ShowMeBlog

FrackNation vs GasLand

  Fracking is big in Texas.  I saw the documentary GasLand and that is about the first time that I learned about fracking.  I had seen some stories about problems here in Texas with fracking and with the corporations refusing to tell about the stuff they were pumping into the ground.  There was also reports of it being done next to schools and parks.  So little pipes were sticking up from the ground and no one knew there were even there.
  But I learned a lot from the GasLand documentary.  Now I am not a Republican so I don’t take anything I see as fact until I hear other points of view and do some research on my own.

  I guess the right and the fracking people are going to put out their own documentary called FrackNation soon.

Kansas City Move to Amend

Uploaded by MetaphorMediaKC on Jan 23, 2012

On January 20 & 21, 2012, Kansas City Move to Amend (kcmovetoamend.org) hosted events in protest of the US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which gave coporations the power to spend unlimited amounts of their vast resources to campaign for or against candidates running for office. On January 20 Occupy the Courts was a protest held in cities throughout the United States, including at the steps of the Federal courthouse in Kansas City, MO. On January 21, a post-protest celebration was held which included poetry, song, and a mock wedding between a corporation and another "real" person. Video also contains footage of Bill Drummond's arrest, the first protest-related arrest since the Occupy KC movement began, and an improv rant by Val Baul, a Kansas City-area radio personality whose show, Val's Vibes, can be heard on KKFI radio (90.1 FM) in the KC metro area.
Camera Operators: William Peck, Marc Saviano, Dave Michael, Connor Peck
Video Editing: MetaphorMedia

Kiva loans

  I just made two Kiva loans this month.  One was to the Nueva Esperanza Group (Paraguay) and the other was a woman in the Ukraine. 
  I recommend Kiva – www.kiva.org 

 

“Kiva Microfunds (commonly known by its domain name, Kiva.org) is an organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to microfinance institutions in developing countries around the world and in the United States, which in turn lend the money to small businesses and students.^[2] It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization^[3] headquartered in San Francisco, supported by loans and donations from its users and through partnerships with businesses and other institutions.^[4] Kiva itself does not charge any interest; the loans made by Kiva members are passed interest-free to the independent field partner servicing each loan. These interest rates are disclosed and are discussed in the relevant section on the Kiva website and in this article below…”

Olivia Munn nude for PETA

  The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are a little bit nuts. Remember they were upset with President Obama because he killed a fly. 

  But they got some great ads.

  Here is their current one.  It is Olivia Munn nude. Makes me want to join them.

Here are other of their PSA nudes :  PSAs by Campaign: Skins

MicroPlace and Kiva

“Dear Jim ,

We just received your order to invest in the following project:

Empower Rural Women in India

Cashpor Micro Credit via Calvert CI Note

Amount invested:
$20.00

Order date:
Dec 31, 2011

Your investment is going to make an important impact in the lives of so many people. We think that’s really amazing. . . so thanks for choosing to make a difference!

We’ll send you a trade confirmation as soon as we successfully process your order.

Thank you!
The MicroPlace Team
www.microplace.com
(866) 478-3229”

 

  I just made my second loan via MicroPlace.  I also make loans via Kiva.  I have made 33 loans via Kiva.
  Both I am sure do good works.  If you want to help out check out MicroPlace and Kiva.  I think Kiva is a little bit more simple to get in and make loans. 

Try Kiva for free

We've got good news for you. You might not know it, but you've brought at least one new lender to Kiva this year- and that has helped us reach even more borrowers around the world. Thank you!
Now your friends and family can try Kiva for free!

Kiva and Ladies' Home Journal have partnered to make a small number of free trials available for new lenders. Since you’re so good at sharing Kiva, we're giving you a chance to tell your friends first.

All you need to do is share the link below with your friends, family, colleagues, classmates, or anyone else you can think of. Just post it on Facebook or Twitter, send it in an email, paint it on your house... you get the picture. If they're quick, they'll be able to make a loan for free. The link is:

http://kiva.org/ladieshomejournal

The free trials will get snatched up quickly, so don’t wait. Nothing says “Happy New Year” like a few new Kiva lenders!

Thanks for a great 2011, and here’s to an even bigger and better 2012 for all of our borrowers.

© 2005 - 2011 Kiva. All rights reserved. Kiva is a U.S. 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

This e-mail was sent by Kiva Microfunds, located at 875 Howard Street, Suite 340, San Francisco, CA 94103 (USA).

Hot laptop

  A lot of laptop computers run hot.  My laptop has not been hot.  It is pretty cool to the touch.  It also runs 24/7.  I have it all hooked up and use it as my desktop computer.  So I do not use the laptop screen or keyboard or anything. 
  Today I was playing a game on the computer and all of a sudden their was a “pop” sound and the laptop went dead.  I tried to turn it back on and it would not come on.  I then notice the laptop of very hot.  I could also smell the hot smell of cooking electronics.  
  I took a nap and when I woke up the laptop would power up.
  I got a bad bad feeling.
  I always had two or three computers in the past.  If the laptop goes out on me I will have to turn around and buy another computer.  If I do have to buy one I will get a desktop computer.  I am not a laptop fan.

  It is the 12th of December.  Christmas will be here soon and 2011 will be over with soon and we will have a new year.  I think the world is suppose to end in 2012 right?
  Of course I am 70 years old so if the world comes to an end in 2012 no big deal. 

