Fblog

OK Tin-Foil Hatters...

2006-05-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

This is the second version of the loose change video (120 minutes of 911 mythology debunking): Here

If I have one critique to make: It is that the facts don't need the editorial comments- the information alone speaks so loudly as to seem irrefutable. I happen to think the bastards in control of the levers and gears of our country right now actually did engineer the entire event (and I have since the day it happened), but for the nay-sayers and poo-pooers who went to see "Flight 93" and went "Rah Rah!" when the film makers commanded them to- what do you have to say after watching this? Can you explain all the holes in the story?

With billions of phone calls made by hundreds of millions of people filed away in the largest data-base ever created (the cleverly-named "Terrorist Surveylance Program") - and like everything else this administration has lied about - answer me this:

What aren't they willing to do in order to destroy the Constitution?

It ain't a great leap to make... c'mon, join with us... join the Factinistas. When the day of reckoning comes wouldn't you like to know you fought on the side of Liberty and Justice for All? Or are you happy being a tool?

Rev. Rich Lang

2006-01-23T23:43:00.000-08:00

I'm not typically able to stand anything Christian, but this is from my local (very anti-war)pastor:

WE DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME

So when do we use the word? When do we actually say it? When do we, as
clergy, take up the ministry of Ezekiel, and warn our people of that which
is coming (Ezekiel 33:1-9)?

So far we have refused to say the word. So far we have not been so bold as
to take up Ezekiel's ministry. Perhaps we are afraid that even if we sounded
the alarm our people wouldn't listen nor would they understand (Isaiah 6).
And so, because of our silence, our people are assaulted by fears and
suspicions drifting into sleep, moving step by inevitable step into the
abyss traveled by all other empires before ours (Revelation 18).

The signs are clearly all around us. The mission and purpose of the United
States is now that of a permanent war economy patrolling the globe and
exterminating the infidels (1 Samuel 8). The office of the president, with
the acquiescence of the Congress, is fast becoming the office of a supreme
leader who can change law through "signing statements" and extinguish law
through an assumption of war powers. We have become a nation that practices
torture. We have become a nation that targets and kills civilians. We have
become a nation that disappears people. We imprison people without trial. We
monitor what we say, who we say it to, when we say it, where we say it. All
of this in the name of freedom and all of this disguised as justice. All of
this covered with the silence and blessing of the clergy who will not blow
the trumpet.

The signs are clearly all around us. We have students spying on their
professors. We have government agencies spying on us. We have our computer
transactions monitored. We have our children accosted by military recruiters
at school, through the mail, through the media, at the mall. Meanwhile the
price of war rises into the multiple billions even as spending cuts slice
through the poor and the working class. But, from the pulpit, we dare not
speak its name: this name that has become the reality of our time.

Within the Church there is an irreconcilable divergence emerging (1 John
2:18-19). At its extremes we see the birth of Patriot Pastors in Ohio even
as liberal churches become targets for IRS investigations. We see Justice
Sundays and the growth of theocratic nationalism even as more are jailed
because of their faith-based resistance to the further production of war.
>From the pulpits of the nation the Sermon on the Mount, christian
identification with the poor, the declaration to love our enemies are all
replaced with strategies of church growth or manipulations to infiltrate
political parties. Congregations insist that clergy dare not speak its name.
Congregations insist that clergy stay embedded in their role as chaplain and
golf partner. They insist that clergy provide comfort and offer therapeutic
guidance. And clergy, with paycheck in hand, and a desire for career
advancement in heart, oblige their congregations with false words of "peace,
peace" (Jeremiah 8).

But when does it get said? When do we clergy preach I Samuel 8, Isaiah 6,
Jeremiah 8, Ezekiel 33, 1 John 2, Revelation 18? When do we prepare our
people for the next act of terrorism and the next seizure of power?
When do we clergy declare that allegiance to a military security state
committed to permanent war is idolatry? When do we cease our support for the
regime that sends troops out to oppress, dominate and die while it chants
the empty slogan "support our troops?"

When, in other words, will clergy name the disease that is our present
reality? When do we speak of it from the pulpit? What are we waiting for?
What other signs do we need? Are we waiting for the inevitable arrests of
dissidents? Are we waiting for the next invasion, and then the next? Are we
waiting for further heresy trials, further church harassment, further
cultural friction? Are we waiting until the waters of the coming economic
flood finally bubble up under our own chins? When do we dare blow the
trumpet and warn our people? When do we dare cast aside the comforts of
popularity, prosperity, and privilege so that we finally speak its name? And
having spoken it from the pulpit, from the Bible study, from out of each
pastoral visit we make, having spoken the Word then perhaps we can lead our
people in doing that which only the Church can do: casting out the demon
while repenting for the sin of this republic now turned empire. Just like
Jesus encountering the man in the tombs, we must begin this exorcism by
naming its name: some might call it militarism but I think it is better
understood as fascism (Mark 5).

Rev. Rich Lang is Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Ballard.
He is currently preaching on THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN A TIME OF WAR and can
be contacted at trinity_ballard@yahoo.com or through www.tumseattle.org

US Forces 'Used Chemical Weapons' during Assault on City of Fallujah

2005-11-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/printer_110805Z.shtml

As if torture weren't enough. Now we're using chemical weapons on civilians. And it's so well documented as to be undeniable. Saw some of this in Italy's RAI News, yesterday, but you really don't need the commentary to know how bad this is.

George Bush is the motherfucking antichrist. This is going to be on his head. That son of a bitch better burn- he and his bitch wife and his illegitimate offspring... that bloodline needs to come to a political end. That Dynasty needs to be dismantled. From Poppy CIA puppetmaster Bush and GrammaBitch the Racist, all the way down to the indiscretions of those trampy little twins.

And our goddamned representatives- "lied to" or not- they fucking knew. They knew before this war began what they were getting. And the US media knew. They all fucking knew, just like the millions and millions and millions of people who opposed this goddamn war knew before it started:

It's a Big Fucking Lie. Every single bit of it. 9-11 was a Saudi Arabian attack, and from the very second that first plane hit the first fucking tower we've been in this Dr. Strangelove 1984 alternate universe and every single bit of it has been a lie. Afghanistan, Iraq, now Syria and Iran- all of it a big, fat, fucked-up lie.

And whether or not you believe 9-11 was an inside job or not, you cannot deny that it was Saudi Arabians on those fucking planes. The Bin Ladens being flown out of the country? Down the fucking memory hole. Anthrax attacks on Democrats and News Publishers? Down the mother fucking memory hole. The stolen 2000 elections?

That's right. Down the memory hole.

Al Gore 08

2005-11-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

Al Gore 08

Ah yes. Al Gore, 2008. In an alternate universe, the Republican cronies and CIA spooks who helped engineer the Florida spectacle in 2000 were exposed and the elected man stepped into the office, not the appointed one.

And when 9-11 happened, when the world rallied around us, Al Gore implimented policies that bettered mankind, not set the stage for the next world war; A war between the two fuel hungry forces: China and Russia on one hand (with the middle east and Asia minor allied), and the U.S. and the E.U. on the other (with South America and Canada allied).

But no, I'm stuck in this alternate reality. In this reality, the Bush Crime Family has been so brazen in their gluttonous rampage, the media so complicit, and the populous so dumbed-down that BushCo. has actually managed to kill Satire itself. In the Whitehouse is the Ted Rall evil pigmy, while out here amidst the Proles, "Get Your War On" is the standard line of darkness that has become comedy.

But it's a dark comedy. Like a Shakespearean version of Dr. Strangelove... everybody dies in the end. Everybody in the fucking world.

I'm over it now, fortunately. The failure of Bush on Social Security, the Expose that was Hurricane Katrina, and indictments falling from heaven like rain have vastly improved my mood these last few months. I am enjoying watching this cabal getting dragged toward the gibbets by the townsfolk. I like seeing the pitchforks and torch flames casting vengeful shadows on these lunatic warmongering fuckers' faces.

I digress. Let me resume with Al. The best reason among many, many great reasons I can think of for Al Gore to run in 2008, is that Al Gore is no DLC Clintonista. The Hillarites still clinging to the "Mighty Bill Story" of a flawless presidency/ flawed president. It just ain't so. And that narrative won't wash now any more than it did in 2000 or 2004 because that narrative is in denial that Bill Clinton became president not for his ideas, not for his fabled charisma, nor due to the strategies of Al From and James Carville, but rather by Ross Perot splitting the Republican ballot.

Bill Clinton became president because the fiscal conservatives bitch-slapped Bush 1 for the deficit spending and went for a non-party candidate. Perot got 19%, remember... Those weren't Bill's 19%. The narrative that DLC conservative Democrats keep feeding the masses about playing to the middle is pure crap. It just ain't so.

No, Al Gore is a true leftie who would have a revitalized DNC (under the leadership of no other than the ball of righteously-indignant energy that is Howard Dean) and eight years of "I Told You So" to hammer on the stupid, stupid, (oh-my-fucking-god-how-can-you-be-so-fucking-stoopid) "undecideds" drooling in the middle. Well, there ain't no middle no more... 5 years of Dubya has made sure of that.

An ideology of liberal ideas like fiscal responsibility, foreign policy sanity, energy independence, and a national security not dictated by those who own us (China and Saudi Arabia) would do what Bill Clinton and what-was-his-name-again? failed to do... give us a liberal president. Cause it was never running to the middle that worked for Dems, no more so than it was the charisma of Bill.

The Rude Pundit

2005-10-31T23:18:00.000-08:00

The Rude Pundit

This, my friend, is pure poetry... the likes of which I haven't read since Fuck The South.

The Rude Pundit

2005-10-31T23:08:00.000-08:00

The Rude Pundit
Oh yeah.... at last, someone who makes my occasional rants seem tame...

Democracy Now! | Hugo Chavez

2005-10-31T19:23:00.000-08:00

Democracy Now! | Hugo Chavez: "If the Imperialist Government of the White House Dares to Invade Venezuela, the War of 100 Years Will be Unleashed in South America"

Why take my word for it... take it from the president himself- the democratically elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, that is.

'Cause you aught to know by now- We don't have one of those here.

Hugo Chavez is Crazy!

2005-10-31T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hugo Chavez is Crazy!

I read this before I read the byline. Greg Palast. I should have known.

It should be mandatory reading for lefties everywhere... and a notice (as if we needed yet another one) to be on the watch for how piss-poor our media has truly become. Watching the CIA and the NED (National Endowment for Democracy) skipping down the street as they tried to push the 2002 coup- which failed miserably, I might add- reminds me of... damn... well, of here. Remember the lead up to the war? The aftermath of 9-11? The still-as-of-yet unsolved anthrax attacks on Democrats and the National Enquirer's publishers? What happened to Osama? How did he become Saddam, anyway?

Judith Miller can kiss my ass (on her way to hell). The psychologically ill typically have an enabler- our warmongers and sissyhawks have the U.S. media. And they have spun, misportrayed, omitted, and cast dark spells of cynical sophistry which have ensnared so many of those "too busy" with minimum wage jobs to pay attention to what is really going on...... some have awakened, and as more and more continue to do so (think "100th monkey"), I hope the calls for accountability sound like the accountability demanded by the French during their Revolution. Because when the French were done with Marie Antoinette, she wasn't just rendered "outa action" while the lawyers threw sand in the eyes of Justice- her entire bloodline was stopped dead in it's inbred tracks. There was Justice, and it wasn't arbitrary- it was final.

We need that type of accountability now... of our elected (?) representatives, of their appointed fall-guys, and of their enablers like Judith Miller, Krauthammer, and Lowery. We need to end that inbred culture once and for all, and end the enabling.

The Poor Man: Listen

2005-10-26T00:17:00.000-07:00

LINK HERE

I don't know why, but I find this amusing. I found it (again) while organizing my bookmarks. Yes, I was organizing my bookmarks... what about it?

Anyway, it's not political, either. but it's amusing. It's about boiling water. Don't ask, just read it. If you enjoyed it, you would really love the post I found entitled "Lead Boots."

Whatever.

Let Justice Be Done- by Justin Raimondo

2005-10-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=7743

nice. ginger-peachy.

Asia Times Online :: Asian news and current affairs

2005-10-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/GI01Dj02.html

What does George Soros, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet all have in common with Venezuela's president, the democratically elected Hugo Chavez?

They all are betting the U.S. dollar will fall in value. How much do they believe this?

They have all started dumping their dollars in favor of euros.

This is looking scarier and scarier...
Don't get me wrong- I know the neoliberal supply-side cool-aid drinkers who think of themselves as fiscally conservative non-girlymen are stupid and can't use logic correctly to see the blatant relationship between spending and saving.

I also know they own all of the Republican Party and half the Democratic Party (DLC Fucks), which means, they're running shit and that's just the way it is.

But, you see, they're running it into the ground. And When the sell-off begins, the people who will eat it will be us, the non-1%. When interests rates hit 20% it isn't gonna matter what the trailer park Republicans have learned from their stupidity... I'm gonna be paying for it. You're gonna be paying for it. Whether it's the cost of goods, the unavailability of capital, the mark-my-words high unemployment and inflation.... think Georgie boy and his Greenspan he-bitch will give a flying poop-stain?

No. They will have turned their trick, wiped it off, and passed their invoice on to your children.

After all, who do you think they've been whoring? YOU got YOUR tax cut... now look who got screwed?

That's right. They paid you to let them screw your kids. Feel like a dirty kiddy-porn pimp, yet?

MSN Money - Associated Press Business News: Chavez: Venezuela Moves Reserves to Europe

2005-10-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

MSN Money - Associated Press Business News: Chavez: Venezuela Moves Reserves to Europe

Or another way to put this one (sorry, couldn't leave it alone): the trading of dollars for euros has begun. The dire predictions always assumed it would be China, first.

