More bullying... more punches to the face right back at them.
That's how it works.
They will no doubt continue their relentless efforts to intimidate their way back into power in Washington, D.C. and keep coming out of holes like rats to get their way in spite of the success that has started to show for this country recently.
Just yesterday (4/9/10) it's reported that retailers saw the biggest gain in a 30-day period in sales in over ten years.
Hell, the DOW index is up 3,000 points since last spring. If a republican were in office right now and that news came out, these Obama critics would be hailing them the "savior" of our nation.
The recession is showing real signs it is easing up. Jobs are starting to be filled as well. So don't listen to the naysayers on the right.
What's wrong with people getting health care coverage and living more full and productive lives?
What is wrong with people in the work place having a chance to organize and speak when they feel something isn't quite right or safe?
There would be 29 more coal miners still alive today had they had the chance to refuse to go into an unsafe mine in West Virginia that had been sighted literally HUNDREDS of times in the past two years, including two more that very morning for safety violations.
Explain to the families of those dead men at the funerals, if you have the guts to do so why they shouldn't have had the right to do just that.
Bottom line in all of this is CNN is going for ratings (and the almighty dollar of course) with this shift because it will create controversy where there really isn't any.
Glenn Beck used to work at CNN and actually talked about relevant issues at the time.
When he was "bought" over to Fox, he changed big time and started becoming a "shock" talker to stimulate ratings and get people talking about things.
Problem is, regular watchers of his show believe the lies and take it seriously.
This hire by CNN of Erickson is the same thing as they seek to cash in on revenue from advertising.
Careful what you wish for CNN because approximately 150 plus advertisers have cut ties with Beck, including some BIG NAMES in the past eight months.
Here's hoping some sanity will return to CNN and they will see these clowns for the frauds that they are.

It's the Weekend: Time for some observations

Just kicking back and enjoying a quiet Friday evening.
Suddenly inundated on the TV News shows with all the hate being lashed out by the people on the right (Beck, Liz Cheney, Palin, Bachmann, Gingrich, etc.) against the Obama Adminstration.
What is it now?
These people are beginning to bore me.
Really bore me.
YAWN!
When I get tired ... I get angry.
Real angry.
Pissed off angry.
Here we go....

NEWT GINGRICH: Who gives a flying (deleted) about what this philanderer thinks about President Obama?
If anyone is radical Newt, YOU ARE!

GLENN BECK: Didn't I-95 write a song about this goof nearly 30 years ago?
You know the one about the A*#HOLE!

RUSH LIMBAUGH: I think this guy was leaving the country for Costa Rica because health care reform passed into law?
Not a man of his word (ONCE AGAIN) ... is he?

THE GOP: Why even bother?
I simply don't have enough time or space on this blog site to go there.

PALIN & BACHMANN: There's a silly combo.
One's a quitter on Twitter and the other resembles a psychotic PTA mom.
To slightly alter the lyrics of the famous Talking Heads song 'Psycho Killer' regarding these two ... "Psycho bitches ... run, run, run away!"

LIZ CHENEY: Like father, like daughter.

TEA PARTY PEOPLE: Sigh.
These pathetic losers still don't realize they are being used by corporate big wigs and their funding to create controversy where there is none and then attempt to drown out everyone else with their incessant noise and jibberish.
They ought to be protesting Don Blankenship, the CEO of Massey Energy and the one ultimately responsible for the deaths of (for now) 25 coal miners in West Virginia on Monday.
But they are too stupid to realize that because they listen to Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, etc and probably blame Obama for this too.

DON BLANKENSHIP (CEO OF MASSEY ENERGY): This clown makes Captain Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame look like Cap'n Crunch.

SEAN HANNITY: When his lips move, he's lying.

FOX NEWS: This "News" organization was recently the top vote getter in CREDO Mobile's "Bracket of Evil" survey's "March Madness" style tournament on the internet.
To sum up Don Henley's great song 'Dirty Laundry' about Fox News ... "We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry."
FOX News is certainly that.

On the positive side...

ED SCHULTZ: A man for the working people of America. A genuine good guy and boy do we need one.

KEITH OLBERMANN: More balls than Hannity, Beck, O' Reilly, Limbaugh and Gingrich combined.
Wait... those guys HAVE NO BALLS!
Keith Olbermann tells it like it really is every night on his Countdown show on MSNBC, which easily outclasses Fox "News" by a landslide.

TIGER WOODS: His golf game appears to be fine through two rounds of the Masters tournament.

BASEBALL: The national past time is back and hope springs eternal for 30 teams around Major League Baseball.

THE WEATHER: Get out and enjoy this weekend folks (at least here in the Chicagoland area) as it is beautiful outside and expected to be so all the way through Sunday evening.

Take care folks!

