Thursday, August 7, 2008

Thursday morning quick hits

Crossposted from our new home blog,
They gave us a republic...


The flip-flop that pissed off his base The republican base and the loonies at the "Club for Growth" are pissed off at McCain after he initially said he would oppose all tax increases, then hinted that he might be open to raising the limit on Social Security payroll taxes. The payroll tax totals 12.4 percent - half is deducted from employee wages up to $102,000, and half paid by employers. All earnings above $102,000 are currently exempted, meaning those most able to pay...don't. Let's put this in perspective - Carly Fiorina made millions and millions of dollars running Hewlett-Packard into the ground, and only paid the Social Security earnings tax only on the first $102,000 of her income - while the employees who were most harmed by her inept and incompetent leadership of that company paid the tax on every penny they earned. A little closer to home - the people who work in Cindy McCain's beer distributorship pay on all their earnings, while Mrs. half-a-million-on-the-AmEx-card-last-month...doesn't.

Lake Chad is drying up Lake Chad used to cover an area the size of New Jersey. Now it would barely cover an area the size of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The lake is drying up, driven by climate change and population increases that has fueled increases in water usage. And the disappearing lake threatens wildlife in the area. Fish stocks are depleted, and a diverse ecosystem that thrived despite the harsh environment — including birds such as the European white stork, which stop here on their annual trans-Sahara migration — is deeply imperiled.



Without a trace of shame or irony, Bush criticized China and Myanmar on human rights in a speech in Thailand on his way to Beijing for the Olympics. In his speech, which criticized China and did not mention the Olympics, he said “America stands in firm opposition to China’s detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists.”

And China told him to STFU, mind his own business and stay out of Chinese internal affairs.

Nine dead in California helicopter crash A helicopter with a crew of two crashed while transporting eleven firefighters to a blaze in northern California. Nine perished and four were severely burned and are clinging to life in hospitals. Three have been transported to the burn unit at the UC - Davis Medical Center. Our thoughts are with them and their families.

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