ABC News: Texas Emergency Hurricane Hotline Outsourced to India

2005-10-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

ABC News: Texas Emergency Hurricane Hotline Outsourced to India

So.... what'll they outsource next? I mean, really, what CAN they outsource next? If they can, they will...

MSN Money - Associated Press Business News: Chavez: Venezuela Moves Reserves to Europe

2005-10-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. Didn't hear much about this, did you? Well, we bombed the shit out of Iraq for simply threatening to trade it's oil in euros, and now we have the 5th largest oil producer (7th largest importer to the U.S. market) selling it's assets in the U.S.

This is the shot that should be heard around the world. But we won't hear it here, will we? No. We won't.

Link Here

COUP 2K

2005-09-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

An oldy, but goody. How did the 2004 election get stolen? Not too differently than the 2000 election.

Link Here

More Spin in "The Blame Game"

2005-09-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

How To Reply To Right-Wing Email Lies (my own personal example):

This is the second Hurricane Katrina email I’ve received that distorts or ignores every single fact of the last several weeks involving the storm. Since the people who perpetrate this distortion of facts insist on including your email address in the body of the text, I’ve taken the liberty to include you in my reply.

The governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency on Friday, August 26th, a full 3 days before the hurricane hit. The Gulf States also requested troops from the Pentagon on the 26th.

George Bush declared a federal state of emergency in Louisiana on Saturday, August 27th. What is significant about this seemingly trivial information? According to the Whitehouse, this is what is supposed to happen once that declaration is made:

“The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe…”

These words were issued August 26th, when Hurricane Katrina was a category 2 hurricane. Bush declared a federal state of emergency the following day when Katrina was a category 3 storm.

On Sunday, August 28th, the storm was upgraded twice; At 2AM it became a category 4, and at 7AM, it became a category 5 storm. At 9AM the same day, Mayor Ray Nagin issued the first ever mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. The Lafayette Daily Advertiser’s headlines that morning were “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina.” That afternoon, the president, the head of Homeland Security (Chertoff), and the head of FEMA (Brown) were warned by the National Hurricane Center’s director that the levees would fail. At 4 PM that day, the National Weather Service warned the president “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer …at least one-half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed …Power outages will last for weeks …Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.”

So, BEFORE the storm hit Bush declared a national state of emergency, approved federal response, and knew the levees would fail. But what makes this so appalling is he’d known the levees would fail for years- The Bush administration cut the Army Corp of Engineers budget for the levee upgrade to prevent failure by 77% since 2002, redirecting that money to the war in Iraq. Bush cut the budget in spite of numerous studies which predicted this exact catastrophe, and it happened exactly as the engineers said it would in 1996, 1999, and 2002. It happened exactly as the five week long 2002 series in the New Orleans Times Picayune said it would (read it: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/). Exactly as NPR said it would happen in 2003. As the 2004 FEMA exercise (Hurricane Pam drill: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051) in New Orleans specifically detailed. No, this was known long ago, planned for, budgeted for, construction started... and Bush pulled the plug on the project before it was done by underfunding it.

Bush knew the levees would fail long before August 28th. He knew because his borrowing from Peter (our security) to pay Paul (Iraqi security) made sure of it.

But lets not “play the blame game.” Let’s continue to look at facts. We are, after all, members of the Reality-based American working class. We know that facts matter, whether or not the Washington D.C. politicians mismanaging the bureaucracy do.

Katrina makes landfall at 7am, Monday, August 29th as a category 4 storm. At 11am that morning George Bush gave a speech about Medicare in El Mirage, Arizona, and claims he called Mike Chertoff: “I spoke to Mike Chertoff today -- he's the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue (immigration), so we got us an airplane on -- a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are. That's the most effective way to do things, is to work with the state and local authorities.” It was John McCain’s birthday, so two hours after the levees failed, what was President Bush doing? Eating cake:

Also at 11 am, Monday, Michael Brown finally dispatches 1,000 FEMA employees to the region. He gave them 2 days to get there. Two days.

At 4:30 pm George Bush gives another Medicare speech to senior citizens.

At 8 pm Donald Rumsfeld went to a San Diego Padres baseball game.

The next day,11am, Tuesday August 30th, Bush gave a speech on Iraq at naval base Coronado.

At 2pm he played the guitar with the country singer Mark Willis. Off the Louisiana coast, unutilized, sat the U.S.S. Bataan, an 844 ft naval ship with 6 emergency rooms, beds for 600 patients, and the capacity to make 100,000 gallons of water a day.

That Tuesday night, Bush went back to Crawford for his final night of vacation.

Wednesday, August 31st, National Guard Troops arrived in the Gulf States. At this point, two days after the levees failed, Bush flew “back from vacation” to Washington D.C., where he organized a “task force” to coordinate federal response. While he’s organizing his “task force,” the Jefferson Parish director announces their emergency food and water supply is gone. 80,000 people are still stranded in New Orleans. A public Health Emergency is declared for the entire Gulf Coast. While Bush organized his “task force,” Homeland Security Director Chertoff issues a press release that says: “We are extremely pleased with the response that every element of the federal government, all of our federal partners, have made to this terrible tragedy.” [Department of Homeland Security]

At 7pm Condolezza Rice watched “Spamalot” on Broadway in NYC.

At 8pm FEMA director said “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.”

OK, enough facts. Now I must respond to the email at the bottom of page which has me so angry I’m firing off this email (on my Sunday night off, too, I might add). I did a little research on the author. It’s written by Bill Whittle, a two-bit blogger who made waves with an essay about “tribes” in which he sings the virtues of himself and his friends, and uses crappy analogies, and calls Democrats “pink” and claims Republicans are the only “realists.” He is a Hollywood TV editor who (his words here) “gets paid insane sums of money to do a cake job while much better people than me do this every day, for peanuts.”

In Bill’s essay, Tribes, he asks “Have you not met and talked and laughed with people who were funny, decent, upright, honest and honorable of every shade so that the very idea of racial politics should just seem like a desperate and divisive and just plain evil tactic to hold power?” Or to paraphrase (cut-to-the-chase): Don’t talk about racism- it doesn’t exist except in the minds of those darkies who have ambitions of political power (think: Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, NAACP).

He also wrote (harsh language warning- sorry): “Only a few minutes ago, I had the delightful opportunity to read the comment of a fellow who said he wished that white, middle-class, racist, conservative cocksuckers like myself could have been herded into the Superdome Concentration Camp to see how much we like it. Absent, of course, was the fundamental truth of what he plainly does not have the eyes or the imagination to see, namely, that if the Superdome had been filled with white, middle-class, racist, conservative cocksuckers like myself, it would not have been a refinery of horror, but rather a citadel of hope and order and restraint and compassion.” White middle class conservative = good, poor black victim = bad. To be blunt, Bill Whittle is a white-supremist.

Other things about Bill Whittle: He’s a right-wing conservative who warns frequently that he’s got a gun and knows how to use it. Every woman I know refers to guys that proclaim things like this as having “small penis syndrome.” For meat eating, liberal, gun owners like myself- who work for a living- who don’t feel it necessary to announce to the world “I have a gun,” this guy makes us want more gun laws. He’s a loose cannon who has a gift of being able to write, but he uses his gift to spread rascist, anti-American rhetoric. He’s a fringe radical.

Which would explain why he hate’s New Orlean’s mayor Ray Nagin so much: A black Democrat who had the nerve to say “I don’t want to see another goddamn press conference… get off your asses and do something.”

Bill seems inclined to compare Hurricane Katrina to 9-11. Let me give you an example of how irrational Bill’s logic is, by giving you an extrapolation of his logic: Insurance companies would declare a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina an “act of God.” How are Saudi Arabian Terrorists like God? Well, with Bill’s logic, 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina were both horrible acts- therefore, God is a terrorist. Doesn’t quite work, does it? For those of who walk on two legs, anyway. The only comparisons between 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina is the economic situation of those affected. Destruction of the power-brokers in the twin towers was used to launch two wars and the creation of the largest bureaucracy ever created (Dept. Homeland Security) while destruction of New Orleans launched too little, too late and cost “Brownie” another job.

Now, lets contrast 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina more. Ground Zero in NYC was about a square mile. Ground Zero in Louisiana was approximately 40,000 square miles- larger than Great Britain. In NYC, there were grocery stores, taxis, military bases, hospitals, transportation systems, police stations, fire houses, hotels, pharmacies, etc. still functioning after the towers were hit. People had homes to go to. In Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida everything in the storm ravaged area was devastated equally. The flooding in New Orleans was just part of the storm’s damage. Mr. Bill Whittle seems to think Ray Nagin should have been able to pull his buses out of the floodwaters where they were buried and put them to use. Bill thinks, quite callously, that “New Orleans law enforcement whining about wet shoes and helping themselves to the happy period of lawlessness” is the best way to describe uniformed first responders using supplies from flooded New Orleans’ grocery stores to provide infant formula to dehydrated babies “looting.”

Excuse me, but Bill Whittle is an asshole. I will descend to his sorry level, though, and say that if I had a chance to get my hands on Bill Whittle I’d go to jail for beating the ever-living crap out of him. I would. He’s a racist and a sexist. He’s a partisan political hack spreading lies and disinformation to help cover the fact that while people were suffering our elected representatives and their appointed officials ate cake and played the guitar and watched Broadway shows and baseball games. These same elected officials ran for office under the pretense of National Security, no less.

I’m not stockpiling ammo and MRE’s because I’m safer, Bill Whittle… I’m stockpiling because this is a fault zone and FEMA sucks. The entire federal government is mismanaged and corrupted all the way up into the Whitehouse and I have neighbors that might need my able-bodied help. Little old ladies and families with children. And according to your crappy essay, that makes me like you… part of your “tribe,” but you’re wrong. You justify hating people and try and make them less human so the evil ideology you preach doesn’t keep you up at night. You’re in denial. You’re sick and poisoned. People like me who work for a living and have worked in the neighborhoods you so easily dismiss as “not my tribe” know you for what you are: a tool of rich white folk. And yeah, I’m white, but not like you. I’m nothing at all like you.

Finally, Bill says “In a third world country, people living in stacks of garbage, searching for food and water happens EVERY STINKING DAY. That is the NORM.” No Bill, it is not. Get out. Travel. Get outa Hollywood. Go see for yourself. Having had an amazing time in a third world country, far away from the tourist-infected areas, I can say quite truthfully “Bill, you’re an ignorant ass.” But even if they did live in stacks of garbage (which they don’t), that wouldn’t make what happened here any less devastating. People still would have no homes. Insurance still wouldn’t cover for flooding. People’s loved one’s still would not be alive. They still wouldn’t have a car. A job. Proof they paid their taxes. The new bankruptcy laws wouldn’t make their nightmare become even more of a nightmare when they have to face the fact they have nothing left but debt and no way to pay for it. No, Bill, in the third world country of Cuba they had a category 5 hurricane land a direct hit and Castro had moved his people to high ground. They lost no one. And we expect The Technically Advanced Democracy of The United States of America to do better than some third rate piss-ant communist island. We paid for security, we expect it, and apologists like you make the Bush administration’s pathetic response to Katrina even more pathetic.

For some of the reference material:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Hurricane_Katrina#Before_landfall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Hurricane_Katrina
http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline
To get a “taste” of Bill Whittle’s hatemongering: http://bamapachyderm.com/archives/2005/09/05/heads-up-bill-whittle-lays-down-the-gauntlet

The email I received:

Found this and said, " wow="">
Somebody who is capable of thinking clearly wrote:
"So, on one hand, we have a very blue city – New York – confronted, out of the clear morning of a perfect fall day, with no warning – with a terror attack, and they march toward the sounds of screams and falling bodies and die by the hundreds. One the other hand, we have New Orleans law enforcement – also blue – whining about wet shoes and helping themselves to the happy period of lawlessness that followed an event that had been expected for no less than seventy-two hours.
In New York, we had a governor who got every available resource on the ground as fast as it could get there, and in Louisiana we have a governor who...cried. Governor, your job is to not cry. Your job is to be strong. We have plenty of civilians crying. You want to cry, cry in the car on the way home like everybody else did four years ago. Crying Governors, race-baiting mayors and looting police do not a Finest Hour make.
In New Orleans we have a mayor who left some 400-500 buses sitting fueled and underwater in the Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool saying that evil white conservative America was selling out his people within 24 hours of the catastrophe, from a safe and dry and adequately toileted location, while four years ago we had a Mayor who ran to the site of the disaster so quickly it is a full-blown miracle he was not killed when a building collapsed literally on top of his magnificent, combed-over head.
Now, much has been made of the fact that Ray Nagin is an incompetent, race-baiting black man, and Rudy Giuliani, who was neither, is white. Also, feminists are upset that people dare attack Governor Blanco because she is incompetent, weak, indecisive, and also a woman. And no doubt there are salivating long-haired, short-cortexed idiots just waiting for this to be over so they can sail into the comments section and tell me what a racist and misogynist I am.
Well, here’s the news flash: Nagin isn’t incompetent because he’s black. He’s incompetent because he’s incompetent. Condoleeza Rice is black. Colin Powell is black. Ted Kennedy, a man well-acquainted with rising water crises is as white as they come. Kennedy is incompetent; Rice and Powell are two of the most competent people on the planet.
This is about tribes, all right: not black and white tribes, but rather a battle between the capable and the culpable.
Same holds for Governor Blanco. She’s not weak because she’s a woman, or because she’s a Democrat. Truman was a democrat. The Buck stopped there. She’s weak and indecisive because that is the individual she is. I wish history could work with variables: I’d love to see what Margaret Thatcher would have done in such a case. It would not only have been better, it would have been good. That woman was tough. She could be Grey as granite. And, for this, the Pink Tribe despises her.
Now it may come as a shock to those foreign luminaries who come to lecture us on how an American city leveled by forces roughly equivelent to a nuclear explosion reduce it to something "like a third world country."
This difference being lost on them seems to be this: in an American city there is garbage on the streets and people wander around looking for food and water, AFTER BEING LEVELED BY A CAT 5 HURRICANE, which is the storm swell of the Dec. 2004 tsunami, plus winds, extending inland not for two or three miles but for two or three HUNDRED MILES. In a third world country, people living in stacks of garbage, searching for food and water happens EVERY STINKING DAY. That is the NORM.
It may come as a bit of a shock to these worldly sophisticates, who are so quick to point out how parochial and ignorant we simple folk are, that the United States of America has local, state and federal governments! And that this is the order in which crises are dealt with!
-Bill Whittle

Chapter 18: An Un-American Way of War

2005-09-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.statecraft.org/index.html

Abu Graihb wasn't some deviation from the norm. The "tactic" has been employed by the U.S. DoD for a long time. What makes it stand out from our past use of torture and assassination is that the Occupation of Iraq is not a counter-insurgency conflict- it's a full blown military operation!

