But This Isn't The Onion

The Republicans are now looking at repealing the 14^th amendment, in effect repealing the Dredd Scott decision, which in addition to making slavery eternal, also declared that freed slaves were not US citizens.

<Facepalm>

Worst Website Ever…

Yvette's Wedding Dresses , in Panama City, Fl.

May cause your eyes to bleed, and turn down the volume, the accompanying music sucks too.

They Should Save Their Energies for the Pedophile Priests

The Chilean President has denied a request by the Catholic Church to pardon members of the Pinochet junta currently jailed for murder, rape, kidnapping, etc.:

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Sunday denied a pardon to people jailed for dictatorship-era crimes, a move likely to ease tensions with the opposition and rights groups over a controversial call for clemency.

Chile's Catholic Church had asked Pinera to free or lower jail sentences of military officers convicted for human rights violations as well as other criminals in a call for clemency to mark the country's upcoming bicentennial celebrations.

The pardon request infuriated human right groups and the center-left opposition, rekindling memories of General Augusto Pinochet's 1973-1990 rule that still divides many Chileans.

I'm thinking that the Church of Rome issues of forgiveness that are a bit "closer to home".

Perhaps they should address these matters before engaging in a full throated defense of the perpetrators of horrors of the Chilean dictatorship.

It's Not, "Not So Bad," It Sucks

It appears that lawmakers on both the state and federal level are starting to look at the salaries of senior executives for tax-exempt organizations.

What I love is the quote from M. Cass Wheeler departing CEO of the American Heart Association:

“If you peeled all that [outrageous supplemental pension and other provisions] back, you’d get to a base salary less than $600,000,” he said.

OK, so your base is almost 1½ times that of the President of the United States of America, and you are doing charity work, and we are supposed to be OK with that.

No, we aren't.

Neither should we be OK with hedge fund managers making over a billion dollars a year, but for non-profits, we are subsidizing the donations that pay their salary.

Enough.

I would note that the most egregious examples are in "not for profit" hospitals, which would imply to me that these institutions are "not for profit" as a fig leaf.

You Win a Brand New Car! Or a Spiff Horse Drawn Carriage!

They are having a blood drive in Ohio, where donating blood enters you into a competition for a brand new car, or, if you so choose, you can win a brand new custom made horse-drawn buggy:

During the traditionally slow summer months for blood donation, the Northern Ohio Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross offers an incentive: Donate a pint, get a chance to win a car.

It's a tried and true promotion. From charity golfers to high school boosters to game show contestants, who wouldn't want to drive home in a brand … new … car!

How about a culture that shuns such modern contrivances. Say, the Amish.

Turns out Amish people are faithful blood donors in this district, which encompasses Geauga, Holmes and Tuscarawas counties – all centers of Amish population.

The Red Cross doesn't want to forget them, said spokeswoman Christy Chapman. So in addition to the car, donors can win a brand...new...buggy!

Seriously.

Obviously, this is a sensible and humane way to encourage blood donations by accommodating the needs of a supportive community, but I also find it a hoot.

What can I say, I'm not a good person.

A Bit of Meta

I'll be trimming my blogroll over the next week or so.

All of the entries, but there is the time to read them, so I need to do a bit of a cost/benefit analysis.

Additionally, for a number of the more heavily trafficked blogs, I tend to find stuff that most interests me through links from other sites.

Another Ethics Investigation

This time, it's Maxine Waters, who is alleged to have intervened on behalf of a bank that her husband had a significant interest in.

So, in the past 4 weeks, the Ethics Committee has made a substantive move against 2 Dems, though Rengel's ethics problems have been ongoing for months.

I'm curious as to why this is all cropping up now, and I expect a 3^rd shoe to drop.

I would note that in comparison to what the Republicans did, Rengel is alleged to have done favors to people who contributed to a building named after him, evaded taxes, and misused rent controlled apartments, while Waters is alleged to have intervened on behalf of a bank where her husband served as a board member (though it was also the only minority owned bank in Massachusetts) is pretty mild.

By comparison, with the Republicans, (rolling the Abramoff^* Wiki) you had people paid to lobby for slave labor in the Marianas, cheating Indian tribes, taking money from the gambling business while also taking money from anti-gambling activists, and lobbying for the genocidal monsters in Sudan.

Come to think of it, Democratic corruption appears to be rather quite lame in comparison.

It is still reprehensible, but rather a lot like comparing a small snatch and grab with the Great Train Robbery.

Both crooks, but one of them has a bit of audacity.

^*Full disclosure: I went to school with, and served in the student senate with, one of his associates who has faced legal repercussions, and my babysitter went to school with his daughter.