Update on Under 21 Club Opening

The under 21 club I wrote about Tuesday, evidently won't be opening. Not tonight, maybe not ever.

There was such an outcry about this from the parents and even the teens here in town, Charles Juba, has decided to throw in the towel.

According to The Pitch, a local newspaper in Kansas City Juba has closed his website and posted the club will not be opening.

Here is what they say:

Update (1:36 p.m. April 30): Charles Juba has thrown in the towel. There will be no Black Flag Club.

This statement is posted on the club's Web site: "At this time the ownership announces that The Black Flag Club will not be open for business. We thank you for your support."

The article also goes on to say, even though he denied his continued ties to the Neo-Nazi and KKK groups, as late as 6 months ago, his ex-wife stated she feared for her children, and he asked for his robes and Nazi pillow cases to be returned to him.

Juba claims he's a different man than the one the Southern Poverty Law Center put on it's "40 to Watch" list in 2003. But divorce records show that just five months ago, his ex-wife feared Juba would take their children to white power rallies, and Juba requested his Nazi flag pillowcases and Ku Klux Klan robes be returned.

The SPLC also claims Juba founded a National Socialist Movement chapter in Oak Grove in December 2009.

The fact the club will not be opening is also reported by KMBC, the ABC affiliate in Kansas City. From their site:

The controversial under-21 Black Flag Club that had been slated to open in Odessa will not be open for business Friday night.

Charles Juba will not open the Black Flag Club in Odessa after all. According to Mayor Tom Murry, Juba called city hall Friday morning and asked for the utilities to be shut off and for his deposits back.

The business license had been put on hold due to the failure of Juba to include his Missouri State Sales Tax ID number, and it did not pass the Fire Codes. From the pictures I have seen it was not even ready to open, there were still lots of construction materials and other items sitting around.

At the last meeting Thursday evening, a friend of Juba's tried to defend him and her statement is very telling, I thought. She stated,"He left the groups behind, however he is still friends and associates with the other members." So much for leaving them behind. Sounds to me like he is still involved just not as openly as before.

Thanks all for your support on this... Again, I ask you to be vigilant in your area for this same type of thing. It can and does happen more often than we realize. Thanks to some observant parents here in Odessa, this was brought to the attention of the town before it was too late.

Jon Stewart Does it Again... and Other Thoughts

Jon Stewart takes on the Arizona laws passed this week in this sketch... It is priceless... This makes more sense than any of the other takes on this I see. The so called "librul media" or "lame stream media" as that woman calls it just can't do what Jon does.

Watch this and then I will have some other thoughts below.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Law & Border
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

This week my little town is on fire. We have a new Teen Only Club coming to town... Sounds good right... Give the kids something to do to help keep them out of trouble, yet maintain it with no drugs, alcohol and no one over the age of 20 allowed.

Like I said, sounds good... But the City in their infinite wisdom, gave a permit to someone they didn't know and did not check out. Now with the opening just 3 days away.. we find out the man who is wanting to run this club is a White Supremacist, and a member of KKK. Or, he says former member, he has left the groups years ago.. and his personal beliefs don't or shouldn't enter into it.

I am proud of my 16 year old granddaughter. She says he is just out to recruit kids to his movement and will not go, no matter what. In fact, a lot of the kids in her school are saying the same thing.

This protest yesterday and hearing at the Community Center drew lots of fire and even the Kansas City television stations were here covering it.

Here is one of their videos of the matter: Sorry, they don't allow embeding so you will have to go see the man in question and the anger of local citizens.

According to Southern Poverty Law Center, there is a group of Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists in Oak Grove, which is only 10 miles from here. This man, whose name is Charles Juba, has come from no where, no one in the city says they know him and yet, he is wanting to own a club for teens in our small town.

This makes no sense to me. Why would someone come here?... My thoughts, because the political climate is right, the rise in hate groups has been documented, and they need fresh blood.

Recruitment, plain and simple. We are a small town, only 5,000 people, but we are right on Interstate 70, and as I stated above, there is a group just 10 miles away.