How fucked up is it? Read this Chapter.

Fighting The Spin- Hurricane Katrina Blame Game

2005-09-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

In response to the email which is entitled:

"A SAD STATE OF CORRUPT LOCAL GOVERNMENT LOOKING FOR A HAND OUT "

There is a good reason the person who wrote this didn't put their name on
it... because it's factually wrong on every single account. I have included
a timeline which proves the full accountability for the disaster following
Hurricane Katrina belongs with the federal government, and more
specifically, with this president's administration. There are links to
source material for each day in this timeline, and some I've included that
the timeline might not have.

Let me begin. The post's assertions begin:

"On Friday night before the storm hit, Max Mayfield of the National
Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Nagin and Blanco
personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of New Orleans
and they said they'd take it under consideration. This was after the NOAA
buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68' waves before it was destroyed."

On the Friday night in question, Katrina was only a category 2 hurricane.
Regardless of the storm's relatively small size (I rode a bike in Hugo and
surfed during Emily, so I have some perspective on hurricanes), Governor
Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency and requested troops from the
pentagon. Mississippi governor Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency
the next day (Saturday). Bush declared a federal state of emergency the
next day (Saturday) when the storm was upgraded to a category 3 storm. The
storm didn't make landfall until MONDAY. The federal government had 72
hours of a legal federal disaster declaration being instituted before the
storm hit! According to the Whitehouse
(ttp://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html
) this is
what the federal state of emergency declaration allows:

Quote: The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland
Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all
disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship
and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to
provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized
under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and
public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe
in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo,
Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East
Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle,
Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee,
Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry,
Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its
discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of
the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including
direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

"Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco
and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal government
and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up."

Pleading or not, once a federal state of emergency is declared the federal
government has full authority to act with the full weight of the federal
resources at it's disposal. Military mobilization was already legal,
warranted, requested, and promised by the federal government. If Bush was
unaware of his responsibilities and obligations as president and commander
in chief to protect national security then he is unfit for the position.
That is why the FEMA director "resigned," to deflect political fallout for
massive failure on the administration's part. But let's continue.

"In frustration the President declared the area a national disaster area
before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some
advanced preparations. Rumor has it that the President's legal advisers were
looking into the ramifications of using the insurgency act to bypass the
Constitutional requirement that a state request federal aid before the
federal government can move into state with troops - but that had not been
done since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to
use before the disaster. "

This is a blatant lie. The state had already declared a state of emergency
on Friday. Bush declared it a federal state of emergency on Saturday. The
rest is conjecture at best, excuses at least. But certainly 100% Wrong.

" Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco
and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal
government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up. "

Blanco requested additional troops from the pentagon on Friday. She made
that request because Louisianan faced a 30% shortage of national guardsmen
who were deployed to Iraq. Let me again reiterate, this is the president of
the United States of America we're speaking about, and the president does
not plead with subordinates. He is the ultimate executive of the nation,
and when that federal disaster was declared Saturday (48 hours before
landfall), he had full authority to act. Whoever is making this crap up is
doing it to mislead people, because it's the worst case of rose-colored
glasses I've ever seen. Plus the president sounds like a sissy, pleading
and begging, frustrated and wringing his hands. In fact, he was on vacation
playing the guitar, eating cake with John McCain, and the day the hurricane
hit, speaking to crowds about Prescription drug benefits and commemorating
the 60th anniversary of V-J day in California.

" Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to New Orleans
for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to fund
a marina and support the gambling ships. "

Wrong again. The Bush administration cut the Army Corp of Engineers budget
for the levee upgrade by 77% since 2002, redirecting that money to the war
in Iraq. The project was a federal project and the city, county, and state
the levees are in had NO control over that budget. None. Zero. Bush cut
the budget in spite of numerous studies which predicted this exact
catastrophe, and it happened exactly as the engineers said it would in 1996,
1999, and 2002. It happened exactly as the five week long 2002 series in
the New Orleans Times Picayune said it would (read it:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/). Exactly as NPR said it would
happen in 2003. As the 2004 FEMA exercise (Hurricane Pam drill:
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051) in New Orleans
specifically detailed. No, this was known long ago, planned for, budgeted
for, construction started... and Bush pulled the plug on the project before
it was done by underfunding it. Federal money is not spent by
municipalities to fund a federally run project, performed by a federal
agency for the executive branch (that would be the president). That is not
how the appropriations process works, or has ever worked. Ever.

"Toss in the investigation that will look into why the emergency
preparedness plan submitted to the federal government for funding and
published on the city's website was never implemented and in fact may have
been bogus for the purpose of gaining additional federal funding as we now
learn that the organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or
coordinating into any planning - though the document implies that they
were."

What investigation? The emergency plan "submitted" was carried out in 2004
by federal FEMA agencies! There is no investigation! This is the most
bogus of all lies due to the fact that it isn't even a distortion of what
happened- it's a bald-faced lie! And the sad thing that makes this person
dangerous is other people might actually believe it... the person who wrote
this is a danger to our nation and should be tried as a traitor, as far as
I'm concerned.

"He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal government
to be involved yet. After the President's final call to the governor she
held meetings with her staff to discuss the political ramifications of
bringing federal forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal
assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed
upon that the feds would not be invited in."

Wrong. Federal assistance was already asked for and granted. It just
materialized far, far too late.

"The suffering people of New Orleans need to be asking some hard questions
as do we all, but they better start with why Blanco refused to
even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents until
Wednesday which further delayed the legal deployment of National Guard from
adjoining states."

Wrong. When I google the so-called "multi-state mutual aid pack" I get
nothing but right-wing blogs and snopes, with this very "post" I'm
responding to; Snopes labels this as "false," or in other words, this e-mail
that you forwarded is an urban legend. A mutual aid pack would mean
Mississippi and Louisiana could share resources... uh... there was a federal
state of emergency. What takes place between the states is at a state level
and would in no way effect FEMA's national disaster response protocols,
appropriations, etc... or in this case, LACK of response... but I suspect
this is just "chatter" to confuse people who don't know how our government
works. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina may just be the harshest
indictment of our public school system yet.

"Or maybe ask why Nagin keeps harping that the President should have
commandeered 500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own
emergency plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his
disposal to use between the local school busses and the city transportation
busses - but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them. "

For the "jounalist" who posted this, he certainly would like to know that
"busses" is spelled "buses." Anyway, Nagin used the city buses to get
people to the dome. Then the storm hit. Then he didn't use them. Er...
what part of "City Destroyed: Underwater, Catastrophe" cares about a bus
after that point? The logical conclusion is the buses were where? In New
Orleans. Which was what? Destroyed and under water. And should they have
miraculously resurrected themselves from the floodwaters, how far would they
have gotten with no fuel? Has this writer not seen pictures of the
destroyed city? Did he not understand what 20 feet of water would do to a
bus? I suspect he didn't care, because he is trying to mislead people, not
inform them.

"This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but been
destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of thousands
more suffering, but it's certainly not a time for people to be pointing
fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local corruption and
incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can start their lives
anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the mistakes to avoid them
in the future."

Finally something true. It is indeed a sad time. Very. It's a national
disgrace that our federal government failed the poorest of Americans so
miserably. The suffering is inconceivable. It's pathetic they won't own up
to the facts, and even more pathetic that crap like this "post" are
anonymously posted by right-wing propagandists in attempts to mitigate the
political fall-out of failure. The buck stops somewhere else, as ususal.
It is clear the billions upon billions of dollars of taxpayer money was
wasted when Bush created the Department of Homeland Security. Someone got
rich, just not us (Halliburton - the company in which Dick Cheney has a
stake - has the Navy contract to repair the bases - already!). We are
poorer and less safe than ever, but people still refuse to see it.
Personally, here in Earthquake Zone Seattle, I'm gonna stockpile ammo and
MRE's because it's never been so clear before: If the "big one" hits us, we
are screwed.

Forrest Jackson
Seattle

For more info on what happened when during Hurricane Katrina:

"Wikipedia Timeline - before landfall"
"Wikipedia Timeline Page"
"Think Progress Timeline"

Daily Kos: UTAH RAVERS TREATED LIKE TERRORISTS!

2005-08-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

You know... I've ranted about this for awhile, but this time I have documented evidence: Video tape of a military-style raid on a 100% legal event of over 2,000 people in Utah. Read this account, then watch the video at the end.

You doubt this is a police state now? Think you're safe from your own government?

If you believe you're civil liberties mean anything at all to this government then you are a fool. A blind, stupid fool.

The Anniversary of a Neo-Imperial Moment

2005-08-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

An oldie but goody... easy to forget what they're up to...

Tom DeLay's House of Scandal: Watch DeLay, Inc. in Action

2005-07-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

Tom DeLay's House of Scandal: Watch DeLay, Inc. in Action

The blending of Marketplace and State, what I call a "Marketocracy," otherwise known as "fascism," is possible thanks to those that benefit from corporate excesses. Meet Tom DeLay, the maker of Washington D.C.s finest snake oils and potions...

t r u t h o u t - Richard A. Kaye | True Patriots Act

2005-07-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

t r u t h o u t - Richard A. Kaye | True Patriots Act

What is a patriot? How do you know if you're a patriot? What does it mean to be patriotic? Here's a list of what I think:

1) Question authority: The power in this country is granted by the people, so our civilian leaders, and especially our military brass, must answer to us. Leave no question unasked, and do not allow them to operate without full scrutiny... any crime they commit in our name makes us equally guilty.

2) Understand the issues: If you're relying on pundits, unsourced "reports," or opinion in forming your political identity- liberal or conservative- you are committing the highest form of crime against democracy. Better to have no opinion than one that damages everyone through its ignorance.

3) Vote: If you don't vote, you may as well surrender- this country will never fall from external force; it will only fall from within. By not voting, you aid the enemies of democracy and our constitution to sieze control of the democratic institutions we have all built. Once these democratic institutions are in the enemies of democracy's control, expect them to be used against you. And me.

Pretty simple stuff, but all too often neglected. No amount of waving the flag, shooting off fireworks, or saying the pledge of allegiance will fix a broken country.

So if you're disgusted with whats been going on, but you haven't done your duty as a citizen by remaining participatory, get off your ass! What you do (or don't do) is affecting me, too, you know...

The New Yorker: Fact

2005-06-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

The New Yorker: Fact

Bush is fucking insane.

You put these military ambitions (outlined in this New Yorker article) together with Bolton nomination, and the Senate's Cloture "compromise" that will fail when it comes time to put a Supreme Court Justice in place, and you get the same thing that took place in Germany prior to WW2- a democratically elected dictator with the world's most powerful military.

After Downing Street Dot Org :: In Support of a Resolution of Inquiry

2005-06-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

After Downing Street Dot Org :: In Support of a Resolution of Inquiry

Latest on the Downing Street Memo. I've been waiting for this moment in history since November 3rd, 1999.... it certainly has taken long enough.

Bye Georgie... you're going down.

Will Cheney Detonate His Other Nuclear Option?

2005-06-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Will Cheney Detonate His Other Nuclear Option?

You've been warned.

U.S. Senate: Art & History Home > Origins & Development > Powers & Procedures > Filibuster and Cloture

2005-05-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

U.S. Senate: Art & History Home > Origins & Development > Powers & Procedures > Filibuster and Cloture

I personally think we won this one- the institution was preserved, the power-grab exposed the GOP, and Frist is now showing they won't operate in Good Faith to the compromise ( "...quacks like a filibuster..."). The Senate showed the whitehouse they are a co-equal branch of government. This one is ours, and it will be GOP self destruction if Frist backs out of the deal over Bolton.

And it only cost us three judges.

Although personally, I still think Teri Schivo will be the issue that determines the midterms... call me jaded if you will: It was front page, fed to middle America daily, the Dems framed it perfectly and simply, and it was... well... "Rovian" in it's effect. And just when you thought the right-wingers couldn't screw it up more, they did. Congress' approval ratings have dropped to 33% (Fox News has lost 58% of their viewers in the last 6 months, too).

I find it funny how the DNC looks the same, but the RNC is getting it's ass kicked. I think Ed Schultz and other Dem talkers need to back off of Dean's so-called "silence," (Meet The Press wasn't outreach, it was antsy-Democratic-base-control) and appreciate the success of the back-bone implant surgery... the filibuster rules change compromise has backed the GOP into a lose-lose corner. We can hold up Bolton and take substantially less damage than if they back out of the compromise. Messy, but it was the best possible outcome of a dangerous situation.

Transcript for May 22 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com

2005-05-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

Transcript for May 22 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com

This is why I supported Dean for President- he's just No Bullshit.

freepress-closing40515.mov (video/quicktime Object)

2005-05-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

freepress-closing40515.mov (video/quicktime Object)

Bill Moyer- saw him here in Seattle- check out his latest. This is a "Must See" video.

