Thursday, May 22, 2014

VETERAN'S AFFAIR SCANDAL: ONCE AGAIN, PRESIDENT OBAMA IS CHECKING THE BOXES -- CONFUSING TALK WITH ACTION!

One Citizen Speaking...

VETERAN'S AFFAIR SCANDAL: ONCE AGAIN, PRESIDENT OBAMA IS CHECKING THE BOXES -- CONFUSING TALK WITH ACTION

Posted: 21 May 2014 10:12 PM PDT

I CARE!

“So when I hear allegations of misconduct -- any misconduct -- whether it’s allegations of VA staff covering up long wait times or cooking the books, I will not stand for it. Not as Commander-in-Chief, but also not as an American. None of us should. So if these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful, and I will not tolerate it -- period.”
“Here’s what I discussed with Secretary Shinseki this morning. First, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at VA facilities has to be held accountable. The inspector general at the VA has launched investigations into the Phoenix VA and other facilities. And some individuals have already been put on administrative leave. I know that people are angry and want a swift reckoning. I sympathize with that. But we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened. Our veterans deserve to know the facts. Their families deserve to know the facts. And once we know the facts, I assure you -- if there is misconduct, it will be punished.”
Statement by the President on Veterans Health Care | The White House

I AM OUTRAGED!
I AM MAD AS HELL!
WE CAN DO BETTER!
I LEARNED ABOUT IT LIKE YOU DID – FROM THE MEDIA!
PEOPLE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND FIRED!
BUT FIRST, WE NEED AN INVESTIGATION!
TIME TO ATTEND A PROGRESSIVE SOCIALIST DEMOCRAT FUNDRAISER!
REV UP THE SPEECHWRITERS AND THE TELEPROMPTER OPERATOR!
ASK: WHAT WOULD VALERIE JARRETT DO?
REV UP THE BUS
CALL A PRESS CONFERENCE TO FIRE THE NEAREST, WEAKEST PERSON WHO ISN’T A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR

AND WE STILL ARE WAITING ON THE INVESTIGATIONS FOR …

FAST & FURIOUS
TSA
IRS
BENGHAZI

John Kerry: A lying liar who lies about global climate change ...

Posted: 21 May 2014 06:56 PM PDT

Once again, we find John Kerry bloviating about global climate change and lying to those who would care to listen to his drivel …

Excepts from John Kerry’s latest speech … [my comments in blue italic]

