Childhood trauma wires your brain for fear

~ susie

brain

Oh, I believe this. I was a bullied kid and I can tell it’s affected me physically and mentally. Then again, it’s probably what makes me a good blogger:

Last week, a report by the University of San Diego School of Law found that about 686,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect in 2013. Traumatic childhood events can lead to mental health and behavioral problems later in life, explains psychiatrist and traumatic stress expert Bessel van der Kolk, author of the recently published book,The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.

Children’s brains are literally shaped by traumatic experiences, which can lead to problems with anger, addiction, and even criminal activity in adulthood, says van der Kolk. Sound Medicine’s Barbara Lewis spoke with him about his book.

The Clinton rules

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Hillary for prez

Charlie Pierce explains:

It appears that the “exclusive” ratfking arrangement entered into by The New York Times andWashington Post has brought us all back to the Mena Airport again, and that it has done so by strict application of the Clinton Rules, first devised in the mid-1990’s, as the nation’s elite political press turned laundering oppo research into a smoothly running machine. The very first Clinton Rule, established by most of the original reporting into the Whitewater non-scandal, is that if you can blow enough smoke, you can say there’s fire. The Post has a fine example of the modern application of the rule this morning.

Bill Clinton was paid at least $26 million in speaking fees by companies and organizations that are also major donors to the foundation he created after leaving the White House, according to a Washington Post analysis of public records and foundation data. The amount, about one-quarter of Clinton’s overall speaking income between 2001 and 2013, demonstrates how closely intertwined Bill and Hillary Clinton’s charitable work has become with their growing personal wealth.

First of all, holy hell. A hundred million bucks just for giving speeches? I am so in the wrong damn racket. However, a little later on, we discover the first Clinton Rule in operation.

The Clintons’ relationships with major funders present an unusual political challenge for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now that she has formally entered the presidential race, the family may face political pressure and some legal requirements to provide further details of their personal finances and those of the foundation, giving voters a clearer view of the global network of patrons that have supported the Clintons and their work over the past 15 years.

Continue reading “The Clinton rules” →

More right-wing hackery from the New York Times

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

In a story breathlessly headlined, “Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company,” the New York Times has doubled down on the clever insinuations of a masterful piece of right wing Truthiness. Look: I was a reporter. It’s not difficult to (intentionally or unintentionally) construct a story that is filled with… Continue reading “More right-wing hackery from the New York Times” →

Gay-hating pastor is… a serial rapist

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Protecting LGBT people from discrimination is bad according to those voicing opposition to Ordinance 2223 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and that includes a Baptist Preacher who features prominently in a new video urging voters to repeal the measure. That preacher pleaded guilty to a series of violent rapes in Oklahoma in 1977. The Arkansas Times reports:… Continue reading “Gay-hating pastor is… a serial rapist” →

An economic shot in the arm

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Three Walmart Walmart Assistant Managers prevent group from entering San Leandro store on Black Friday

This is great news. Activists have been calling for this for a while, and this will be a huge help to many working people:

President Barack Obama is preparing to do what the U.S. economic recovery has been slow to accomplish: raise the wages of millions of Americans.

His administration is drafting new rules on who qualifies for overtime compensation, forcing more businesses to pay time-and-a-half after 40 hours of work. Many employees now earning as little as $23,660 a year — below the federal poverty line for a family of four — aren’t entitled to overtime pay because they are considered managers.

While Republicans in Congress have blocked proposals to raise the minimum wage, Obama can change the overtime rules through executive authority. Some officials at the Department of Labor are urging the president to lift the threshold as high as $51,000 before someone could be called an executive exempt from overtime. A group of 26 Democratic senators has asked him to push it even higher, to $56,680.

“This is absolutely one of the best practical ways to give people the on-ramp to the middle class,” said one of the lawmakers, Sherrod Brown of Ohio. “When you strip people of their overtime pay, which is what’s happened over the years, they really don’t have a chance to get ahead: They’re working harder and harder and not seeing real pay increases.”

Opponents argue that pushing the level too high could force fast-food restaurants, retailers and other enterprises to cut employment or even go out of business.

BENGHAZI!!!!

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Trey Gowdy and Ken Buck
You see that AR-15 they’re holding? They’re illegal in the District.

Trey Gowdy is such a smacked ass. Not that we didn’t expect this, of course:

The findings of a Republican-led committee investigating Hillary Clinton’s response to the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, likely will not be released until next year, just months before the 2016 presidential election.

Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi, has been emphasizing a desire for the panel to finish investigative work by the end of 2015, including its review of Clinton’s e-mail practices as secretary of state. Now that seems less likely.

In a statement on Tuesday to Bloomberg News, committee spokesman Jamal Ware confirmed the delay. “Factors beyond the committee’s control, including witness availability, compliance with documents requests, the granting of security clearances and accreditations—all of which are controlled by the Executive branch—could continue to impact the timing of the inquiry’s conclusion,” Ware wrote.

Even if the investigation phase could be concluded by the end of 2015, he said in an interview, the committee would need more time to analyze the information collected, and compile findings and conclusions into a written report. No specific date for release in 2016 of the committee’s final report was offered by Ware.

Here’s your small government for ya

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Tax time

I tried to call them last week to tell them my payment would be late, and never got through. I tried for two hours, and gave up:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS’ overloaded phone system hung up on more than 8 million taxpayers this filing season as the agency cut millions of dollars from taxpayer services to help pay to enforce President Barack Obama’s health law.

For those who weren’t disconnected, only 40 percent actually got through to a person. And many of those people had to wait on hold for more than 30 minutes, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Wednesday.

The number of disconnected callers spiked just as taxpayers were being hit with new requirements under the health law. Last year, the phone system dropped 360,000 calls, Koskinen said.

For the first time, taxpayers had to report whether they had health insurance last year on their tax returns. Those who received government subsidies had to respond whether they received the correct amount. People without insurance faced fines, collected by the IRS, if they did not qualify for an exemption.