Power Eating: Topic of the Month

2005-05-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

Power Eating: Topic of the Month

Why is America so fat? What's dumbing down all those lard-butts who are eating their food from a box?

This is yet one more case where the "bottom line" sociopathic mentality of corporations has been catastrophic for normal, everyday people... but you won't find this changing the ingredients in those boxes. Hell, you probably would never read this if you weren't so peculiar that you're reading a no-names blog who has NO readership- outside of YOU, that is.

In other words- don't look for this in the morning's paper: it won't be there.

Democracy Now! | NY Law Enforcement Caught Doctoring Video of RNC Arrests

2005-04-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Democracy Now! | NY Law Enforcement Caught Doctoring Video of RNC Arrests

Ah yes... welcome to the police state. Anything you say or do... or not... will be used against you. Even if you didn't. Or did. Whatever. Either way, you're screwed.

You know why they call that first big dump of the day a "constitutional?" Because when our U.S. Constitution was first ratified, the general population (the "we" in "We The People") regarded it as useless except for in the outhouse. Really. It was widely distributed, and almost universally regarded as a decent toilet paper. Their other choice was a corn cob.

"Hmmmm.... I can wipe me arse with this," they would say, holding up the U.S. Constitution in one hand, "Or this," and then raise their other hand with a dried corn cob. Think about that. A dried corn cob exfoliating your posterior. Wouldn't that suck?

But we needed that Constitution because the confederacy of the United States (our first governmental form, enacted after the Revolution) had been so ineffectual at raising money to defend the borders and enforce tariffs. Seems the states did a bad job of that. Oh yeah, and money... inflation was rampant, because the states just kept on printing it up. Need more? Just print it!

"I'd like a loaf of bread, please."

"That will be $4,375 dollars. Thank You. Have a great day."

Anyway, back to the police state: The NYPD are wiping their ass with the U.S. Constituition... right now! I'm sorry, but the corncob excuse is no longer valid, but that's what they're doing! The U.S. Constitution would have never been ratified if it weren't for the Bill of Rights. Read your history books... King George's corruption and monarchic dictatorship was so universally loathed by the revolutionaries that held the power here in that day that we Americans would have revolted if there were not sufficient protection or our rights. And they are wiping their ass with our Constitution.

Wanna know what that looks like (not literally)? Read the linked article and weep, baby.

Fdog: They Say Freedom Is On The March

2005-03-27T23:01:00.000-08:00

They say "Freedom is on the march." That Kyrgyzstan is the latest proof that the Bush Doctrine of Bomb The Crap Out Of Brown People is working. We are winning the war on terror. America is safer! As usual, this claim does not withstand scutiny.

On all things middle east, I typically start by looking at a map. In this
case, I'm not surprised by Kyrgyzstan- it fits into what I've been saying
all along: The hardest nut to crack over there is Iran, but they've said
they're going to go after it, Sy Hersh has said they've already started
covert operations, and former UNSCOM weapons inspector Scott Ritter has even
given us the date for the main attack- June of this year.

Kyrgyzstan fits right into this equation. Just look at what the maps tell
us: Afghanistan on one side, Iraq on the other- guess where Kyrgyzstan is?
For the sake of illustration, if we were talking about Iraq in 2002,
Kyrgyzstan is right about where Turkey would have been in that conflict. But
the Turks and their damnable democracy told Bush to take his 24 Billion dollar offer for the use of Turkish airspace for the impending Iraq war elsewhere... the last thing Turkey wants is an escalation in their "Kurdish
Problem."

Next, I look at where there are "spontaneous eruptions of democracy."
Another illustration: Look at the success the NED (National Endowment for
Democracy- working with George Soros) had in reversing the elections in the
Ukraine simply by funneling money and tactical information to a bunch of
kids. They threw an election. Even against the opposing funding and
proximity of Putin's oil-funded, KGB trained desires.

I'm no fan of the NED, particularly for their role in Latin American coups
which almost always seem to take down legitimate democracies and replace
them with military dictatorships, but I have to say they are very good at
what they do. Venezuela has proven a true democracy can withstand take-over
attempts by wealthy corporatist regimes, but Hugo Chavez is the exception to
the rule. And the rule is, "What the NED wants, the NED gets." As an arm of
the CIA, or more aptly put, as a tool of the Executive Branch of the US
government, Kyrgyzstan was more than likely a target of opportunity,
tactically and in terms of public relations, and it won't be long before
their signature begins to show.

Finally, I put Kyrgyzstan into the global perspective. How it's recent
"Freedom" relates to issues of power between India/ Pakistan, Israel/
Palestine, N. Korea/ Japan, Taiwan/ China, Latin America/ U.S., Russia/ the
former Soviet states, and finally, the unspoken Kurdish Problem, which
involves Iran, Israel, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan- and through the discretionary
will of the neo-liberal interventionist, the United States. Of most critical
importance, Pakistan and the Kurdish Problem directly counter any claims of
"success" made in the so-called "War On Terror," and in fact, show there is
a melt-down in the middle east, of which we have only seen the beginning. I
liken it to a chess game- the pawns are moving, but the game has just begun.

Pakistan is the greatest threat to global stability right now, period.
The three recent assassination attempts on General Musharreff's life by what
Robert Baer ("Sleeping With The Devil") calls the Muslim Brotherhood should
set off the air raid sirens around the globe. If the Brotherhood should
succeed on their fourth assassination attempt, you can guarantee Al Qaeda
will have access to nuclear materials, advanced technology, and sensitive
intelligence within the space of a few months.

But instead of addressing this delicate situation, we set to destabilizing
the cold war between Pakistan and India by recently announcing we will begin
selling F-16s to Pakistan, thus in effect ending a 21 year arms embargo in
that region. What we get in return is a "partner" in the war on terror who
can't patrol their own porous border but shields us from the criticism we
haven't a Muslim ally outside of Prince Bandar "Bush" and the House of Saud.

The Kurdish Problem is the other major destabilizing factor, but unlike
Pakistan, it is a problem already in play. Put into the frame of the greater
regional conflict, the Kurdish desire for autonomy infects everything else
regionally, including Turkey's relationship with Iran and Israel. Due to
it's complexity, however, the story of a new state of Kurdistan is hard to
sell to a consumer who does not understand even the most fundamental
dynamics of power in the middle east.

Since the invasion of Iraq, the issue of Kurdish autonomy has caused a rift
in the normalized trade relationship between Turkey and Israel.
Israel is seeking the ability to project power beyond it's borders through a
regional alliance with a landed state. Israeli neighbors are still fighting
the Seven Days War in many respects, and resolution to that conflict has
remained stalemate, at best.

There is another state outside these neighbors Israel is looking to for an
alliance; however, it does not yet exist: Kurdistan. The Iraqi invasion
removed the brutal dictatorship of Saddam and the only power capable of
preventing Kurdish claims to autonomy (the Bathist regime).
Into this power vacuum the opportunity for mutual benefit presented itself
to Israel and the Kurds. Israel began funding the Iraqi Kurdish movement
towards autonomy.

Remember: Turkey objected to the invasion of Iraq specifically because of
its own Kurdish separatist movement. As far as Turkish and Iranian Kurds are
concerned, a new Kurdish state in the north of Iraq will pave the way for
their own desires for autonomy. An autonomous Kurdistan wouls comprise parts
of Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. Preventing this Kurdish state from happening has
forced Turkey and Iran to address this mutual security concern, at the
obvious expense of the U.S. security concerns in Iraq, and the Israeli
ability to project power.

Just as the money is flowing from Israel to the Iraqi Kurds, it finds it's
way to the Turkish and Iranian Kurds almost as a biproduct. The boundaries
of these countries are viewed as arbitrary impositions of the
West- a relic of the 50's. The money flows from business to business, family
to family, outside the scrutiny of the Iraqi Provisional Authority and
outside the scrutiny of the United States, but always within the greater
Kurdish community.

What has quietly unfolded is a small but budding alliance between Turkey and
Iran. Israel is aligning with a state that doesn't exist, yet. The south of
Iraq is engaged in Civil War between ethnic factions; where a superpower is
embroiled in an occupation it won't be able to extract itself from without
relinquishing the very resources and tactical advantages it invaded it for
in the first place.

This Middle Eastern picture doesn't account for China's saber rattling and
recent noise about taking Taiwan, who we've protected "from communism" for
fifty years. Nor does it account for North Korea's nuclear program and long
range missile program. Or the almost instantaneous swing of an entire
continent- South America- further toward the left in retaliation to the
dismal failure of U.S. dictated economic deregulation.

It doesn't address the U.S. dependence on foreign oil at a time when most
oil industry experts agree we have reached global peak oil production. It
doesn't touch the topic of Saudi oil field estimates recently being revealed
to have been grossly exaggerated. It doesn't address the national debt, a
large portion of which is owned by China and other states who will leverage
our own debt against us at a moment of weakness. a debt that is costing us
17 cents of every tax payer dollar in interest payments just to maintain at
its current level.

The only thing most people can agree on is the post 9-11 world is a
different world. To return to the chess game analogy, the pawns have been
put into play by George Bush and the neo conservative movement; we have
taken a few pawns that oppose us, and lost a few of our own. But it is far
too early to lay claim to successes that we haven't yet paid for.
This game is in play, and the pawn that is Kyrgyzstan is simply
insignificant. Bush has been right about one thing: This is a conflict that
will last a long time.

But then, by creating a power vacuum in Iraq, he's damn well made sure of
it.

With love,
Fdog.

Conspiracy

2005-03-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

Conspiracy

Just want the wing-nuts to see what a real "tin-foil hat" conspiracy looks like, so they can then go back to their cool-aid and rest assured that the conspiracy theorists do exist...

Conspiracy

2005-03-23T18:48:00.000-08:00

Conspiracy

ABC News: GOP Talking Points on Terri Schiavo

2005-03-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

ABC News: GOP Talking Points on Terri Schiavo

What absolute bastards. What spineless, oportunistic, cockroach-like bottom feeders these wing-nut bastards are... they're rotten to their festering, diseased cores. If it is good- they'll taint it. If it's beautiful- they'll mar it. If it's painful, they'll mock it. If it's selfless, they'll rob it until it bleeds. These pukes have even polluted the english language and twisted words (like compassion, freedom, liberty, and Jesus) into grotesque distortions of what they are supposed to mean. For normal, healthy, reality-based people to say "compassion" or "Freedom" now makes us feel dirty- like we've been violated. To say "benefit the least of them" makes us gag.

Bastards.

The New York Times > Washington > States and Communities Battling Another Round of Base Closings

2005-03-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

The New York Times > Washington > States and Communities Battling Another Round of Base Closings

1. Democrats are morons if they don't walk with the military and military-town votes... a margin of difference that can win probably several states. This should be hammered home at every opportunity, all day, every day. Watch the Republicans start either spinning the story like mad, or distancing themselves from Bush (which won't happen unless Dems go on the offensive).

2. Why close all these bases? Free up resources for the Iran offensive?

3. The pentagon isn't going to come off the money this will free up... it will, however, allow for a larger military force. A "somewhat-volunteer" military force.

4. The military budget is growing- they've relocated the Saudi troops, redeployed much of the S. Korean and European troops, and they are building permanent bases in Iraq... What Iran Offensive?

5. Interesting that Iran is sandwiched in between Iraq and Afghanistan, isn't it?

t r u t h o u t - Angry E.U. Calls Wolfowitz to Brussels over World Bank

2005-03-20T20:15:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Angry E.U. Calls Wolfowitz to Brussels over World Bank

Great job, dubya... As the euro grows in strength, clout is going overseas, too. Did your stupid Tex-ass know the European Union economy is bigger than ours, now?

Lets get pissy with an economic superpower... "I is from Tex-ass. I is the pres-o-dint."

This administration just flat out sucks ass. What haven't they screwed up? What can't they botch? I mean, what in the hell do they do? Do they sit around all day and think of the worst way to do everything? If so, then I'll grant them a measure of wild success beyond all imagination- it just so happens to be the kind of success that comes at everyone else's expense.

The WhiteDevil Armageddon

2005-03-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

Whiskey Bar: Triumph of the Wolfowitz

As if we weren't fucked enough, already! Satan's dark minions have been running amok for the last five years in a mood of wanton destruction, smashing everything in sight- Did I miss some prophesy that exists outside the Judeo-Christian mythology come to pass, or what? Is there a pygmy or bushman version of Armageddon I might have missed that forewarned of power-hungry "white devils" that were going to take over the earth and unleash their hords of self-righteous pricks (wing-nuts) upon the rest of us? Am I living out a really long episode of "Twilight Zone?" Is everyday now opposite day? Can I wake up now?

WTF?

How much blood and failure can one man embody and still be rewarded with no public outcry or imminent lynching in sight? You know this son-of-a-bitch signed the dotted line with his own blood. You know he did. He had to! If it were, say, my buddy John who designed a quagmire 12,000 miles from home at a cost of $300 Billion (and counting) and over 100,000 lives (and counting)- somebody would've had his ass. Big time. But it wasn't my buddy John. It was Wolfowitz.

And he's now at the global purse strings (note: money=power) with Bush's lipstick prints marching across his ass...

He's come a long way since PNAC, eh?

WTF?

Post to Post - I am from 2036

2005-03-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

Post to Post - I am from 2036

I read these posts a couple years ago... and rereading them now is just as entertaining. I had not read the entire posts- just the ones John Titor had made... it is more interesting to see how he interrelates with knuckleheads, than the sanitized "just John" posts I've read before.

The Seattle Times: Local News: Democratic chief says Rove lurks behind GOP suit

2005-03-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Times: Local News: Democratic chief says Rove lurks behind GOP suit

What can you say?