The 21st CENTURY?

Are we in the 21st century or not?
Last time I checked we were but that's not the case according to coal baron Don Blankenship (pictured right), who is the CEO of Massey.
Massey Energy is the company where the coal mine disaster in West Virginia took place Monday, killing 25 coal miners and four others are still unaccounted for.
This company has had over 600 safety violations in less than two years and that is ludicrous.
The methane gas that is highly combustible and exploded in the mine on Monday, was not properly ventilated and has been a problem in the past with this mining company, evidenced by all of the safety violations.
This Bozo (Blankenship) is a disgusting piece of dirt and needs to be jailed for the murder of 25 (possibly 29) workers.
His flippant attitude toward the working class people of America harkens back to the 19th century and the coal barons who exploited workers and when disaster hits . . . oh well.
Bullshit!
This guy and all others like him need to be held accountable for the sheer arrogance they display.
Where are the tea party people on this issue?
Those folks need to be protesting against big industry and corporate greed, but they won't because the money that funds them comes from the big corporations.
As for Blankenship, the disgusting piece of crap that he is, he'll continue to count his millions (19.5 million dollar annual salary) and hire and fire non-union workers and exploit these poor people.
One word for this union buster named Don Blankenship...
DISGUSTING!

For the birds -- It's Spring!

2010 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PREVIEWS

Play Ball!
The Major League Baseball 2010 season gets going on Sunday, April 4 when the defending World Series champion New York Yankees open the season at Fenway Park in Boston against their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
Many teams have new looks this year, including the Chicago White Sox and Cubs as well as the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and defending National League champions, the Philadelphia Phillies.
In recent years, the divide of the top teams from the bottom has increased as the smaller market teams struggle to compete with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Phillies.
This year seems to offer more of the same it appears as the Yankees look to defend their crown and the Phillies again are looking like the team to beat in the National League.
The following offers a breakdown of the American and National Leagues, division by division with fearless forecasts for the post-season and World Series as well.

(note: Wild Card teams listed in italics)

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST: 1. New York Yankees; 2. Boston Red Sox; 3. Tampa Bay Rays; 4. Baltimore Orioles; 5. Toronto Blue Jays.

This appears to be a two-team race between perennial powers NY Yankees and Boston with perhaps the Rays offering some resistance for the top two spots. The Orioles and Jays are a long way from the top in this division.
The Yankees added speedster Curtis Granderson (from the Tigers) to their power packed line up while showing Johnny Damon the door. The pitching is solid and had better be because the Red Sox added John Lackey to their formidable staff and along with Chicago White Sox, they can boast one of the top (if not the top) starting rotation in baseball. Especially exceptional is Boston's top three starters including Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Lackey, plus closer deluxe Jonathon Papelbon.
Barring any major surprises (or injuries), this division should once again be a battle between the Yanks and Bosox.


AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL: 1. Chicago White Sox; 2. Detroit Tigers; 3. Minnesota Twins; 4. Kansas City Royals; 5. Cleveland Indians.

The White Sox have a strong starting rotation with Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Freddy Garcia and closer Bobby Jenks in the pen.
The lineup is indeed different with Juan Pierre now in the leadoff spot and gone is Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome. Newcomer Mark Teahan comes over from the Royals and will play third base.
The Tigers and Twins will definitely be competitors in this division.
Damon comes over from the Yankees and has post-season experience to add to the Tigers' roster. This team can win this division if their pitching comes through. Remember that the Tigers boasted one of the top pitching staffs just four short years ago and the majority of those guys are still on the team.
The Twins saw their near lock for the division busted wide open when closer Joe Nathan was lost for the season due to elbow surgery. In his place will be Jon Rauch, a journeyman pitcher who started his career with the White Sox ten years ago.
2009 MVP Joe Mauer returns and anchors a solid lineup for the Twins, who will be seeking their sixth AL Central division title in nine years in 2010.
Kansas City and Cleveland will battle each other to avoid the cellar.


AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST: 1. Los Angeles Angels; 2. Texas Rangers; 3. Seattle Mariners; 4. Oakland A's.

The Angels appear poised to win again out West with solid pitching and World Series MVP Hideki Matsui coming over from the Bronx to join them.
Manager Mike Scioscia is one of the best in the game and should be able to guide the 'Halos to another division crown. Now if only they can get over the hump and return to their first World Series since 2002.
Texas and Seattle are teams on the rise and could threaten the Angels if things break their way consistently. The Oakland A's are rebuilding.


NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST: 1. Philadelphia Phillies; 2. Atlanta Braves; 3. Florida Marlins; 4, New York Mets; 5. Washington Nationals.