Our kids are vulnerable to this threat and it is something we need to be watching for. How can elected officials just turn over the keys to our youth without checking this guy out.

Even the Chief of Police stated he had no idea who this person was, until after the permit was issued.

This scares me, it scares me for our children, it scares me for the area, and it scares me for the country.

Please, be vigilant, be aware of what is happening, and prepare to take a stand against things like this. That's what our town is doing.. however late it may be.

The President's Weekly Address: Good News from the Auto Industry

From the White House blog:

As the auto industry and financial markets begin to stabilize, the President says the government’s emergency interventions are now winding down. He pledges that real reform, particularly on Wall Street, must now begin.

Good News all around. I supported the loans to GM and Chrysler, and it looks like it might have been a great investment for our government. With GM paying back the loans 5 years early, it looks like the faith we put in them and the restructuring they did has now paid off.

Now, on to the financial industry... We must have new rules for them and get them regulated. I hope the Senate will pass the bill before them, it may not be the best... but at least it is something. With the current climate in Washington it may be all we can get.

But, it like the health care law, can be added to at a later date if we win a majority back in the fall. Some are now predicting just that.

Thanks everyone and I look forward to your comments.

Tha President's Weekly Address: Holding Wall Street Accountable

From the White House blog:

The strongest consumer protections ever. Bringing transparency to financial dealings. Closing loopholes to stop recklessness and irresponsibility. Holding Wall Street accountable and giving shareholders new power in the financial system. President Obama lays out what Wall Street Reform is about, and questions whether opposition from the Senate Republican Leader might have something to do with his recent meeting with Wall Street executives.

This has got to be a win-win for the Democrats. If the Republican's continue to oppose this, surely the people will realize who is working for them... But then maybe I am giving the people too much credit.

If the Democrats can hold together on this, and all vote to approve it and make it stronger and better for the people instead of the Wall Street crowd and their cronies in the Republican party. It isn't going to be easy, and it is already drawing opposition from the Republican's.

We need this reform, in order to protect the people from the theft of our money by Wall Street. With Goldman now being prosecuted and maybe others to follow, we have to stay after them to make them realize we will not stand for their criminal ways.

Health Care Reform: The Morning After, Guest Posting by Barbara O'Brien

This is an honor to me... My blog is having it's first ever guest posting. Barbara O'Brien contacted me asking if she could do a guest posting regarding Health Care Reform.

I readily agreed and so the following is from Barbara O'Brien and I hope you all comment and read it. This is information we all need and it needs to get out to everyone. Here is her post:

Health Care Reform: The Morning After

Many politicians and pundits warned us that the health care reform (HCR) legislation that just became law will destroy America. Government bureaucrats will take over health care decisions, we were told. The old and infirm would be hauled away by death panels. Everything about the way we receive our medical care will change, and change drastically, they said.

Medicare recipients have been frightened by stories that their benefits will be cut. Middle-age people are worried they will lose their jobs when the law’s dreaded regulations, or taxes, or maybe regulations with taxes, would destroy their employers’ businesses.

The truth is, very little will change for most people. If you were insured by employee benefits before HCR, you will be insured by exactly the same policy in exactly the same way after HCR. You will have access to the same doctors on the same terms. “Government bureaucrats” will no more be involved in your health care than they were before.

And the same is true of Medicare, which of course is a government program, although many of the people who opposed the HCR bill don’t seem to know that.

Here are the “cataclysmic” changes to health care that are now in effect, or which will go into effect within the next six months for people who are already in group insurance plans:

• The law says you can’t lose your insurance coverage because you get sick. Before, in many states, if you were stricken with a severe illness such as mesothelioma cancer that would be expensive to treat, your insurer could use just about any excuse to cancel your coverage. That is over.

• HCR has ended lifetime limits on coverage. As long as you are receiving medical care, your insurer pays the bills.

• Your children can be covered on your existing policy until they are 26 years old.