My take? Republicans will do anything - absolutely anything - to win... so more than ever, and louder than ever, we can't run in the middle! With that said, I'd like to see Rove/ Rossi get stung, bigtime. With all my anger at my party for being a bunch of sissies (with the exception of the McDermott, Byrd, Boxer, Dean brand of Democrat), a good ass-kicking of the evil R's would do much for the moral of we lefties.

I think Berendt did the right thing.

AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth

2005-03-03T22:50:00.000-08:00

AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth

The Whitehouse He-Whore Expose!

t r u t h o u t - Senator Robert Byrd | Stopping a Strike at the Heart of the Senate

2005-03-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

The cost of the "nuclear option"

Stopping a Strike at the Heart of the Senate
By Senator Robert Byrd

Tuesday 01 March 2005

Senator Byrd delivered the remarks below warning the Senate and the American people about a procedural effort being considered by some Senators to shut off debate and shut down minority voices and opinions. Byrd believes that such an effort strikes at the very heart of the Senate -- the freedom of speech and debate.

In 1939, one of the most famous American movies of all time, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," hit the box office. Initially received with a combination of lavish praise and angry blasts, the film went on to win numerous awards, and to inspire millions around the globe. The director, the legendary Frank Capra, in his autobiography "Frank Capra: The Name Above the Title," cites this moving review of the film, appearing in "The Hollywood Reporter," November 4, 1942:

Frank Capra's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," chosen by French Theaters as the final English language film to be shown before the recent Nazi-ordered countrywide ban on American and British films went into effect, was roundly cheered … .

Storms of spontaneous applause broke out at the sequence when, under the Abraham Lincoln monument in the Capital, the word, "Liberty," appeared on the screen and the Stars and Stripes began fluttering over the head of the great Emancipator in the cause of liberty.

Similarly cheers and acclamation punctuated the famous speech of the young senator on man's rights and dignity. 'It was … as though the joys, suffering, love and hatred, the hopes and wishes of an entire people who value freedom above everything, found expression for the last time … .

For those who may not have seen it, "Mr. Smith" is the fictional story of one young Senator's crusade against forces of corruption, and his lengthy filibuster for the values he holds dear.

My, how times have changed. These days Smith would be called "an obstructionist." Rumor has it that there is a plot afoot in the Senate to curtail the right of extended debate in this hallowed chamber, not in accordance with its rules, mind you, but by fiat from the Chair.

The so-called "nuclear option" purports to be directed solely at the Senate's advice and consent prerogatives regarding federal judges. But, the claim that no right exists to filibuster judges aims an arrow straight at the heart of the Senate's long tradition of unlimited debate.

The Framers of the Constitution envisioned the Senate as a kind of executive council; a small body of legislators, featuring longer terms, designed to insulate members from the passions of the day.

The Senate was to serve as a "check" on the Executive Branch, particularly in the areas of appointments and treaties, where, under the Constitution, the Senate passes judgement absent the House of Representatives. James Madison wanted to grant the Senate the power to select judicial appointees with the Executive relegated to the sidelines. But a compromise brought the present arrangement; appointees selected by the Executive, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Note that nowhere in the Constitution is a vote on appointments mandated.

When it comes to the Senate, numbers can deceive. The Senate was never intended to be a majoritarian body. That was the role of the House of Representatives, with its membership based on the populations of states. The Great Compromise of July 16, 1787, satisfied the need for smaller states to have equal status in one House of Congress: the Senate.

The Senate, with its two members per state, regardless of population is, then, the forum of the states. Indeed, in the last Congress, 52 members, a majority, representing the 26 smallest states accounted for just 17.06% of the U.S. population. In other words, a majority in the Senate does not necessarily represent a majority of the population. The Senate is intended for deliberation not point scoring. It is a place designed from its inception, as expressive of minority views. Even 60 Senators, the number required for cloture, would represent just 24% of the population, if they happened to all hail from the 30 smallest states. Unfettered debate, the right to be heard at length, is the means by which we perpetuate the equality of the states.

In fact, it was 1917, before any curtailing of debate was attempted, which means that from 1806 to 1917, some 111 years, the Senate rejected any limits to debate. Democracy flourished along with the filibuster. The first actual cloture rule in 1917, was enacted in response to a filibuster by those who opposed U.S. intervention in World War I.

But, even after its enactment, the Senate was slow to embrace cloture, understanding the pitfalls of muzzling debate. In 1949, the 1917 cloture rule was modified to make cloture more difficult to invoke, not less, mandating that the number needed to stop debate would be not two-thirds of those present and voting, but two-thirds of all Senators.

Indeed, from 1919 to 1962, the Senate voted on cloture petitions only 27 times and invoked cloture just four times over those 43 years.

On January 4, 1957, Senator William Ezra Jenner of Indiana spoke in opposition to invoking cloture by majority vote. He stated with conviction:

We may have a duty to legislate, but we also have a duty to inform and deliberate. In the past quarter century we have seen a phenomenal growth in the power of the executive branch. If this continues at such a fast pace, our system of checks and balances will be destroyed. One of the main bulwarks against this growing power is free debate in the Senate … So long as there is free debate, men of courage and understanding will rise to defend against potential dictators … The Senate today is one place where, no matter what else may exist, there is still a chance to be heard, an opportunity to speak, the duty to examine, and the obligation to protect. It is one of the few refuges of democracy. Minorities have an illustrious past, full of suffering, torture, smear, and even death. Jesus Christ was killed by a majority; Columbus was smeared; and Christians have been tortured. Had the United States Senate existed during those trying times, I am sure these people would have found an advocate. Nowhere else can any political, social, or religious group, finding itself under sustained attack, receive a better refuge.

Senator Jenner was right. The Senate was deliberately conceived to be what he called a "better refuge," meaning one styled as guardian of the rights of the minority.

The Senate is the "watchdog" because majorities can be wrong, and filibusters can highlight injustices. History is full of examples.

In March 1911, Senator Robert Owen of Oklahoma filibustered the New Mexico statehood bill, arguing that Arizona should also be allowed to become a state. President Taft opposed the inclusion of Arizona's statehood in the bill because Arizona's state constitution allowed the recall of judges. Arizona attained statehood a year later, at least in part because Senator Owen and the minority took time to make their point the year before.

In 1914, a Republican minority led a 10-day filibuster of a bill that would have appropriated more than $50,000,000 for rivers and harbors. On an issue near and dear to the hearts of our current majority, Republican opponents spoke until members of the Commerce Committee agreed to cut the appropriations by more than half.

Perhaps more directly relevant to our discussion of the "nuclear option" are the seven days in 1937, from July 6 to 13 of that year, when the Senate blocked Franklin Roosevelt's Supreme Court-packing plan.

Earlier that year, in February 1937, FDR sent the Congress a bill drastically reorganizing the judiciary. The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill, calling it " an invasion … of judicial power such as has never before been attempted in this country" and finding it "essential to the continuance of our constitutional democracy that the judiciary be completely independent of both the executive and legislative branches of the Government." The committee recommended the rejection of the court-packing bill, calling it "a needless, futile, and utterly dangerous abandonment of constitutional principle … without precedent and without justification."

What followed was an extended debate on the Senate Floor lasting for seven days until the Majority Leader, Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas, a supporter of the plan, suffered a heart attack and died on July 14. Eight days later, by a vote of 70 to 20, the Senate sent the judicial reform bill back to committee, where FDR's controversial, court-packing language was finally stripped. A determined, vocal group of Senators properly prevented a powerful President from corrupting our nation's judiciary.

Free and open debate on the Senate floor ensures citizens a say in their government. The American people are heard, through their Senator, before their money is spent, before their civil liberties are curtailed, or before a judicial nominee is confirmed for a lifetime appointment. We are the guardians, the stewards, the protectors of our people. Our voices are their voices.

If we restrain debate on judges today, what will be next: the rights of the elderly to receive social security; the rights of the handicapped to be treated fairly; the rights of the poor to obtain a decent education? Will all debate soon fall before majority rule?

Will the majority someday trample on the rights of lumber companies to harvest timber, or the rights of mining companies to mine silver, coal, or iron ore? What about the rights of energy companies to drill for new sources of oil and gas? How will the insurance, banking, and securities industries fare when a majority can move against their interests and prevail by a simple majority vote? What about farmers who can be forced to lose their subsidies, or Western Senators who will no longer be able to stop a majority determined to wrest control of ranchers' precious water or grazing rights? With no right of debate, what will forestall plain muscle and mob rule?

Many times in our history we have taken up arms to protect a minority against the tyrannical majority in other lands. We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men.

But witness how men with motives and a majority can manipulate law to cruel and unjust ends. Historian Alan Bullock writes that Hitler's dictatorship rested on the constitutional foundation of a single law, the Enabling Law. Hitler needed a two-thirds vote to pass that law, and he cajoled his opposition in the Reichstag to support it. Bullock writes that "Hitler was prepared to promise anything to get his bill through, with the appearances of legality preserved intact." And he succeeded.

Hitler's originality lay in his realization that effective revolutions, in modern conditions, are carried out with, and not against, the power of the State: the correct order of events was first to secure access to that power and then begin his revolution. Hitler never abandoned the cloak of legality; he recognized the enormous psychological value of having the law on his side. Instead, he turned the law inside out and made illegality legal.

And that is what the nuclear option seeks to do to Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

It seeks to alter the rules by sidestepping the rules, thus making the impermissible the rule. Employing the "nuclear option", engaging a pernicious, procedural maneuver to serve immediate partisan goals, risks violating our nation's core democratic values and poisoning the Senate's deliberative process.

For the temporary gain of a hand-full of "out of the mainstream" judges, some in the Senate are ready to callously incinerate each Senator's right of extended debate. Note that I said each Senator. For the damage will devastate not just the minority party. It will cripple the ability of each member to do what each was sent here to do -- represent the people of his or her state. Without the filibuster or the threat of extended debate, there exists no leverage with which to bargain for the offering of an amendment. All force to effect compromise between the two political parties is lost. Demands for hearings can languish. The President can simply rule, almost by Executive Order if his party controls both houses of Congress, and Majority Rule reins supreme. In such a world, the Minority is crushed; the power of dissenting views diminished; and freedom of speech attenuated. The uniquely American concept of the independent individual, asserting his or her own views, proclaiming personal dignity through the courage of free speech will, forever, have been blighted. And the American spirit, that stubborn, feisty, contrarian, and glorious urge to loudly disagree, and proclaim, despite all opposition, what is honest and true, will be sorely manacled.

Yes, we believe in Majority rule, but we thrive because the minority can challenge, agitate, and question. We must never become a nation cowed by fear, sheeplike in our submission to the power of any majority demanding absolute control.

Generations of men and women have lived, fought and died for the right to map their own destiny, think their own thoughts, and speak their minds. If we start, here, in this Senate, to chip away at that essential mark of freedom -- here of all places, in a body designed to guarantee the power of even a single individual through the device of extended debate -- we are on the road to refuting the Preamble to our own Constitution and the very principles upon which it rests.

In the eloquent, homespun words of that illustrious, obstructionist, Senator Smith, " Liberty is too precious to get buried in books. Men ought to hold it up in front of them every day of their lives, and say, 'I am free -- to think -- to speak. My ancestors couldn't. I can. My children will."

Where's Howard?: Dean on Kansas radio

2005-02-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

LISTEN TO THIS

Finally- what I and many others have said MUST HAPPEN is finally taking place: DNC chair, and all around kick ass guy, Howard Dean, is framing the debate in terms of winning and putting the Republicans out to pasture.

This is so mundane on the surface, but so inspiring for those of us who have waited years for it to take place- from the days long before the campaign season, Deaniacs like myself have watched, written letters, blogged, assailed our Reps, etc.... and though the pace is, and has been, slower than crap, we are making headway at taking back the people's party: The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party is now officially THE wing of the Democrats, and the event begins here.

This is the first shot. The debate is now framed.

Get used to it.

Let Pakistanis Spread the Bomb

2005-02-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

Spread the Bomb

This is as stunning as if I smacked myself in the forehead with a mallet. How can it be that we outspend the entire world on security and yet the people we hire are so fucking stupid?

Check out this gem:

"We could have stopped the Khan network, as we knew it, at any time," said Robert J. Einhorn, a top counter-proliferation official at the State Department from 1991 to August 2001. "The debate was, do you stop it now or do you watch it and understand it better so that you are in a stronger position to pull it up by the roots later? The case for waiting prevailed."

OK. To paraphrase what this latter-day Einstein just said: "We wanted nuclear technology and materials to proliferate, because once everyone has it, it'll be easier to deal with."

Oh yeah. So we bomb Iraq.

For the love of Francisco, we actually PAID this guy... we paid the shit out of him, and this is what we got back from him! It's worse than investing that money and simply losing all of it... we invested it and not only lost it, but we lost control of the entire planet. I'd put cash money on it that this guy voted for Dubya, too... it makes me sick.

with love,
your friend,
fdog.

p.s. Every time I read that quote I hear Homer Simpson going "doh!" Try it. Read it again. "We could have stopped the Khan network, as we knew it, at any time," DOH!

NO Plane Hit the Pentagon.

2005-02-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

NO Plane Hit the Pentagon.

Well... for me this is old news. The general consensus amongst us "tin-foil hatters" is the pentagon attack on 9-11 was either an unmanned military drone, or a cruise missile. Check out this video, and then, if your curiosity is piqued, use google to investigate further. As for me- I have seen awful explanations and quite convincing explanations against the airliner story put forward by the media. Because of the very nature of this administration I distrust everything our government is currently doing, and I must say I am not convinced it was a 747 that hit the pentagon.

But then I wear an aluminum helmet when I sleep so they can't broadcast their propaganda into my head.

The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: Warning From the Markets

2005-02-24T20:45:00.000-08:00

My Predictions Are Playing Out

Didn't I warn about foreign banks growing leary of the ever-weakening U.S. dollar in relationship to our deficit under the current debt; and of the catastrophic results which would be visited upon us in the wake of that distrust?

