SmallCanBeBig.com: New charity for direct donations

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Monday January 26, 2009 · 4:27 PM PST

2009/01/26 · 16:27

A new charity site that enables direct donations to families in need has been launched at SmallCanBeBig.com. By partnering with established charities, this group provides a way to make tax-deductible direct donations to families in a situation where a small boost can make a big difference. Categories of aid include: Fending Off Eviction, Facing Unexpected Emergencies, Escaping Domestic Violence, etc. You can read about specific families and select who your donation will be directed to. (At present, this project seems to be limited to the Boston area.)

I don't know much more about this than what I have read on their web site, but it seems like a really good idea. I encourage you all to check it out.

Chevy Volt battery contract goes outside US

lesliet

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Thursday January 15, 2009 · 1:50 PM PST

2009/01/15 · 13:50

I ran across an article in the Boston Herald today that General Motors has passed over a local Massachusetts battery company and has awarded the contract to produce batteries for the Volt to a Korean manufacturer.

General Motors Corp. has zapped Watertown start-up A123 Systems’ shot at supplying batteries for the Chevrolet Volt electric car.

The automaker yesterday said it picked the Korean company LG Chem Ltd., passing over a competing bid from Germany-based Continental Automotive Systems, which was using cells developed jointly by A123 and GM.

So we are spending how many billions to bail out US car companies and then they turn around a send part of the money to Korea? Shouldn't we be supporting our own internal advanced battery technologies? Isn't there something wrong with this picture?

I see the LA Times has also picked up on this.

Company drops healthcare, blames election

lesliet

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Friday November 07, 2008 · 6:48 AM PST

2008/11/07 · 06:48

A guy named Jeff Cutler reports in his blog that a Cambridge MA company, Aspiant, sent out a message to its employees on Tuesday night announcing that the company would no longer pay for employee health insurance due to the election results.

Update: My original diary said he was blaming Obama's victory. A commenter points out that he was actually blaming the defeat of Question 1, which would have repealed the Massachusetts income tax.

He runs a copy of the entire message from the CEO, which states that they are doing this as a preemptive move because they're afraid they won't be able to do it in the future. An excerpt is below the fold.

lesliet

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Friday September 05, 2008 · 5:29 PM PDT

2008/09/05 · 17:29

Standing in for Keith tonight, Rachel Maddow calls McCain/Palin on their lies. Here's a transcript until the clip is available:

If we were to put a fine point on what was said at the Republication National Convention this week, we might describe the attacks on Senator Obama and the praise given to Governor Palin as the Associated Press did; they described those things as quote stretching the truth. We're going to go out on a limb here at Countdown and call them "lies". We're also going to call the repeated telling of those lies "lying".

The charge that Senator Obama authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform: LYING. Senator Obama wants to raise your taxes? Unless you happen to be a corporation or the richest one percent of all Americans: LYING. Senator Obama has never worked with Republicans on bipartisan legislation: LYING.

[Shows a clip of McCain stating the latter charge]

I repeat: LYING

Thank you Rachel!

My dad died today and I can't sleep

lesliet

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Tuesday April 15, 2008 · 12:37 AM PDT

2008/04/15 · 00:37

He was 85. He was a good man who lived a good life. He was alert and interested in the world right to his last day, when he collapsed with a heart attack. I am thankful for these blessings. I loved him and will miss him terribly.

He was very upset about the direction the United States is moving in. He was the product of the American Dream - the son of immigrants who started off as a factory worker, fought in WW II, went to college on the G.I. Bill, and made a success of his life. He was sometimes bitter in recent years, feeling that he'd fought in that war to give his children and grandchildren a better life, and then watched it all evaporate. We always talked politics when I visited, and were in total agreement.

I had been undecided who to vote for in the Massachusetts primary, and when I told him that I voted for Obama, he told me that was the right choice. He often bemoaned the lack of true leaders in recent years, but I was beginning to think that maybe Obama would be that leader he was looking for. I'm sorry he won't be around to see the beginning of an Obama presidency and a new beginning for our country. He deserved to live his last years in hope rather than despair.

He was a good man.

An appeal to voters

lesliet

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Friday November 16, 2007 · 2:37 PM PST

2007/11/16 · 14:37

Please, whatever your views, please listen to what the candidates are actually saying, rather than what the pundits are saying that they're saying. Often there is no correlation between those two things. And for the love of all that's precious, stop listening to pundits whenever they start using horse race or boxing metaphors to characterize the candidates' positions. I don't want to know if Candidate X is "leading" or "coming on strong" or "faltering". I don't want to know if he/she is "hitting hard" or "attacking" or failing to attack. I just want to know what they believe and whether it makes sense, what they say and whether it's true, and what factors they will consider when making difficult decisions that will affect the future of everyone on this planet. All the rest is entertainment and should be banned from the airwaves.