Remarks at Boston College's 138th Commencement Ceremony -- John Kerry
And what we have done to turn back the armies of defeatism and indifference in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and even polio – this work should give every one of you confidence to confront another cross-border, cross-generational challenge, the challenge of a changing climate. If we’re going to live up to our values, this is a test that we have to meet.
[Each of the diseases mentioned had a basis in biological, chemical, and physiological hard science and it was not political intervention or will that brought forth cures and treatments. Yes, the government funded much of the research, but that was on a bi-partisan basis and there was no indifference nor defeatism among those that counted, the members of the scientific community.
Unlike the diseases, climate change is not based on hard science, it is based on a scientific hypothesis that, in turn, is based on deeply flawed computer models that do not track today’s climate reality. First is was rampant global warming, and when scientific observations noted that the Earth appeared to be in a 17-year cooling trend, it became global climate change. And, when the world acknowledged the nature’s inherent variability and ever-changing nature, climate change became climate disruption.
Unlike the diseases, climate change appears to be a flawed and failing science. Where conjecture and consensus replace objective scientific conclusions. Where the integrity of climate science has been adversely impacted by billions of dollars in politically-directed funding; all apparently seeking scientific justification to allay the concerns of citizens and consumers who see billions being diverted to non-productive special interests who in turn are kicking a portion back into progressive political campaigns.
That Kerry speaks of values, he often means progressive values – not the hard values of humanity: integrity and truthfulness – values that are mutable as long as they serve the progressive cause.]
Now look, I know this is hard, because I spent almost 30 years in the United States Senate pushing this issue, trying to get colleagues to move. We got up to maybe 55 votes, couldn’t quite get to 60. And I know it’s hard to feel the urgency. As we sit here on an absolutely beautiful morning in Boston, you might not see climate change as an immediate threat to your job, your community, or your families. But let me tell you, it is.
[The real threat to your life and continued employment is an existential one posed by the corrupt and radical progressive socialist democrats who are attempting to fundamentally transform America from capitalism to government-controlled, centrally-planned socialism. Using any means, fair or foul, to achieve their agenda since the end, international socialism, has already been determined.
To speak of a Senate that is reluctant to move is to ignore the historical role of the Senate as the deliberative and thoughtful body, examining all sides of an issue, and taking sufficient time to make an informed vote. Now, we find Harry Reid, a corrupt progressive socialist democrat, holding the entire Senate Hostage as the Senate Majority Leader, as if it were his personal fiefdom. Using Senate rules and tricks to pass legislation such as Obamacare and elect radical progressive socialist democrats to high office.]
Two major recent reports, one from the UN and one from retired U.S. military leaders, warn us not just of the crippling consequences to come, but that some of them are already here. Ninety-seven percent of the world’s scientists tell us this is urgent. Why? Because if crops can’t grow, there’ll be food insecurity. If there’s less water because of longer droughts, if there are stronger and more powerful storms, things will change in a hurry and they will change for the worse.
[First, let us remember that the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a political institution, dominated by political operatives and hand-selected activist climate scientists whose careers and funding are based on ephemeral computer models. And, as we have seen, this group will do anything in their power to suppress any opposition or viewpoint that diverges from their own. Second, let us remember that retired military leaders are not climate scientists, but people who have been trained to view any disruption in society as a potential reason to expect geopolitical, and even internal, conflict. Their existence is linked to the current political regime or this report would have never been so publicly touted.
As for Kerry’s list of ifs … let us remember that if the Queen had balls, she would be the King. Kerry is spouting pure nonsense, because man has always fought over natural resources and the property it resides on. And, populations have always adapted or moved based on changing conditions.
As for 97% of the world’s scientists claiming that global climate change is an urgent matter, this is an outright lie. There has been no survey or poll of 97% of the world’s scientists, let alone 97% of the active researchers engaged in climate science. With most scientists afraid to step beyond their immediate area of expertise and offer a contrarian opinion lest it affect their employment, their project funding, and their reputation among a group of very vocal and vindictive peers.]
Climate change is directly related to the potential of greater conflict and greater stability – instability. I’m telling you that there are people in parts of the world – in Africa today, they fight each other over water. They kill each over it. And if glaciers are melting and there’s less water available and more people, that is a challenge we have to face. And guess what? It is the poorest and the weakest who face the greatest risk. As Father Drinan would say, we should be in anguish over this. (Applause.)
What’s frustrating is that this challenge is not without a solution. In fact, not one problem I can think of today that we face in this country is without a solution. It’s a question of capacity, willpower. The solution is actually staring us in the face. It is energy policy. Make the right energy policy choices and America can lead a $6 trillion market with 4 billion users today and growing to 9 billion users in the next 50 years.
[Welcome to an imperfect and unstable world, made more imperfect and unstable by radical politicians who want to perpetuate their power and cushy lifestyle. Whereas they purport to be working for their constituents and mankind, they are working for themselves. From the day they entered office, it has been about maintaining their power and fundraising. They could give a rat’s ass about the global condition of mankind – because as they found out in a short period of time, they can do nothing to alter the actions of other sovereign nations and their corrupt politicians. That is, unless you consider bribery, extortion, and the threat of military action.
Global climate change does not have a solution because the power of nature is beyond man’s ability to affect. Man cannot change the Sun’s energy output, the Earth’s position relative to the Sun, the precessional and rotational dynamics of the Earth, the Earth’s vulcanology and plate tectonics, the deep ocean currents, or the greatest of the greenhouse gases, water vapor. Because of nature’s variability, one might say that there is no problem that needs to be solved.]
If we make the necessary efforts to address this challenge – and supposing I’m wrong or scientists are wrong, 97 percent of them all wrong – supposing they are, what’s the worst that can happen? We put millions of people to work transitioning our energy, creating new and renewable and alternative; we make life healthier because we have less particulates in the air and cleaner air and more health; we give ourselves greater security through greater energy independence – that’s the downside. This is not a matter of politics or partisanship; it’s a matter of science and stewardship. And it’s not a matter of capacity; it’s a matter of willpower. (Applause.)
[What are these morons applauding, Kerry’s lies? Again, the lie involving 97% of scientists. The idea that millions of people have been put to work as we transition to solar energy?Ask those at bankrupted Solyndra and other facilities who have been laid off when greed and corruption was more prevalent than green results? Don’t tell me about pollution until you tell me why our government is selling political indulgences to politically-connected gross polluters to continue their polluting ways. Don’t tell me about energy independence, why the Obama Administration has locked out clean nuclear energy and refuses to create thousands of jobs on the Keystone pipeline. Don’t tell me about making life healthier when the President Obama and his cadre of progressive socialist democrats have killed the best healthcare system on the planet in favor of institutionalized socialism as manifest by Obamacare.]
But if we do nothing, and it turns out that the critics and the naysayers and the members of the Flat Earth Society, if it turns out that they’re wrong, then we are risking nothing less than the future of the entire planet. This is not a hard choice, frankly. But still, let me tell you we need the help of every single one of you to make it.
[If the progressive socialist democrats are wrong, we lose our freedom, private property, and control over our own livelihood. Not to mention the billions of dollars that have been diverted to the special interests and used by the political class to purchase political power.
There is no indication that the Earth is in peril as the Earth has been hotter, colder, with more atmospheric carbon dioxide and less atmospheric carbon dioxide. Call it nature. As for mass die-offs, we really don’t know what caused them: an asteroid strike, a mutating biological virus – all of which are ranked by scientists as having a greater probability that global climate change. Species die and are born – welcome to nature.
The easiest choice of the graduating class would be the refusal to elect corrupt, radical, progressive socialist democrats to any political position that would be required to serve “We the People.”]