Behold: Yet again, I am proved correct. At least, the foreshadowing hints at my clear vision.

If you spend more than you make, you are deep in the hole, and you are actively trying to reduce your hourly pay so that you can under-bid your competition- what in the hell do you think your banker is going to tell you when you walk in and ask for more money?

That's right. He's going to say "Security! Beat this imbicile and get him out of my sight!"

And you'll have deserved it.

t r u t h o u t - Eric Boehlert | Gannongate: It's Worse Than You Think

2005-02-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

Media Whores Exposed- And the White House Press Secretary Is The Pimp!!!

OK. Who is surprised? Gannon (Guckert), the gay male prostitute and smut peddler who was granted whitehouse press corp credentials, who got outed by bloggers (are you listening, big media?), who acted like a real reporter but really just cut and pasted whitehouse press releases - without the supervision of an editor... I mean, who was this guy sleeping with? McClellan said "The staff assistant went to verify that the news organization existed," as if that explains anything whatsoever about the issue. It doesn't even make fucking sense! It's the equivalent of replying to the question of "what time is it?" with "I went to make sure the clock arm existed." Hello? Is there a substantial part of his quote missing that might reduce it's absurdity, or is he just flat out insane?

I originally suspected McClellan was the only pimp daddy, but Gannon was first let in the "back door" by former press secretary Ari Fleischer.... either Gannon has been "secretary-hopping," or I'm seeing the makings of a conservative-homo-love-triangle, here. Just dripping with hot, sweaty hipocrisy, isn't it?

So, to finish flogging this smut peddling gay horse.... I think the best way to describe the relationship between Bush, The Press Secretary, and Gannon properly is to borrow a turn of phrase from Al Franken: They are the whores and the whoring whorers who whore them.

Amen.

NOW with Bill Moyers. Politics & Economy. Risky Business - Corporate Reform on NOW | PBS

2005-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Get Informed

Check it out, y'all.

www.delawareonline.com � The News Journal � LOCAL � Experts see military draft as inevitable

2005-02-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

www.delawareonline.com � The News Journal � LOCAL � Experts see military draft as inevitable

Fdog's 4 Year Forecast

1. Israel and U.S. launch a strike at Iranian nuclear development fascilities. Bush claims he was authorized under the 2002 vote which granted him war powers, and by UN resolutions predating the preemptive attack on Iraq. The media cheers him on. The draft is not "on the table."

2. Iraqi "insurgency" gets aid and manpower from Iran and Syria as a result, but the US media does not report the influx. The rate of US casualties increases. Media claims the flare-up is a result of Sunni resistance to democracy. Many stories designed to "humanize" the Kurds run simultaneously with stories designed to "dehumanize" the Sunnis. Draft is still not "on the table."

3. The "Iraqi Insurgency" becomes known for what it is- The Iraqi Civil War- due to global reports which begin vilifying the US for it's role in the conflict; the war takes the form of the US and Israel assisting the Kurds and Shiites against the Iranian/ Syrian backed Sunnis. The draft is reinstated, but called the "Voluntary National Service." The administration and it's propaganda machine insist the mandatory enrollment is not the draft, and that we still retain an "all volunteer army."

4. Unsubstantiated accounts of US and Israeli attacks on Syria and Iran continually fill the blogosphere. No word of this in the media.

5. Musharreff is assassinated and Pakistan falls to the Islamic Brotherhood. Pakistani aid begins pouring in to the Iraqi Sunnis. The rate of US casualties increases. The media begins the dehumanizing efforts of the new Pakistani leaders while the administration begins funnelling intelligence to India in return for an Indian initiated escalation of the conflict in Kashmir.

Long-term Forecast: The nuclear stand-off between Israel and Pakistan forces a "sustained de-escalation" of US involvement in middle eastern affairs (a holding pattern in the cycle of violence) which lasts 10 more years. US casualty rates hold steady for several years then fall off sharply as the resource-grab solidifies into the hands' of US interests. By 2015 the entire world understands the conflict was about Peak Oil.

t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich | The White House Stages Its 'Daily Show'

2005-02-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich | The White House Stages Its 'Daily Show'

Back in from Florida and Miami's South Beach (oh, and that poop-hole that is Orlando), to be greeted with exactly where my pre-vacation-real-life left off: Jeff Gannon. It's finally being labeled "Propaganda" by people outside of the "left-wing tinfoil hat circle" and NOW, after all this time, MSNBC is pointing to it and calling it what it is...

well, in all fairness, next to John Stewart, Keith Olbermann is the best journalist on TV.

But back to this Gannon guy- turns out he is probably just a little bit gay. Complete with gay websites and a stint as a $200 an hour escort -x-rated, of course. OK. Now having just been at Miami's South Beach and watching the topless beach bunnies right next to the muscle-bound, steroid-pumped gay men holding hands (I could literally hear the sanctity of marriage thrashing in it's death throes as all that is ungodly bared it's serpentine head in blah blah blah Sodom and Gamorrah blah blah blah fire and brimstone blah blah so help me Jesus)... tell me, have I lost my fucking mind?

Am I insane? Did I just fall into a world of contradiction, where the water is orange and the sky is down? Where little dogs meow and cats sit on command, hanging on their owner's every word? Where the president changes the oil in my old Nissan truck and FOX news doesn't use simpering, flacid "liberal" foils who fold on cue to make their "conservative" guests appear even remotely in touch with THIS planet earth?

Perhaps (lets be hopeful) the BushCo. Inc. is so desperate for propagandists they'll hire anyone, even a male whore smut peddler. If that is indeed the case, look for them soon to be calling Krauthammer a journalist and Cheney a vegetarian (for your heart!)... by the same token (pun intended) Condoleza Rice will apologize to the UN for being the bigger whore for selling out oppressed people everywhere to the white supremacists currently in power who are so casually bombing the little brown people of the middle east back to the stone age... not that they had that far to go by Whitie's standards, but with Colon's assistance and half-assed lies and drawings, people of color everywhere can rest assured that now even the Ku Klux Klan will be able to play the goddamn race card! It's like limbo for the equality impared: How Low Can You Go? I thought the repubs were interested in "merit?" Huh? What happened to merit? Funny- they don't want to talk about merit anymore, do they?

Oh! Senator Robert Byrd's book "Losing America: Confronting A Reckless And Arrogant Presidency" kicks ass! Those who heard his speech on the floor of the Senate during the pre-war debate (which ultimately led to Bush's blank check for the bombs to drop on Iraqi heads) know the Senator's skill as an orator, but he's a damn good writer, too! Who knew! Very sober look at the balance of powers.

I thought I'd throw a low, slow, whiffle ball to you repubs who are going "Ah ha! Senator Byrd.... KKK.... white supremacy... liberal double standards... aag!" Batter Batter Swing!

Anyway- my prediction is the shadow government will take over after the next attack. There are NO checks and balances for the shadow government, by the way... just so-called "non-lethal weapons" and data mining. Weapons Futures are looking like a great long term investment, though the Doug Jones Index is falling rapidly. Doug should just pick himself up by his boot straps and move along. And stockpile ammo.

This concludes today's disjointed rant. Amen

2005-02-08T23:58:00.000-08:00

Rattling the saber is one thing- this is the other. Have we lost our collective fucking mind?

t r u t h o u t - Army Sergeant Breaks Ranks to Shun War

2005-02-07T23:33:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Army Sergeant Breaks Ranks to Shun War

To all the Republican sheeple who drank the cool-aid: This guy is fighting for my freedom.

US Secretly Pulls 25,000 Troops Out Of Iraq

2005-02-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

US Secretly Pulls 25,000 Troops Out Of Iraq

Annie just sent this- What can you possibly make of this? The fact these troops were deemed "mentally and physically impaired, unable to continue their military duties" makes me bloody eyebrows raise, I'll tell you.

Something about this stinks. DU munition poisoning? Gulf War Syndrome, only happening during the occupation this time?

When do we hear about this one here?

Hunger for Dictatorship

2005-02-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hunger for Dictatorship

Who, in a million years, would find me on a site called the "American Conservative?" Agreeing, no less. I have always been what I like to call a "Progressive Conservative" (fiscal conservative who believes social programs are necessary but must be run efficiently, social liberal), but the word "conservative" has been stolen by what I think of as Nazis.

And here we are, full circle.

Guerrilla News Network

2005-02-04T22:51:00.000-08:00

Guerrilla News Network

They not only don't give a shit about the issues, but the right wing whack-jobs are openly calling for violence against peace-niks.

stockpile your ammo kiddies- you thought I was joking about the need when they were actively stealing Ohio, but check this article out... now they're calling for assassinations.

Like MLK and Robert Kennedy-

Blah3.com - Piratization gone wild.

2005-02-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

Blah3.com - Piratization gone wild.

Wow. "hey, lets sell off our transportation infrastructure!"

I am too tired to even bother going into this one- either you get it, or you don't. Sink or swim, little Jimmy, in you go...

Lenin- thoughts to chew on

2005-02-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

The most democratic bourgeois republic is no more than a machine for the suppression of the working class by the bourgeoisie, for the suppression of the working people by a handful of capitalists.

Even in the most democratic bourgeois republic "freedom of assembly" is a hollow phrase, for the rich have the best public and private buildings at their disposal, and enough leisure to assemble at meetings, which are protected by the bourgeois machine of power. The rural and urban workers and small peasants — the overwhelming majority of the population — are denied all these things. As long as that state of affairs prevails, "equality", i.e., "pure democracy", is a fraud.

"Freedom of the [media] press" is another of the principal slogans of "pure democracy". And here, too, the workers know — and Socialists everywhere have explained millions of times — that this freedom is a deception because the best printing presses and the biggest stocks of paper are appropriated by the capitalists, and while capitalist rule over the press remains — a rule that is manifested throughout the whole world all the more strikingly, sharply and cynically — the more democracy and the republican system are developed, as in America for example...

The capitalists have always use the term "freedom" to mean freedom for the rich to get richer and for the workers to starve to death. And capitalist usage, freedom of the press means freedom of the rich to bribe the press, freedom to use their wealth to shape and fabricate so-called public opinion. In this respect, too, the defenders of "pure democracy" prove to be defenders of an utterly foul and venal system that gives the rich control over the mass media. They prove to be deceivers of the people, who, with the aid of plausible, fine-sounding, but thoroughly false phrases, divert them from the concrete historical task of liberating the press from capitalist enslavement.

V.I. Lenin

Welcome to the Paruresis Web Site!

2005-01-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Paruresis Web Site!

What can I say? I know this has nothing to do with politics, but what can I say? I am stunned into speechlessness... who knew?

Democracy Now! | Seymour Hersh: "We've Been Taken Over by a Cult"

2005-01-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

Democracy Now! | Seymour Hersh: "We've Been Taken Over by a Cult"

Don't listen to me... listen to Seymour Hersh instead. Watch it, listen to it, or read it. It isn't just me who is giving dire predictions- thank you for pointing me to this, Annie.

Mind Control: Technology, Techniques, and Politics

2005-01-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

Mind Control: Technology, Techniques, and Politics

OK. This is terrifying. NOW, I am terrified... this, from someone who laughs at Osama-as-bogeyman-Laden.

According to MAJOR NEWS AGENCIES (New York Times, ABC News, Air Force Times, News Week, etc...), defence contractors, and the U.S. Military, we have - and use - tested and verified technologies to:

1. Roast someone with microwaves.
2. Project sound into someone's inner ear, making them think they hear voices.
3. Use magnetic pulses to cause people to "dump" 90% of the natural opiates in the brain into the blood system (a "stun-stupid ray").
4. Use sound to make people "disoriented" and "induce nausea."
5. Use radio waves to force hallucinations.

Now, in 4 of the 5 examples, these systems have been developed with "crowd control" in mind. The defined "adversary?" Military and Domestic "adversaries." Expanded after 9-11 in the USAPatriot Act, to be sure, to include you and I, should our protest be suddenly deemed "a security issue."

"...In interviews with members of the Defense Department the development of this policy was confirmed. In those February, 1995, discussions, it was discovered that these policies were internal to agencies and were not subject to any public review process. In its draft form, the policy gives highest priority to development of those technologies most likely to get dual use, i.e. law enforcement and military applications. According to this document, non-lethal weapons are to be used on the government's domestic "adversaries." The definition of "adversary" has been significantly enlarged in the policy: "The term 'adversary' is used above in its broadest sense, including those who are not declared enemies but who are engaged in activities we wish to stop. This policy does not preclude legally authorized domestic use of the nonlethal weapons by United States military forces in support of law enforcement." This allows use of the military in actions against the citizens of the country that they are supposed to protect..."

Do you remember when we used to laugh about the tin-foil hats?

t r u t h o u t - Marjorie Cohn | The Gonzales Indictment

2005-01-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Marjorie Cohn | The Gonzales Indictment

This is what I'm talking about. Spine. Backbone. Not mincing words. No mealy-mouthed crapola from worthless and incompetent pie-holes.

Marjorie Cohn does not get lost when she says:
"Alberto Gonzales should not be the Attorney General of the United States. He should be considered a war criminal and indicted by the Attorney General. This is a suggested indictment of Alberto Gonzales for war crimes under Title 18 U.S.C. section 1441, the War Crimes Act."

I get what she is saying. It can't be misportrayed. It is succinct.

The 34 Scandals of George W. Bush

2005-01-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - The 34 Scandals of George W. Bush

Feeling too tired to be angry? Thinking to yourself "What's the use?" or "How bad can it get?"

Read it and weep- The Scandals of George Bush...

1. Memogate: The Senate Computer Theft

The scandal: From 2001 to 2003, Republican staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee illicitly accessed nearly 5,000 computer files containing confidential Democratic strategy memos about President Bush's judicial nominees. The GOP used the memos to shape their own plans and leaked some to the media.

