In the aftermath of the capture of the second suspect Boston Marathon bombings, one of the questions being asked in a number of circles is how did these two brothers become radicalized.  Part of the motivation behind the question is just the quest to understand why they did what they did.  Clarity around the motivation may facilitate for some of the victims and others traumatized by the event to a greater sense of closure.   For some this questioning into the 'reasons why' may be driven by what may be simply called academic curiosity.

Another purpose of this question, however, is posed with the intent to gain some insight into how we in a developed country can help prevent other young adults like these two from becoming radicalized in the future. [Read more]

ITS THE DARK SKINNED GUY

I knew it!

I knew it when I first viewed the damage!

IT'S THE DARK SKINNED GUY!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/17/cnn-boston-arrests-media-nbc_n_3102680.html?utm_hp_ref=media

WELL MAYBE NOT THIS TIME!

http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=181323 [Read more]

Begich, Baucus, Heitkamp, Pryor.

They have made clear their party affiliation.

The appropriate, indeed, sole remedy is available in the next primary.

If any of these four escape a primary, we on the left can occupy the toilet. Outcome, notwithstanding. They must be primaried for the sake of minimal cred.  BTW Obama has to endorse the primary challenge

MISCEGENATION

We as a nation have so many dire issues facing us.

The 21^st century has presented us with a new Boston Massacre.

And there has been little news presented of late that even touches upon other dire issues that effect this country.

I still think that a discussion regarding race is important and it actually touches upon the racist attacks brought on by the right wing mass media in retaliation to this event. [Read more]

Info regarding upcoming trial. (Tomorrow.)

If I were the prosecutor, I'd want to know this. But you never know....:^) [Read more]

I’ve been following the story of Colin Small, a young Republican who was seen throwing out completed voter registration forms in Harrisonburg, VA, and got arrested for it. Turns out Small was employed by the oft-renamed firm sometimes and formerly known as Strategic Allied Consultants, sometimes and formerly run by disgraced Republican consultant Nathan Sproul.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/article/278836/81/Man-arrested-for-tos...

Allegations have been made, predictably, that Small’s act was part of a larger Strategic Allied conspiracy, but no solid proof has emerged. Small’s bosses fired him and offered the usual “bad apple” explanation.

In addition, a rather weak explanation for Small’s behavior was offered up by an “unnamed source close to the story” who said Small panicked because he couldn't file the forms by the deadline, and solved his problem by ditching them. [Read more]

Hello my liberal friends.  I hope you will forgive me and not think me arrogant if I suggest that I know a bit more about negotiating than your hero, President Obama. As you probably know, Obama has offered a budget that seeks to find "smarter cuts" in spending than the sequester, "close tax loopholes" to generate very minor amounts of additional revenue, and (of great interest) use the chained CPI to adjust spending on social security benefits over time.

The first point that I would make, and have made many times, is that you don't begin giving away your position before negotiations even start. The President should have suggested a budget with huge tax increases and very large spending increases tied to his major constituencies. In other words, exaggerate your position and then work back towards your realistic expectations through the negotiating process. Right now, all the Republicans need do is to wait until he offers up more and more compromise. [Read more]

When nuns puked nails
by Josephine Livingstone, Prospect blog, April 5, 2013
{a review of Brian Levack’s new history of demonic possession in the Christian West, "The Devil Within" (Yale, £25)]

VS.

The D.S.M. and the Nature of Disease
by Gary Greenberg, Elements @ newyorker.com, April 9, 2013
[Gary Greenberg’s new book, “The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry,” will be published in May] [Read more]

“It goes without saying that Republicans oppose any expansion of programs that help the less fortunate-along with tax cuts for the wealthy, such opposition is pretty much what defines modern conservatism”

Krugman today.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And the rest of the column is similarly cogent. With one piece missing. Along with wanting to deprive the less fortunate, modern conservatives dislike them. Them, personally. Not just the resources they consume but them. Personally.  So conservatives are not just indifferent to the suffering of the poor, they feel they’re a good thing. Serves them right. A well-deserved punishment. [Read more]

Many conservatives - including a few Black accommodationists - are saying that Black people are being bamboozled into voting nearly exclusively for the Democratic Party. This is clearly a republican talking point, either that, or they believe that Black people are so stupid that they can be convinced to vote for people who have left no stone unturned to deprive them of their right to vote, and who repeatedly try to portray them as lazy criminals and dope fiends who are content to vote for anyone who will allow them to spend their lives on welfare. When placed in that context it makes one wonder, what could Black people possibly be thinking? How could they not want to vote for a group people who portray them in that way?

 [Read more]

http://offtheedgehumorpics.blogspot.com/2013/03/vw-passat-785-mpg-imperi...

Sorry, guys.  This is lame, but I am not myself

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE [Read more]