To read the entire speech in context: Remarks at Boston College's 138th Commencement Ceremony

Truth-be-told, John Kerry is a self-serving politician who has no idea climate change or about either foreign or domestic policy other than blindly following the dictates of President Barack Obama and his cadre of progressive socialist democrats. As the Secretary of State, Kerry is less important to foreign policy that Valerie Jarrett, the unelected policy advisor to Barack Obama. As for education and wisdom, let us remember that Kerry and former President Bush are both Yalies, both members of the Skull and Bones, both have similar academic achievements (although Bush has a Harvard MBA and Kerry has a law degree), and are both Northeastern liberals. Unlike Bush who relies on family connections, Kerry relies on a wealthy wife. Both have seen military service, although Kerry’s awarded medals and conduct appears to be reprehensible. But what differs between the two men, is that Bush is a patriot and Kerry appears to favor cheese-eating surrender monkeys with a disdain for America.

Bottom line …

John Kerry is a lying liar who lies. The mere fact that he thought he could achieve some form of peace in the Middle East by pressuring Israel to accept dictates from a nation that refuses to recognize its right to exist, is proof positive that Kerry is both stupid and superficial. Kerry’s ideas on global climate change will not stand the test of time and are unraveling as the dishonesty and duplicity in the climate research community is being brought to light.

About global climate change, think for yourself; read widely and come to your own conclusions. As for America’s continued existence as a free and open society, we need to eliminate the progressive socialist democrats and their RINO (Republican In Name Only) cohorts in the House and the Senate … and everywhere else you find corruption and deception. Kerry is a symptom, the cause is international socialism and communism.

-- steve

EBAY HACKED: ASKING USERS TO CHANGE PASSWORDS -- MAY 21, 2014

Posted: 21 May 2014 12:10 PM PDT

Nice to see that eBay has issued a prompt notice (sarcasm) to their customers, waiting until today, May 21,2014 to announce a hack that occurred between late February and early March … In this electronic age, and when so many people use common passwords, even one day can make a difference between safety and identity theft.