The problem: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act states it is illegal to obtain confidential information from a government computer.

The outcome: Unresolved. The Justice Department has assigned a prosecutor to the case. The staff member at the heart of the matter, Manuel Miranda, has attempted to brazen it out, filing suit in September 2004 against the DOJ to end the investigation. "A grand jury will indict a ham sandwich," Miranda complained. Some jokes just write themselves.

2. Doctor Detroit: The DOJ's Bungled Terrorism Case

The scandal: The Department of Justice completely botched the nation's first post-9/11 terrorism trial, as seen when the convictions of three Detroit men allegedly linked to al-Qaida were overturned in September 2004. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft had claimed their June 2003 sentencing sent "a clear message" that the government would "detect, disrupt and dismantle the activities of terrorist cells."

The problem: The DOJ's lead prosecutor in the case, Richard Convertino, withheld key information from the defense and distorted supposed pieces of evidence - like a Las Vegas vacation video purported to be a surveillance tape. But that's not the half of it. Convertino says he was unfairly scapegoated because he testified before the Senate, against DOJ wishes, about terrorist financing. Justice's reconsideration of the case began soon thereafter. Convertino has since sued the DOJ, which has also placed him under investigation.

The outcome: Let's see: Overturned convictions, lawsuits and feuding about a Kafkaesque case. Nobody looks good here.

3. Dark Matter: The Energy Task Force

The scandal: A lawsuit has claimed it is illegal for Dick Cheney to keep the composition of his 2001 energy-policy task force secret. What's the big deal? The New Yorker's Jane Mayer has suggested an explosive aspect of the story, citing a National Security Council memo from February 2001, which "directed the N.S.C. staff to cooperate fully with the Energy Task Force as it considered the 'melding' of ... 'operational policies towards rogue states,' such as Iraq, and 'actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas fields.'" In short, the task force's activities could shed light on the administration's pre-9/11 Iraq aims.

The problem: The Federal Advisory Committee Act says the government must disclose the work of groups that include non-federal employees; the suit claims energy industry executives were effectively task force members. Oh, and the Bush administration has portrayed the Iraq war as a response to 9/11, not something it was already considering.

The outcome: Unresolved. In June 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to an appellate court.

4. The Indian Gaming Scandal

The scandal: Potential influence peddling to the tune of $82 million, for starters. Jack Abramoff, a GOP lobbyist and major Bush fundraiser, and Michael Scanlon, a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), received that amount from several Indian tribes, while offering access to lawmakers. For instance, Texas' Tigua tribe, which wanted its closed El Paso casino reopened, gave millions to the pair and $33,000 to Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio) in hopes of favorable legislation (Ney came up empty). And get this: The Tiguas were unaware that Abramoff, Scanlon and conservative activist Ralph Reed had earned millions lobbying to have the same casino shut in 2002.

The problem: Federal officials want to know if Abramoff and Scanlon provided real services for the $82 million, and if they broke laws while backing candidates in numerous Indian tribe elections.

The outcome: Everybody into the cesspool! The Senate Indian Affairs Committee and five federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS, and Justice Department, are investigating.

5. Halliburton's No-Bid Bonanza

The scandal: In February 2003, Halliburton received a five-year, $7 billion no-bid contract for services in Iraq.

The problem: The Army Corps of Engineers' top contracting officer, Bunnatine Greenhouse, objected to the deal, saying the contract should be the standard one-year length, and that a Halliburton official should not have been present during the discussions.

The outcome: The FBI is investigating. The $7 billion contract was halved and Halliburton won one of the parts in a public bid. For her troubles, Greenhouse has been forced into whistle-blower protection.

6. Halliburton: Pumping Up Prices

The scandal: In 2003, Halliburton overcharged the army for fuel in Iraq. Specifically, Halliburton's subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root hired a Kuwaiti company, Altanmia, to supply fuel at about twice the going rate, then added a markup, for an overcharge of at least $61 million, according to a December 2003 Pentagon audit.

The problem: That's not the government's $61 million, it's our $61 million.

The outcome: The FBI is investigating.

7. Halliburton's Vanishing Iraq Money

The scandal: In mid-2004, Pentagon auditors determined that $1.8 billion of Halliburton's charges to the government, about 40 percent of the total, had not been adequately documented.

The problem: That's not the government's $1.8 billion, it's our $1.8 billion.

The outcome: The Defense Contract Audit Agency has "strongly" asked the Army to withhold about $60 million a month from its Halliburton payments until the documentation is provided.

8. The Halliburton Bribe-Apalooza

The scandal: This may not surprise you, but an international consortium of companies, including Halliburton, is alleged to have paid more than $100 million in bribes to Nigerian officials, from 1995 to 2002, to facilitate a natural-gas-plant deal. (Cheney was Halliburton's CEO from 1995 to 2000.)

The problem: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials.

The outcome: A veritable coalition of the willing is investigating the deal, including the Justice Department, the SEC, the Nigerian government and a French magistrate. In June, Halliburton fired two implicated executives.

9. Halliburton: One Fine Company

The scandal: In 1998 and 1999, Halliburton counted money recovered from project overruns as revenue, before settling the charges with clients.

The problem: Doing so made the company's income appear larger, but Halliburton did not explain this to investors. The SEC ruled this accounting practice was "materially misleading."

The outcome: In August 2004, Halliburton agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine to settle SEC charges. One Halliburton executive has paid a fine and another is settling civil charges. Now imagine the right-wing rhetoric if, say, Al Gore had once headed a firm fined for fudging income statements.

10. Halliburton's Iran End Run

The scandal: Halliburton may have been doing business with Iran while Cheney was CEO.

The problem: Federal sanctions have banned U.S. companies from dealing directly with Iran. To operate in Iran legally, U.S. companies have been required to set up independent subsidiaries registered abroad. Halliburton thus set up a new entity, Halliburton Products and Services Ltd., to do business in Iran, but while the subsidiary was registered in the Cayman Islands, it may not have had operations totally independent of the parent company.

The outcome: Unresolved. The Treasury Department has referred the case to the U.S. attorney in Houston, who convened a grand jury in July 2004.

11. Money Order: Afghanistan's Missing $700 Million Turns Up in Iraq

The scandal: According to Bob Woodward's "Plan of Attack," the Bush administration diverted $700 million in funds from the war in Afghanistan, among other places, to prepare for the Iraq invasion.

The problem: Article I, Section 8, Clause 12 of the U.S. Constitution specifically gives Congress the power "to raise and support armies." And the emergency spending bill passed after Sept. 11, 2001, requires the administration to notify Congress before changing war spending plans. That did not happen.

The outcome: Congress declined to investigate. The administration's main justification for its decision has been to claim the funds were still used for, one might say, Middle East anti-tyrant-related program activities.

12. Iraq: More Loose Change

The scandal: The inspector general of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq released a series of reports in July 2004 finding that a significant portion of CPA assets had gone missing - 34 percent of the materiel controlled by Kellogg, Brown & Root - and that the CPA's method of disbursing $600 million in Iraq reconstruction funds "did not establish effective controls and left accountability open to fraud, waste and abuse."

The problem: As much as $50 million of that money was disbursed without proper receipts.

The outcome: The CPA has disbanded, but individual government investigations into the handling of Iraq's reconstruction continue.

13. The Pentagon-Israel Spy Case

The scandal: A Pentagon official, Larry Franklin, may have passed classified United States documents about Iran to Israel, possibly via the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a Washington lobbying group.

The problem: To do so could be espionage or could constitute the mishandling of classified documents.

The outcome: A grand jury is investigating. In December 2004, the FBI searched AIPAC's offices. A Senate committee has also been investigating the apparently unauthorized activities of the Near East and South Asia Affairs group in the Pentagon, where Franklin works.

14. Gone to Taiwan

The scandal: Missed this one? A high-ranking State Department official, Donald Keyser, was arrested and charged in September with making a secret trip to Taiwan and was observed by the FBI passing documents to Taiwanese intelligence agents in Washington-area meetings.

The problem: Such unauthorized trips are illegal. And we don't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

The outcome: The case is in the courts.

15. Wiretapping the United Nations

The scandal: Before the United Nations' vote on the Iraq war, the United States and Great Britain developed an eavesdropping operation targeting diplomats from several countries.

The problem: U.N. officials say the practice is illegal and undermines honest diplomacy, although some observers claim it is business as usual on East 42nd Street.

The outcome: Little fuss here, but a major British scandal erupted after U.K. intelligence translator Katherine Gun leaked a U.S. National Security Agency memo requesting British help in the spying scheme, in early 2003. Initially charged under Britain's Official Secrets Act for leaking classified information, Gun was cleared in 2004 - seemingly to avoid hearings questioning the legality of Britain's war participation.

16. The Boeing Boondoggle

The scandal: In 2003, the Air Force contracted with Boeing to lease a fleet of refueling tanker planes at an inflated price: $23 billion.

The problem: The deal was put together by a government procurement official, Darleen Druyun, who promptly joined Boeing. Beats using a headhunter.

The outcome: In November 2003, Boeing fired both Druyun and CFO Michael Sears. In April 2004, Druyun pled guilty to a conspiracy charge in the case. In November 2004, Sears copped to a conflict-of-interest charge, and company CEO Phil Condit resigned. The government is reviewing its need for the tankers.

17. The Medicare Bribe Scandal

The scandal: According to former Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.), on Nov. 21, 2003, with the vote on the administration's Medicare bill hanging in the balance, someone offered to contribute $100,000 to his son's forthcoming congressional campaign, if Smith would support the bill.

The problem: Federal law prohibits the bribery of elected officials.

The outcome: In September 2004, the House Ethics Committee concluded an inquiry by fingering House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), saying he deserved "public admonishment" for offering to endorse Smith's son in return for Smith's vote. DeLay has claimed Smith initiated talks about a quid pro quo. The matter of the $100,000 is unresolved; soon after his original allegations, Smith suddenly claimed he had not been offered any money. Smith's son Brad lost his GOP primary in August 2004.

18. Tom DeLay's PAC Problems

The scandal: One of DeLay's political action committees, Texans for a Republican Majority, apparently reaped illegal corporate contributions for the campaigns of Republicans running for the Texas Legislature in 2002. Given a Republican majority, the Legislature then re-drew Texas' U.S. congressional districts to help the GOP.

The problem: Texas law bans the use of corporate money for political purposes.

The outcome: Unresolved. Three DeLay aides and associates - Jim Ellis, John Colyandro and Warren RoBold - were charged in September 2004 with crimes including money laundering and unlawful acceptance of corporate contributions.

19. Tom DeLay's FAA: Following Americans Anywhere

The scandal: In May 2003, DeLay's office persuaded the Federal Aviation Administration to find the plane carrying a Texas Democratic legislator, who was leaving the state in an attempt to thwart the GOP's nearly unprecedented congressional redistricting plan.

The problem: According to the House Ethics Committee, the "invocation of federal executive branch resources in a partisan dispute before a state legislative body" is wrong.

The outcome: In October 2004, the committee rebuked DeLay for his actions.

20. In the Rough: Tom DeLay's Golf Fundraiser

The scandal: DeLay appeared at a golf fundraiser that Westar Energy held for one of his political action committees, Americans for a Republican Majority, while energy legislation was pending in the House.

The problem: It's one of these "appearance of impropriety" situations.

The outcome: The House Ethics Committee tossed the matter into its Oct. 6 rebuke. "Take a lap, Tom."

21. Busy, Busy, Busy in New Hampshire

The scandal: In 2002, with a tight Senate race in New Hampshire, Republican Party officials paid a Virginia-based firm, GOP Marketplace, to enact an Election Day scheme meant to depress Democratic turnout by "jamming" the Democratic Party phone bank with continuous calls for 90 minutes.

The problem: Federal law prohibits the use of telephones to "annoy or harass" anyone.

The outcome: Chuck McGee, the former executive director of the New Hampshire GOP, pleaded guilty in July 2004 to a felony charge, while Allen Raymond, former head of GOP Marketplace, pleaded guilty to a similar charge in June. In December, James Tobin, former New England campaign chairman of Bush-Cheney '04, was indicted for conspiracy in the case.

22. The Medicare Money Scandal

The scandal: Thomas Scully, Medicare's former administrator, supposedly threatened to fire chief Medicare actuary Richard Foster to prevent him from disclosing the true cost of the 2003 Medicare bill.

The problem: Congress voted on the bill believing it would cost $400 billion over 10 years. The program is more likely to cost $550 billion.

The outcome: Scully denies threatening to fire Foster, as Foster has charged, but admits telling Foster to withhold the higher estimate from Congress. In September 2004, the Government Accountability Office recommended Scully return half his salary from 2003. Inevitably, Scully is now a lobbyist for drug companies helped by the bill.

23. The Bogus Medicare "Video News Release"

The scandal: To promote its Medicare bill, the Bush administration produced imitation news-report videos touting the legislation. About 40 television stations aired the videos. More recently, similar videos promoting the administration's education policy have come to light.

The problem: The administration broke two laws: One forbidding the use of federal money for propaganda, and another forbidding the unauthorized use of federal funds.

The outcome: In May 2004, the GAO concluded the administration acted illegally, but the agency lacks enforcement power.

24. Pundits on the Payroll: The Armstrong Williams Case

The scandal: The Department of Education paid conservative commentator Armstrong Williams $240,000 to promote its educational law, No Child Left Behind.

The problem: Williams did not disclose that his support was government funded until the deal was exposed in January 2005.

The outcome: The House and FCC are considering inquiries, while Williams' syndicated newspaper column has been terminated.

25. Ground Zero's Unsafe Air

The scandal: Government officials publicly minimized the health risks stemming from the World Trade Center attack. In September 2001, for example, Environmental Protection Agency head Christine Todd Whitman said New York's "air is safe to breathe and [the] water is safe to drink."

