IRIE Thoughts of the Day
Let's just take a moment to appreciate life in general ... We're all so blessed and lucky to be alive. RE: Immigration Policy ... I don't know how anyone of Latino heritage could be a Republican, OK? Do I need to say more? I say this to anyone who's threatening death in the name of religion or politics:
Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Go F**k yourselves now! Most of us are HIGHLY concerned about the job market. We should be! The Great Recession, which began during the Bush administration's last two years, cost American labor over 8.4 MILLION jobs. Bush and Obama's reaction to the banking industry failure and later positive stimulus to the economy by Obama and Democrats have begun the long slow road to recovery.

"Sustained, positive job formation began earlier in this recovery than in the prior two recoveries," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute.

We hear Republicans claim this has been a failure. Most of us recognize this is dirty politics, yet this negative and false rhetoric demoralizes Middle Class families.

"The problem is that the damage done during the Great Recession was so severe, it will take a lot more growth than normal to dig the job market out of its hole."

These policies are working. Remember this political fact: if Obama succeeds, or if Americans perceive his policies are successful, Republicans will not be returned to power. Republicans believe therefore that if they are to win, Obama and Americans must lose. This is not a healthy scenario.

The seriousness of the Bush-led collapse means it will take time to climb out of the hole they created - and, for many struggling families time and money are resources in short supply. source


Ezra Klein, Washington Post, provides an excellent visual comparison of competing tax policies between the Bush and Obama tax structures (shown below). Visually stunning! source. CNN also analyzes the outcomes of allowing the Bush tax cuts of 2001 & 2003 to either be extended or expire as the legisiation originally intended.


Since GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, our auto industry has added 55,000 jobs - the strongest period of job growth in more than ten years. For the first time since 2004, all three American automakers are operating at a profit. Sales have begun to rebound. And plants like this that wouldn't have existed if all of us didn't act are now operating maximum capacity.


Taxation A*L*O*H*A
From Uncle Barack's weekly address, 4.10.10: So far, Americans who have filed their taxes have discovered that the average refund is up nearly ten percent this year - to an all-time high of about $3,000. This is due in large part to the Recovery Act. In fact one-third of the Recovery Act was made up of tax cuts - tax cuts that have already provided more than $160 billion in relief for families and businesses and nearly $100 billion of that directly into the pockets of working Americans.

The Absence of A*L*O*H*A
Unjust wars and occupations radicalize people. The American Right wing secretly knows this but likes the vicious circle it produces. Wars make profits for the military-industrial complex and the resulting terrorism terrifies the clueless U.S. public and helps hawks win elections, allowing them to pursue further wars. And so it goes - until the Republic is bankrupted and in ruins and its unemployed have to live in tent cities.
Spread A * L * O * H * A with the Peaceful Vibrations of Sashamon
I want to introduce all my friends to Sashamon (Sasha Makia Spiller-Reiff). He originates from the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i and brings a unique peaceful vibe to the island music scene in an IRIE mix of Reggae, Rock and Hawaiian in One Day Maybe, his debut album. Sasha says:

"Everything is energy. Music is energy. Light is energy. I think the best art is like a beacon or a lighthouse that illuminates the truth and the beauty and shines on you to create a light inside of you.

It's like if God is the lighthouse, then music is just a part of that vibration. Music at its best, to me, is the cousin of the Creator. And we are creators, creators of life.

I think music is for praise and the illumination of this. If music helps show the innate godliness of ourselves, it can help us to treat one another more like human beings. I think ultimately we're just vessels here to help one another out. I don't think we're here to suffer."

For more info visit: www.sashamon.com
Mahalo Nui Loa!


Spread A * L * O * H * A to all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender
A lawsuit filed in federal district court states that Proposition 8 -- which eliminated the right of same sex couples to marry in California -- creates a class of "second-class citizens" and thereby violates the U.S. Constitution. The suit also calls for an injunction against Proposition 8 until the case is resolved, which would immediately reinstate marriage rights to same sex couples.

The plaintiffs are represented by Theodore B. Olson and David Boies. Olson, a former U.S. Solicitor General, represented George W. Bush in 2000’s Bush v. Gore, which decided the presidential election. Boies represented Al Gore in that case.

"Yesterday, the California Supreme Court said that the California Constitution compels the State to discriminate against gay men and lesbians who have the temerity to wish to express their love and commitment to one another by getting married," Olson said. "These are our neighbors, co-workers, teachers, friends, and family, and, courtesy of Prop 8, California now prohibits them from exercising this basic, fundamental right of humanity. Whatever discrimination California law now might permit, I can assure you, the United States Constitution does not."

"Mr. Olson and I are from different ends of the political spectrum, but we are fighting this case together because Proposition 8 clearly and fundamentally violates the freedoms guaranteed to all of us by the Constitution," Boies said. "Every American has a right to full equality under the law. Same sex couples are entitled to the same marriage rights as straight couples. Any alternative is separate and unequal and relegates gays and lesbians to a second class status."

Obama Addresses the AMA
Obama Addresses World Muslims
Obama's No Socialist. I Should Know.
April 15th Is Patriots' Day
Money for Nothing
Choohoo :: Yes We Can ~ Barack's the Man