eBay Inc. To Ask eBay Users To Change Passwords
eBay Inc. said beginning later today it will be asking eBay users to change their passwords because of a cyberattack that compromised a database containing encrypted passwords and other non-financial data. After conducting extensive tests on its networks, the company said it has no evidence of the compromise resulting in unauthorized activity for eBay users, and no evidence of any unauthorized access to financial or credit card information, which is stored separately in encrypted formats. However, changing passwords is a best practice and will help enhance security for eBay users.
Information security and customer data protection are of paramount importance to eBay Inc., and eBay regrets any inconvenience or concern that this password reset may cause our customers. We know our customers trust us with their information, and we take seriously our commitment to maintaining a safe, secure and trusted global marketplace.
Cyberattackers compromised a small number of employee log-in credentials, allowing unauthorized access to eBay's corporate network, the company said. Working with law enforcement and leading security experts, the company is aggressively investigating the matter and applying the best forensics tools and practices to protect customers.
The database, which was compromised between late February and early March, included eBay customers’ name, encrypted password, email address, physical address, phone number and date of birth. However, the database did not contain financial information or other confidential personal information. The company said that the compromised employee log-in credentials were first detected about two weeks ago. Extensive forensics subsequently identified the compromised eBay database, resulting in the company’s announcement today.
The company said it has seen no indication of increased fraudulent account activity on eBay. The company also said it has no evidence of unauthorized access or compromises to personal or financial information for PayPal users. PayPal data is stored separately on a secure network, and all PayPal financial information is encrypted.
Beginning later today, eBay users will be notified via email, site communications and other marketing channels to change their password. In addition to asking users to change their eBay password, the company said it also is encouraging any eBay user who utilized the same password on other sites to change those passwords, too. The same password should never be used across multiple sites or accounts.
Source: eBay Inc. To Ask eBay Users To Change Passwords | ebay inc

Bottom line …

Change your passwords early and often. Do not use the same password for critical accounts. Monitor your credit card statements and use the free annual credit report from all of the credit bureaus to your advantage. Ask one of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) for a free report on a four month schedule. That way, you can obtain a year’s worth of monitoring for free. Caveat: each credit bureau is independently owned and operated and may not have all of your account information. If you have any doubt about the security of your account, notify any one of the bureaus that you are worried about identity theft and they will freeze your account for a period of time. In cases of suspected identity theft, it appears that one bureau will notify the others.

Be safe.

-- steve

SCIENCE: REDEFINITION FOR PROGRESSIVE PUBLICATION, PUBLICITY, AND PROFIT

Posted: 20 May 2014 03:45 PM PDT

Progressive socialist democrats and pointy-head intellectuals are wont to rename things to better pursue their agenda …

Hence we see global warming renamed as global climate change when people begin to realize that there has been a cooling trend for the past seventeen years.

And, when the people began to realize that nature was inherently available and constantly changing, it was time to rename global climate change to global climate disruption.

Now, with the realization that much of the world’s pollution is coming from China, India, and Russia, and they are unlikely to degrade their economy to pursue a theoretical climate agenda, the “global” portion of the description might be renamed.

For those who might take issue with my use of the word “theoretical,” just remember that all of the dire climate scenarios that are said to be justifying radical hyper-political public policies and massive re-distribution of wealth to the politically-connected special interests are based on a series of computer models that do not reconcile with the reality of our climate. All of the results are caused by artificially manipulating computer programs with parameters that have never been seen in nature and a probably not naturally occurring. Even worse, some of the most dire prediction will take 500 – 1,000 years to manifest, well beyond a time frame when man might be able to engineer actual solutions – or we may be hit by an asteroid and the Earth rendered devoid of life as we know it.

Now we are seeing the social scientists study discrimination – potentially for the purposes of implementing hyper-politicized public policies and promoting wealth-redistribution. Mostly by promoting the concept of “disparate impact.” …