BREAKING - MIT student with fake bomb at Logan

lesliet

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Friday September 21, 2007 · 7:46 AM PDT

2007/09/21 · 07:46

I'm sorry I can't find more on this, but MSNBC is reporting that a female MIT student was arrested at Boston's Logan Airport this morning with a fake bomb strapped around her chest. They say that the situation almost turned tragic, as the police were prepared to respond with deadly force.

I can't imagine what would cause someone to do something like this in this day and age. Was she trying to make some sort of point? Anyone have more information about this incident?

Update: Here's a link to the very brief MSNBC story.

Tweety blocks discussion of issues

lesliet

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Tuesday August 28, 2007 · 5:19 PM PDT

2007/08/28 · 17:19

Did anyone see Chris Matthews cut off Naomi Wolf tonight when she tried to turn the discussion to something more important than Larry Craig?

Naomi started out by saying that she didn't think the Craig scandal would have a lasting impact - that it might end Craig's career, but would have no impact on Romney or the other Republicans running for president.

Then she tried to say that people realize that there are much more important issues at stake, such as Mitt Romney's refusal to sign the American Freedom Agenda's request to support the Constitution.

At that point, Tweety lost it.

lesliet

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Tuesday June 12, 2007 · 5:46 PM PDT

2007/06/12 · 17:46

Yesterday and today I spent many hours sitting on a committee at my local elder services agency interviewing agency applicants for Title III financial grants for 2008. I have virtually no background in social services; I got involved in this after spending a lot of volunteer time last year helping with Medicare Part D support. The agency liked the work I did and didn't want to lose me, so invited me to join their Advisory Council. I've been going to meetings for several months, but this is the first time I've gotten involved in the nitty-gritty.

I just wanted to write about a few of my impressions.

lesliet

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Monday February 26, 2007 · 7:08 AM PST

2007/02/26 · 07:08

CNN is reporting that a Libby trial juror has been exposed to trial information outside of the courtroom. The judge is interviewing the jury foreman. I am totally bummed.

I really wish Daily Kos had a way to post short notes about breaking news, but since it doesn't I am padding this diary to get to 300 characters. I think it's pretty obvious that this is really depressing news.

Update from MSNBC: the juror involved has been dismissed and the trial will go forward with 11 jurors. Fitz asked to substitute one of the alternates, but the defense wanted to go forward with 11, which is what the judge decided. (It was a woman who was dismissed.)

Olbermann, Colbert in Entertainment Mag 10-Best Lists

lesliet

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Saturday December 23, 2006 · 11:49 AM PST

2006/12/23 · 11:49

I figure most of you don't read frivolous magazines like Entertainment Weekly, so I thought I'd share the news that Keith Olbermann and Stephen Colbert both turned up in some of their year-ending Top 10 lists.

Countdown With Keith Olbermann was listed as number 6 on Ken Tucker's "Second Opinion" Top 10 TV Shows list. It is really unusual to see a news show on this list along with the dramas and comedies.

Stephen Colbert was number 9 on their "The Entertainers" list, just after Daniel Craig. Complete with a two-page photo spread.

A few quotes below the fold.

lesliet

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 07, 2006 · 11:26 PM PST

2006/11/07 · 23:26

I just heard an extraordinary comment on a radio call-in show in Massachusetts. I was driving home after spending the evening at a friend's house watching the national results, so didn't hear the Deval Patrick acceptance speech. But the caller had heard the speech, and was moved by it, even though he had voted for Patrick's Republican opponent.

"I voted out of fear, and I should have voted out of hope", he said, after hearing Patrick speak. "I am jaded, I haven't been moved by a political speech for many years, but in Patrick I see another Martin Luther King Jr. I feel sorry that I wasn't in on the movement from the start. I feel that history is happening here." (Of course, I am paraphrasing to the best of my memory, as I was listening to this as I was driving and couldn't take notes.) Read More

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SmallCanBeBig.com: New charity for direct donations

Chevy Volt battery contract goes outside US

Company drops healthcare, blames election

Rachel says it: "They're lies"

My dad died today and I can't sleep

An appeal to voters

BREAKING - MIT student with fake bomb at Logan

Tweety blocks discussion of issues

Learning about social services in my community

Updated - One member dismissed from Libby jury

Olbermann, Colbert in Entertainment Mag 10-Best Lists

"I should have voted out of hope"