 
  I am a bleeding heart liberal and I can not get out of my mind that mother that attempted for over a year to get food stamps for her kids and could not get any help.  She lived in Texas of course.
  After begging for food for her kids and living dirt poor she went to the food stamp office, here in Texas, for help and did not get any help.  She pulled out a gun they talked with her for seven hours and it sounds like they could not offer her any help and she shot both her children in the head and then she shoot and killed herself.
  I know we got hungry people in the United States but this case just shows how bad things are here in the United States and here in Texas.  She had all sorts of contact with the food stamp people and with social service workers and she got zero help.
  I guess we need to give a tax cut to the 1% and they will create some jobs and those people will pay some taxes and then someday some help will come to the poor and the hungry.
 
  They say the woman had some mental problems…But you would think during the seven hours of talking to the woman they have told her that they would help her and get food for her children etc.
 
  I am on a limited income, very limited, and I sometimes run a bit short of money towards the end of the month. I often don’t have the sort of food that I want but I can always come up with something to eat.
  During this time of the year I always help out some cause with a little money.  The CVS and Walgreens often have things at check out where you donate money and I do it often.  
  That makes me think…You know the Republicans always say that the rich and churches will take care of the poor and we do not need the government to do it.  The woman that ended up killing her children, and herself, was out walking around without shoes and dirty and begging for food for her children.  Where was the local church?  Where were the followers of Christ? 

Update on the food stamp shooting

  I have seen very little about this on the news.  You would think that would be major news.  I would think it would be something that everyone would be talking about.

 

“LAREDO, Texas -- In one of the poorest counties in the U.S., neighbors still pitied Rachelle Grimmer and her children. Grimmer would walk down the highway after midnight and beg closing crews at restaurants for food they planned to throw away.

Her children, 12-year-old Ramie and 10-year-old Timothy, didn't go to school. They bathed outside the family's trailer with the garden hose. Timothy wore the same camouflage shorts day after day.

Grimmer didn't have a job, and the state had denied the family food stamps and emergency help despite repeated requests. Tragic shootings sometimes come without warning, but interviews with family members and neighbors show there were many signs of frustration before Grimmer entered a state welfare building with a .38-caliber handgun earlier this week and shot herself and her children after a seven-hour standoff.

Ramie died Wednesday night at a San Antonio hospital; her brother was taken off life support Thursday and died. They led a miserable, nomadic life leading up to the standoff – which Ramie live-updated on Facebook with an eerie mix of detachment ("im bored") and dread ("may die 2day").

The children's father, Dale Grimmer, had tried three times since his divorce about six years ago to have them removed from his ex-wife's custody while they were living in Montana and Ohio, said his mother, Mary Lee Shepherd. She claimed her daughter-in-law had a history of mental illness that authorities ignored…”

 

  Since I last posted about the story the two children have died.
 
  The story has a lot of details.  See Huffington Post story

National ‘motel kids’ problem

  I just read California chef feeds children for free on CNN. 
The “hero” Bruno Serato feeds more than 300 children each night in Anaheim, California.  
 
  We should not have hunger in America.  But most of all we should not have children in the United States going to bed hungry.

  NPR has some information on Hunger in America. 
 
  I suspect that politics is part of the problem.  I am sure the evil empire (the Republican Party) will say that we can not afford to feed American children.  I am sure the evil empire will say well they need to get a job.  The evil empire will say that the problem is that we give foreign aid to other nations.  I am sure that the evil empire will say it is all the wet back Mexicans here in the United States. 
  The Republicans will say if we would just cut the taxes on the rich people that somehow that would feed the children. 

  We have so many problems here in the United States that we need to work on.  I just do not see how we can get anything done with the evil empire in Washington.
 
  To tell you the truth I did not think about the problem of “motel kids” but I am sure that is a real problem. 
  Thank God for people like Bruno Serato.

National Day of Action - November 17th

“Dear Coffee Party community,

To mark their 2-month anniversary — and more importantly, to show the world that ideas cannot be extinguished by force — the Occupy movement is calling for a national day of action today, November 17.  The Coffee Party is doing its part by making sure this vital conversation penetrates the walls of Congress.

You can help by taking a few minutes to remind Congress that the 99% also includes you, your family, and people in your community.

Please CALL CONGRESS today and say:

"I'm calling to let you know that I am your constituent, I am part of the 99 percent, and I want to see the national conversation spurred by the Occupy movement reflected in the actions of Congress."

• U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121
• FIND your Representative's direct number
• FIND your Senators' direct numbers

When we say "the 99%," we mean our nation as a whole, and that includes everyone, even the 1%.  Help us let our elected representatives know that from this point on, America will be asking a crucial question of every policy and every politician put before us — does it serve our nation as a whole, or does this serve only the wealthiest 1%?

If we are successful today, Congress will be forced to approach the Nov. 23 debt reduction deadline with the knowledge that this new framework is not going away.  We are calling in a new era of American politics where movements are not built to follow political parties.  Political parties will follow movements instead.

Please CALL CONGRESS today:

U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

FIND your Representative's direct number

FIND your Senators' direct numbers

Sincerely,

Eric Byler

Coffee Party USA

PS:  To support Coffee Party initiatives in 2012, please become a member and/or make a contribution.  Coffee Party T-shirt's will be sent to those with contributions or membership sign-ups of $50 or more.”