Favoritism, Not Hostility, Causes Most Discrimination, Says UW Psychology Professor
Most discrimination in the U.S. is not caused by intention to harm people different from us, but by ordinaryfavoritism directed at helping people similar to us, according to a theoretical review published online in American Psychologist.
"We can produce discrimination without having any intent to discriminate or any dislike for those who end up being disadvantaged by our behavior," said University of Washington psychologist Tony Greenwald, who co-authored the review with Thomas Pettigrew of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Greenwald and Pettigrew reviewed experiments and survey methods from published scientific research on discrimination from the last five decades.
They were surprised to find that the discrimination observed in those studies occurred much more often as helping rather than harming someone.
But they also found that most researchers defined discrimination as based on negative attitudes and hostility, only rarely treating favoritism as a component of discrimination.
That makes sense, Greenwald said, because most people think of discrimination as the result of hostility: a white person spouting anti-black rhetoric, or a homophobe yelling slurs at a gay couple. But, he argues, it's more subtle acts, ones people don't even recognize as causing disadvantage to anyone, that are likely to be much more significant.
Take this hypothetical scenario: When conducting reviews of two employees, a manager finds they both fall between two performance categories. The manager gives a higher category to the employee whose child is friends with the manager's child, leading to a promotion and salary raise, while the other employee receives a smaller raise and no promotion.
Was the manager consciously discriminating against the second employee? Or did she simply give a boost to someone to whom she had an "ingroup" connection?
"Your 'ingroup' involves people that you feel comfortable with, people you identify with," Greenwald explained. "We usually think first of demographic characteristics like age, race, sex, religion and ethnicity as establishing an ingroup, but there are also ingroups based on occupation, neighborhood and schools attended, among other things. Outgroups are those with whom you don't identify."
Greenwald and Pettigrew propose that unequal treatment in the form of doing favors for those like you, rather than inflicting harm on those unlike you, causes the majority of discrimination in the U.S.
"This is not to say that prejudice and hostility are not related to outgroup discrimination," Pettigrew said. "But they are not as central to most discrimination as ingroup favoritism."
Yet, historically, social scientists have emphasized prejudicial hostility as the root of discrimination.
"We looked at how prejudice has been defined in the history of psychology. It has generally been understood as hostility toward outgroups. That's easy to do, because inter-group conflict is an obvious fact of life," Greenwald said. "There are international conflicts, wars, gang battles, labor-management conflicts. When such conflicts are going on it's natural to think of them as rooted in hostility."
Greenwald hopes researchers will change how they study discrimination, because research results have substantial implications both for how discrimination is identified and how it can be ameliorated in employment, health care, education and daily life.
He said overt acts of discrimination began to decline starting in the 1960s following civil rights laws. But prejudicial attitudes didn't necessarily change. What changed is that people were no longer legally allowed to act on their prejudices by, for example, denying housing to blacks or jobs to women.
The co-authors say that racial ingroup favoritism can be very subtle. For instance, if you work in an office that is mostly white and you're asked to recommend someone for a job opening, you're more likely to recommend someone who is like you and the rest of your ingroup.
This sort of ingroup favoritism happens at all ages and in different situations. Greenwald said it can happen on the playground, where children may exhibit ingroup favoritism based on race, economic class, or the same school or sports team.
"Hostility isn't integral to the definition of discrimination; you can treat people differently without being hostile to anyone," Greenwald said. "But it is societally important to understand how discrimination can occur both without hostility and without any intent to discriminate."

Source: Favoritism, Not Hostility, Causes Most Discrimination, Says UW Psychology Professor

Forget the psychobabble of ingroups, outgroups, and favoritism and consider the age-old and very human concept of tribalism – those of like characteristics, mind, or agenda tend to aggregate and shun others who do not belong to the same tribe. This is basic human nature.

And, if the truth-be-told, you do not find a more useful example of tribalism than in the black community – a community that self-segregates and whose leaders demand fealty to the culture. A community based on socialism and collectivism that shuns individualism and penalizes those individuals who rise above the norm to superior heights of achievement. In fact achievers are demonized if they do not re-engage in collectivism and “give back” to the community. And, it is this very group that touts their victimhood and refuses to engage with a broader world. Demanding reparations and affirmative actions that amount to discrimination against the larger society. Why these people need to be given a free ride speaks to the necessity of creating a permanent underclass that can be exploited by the progressive socialist democrats – offering redress of their grievances in return for their votes. Without a coalition of victims and grievants, there would be no progressive socialist democrat party.

To what end are these studies? To scientifically justify disparate impact as a tool to force organizations into compliance with unconstitutional political actions and funding the progressives?

It is possible and more than likely that the progressive socialist democrats will use scientific studies such as the one above to characterize and criminalize normal human behavior in such a manner as to require political intervention to redress grievances, real or imagined, to pursue their self-serving political goals. By widening the definition of discrimination to include even unconscious actions, the progressive socialist democrats can continue to push their theory of “disparate impact.”