• In six months, insurers cannot refuse to insure people under the age of 19 because of “pre-existing conditions.” This provision will go into effect for everyone in 2014.


And if you are on Medicare, you will be asked to struggle with the following:

• You get a free annual checkup.

• The co-pays and deductibles on many preventive care services are eliminated.

• If you are in the Medicare D “doughnut hole,” you will get a $250 rebate check in a few weeks. The hole itself will be closed gradually and will be gone by 2020.

But what about all those terrible regulations and taxes that are about to drive businesses out of business? Um, there really isn’t much to report. Oh, wait, here’s one — a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps will go into effect July 1. That’s about it.

However, beginning this year a tax credit will be available for some small businesses to help provide insurance coverage for employees.

Soon the politicians and pundits will start trying to frighten you about the provisions that will go into effect after this year. I assure you they are about as scary as the provisions that go into effect this year, but I will discuss them in a follow-up post.

— Barbara O’Brien


Some information about Barbara O'Brien:

My name is Barbara O’ Brien and my blogging at The Mahablog, Crooks and Liars, AlterNet, and elsewhere on the progressive political and health blogophere has earned me the notoriety of being a panelist at the Yearly Kos Convention and a featured guest blogger at the Take Back America Conference in Washington, DC.

I’m contacting you because I found your blog in a prominent political and health care site search and want to tell you about my newest blogging platform —the public concern of health care. Our shared concerns include health reform, public health, and asbestos contamination.

I am hoping to continue this guest posting for as long as Barbara wants to post here. I hope you enjoy it and will read it and comment on what she has said. Thanks all.

The President's Weekly Address: Relief for the Middle Class at Tax Time

From the White House blog:

As April 15th approaches, the President discusses several of the tax breaks for middle class families he has signed into law. Find out more about the Making Work Pay tax credit, breaks for first-time homebuyers, rewards for making your home more energy efficient and more through our Tax Savings Tool.

Since the teabaggers have been yelling about higher taxes.. Do you suppose they even noticed their taxes went down? I doubt it... They are so blind in their hate they can't see anything except what they are told to see... and believe what they are told to believe.

Color of Change Petition for Net Neutrality

Here is another petition for Net Neutrality. Leslie @ ParsleysPics has one also. Please sign one or both of these so we can continue what we have had for years.

The major companies are trying to control our internet more than before... Join in and keep it free and open for all. Don't let them and Glenn Beck take away our internet capabilities.

Dear friends,

The Internet has made amazing things possible, like freeing the Jena 6 and electing President Obama. None of it could have happened without an "open" Internet: one where Internet service providers are not allowed to interfere with what is seen and by whom.

Now, Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon -- the most powerful broadband providers -- are trying to fundamentally change the way the Internet works. They're seeking to make even bigger profits by acting as gatekeepers over what we see and do online. If they succeed, the Internet would be more like radio and television: a few major corporations would control which voices are heard most easily, and it would be much harder for grassroots groups, individuals, and small businesses to compete with large corporations and well-funded special interests.

The FCC wants to do the right thing and keep the Internet open, but the big providers have been attacking their efforts, with help from Black leaders who have financial ties to the industry. And a recent court ruling just made the FCC's job even tougher.[1] If the FCC is to preserve an open Internet, they will have to boldly assert their authority and press even harder. It's why they need to hear directly from everyday people about the importance of an open Internet, now.

Will you join me in sending a message to the Federal Communications Commission supporting their effort to preserve an open Internet? It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/opennet/?id=2425-697932

The FCC is working to create rules that would protect "net neutrality," the principle that protects an open and free Internet and which has guided the Internet's operation since it began. It guarantees that information you put online is treated the same as anyone else's information in terms of its basic ability to travel across the Internet. Your own personal website or blog can compete on equal footing with the biggest companies. It's the reason the Internet is so diverse -- and so powerful. Anyone with a good idea can find their audience online, whether or not there's money to promote the idea or money to be made from it.

AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are spending millions of dollars lobbying to create a new system where they can charge large fees to speed up some data while leaving those who can't afford to pay in the slow lane.[2] Such a system could end the Internet as we know it -- giving wealthier voices on the Internet a much bigger megaphone than poorer voices, and stunting the Internet's amazing equalizing potential.

Buying the support of Black organizations?

President Obama strongly supports net neutrality, and so do most members of the FCC. With so much at stake for Black communities, you would expect Black leaders and civic organizations to line up in support of an open Internet.

But instead, a group of Black civic organizations is challenging the adoption of net neutrality rules. Some of the groups are nothing more than front groups for the phone and cable companies. Others, however, are major civil rights groups -- and all of them have significant financial ties to the nation's biggest Internet service providers. For example, AT&T donated half a million dollars last year to the NAACP, and led a drive to raise $5 million more[3], and boasts of donating nearly $3 million over the last ten years to a number of Black-led organizations.[4] Verizon, meanwhile, recently gave The National Urban League and the National Council of La Raza a $2.2 million grant.[5] Comcast is one of the National Urban League's "national partners" (Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen now sits on the NUL's Board of Trustees)[6], and the NUL's 2008 annual report notes that Comcast donated over $1 million that year.[7] Many of these groups have now filed letters with the FCC opposing or cautioning against net neutrality,[8,9,10,11] and the Internet service providers are using the groups' support to promote their agenda in Washington.[12,13]

The main argument put forth by these groups is that net neutrality rules would widen the digital divide. They say that unless we allow Internet service providers to make bigger profits by acting as gatekeepers online, they won't expand Internet access in under-served communities. It's a bogus, trickle-down argument that has been thoroughly debunked.[14, 15] Expanding access to high speed Internet is an extremely important goal. But Internet service providers are already making huge profits,[16, 17] and if they believed that investing in low-income communities made good business sense, they would already be doing it. Allowing them to make more money by acting as toll-takers on the Internet won't change that. When these civil rights groups have been asked to back up their arguments, none have been able to do so without appealing to discredited, industry-funded studies.[18] Nevertheless, the FCC has taken notice of what these civil rights groups are saying about net neutrality, and is wary of going against them for fear of being perceived as insensitive to minority concerns.[19]

Now it's up to you

The FCC wants to do the right thing and implement net neutrality rules. FCC commissioners know, as we do, that the anti-net neutrality arguments coming from civil rights groups are bogus. But they don't want to appear to be on the wrong side of Black interests.[20]

We need to demonstrate that there's support among Black folks and everyone else for protecting an open Internet. Please join me in telling the FCC that we support net neutrality.

You can add your voice here:

Sign the Petition Here

Thanks.

References:

1. http://bit.ly/drWbQ3
2. http://www.savetheinternet.com/threats-open-internet
3. http://bit.ly/akyXZS
4. http://bit.ly/aGOz89
5. http://www.nclr.org/content/news/detail/54262/
6. http://bit.ly/93zDr6
7. http://bit.ly/dnqyq4
8. http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7020141807
9. http://mmtconline.org/lp-pdf/NatlOrgs%20NN%20Comments%20011410.pdf
10. http://colorofchange.org/opennet/jan-letter.pdf
11. http://colorofchange.org/opennet/naacp-letters.pdf
12. http://colorofchange.org/opennet/usindustry-letter.pdf
13. http://bit.ly/d8GdOu
14. http://www.freepress.net/files/nn_fact_v_fiction_final.pdf
15. http://bit.ly/ay0dx7
16. http://bit.ly/9JQSDk
17. http://nyti.ms/cZaGq8
18. http://bit.ly/cpPA51
19. http://huff.to/awKtvk
20. http://huff.to/awKtvk

The President's Weekly Address: Holiday Greetings

In this week of Easter, Passover, and faithful celebration, the President offers a holiday greeting and calls on people of all faiths and nonbelievers to remember our shared spirit of humanity.



I can't add anything to what our president says here. I hope you enjoy a Beautiful Easter or Passover with family and friends.