The Phillies want to win another World Series and appear poised to get there for the third straight year, where they won it all in 2008.
Adding starting pitcher Roy Halladay to the mix doesn't hurt and along with Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, A.J. Happ and Jamie Moyer, gives Philadelphia a strong rotation.
The Phillies lineup is solid from top to bottom and Brad Lidge will look to bounce back to his stellar performance in '08 as the closer.
The Braves and Marlins are up and coming contenders and showed they can hang with the Phillies in the NL East.
The Mets are classic under achievers, evidenced by their 92 losses a year ago and some of that can be blamed on injuries. But at some point, they have to look in the mirror and start performing on the field too.
The Nationals are a disaster.


NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL: 1. St. Louis Cardinals; 2. Chicago Cubs; 3. Cincinnati Reds; 4. Milwaukee Brewers; 5. Houston Astros; 6. Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Cardinals and Cubs should battle each other for the division crown once again. The Cards drew away last year after seeing the Cubs take a brief lead in late July, only to fade big time down the stretch.
St. Louis is loaded and has reigning NL MVP Albert Pujols back once again, to team with Ryan Ludwick and strike fear into opponents on a regular basis. The pitching is led by Cris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Ryan Franklin is a top notch closer as well.
The Cubs have some work to do to catch the Red Birds. Derrek Lee returns after a big-time season a year ago and along with oft-injured Aramis Ramirez, should provide plenty of pop to the lineup.
The pitching has question marks as the team will feature many unproven youngsters in 2010. A big season from Carlos Marmol in the bullpen will definitely help the likes of starters Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells.
The Reds and Brewers both can be thorns in the sides of the top two teams in this division. Milwaukee's lineup is a good one and the Reds have promising young pitching to go with as manager Dusty Baker looks to the future with this team.
The Astros and Pirates... forget about it.


NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers; 2. Colorado Rockies; 3. San Francisco Giants; 4. Arizona Diamondbacks; 5. San Diego Padres.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre has solid collection of arms on the mound with Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Hiroki Kuroda and James McDonald. In the bullpen is a solid right-left combo of closer Jonathan Broxton and George Sherrill.
Manny Ramirez anchors a strong offense that also has speed.
The Rockies, last season's wild card team, can once again contend with Los Angeles provided they get steady performance from their pitchers. The lineup is good and they have closer Huston Street as well.
The Giants will only get better and are led by two-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher Tim Lincecum. Their lineup is a question mark and time will tell if these guys are ready to really get after the likes of the Dodgers and Rockies.
The Diamondbacks are rebuilding and have two quality starters in Dan Haren and Brandon Webb to go with young talent in their batting order.
The San Diego Padres no longer have ace pitcher Jake Peavy and will look to their promising young talent both in the lineup and on the pitching mound.

AL Playoffs: Yankees over White Sox; Red Sox over Angels.

NL Playoffs: Phillies over Cubs; Cardinals over Dodgers.

AL Championship Series: Yankees over Red Sox.

NL Championship Series: Phillies over Cardinals.

WORLD SERIES: Phillies over Yankees.

Hannity inserts foot in mouth

Fox "News" talking head Sean Hannity claimed that Tea Party protesters are "Tim McVeigh wannabes" at a live forum to which the tea baggers applauded.
Apparently it went right by them and that is no April Fool's Day joke.
Whether or not it was sarcasm on Hannity's part is beside the point. There is no joking about something like that.
McVeigh, who was eventually executed, and Terry Nichols, who was his co-conspirator in the April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of a federal building, are (were) domestic terrorists and are not to compared with even these people.
The upswing in violence and violent rhetroic lately, including a well known right wing advocate on the internet calling for people to "break the windows" of those who voted in favor of the recently passed health care reform bill in Congress, is serious stuff and should not be joked about at all.
If any of my family were murdered by McVeigh and Nichols in the 1995 attack, you can be damn sure I'd be on the phone, internet, etc. calling for Hannity's ass for a stupid remark like that.
The Hitler comparison's on President Obama are bad enough, now the Fox "News" slant head is saying that people being used by Dick Armey and his "Freedom Works" as pawns for a cause they feel strong about, are "Tim McVeigh wannabes."
Pathetic!
I don't know about you, but this is ridiculous and it goes beyond the "free speech" argument that the righties are now hiding behind.
Just the other day, as pointed out by Ed Schultz of MSNBC, some guy (apparently trying to make a name for himself) filling for hate monger Glenn Beck on his radio program, said that the FBI raid on the psychopaths of the Hutaree militia movement stifles freedom of speech.
Excuse me... these people were plotting to kill police officers and start a revolution on our government.
Pathetic!
Just goes to show how things have changed on the right. These people used to be the "party of values" but now they are resorting to violence and calls for violence.
Maybe it is no wonder that Hannity calls the tea party people "Tim McVeigh wannabes."
One things is for sure... they are showing their true colors.