Corporations Lose One; Rally in DC; Horsemeat; Bigot Speech; Arms Sales; Saudi Raids; Hypocrisy; Special Pancakes

Overcast and unseasonably  cold!  But Elaine's daffodils are wildly blooming.  Mostly yellow, but a few are partially pink.   Every year they get more and more diluted.

Crazy Times!

Corporations Lose One

Public Citizen News reports that Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez has been settled in the Supreme Court.  Jose Gomez and others had not given the company advance consent to receive text messages.  The company had sent marketing text messages to thousands of people, including Jose. These folks wanted to enjoin a class action suit to be led by Gomez.  The company offered Gomez some money to settle the case and he refused.  Normally, when a claimant is offered a sum of money before he moves for class certification and turns it down, the defendant can convince the judge that the claimant would have gotten less money out of the class action and therefore the case should be thrown out.  The Supreme Court disagreed and ruled that Gomez must be given a "fair opportunity " to pursue the case on behalf of the class.

Now.. did you get all that.  I'm sure that my explanation is not a very good explanation of the situation.  Just know that this is a victory against Corporation bullying tactics.  Even Scalia would not have been able to change the result.

Rally in DC

On Sunday, April 17th, thousands of people will descend upon Washington, DC for a so-called "Rally for Democracy."  They will meet at the U.S. Capitol and march past the Supreme Court.  The goal of this rally is to make three demands  to our legislators:

o  Get money out of politics

o   Restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965

o   Secure a Senate vote on a U. S. Supreme Court nominee.

These demands will be voiced by members of more than 200 organizations, such as:

MoveOn.org
NAACP
Greenpeace USA
Main Street Alliance
Money Out Voters In
National Council of Jewish Women
National LGBTQ Task Force
People for the American Way
Project Vote
Public Citizen
Sierra Club
World Without War
... and many more.

Good luck, guys!

On Monday, April 18th, many of these same people will get involved in civil disobedience and direct action as well as meeting with elected officials and their staffs.

I wonder if the Media will cover these events?  They haven't been around for some rallies in the past.

 More on Horsemeat

Yesterday, I mentioned that I enjoyed Wiennerschnitzel in Europe, even though I knew that I was probably eating horsemeat.  I mentioned that some people are trying to get horsemeat banned in Europe.    Mother Jones magazine reports that "oil heiress and equine philanthropist (Virginia McCullough) has spent $135,000 spurring lawmakers to keep American horses off foreign dinner-plates." 

People with Things to Say

Mother Jones magazine also talks about a few people of note, who are being sued together, but don't ask me about the case. I quote:

"Sue Evenwel is a member of the Texas Republican Party executive committee..."  She likes the Tea Party and Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz.  "In an op-ed, she has warned that showing tolerance to Muslims means Shariah law could 'usurp the U. S. Constitution."

Ed Pfenninger, a Christian fundamentalist has a You Tube channel where you can enjoy his viewpoints.  "He doesn't believe the Earth revolves around the sun.  He has described the Catholic Church as 'the mother of harlots'..Jews 'are enemies of the cross'...and "women with short hair are shameful."

American Arms Sales

Much is being said this week about Saudi bombing runs that are apparently killing people with weapons that they purchased from the U. S.  May I cite Mother Jones magazine again:

"The United States controls more than half the global arms market.  Russia, the next biggest supplier, has 14%.

Mother Jones lists the top 5 buyers of American weapons from 2009-2014.

1.  Saudi Arabia
2.  United Arab Emirates
3...Australia
4.  Iraq
5.  Israel

I believe that the Saudi runs utilized cluster bombs bought from the U.S.  It seems hypocritical to me that we have recently denounced the use of such bombs. 

Enough of this depressing stuff.. let me end with another old joke resurrected by Reader's Digest:

Pancakes

A mother asks her  young sons what they want for breakfast.  The first little boy says, "I'll have some $@#%$ pancakes.!"  The mother angrily sends him to his room for cursing.  She glares at the other little boy and asks, "What do you want for breakfast?!"  the second boy says, "Well, I sure as hell don't want those $@#%$ pancakes!"

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