Disparate impact is a concept that holds that legal and innocent practices and actions may be considered discriminatory and illegal under the law if they have a disproportionate "adverse impact" on persons along the lines of a protected trait. Such traits might include class, color, gender, sexual orientation, and other politically-expedient differentiations. A concept that is based on statistical analysis and not on an examination of the problem on a case-by-case basis where circumstances and mitigating factors prove the concept of adverse impact to be fraudulent misrepresentation of the facts. Adverse impact that turns our legal system upside down – demanding that an individual or organization prove themselves innocent rather than the government prove them guilty. A concept that can be used to drive extortionate demands; where it is cheaper to give-in and settle with your accusers (with neither admitting nor denying the accusations) and to avoid reputational damage. Anyone familiar with the progressive socialist democrat community organizers, housing associations, and the so-called Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson can see the concept in play. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been extorted from financial institutions using disparate impact.

Attorney General Eric Holder has subverted justice by settling disparate impact cases before they reached the Supreme Court where the practices could receive a fair hearing.

For the second time in 12 months, the administration has sabotaged a Supreme Court case challenging its disparate-impact discrimination claims, which rely on statistics rather than actual acts of racism to "prove" discrimination in housing and lending. HUD Deputy Assistant Sara Pratt admitted: "We were afraid we might lose disparate impact in the Supreme Court because there was no regulation." <Source>

Believe it or not, the right to discriminate, the right of association and of free speech is constitutionally protected. Unfortunately, there are those who would have you believe that you must waive some portion of your constitutional freedoms for the greater good. In many cases, the greater good being defined as what benefits the self-serving political class as they struggle endlessly to gain or maintain power.

The legal demand that an individual baker need bake a cake for a gay wedding or that an individual photographer need take pictures at a gay wedding is unconstitutional. It would be constitutional if these services were provided by a monopoly and there were no other similar services available. And, while it might be politically expedient to claim that any business open to the public should not discriminate, it remains unconstitutional to demand individuals or organizations surrender their right of free choice and association. I might personal deplore such discrimination, but it should not be criminalized. A non-Mormon is prohibited from entering the Mormon Temple, and even Mormons must be in good standing and have a Temple Recommend Card to enter. Likewise, non-Masons are not allowed to attend Masonic rituals. One of these groups is religious, the other is not. But, both hold themselves out as public institutions. So how do the Boy Scouts who refuse to allow gay scoutmasters differ?

Bottom line …

It is important for the average person to understand how scientific studies are being used to justify political actions and agendas that do not serve free people well. That radical and corrupt progressive socialist democrats are hell bent on destroying America from within; using our laws, rules, and regulations against us for their own self-serving ends.

The idea that equality can be achieved by political fiat is bogus. A perfect world, the worker’s paradise, has been touted by international socialists and communists for decades, with no proof that such a system can ever exist. Even worse, every attempt to impose socialism and communism has resulted in totalitarianism with the loss of millions of lives and the suffering of countless millions of others. Examples of socialism and communism can be found in Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, and elsewhere. Totalitarianism and the total disregard for human rights of women and those who do not practice Islam can be found around the world.

The progressive socialist democrats are leading us down the garden path to perdition. It is time to throw the progressive socialist democrats and their RINO (Republican In Name Only) cohorts out the House and Senate in 2014, out of the Presidency in 2016, and out of all levels of government: local, state, and federal as soon as practical. We must restore constitutional checks and balances to our government lest we wind up being a socialist republic like France, governed by corrupt oligarchs like Mexico.

And, above all, we need to bring honesty and integrity back to science.

-- steve

SM1'S BLOG 4 U

Thursday, May 22, 2014

VETERAN'S AFFAIR SCANDAL: ONCE AGAIN, PRESIDENT OBAMA IS CHECKING THE BOXES -- CONFUSING TALK WITH ACTION!

One Citizen Speaking...

Remarks at Boston College's 138th Commencement Ceremony -- John Kerry

Favoritism, Not Hostility, Causes Most Discrimination, Says UW Psychology Professor

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