In a bold response to the Occupy Chicago protest, a brave band of the nation’s money people have posted signs in the windows of the Chicago Board Of Trade building that declare “We are the 1%”. Be strong you job makers and futures traders. Be strong. [Occupy Chicago]
There have been at least 100 cases of killer cantaloupes, tainted with listeria. Of those cases, 18 people have died so far. There’s good news though: a majority of the melons are out of the food supply now so you can breathe a little easier. For now.
This passed June, the great state of Alabama passed a law designed to punish adult illegal immigrants, kiddie illegal immigrants, and American children who made the grave, grave error of being born to illegal immigrants. Last week, a federal judge upheld key portions of the law, and it’s already leaving Alabama a nice, clean shade of white!
Campbell Robertson from The New York Times‘ reports that, at least in the tiny town of Albertville, Alabama, some of its brown residents have reacted to the judge’s ruling by literally running for their lives:
They left behind mobile homes, sold fully furnished for a thousand dollars or even less. Or they just closed up and, in a gesture of optimism, left the keys with a neighbor. Dogs were fed one last time; if no home could be found, they were simply unleashed.
Two, 5, 10 years of living here, and then gone in a matter of days, to Tennessee, Illinois, Oregon, Florida, Arkansas, Mexico – who knows? Anywhere but Alabama.
The exodus of Hispanic immigrants began just hours after a federal judge in Birmingham upheld most provisions of the state’s far-reaching immigration enforcement law.
Among the law’s provisions: Police will be required to ask for citizenship papers during routine stops, contracts with illegal immigrants will be unenforceable in state courts, and public schools will be forced to scrutinize the immigrant status of their students. This has caused a mass exodus of Hispanics from the state. Like if the Hispanics were the Jews and the law was Moses or something, except Alabama doesn’t like the Jews either.
By Monday afternoon, 123 students had withdrawn from the schools in this small town in the northern hills, leaving behind teary and confused classmates. Scores more were absent. Statewide, 1,988 Hispanic students were absent on Friday, about 5 percent of the entire Hispanic population of the school system.
John Weathers, an Albertville businessman who rents and has sold houses to many Hispanic residents, said his occupancy had suddenly dropped by a quarter and might drop further, depending on what happens in the next week.
So, while Alabama may be cleansed of all the Hispanics, there’s still that lingering sucking sound. Only this time, its not those illegals sucking from the teat of those born here, it’s the vacuum of money fleeing the state from those Hispanics paying rent and purchasing goods in other states.
[Image via AP]
Acting West Virginia Governor and Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin won a special election last night. This despite the fact that he’s a huge Obamacare supporter. So much so that he wants to gay marry it in a mosque. Another election awaits in 2012.
[AP]
Bristol Palin. When she’s not popping out babies or following her mommy across the country helping her fake almost run for presidency, she’s riding mechanical bulls at Hollywood bars in front of gathered paparazzi and reality tv cameras all while getting yelled at by rude drunks. One such man yelled “Your mother’s a whore!” after Bristol performed admirably on said mechanical bull.
Bristol marched right up to the man, jutted out her new chin and got into quite the little heated encounter:
Man: She [your mother] is evil.
Bristol: You want her dead?
Man: You know what, if there is a hell, and I don’t think there is one, she will be there.
Bristol: OK, why is that?
Man: She’s evil. She’s evil.
Bristol: Is it because you’re a homosexual?
Man: [ironic tone] Pretty much!
Bristol: And that’s why you hate her?
Man: And why do you say I’m a homosexual?
Bristol: Because I can tell you are.
Oh, snap! Bristol Palin throw down! On the way out she gets into a fight with another pair of angry drunks, including one who yells, “White trash Wasilla!” and “You fucking bitch!” as Bristol and friends angrily storm out of the bar.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you act three of the government shutdown brinksmanship coming after the appropriations fight and the seriously embarrassing debt ceiling battle earlier this summer. This new(?) fight may not exactly threaten the government with a shutdown, but it’s a dividing one and Congress is full of a bunch of dicks. So…
The current government funding deal that was agreed settled upon earlier this year runs out the end of this month, with a new fiscal year starting the first of October. Naturally, congress is behind on the budget bills it needs to pass, so it plans on passing a temporary resolution funding the government at the current levels through mid-November.
Leaders of both parties want to include additional disaster relief with no offsets; Republicans would like $3.65 billion with a partial offset of about $1-$1.5 billion in cuts to a program that subsidizes loans to car companies for manufacturing fuel-efficient vehicles. BINGO! There’s your gridlock that’s holding up an agreement on government funding past September 30th! Since Congress plans on taking another vacation district work period next week, they’d like to finish disagreeing on this within the next few days.
Both sides have a bill that the other side hates, and each side is refusing to give on anything. Already we’re beginning to see the first cheap shots of ”if there’s a government shutdown, it’s the other guy’s fault”.
“No one’s intending to bring about a government shutdown here,” [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor said. “I think the country’s sort of seen enough of that. The two sides have demonstrated a real difference as far as cutting spending is concerned. We’re going to try to focus on where we can come together, pass the (measure) and continue to focus on the job creation that is so desperately needed.”
Even so, Cantor argued that if the funding battle were to be brought to the brink, “it’ll be on Leader Reid’s shoulders, because he’s the one playing politics with it.”
In May, Jamey Rodermeyer from Buffalo contributed a video to the “It Gets Better” campaign. Though only 14, Rodermeyer felt he had a message of hope to send whoever was watching. Four months later, he’s dead after committing suicide.
Jamey’s parents, who found him dead at their home early Monday morning, say that he had been bullied because of his perceived sexuality for years, but that they thought that he was doing better, having started high school three weeks ago. Following his death, they now suspect he’d just gotten better at hiding the effects of being harassed. Friends at his school say he was still being teased and worse on a regular basis.
So, as we celebrate today’s official repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, let’s remember that the fight still rages on all across the country and around the world. This is an unnecessary loss and no one should ever be made to feel bad about who they are.
We here at Genetic Dead End would like to take a moment to remember those lives lost and thank those who acted with bravery in America’s darkest hour. You will never be forgotten and our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families as we remember September 11th, 2001.
Things can only get better and we would like to thank everyone for their continued support with the blog. We are working very hard behind the scenes to make this site better with each and every post. We will return this week better and bigger than ever with the second issue of our magazine and with a new, more robust backend to our site.
Once again thank you and we will never forget those lives lost.
Mitch Winehouse, father of late soul singer Amy Winehouse, says his daughter may have died from an overdose of “a powerful anti-anxiety drug” prescribed to help her deal with the DTs. “She did detox to excess,” he told Anderson Cooper, and died with “nobody there to rescue her.”
So sad that Amy died while trying to get her life back together.
Johnny Depp impersonator and former Dior designer, John Galliano, who was tried in Paris for two incidents at the same bar where he called people “dirty Jews,” was found guilty of hate speech. His only punishment seems to be losing his job, ruining his good(?) name, and being ridiculed by Cheeto-dust covered bloggers like us.
The maximum penalty for the incidents was six months in jail and a $32,175 fine. Instead he was ordered to pay a $8,500 fine (about the cost of one Dior overcoat), which was suspended. He doesn’t even have to pay it unless he is arrested for similar crimes in the future! Basically the court slapped him on the wrist and said “Don’t do it again”. Justice is served.