The problem: Research showed serious dangers or was incomplete. The EPA used outdated techniques that failed to detect tiny asbestos particles. EPA data also showed high levels of lead and benzene, which causes cancer. A Sierra Club report claims the government ignored alarming data. A GAO report says no adequate study of 9/11's health effects has been organized.

The outcome: The long-term health effects of the disaster will likely not be apparent for years or decades and may never be definitively known. Already, hundreds of 9/11 rescue workers have quit their jobs because of acute illnesses.

26. John Ashcroft's Illegal Campaign Contributions

The scandal: Ashcroft's exploratory committee for his short-lived 2000 presidential bid transferred $110,000 to his unsuccessful 2000 reelection campaign for the Senate.

The problem: The maximum for such a transfer is $10,000.

The outcome: The Federal Election Commission fined Ashcroft's campaign treasurer, Garrett Lott, $37,000 for the transgression.

27. Intel Inside ... The White House

The scandal: In early 2001, chief White House political strategist Karl Rove held meetings with numerous companies while maintaining six-figure holdings of their stock - including Intel, whose executives were seeking government approval of a merger. "Washington hadn't seen a clearer example of a conflict of interest in years," wrote Paul Glastris in the Washington Monthly.

The problem: The Code of Federal Regulations says government employees should not participate in matters in which they have a personal financial interest.

The outcome: Then White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, spurning precedent, did not refer the case to the Justice Department.

28. Duck! Antonin Scalia's Legal Conflicts

The scandal: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia refused to recuse himself from the Cheney energy task force case, despite taking a duck-hunting trip with the vice president after the court agreed to weigh the matter.

The problem: Federal law requires a justice to "disqualify himself from any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned."

The outcome: Scalia stayed on, arguing no conflict existed because Cheney was party to the case in a professional, not personal, capacity. Nothing new for Scalia, who in 2002 was part of a Mississippi redistricting ruling favorable to GOP Rep. Chip Pickering - son of Judge Charles Pickering, a Scalia turkey-hunting pal. In 2001, Scalia went pheasant hunting with Kansas Gov. Bill Graves when that state had cases pending before the Supreme Court.

29. AWOL

The scandal: George W. Bush, self-described "war president," did not fulfill his National Guard duty, and Bush and his aides have made misleading statements about it. Salon's Eric Boehlert wrote the best recent summary of the issue.

The problem: Military absenteeism is a punishable offense, although Bush received an honorable discharge.

The outcome: No longer a campaign issue. But what was Bush doing in 1972?

30. Iraq: The Case for War

The scandal: Bush and many officials in his administration made false statements about Iraq's military capabilities, in the months before the United States' March 2003 invasion of the country.

The problem: For one thing, it is a crime to lie to Congress, although Bush backers claim the president did not knowingly make false assertions.

The outcome: A war spun out of control with unknowable long-term consequences. The Iraq Survey Group has stopped looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

31. Niger Forgeries: Whodunit?

The scandal: In his January 2003 State of the Union address, Bush said, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

The problem: The statement was untrue. By March 2003, the International Atomic Energy Agency showed the claim, that Iraq sought materials from Niger, was based on easily discernible forgeries.

The outcome: The identity of the forger(s) remains under wraps. Journalist Josh Marshall has implied the FBI is oddly uninterested in interviewing Rocco Martino, the former Italian intelligence agent who apparently first shopped the documents in intelligence and journalistic circles and would presumably be able to shed light on their origin.

32. In Plame Sight

The scandal: In July 2003, administration officials disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative working on counterterrorism efforts, to multiple journalists, and columnist Robert Novak made Plame's identity public. Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had just written a New York Times opinion piece stating he had investigated the Niger uranium-production allegations, at the CIA's behest, and reported them to be untrue, before Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.

The problem: Under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act it is illegal to disclose, knowingly, the name of an undercover agent.

The outcome: Unresolved. The Justice Department appointed special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to the case in December 2003. While this might seem a simple matter, Fitzgerald could be unable to prove the leakers knew Plame was a covert agent.

33. Abu Ghraib

The scandal: American soldiers physically tortured prisoners in Iraq and kept undocumented "ghost detainees" in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The problem: The United States is party to the Geneva Conventions, which state that "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever."

The outcome: Unresolved. A Pentagon internal inquiry found a lack of oversight at Abu Ghraib, while independent inquiries have linked the events to the administration's desire to use aggressive interrogation methods globally. Notoriously, Gonzales has advocated an approach which "renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions." More recently, Gonzales issued qualified support for the Geneva Conventions in January 2005 Senate testimony after being nominated for attorney general. Army reservist Charles Graner was convicted in January 2005 for abusing prisoners, while a few other soldiers await trial.

34. Guantánamo Bay Torture?

The scandal: The U.S. military is also alleged to have abused prisoners at the U.S. Navy's base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. FBI agents witnessing interrogations there have reported use of growling dogs to frighten prisoners and the chaining of prisoners in the fetal position while depriving them of food or water for extended periods.

The problem: More potential violations of the Geneva Conventions.

The outcome: An internal military investigation was launched in January 2005.

t r u t h o u t - Seymour Hersh: U.S. Conducting Secret Missions inside Iran

2005-01-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Seymour Hersh: U.S. Conducting Secret Missions inside Iran

"I repeat- there are no plans for a draft."

And we should believe you this time... why?

On the Gag Reflex and Puking

2005-01-17T22:44:00.000-08:00

In Ohio, election battles have cooled, but peace is uneasy | csmonitor.com

"It's like changing stylists in the middle of a perm, says salon owner Howard, explaining her vote for Bush. "You just don't throw somebody new in there unless it's an emergency."

Fucking gag me. Are they going to use this kind of crap logic to justify trying to figure out a way to keep him in four more years after this? Are they gonna tie it all in with the Arnie-bill? Shitheads.
"Well," the pundits will say, "There were no term limits until Roosevelt's fourth term... what many Republican's at the time thought was too much time in office. Many in Washington now think they should revisit that amendment..." I'm already puking at the possibilities. Seeing how we'll be at war with Iran at the time, the old Change-Horse-Mid-Stream excuse will come into play again, quite handily.
It is like the first time you gag yourself with your toothbrush when you're brushing your tongue- you wretch, mutter to yourself "crap," then you go on brushing more carefully... but if you do it again, you're in danger of puking. That, my friend, is what it is like reading the paper these days. It's like gagging yourself over and over again.
Don't say you weren't aware of the consequences when you're reading about the "Ownership Society" in tomorrow's paper. Same with Social Security Reform. Or Mr. "Playa" Armstrong. Or "diplomatic negotiations" in Iran or North Korea. And so on, and so forth, ad nauseum.

BuyBlue.org : Alphabetic Company List

2005-01-13T23:37:00.000-08:00

BuyBlue.org : Alphabetic Company List

They've updated.

t r u t h o u t - Iraq War Veteran Refuses 2nd Iraq Deployment

2005-01-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Iraq War Veteran Refuses 2nd Iraq Deployment

"You can sit around your house and discuss this thing in abstract terms, but until you see and experience it for yourself, you just don't know how bad it is," he said. "How is it an honorable thing to teach a kid how to look through the sights of a rifle and kill another human being? War is the ultimate in violence and it is indiscriminate."

This guy (Sgt. Kevin Benderman) is in my home town- kudos to you, man!

The Capital Times

2005-01-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

The Capital Times

What can I say? I thought Howard Dean would have made a better candidate for prez (call it that "vision" thing), too... and I still think I was right. Hey, even more so now! He'd have been there in Ohio, count on it! Dean is the only Dem out there with a vision for the party that represents the progressive ideals, the backbone to push it and to fight like a dog, and the ONLY candidate whose vision includes retaking the south without capitulating on god, guns, gays, and abortion. Roemer might be the man able to handle the dirty money, but that doesn't mean the DNC needs to be beholden to that dirty money... I think everyone can agree the Doctor knows a little something about raising cash.

Ruth Conniff's Blog | The Progressive magazine

2005-01-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Ruth Conniff's Blog | The Progressive magazine

Yes, this is Assinine- I am blogging a blog. WTF, right? If I'm gonna, I'm gonna, and be damned with the implications. But I have good reason to be doing something rediculous- the TOPIC is ridiculous: Some in the Democratic leadership are now thinking "we must have a pro-life leader in order to compete against the Republicans."

Hello? Someone pass them the coolaid, or what? What the hell is wrong with these normally rational people? For God's sake, someone slap those idiots before they hit the "self destruct" button! "Duh.... We gotta destroy da party to save da party, boss!" I thought I was affected by N2,2004 madness... Of all the stupid things I've heard lately concerning the Democratic Party Leadership, I'd say this one takes the cake. If I were snowed in somewhere with these people I'd be worried they were planning to eat me-

Hint to all you DC player wannabes: Cajounes. That is what wins elections. Nothin' turns on the Joe Sixpack block of the electorate like good ol' fashion Nuts. You know, Balls. A testicular display of Principle. Homoerotic Rambo man-worship. Stop being such a bunch of pansies and get back in there and fight like you mean it! Get out of your damnable "progressive committees," stop arguing about the process by which you'll determine the process, and DO SOMETHING! Watching this is like watching a sissy fight!

And yes, I know sissies are people who deserve respect. Shut up, already.

Call it the Muhammad Ali Principle: Yeah, I'm smart. Yeah, I can talk the talk. Yeah, I can fight. But I'll go to jail before I capitulate to your inferior morality, you candy-ass weiner. Or better yet (speaking of boxers), lets call it the Barbara Boxer Principle: I will do what is right in spite of the consequences.

If she ran for prez, I'd give her the three years of my life to help her with her campaign- you know why? That woman has the biggest set of cajounes of anyone in the Senate. They are monster-truck big! They drive their own truck they're so damn big! They each do! Barabara Boxer has balls!

But other Democrats are too busy hitting the "self destruct" button to take a lesson from the Paul Wellstone playbook. Our heros are few and far between, and dwindling in number. The right to choose is pretty basic stuff. It shouldn't be a political football within the ranks of the Democrats.

So take that one word- Cajounes- seriously, and we will win. Every time. If we run from the fight over abortion then we're through.

Don't Think Of An Elephant

2005-01-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

I have ingested (and had time to digest) "Don't Think of an Elephant." Lakoff is dead-on in terms of Frames and Framing the Message. I take issue with him, however, in regard to what we define the progressive message and language as... I'm going to rant here, so forgive me (yes, I'm a little sore over Thursday's session, where our Representatives failed us): We cannot be yielding to these right-wing bastards, and using language which shows any weakness or softness will be just as lethal to us as the gelatin-spined show we had before the war, on the tax cut votes, on the Medicare vote, and most recently, on the 6th of January. They keep saying "Don't make this a populist's issue," and "populism will kill the Democratic Party..." What I see is a party in absolute disarray, prepared to become a chronic minority, willing to concede over and over again until we have nothing left as a society... we need frames with teeth- not the slow bovine teeth we've grown accustomed to, but the sharp lethal teeth of a carnivore. The issues in this country ARE issues of economic and class warfare. This IS a class war. Our message needs to reflect that, and we can't be out-maneuvered again by using a message tailored for us by the backbone-impaired, and in return get beat over the head with a goddamn FlipFlop until we're whimpering and in tears. We're the smart ones, for chrissake! I am sick to death of the DLC cancer. I'm sick of the DNC chasing the rightward marching middle in locked-goose-step with the fascist bastards ruining this country and the rest of the world. Most of all, I'm sick of being told by "party leaders" we can't talk about the open class warfare all around us, or the open racism of the Republican Party, as Rome burns around our ears.

We have the economic high road for the first time since 1976.... it needs to be used as a cudgel to beat those hypocritical thieves down. They call it "Tax Reform," Lakoff suggests renaming it "Social Reinvestment-" or some other crap. I say bullshit! We need to frame it as the fleecing it is! Call it "Golfer's Welfare!" That's what the hell it is! Social Security Reform my eye! Call it the "Gang-Raping of Grandma Millie" because that's what they're doing! They are the same old "Robber Barons" of circa 1925- the same old families with the same old money. And they'll suck at the public teet until the the whole tit is dry and we're left to rebuild the mess they've made, 'cause we got suckered by people like Obama- people we really want to love for the Hope they promise on election day, as they campaign on a bill paid for with the blood sacrifice of our children's future.

So I agree with you- everyone needs to read it. But please! Don't get fooled Again! We can't fight them with our plows- we must fire up the forges and make drastic alterations to the steel. This has to be taken to the next level- or we're just wasting our time, victims of our Hope, yet again.

We need to make an example of one of our own, in order to bring the rest of them back into line. We should run a candidate strong enough to divide the Democratic vote and remove a DLC Senator from office- Publicly. Vocally. Make it known exactly what we're doing. And Why we're doing it. It would do us little good immediately, and yes- people will say "they bit off their nose to spite their face," in the short term, BUT- 2008 would look a lot different here in Washington State. I dare say it would be a different party entirely, nationally, because those ripples would travel a long way across that still water, with a net result of a Democratic Party a little more receptive to the will of the People. A goddamn party that knows what to do when they get millions and millions of phone calls, and millions and millions of letters, and then they don't even bother to show up in the Congress with the boxes and boxes of our demands to fight for us! Hell, damn near a third of the Democrats weren't even there on Thursday! There is NOT ONE ACCEPTABLE EXCUSE FOR THEIR REPEATED BETRAYAL OF OUR INTERESTS!!!

Every vote of meaning. Every single one of them. Medicare. The war. These right-wing freak appointments. The media give-away. The tax cuts. Our right to vote. Social Security is next. What won't they concede on?

If we really want change- for real- then we rock the boat. Otherwise, count me out... and I'll unhappily live with the belief that Joe Six-pack was right all along- "It's just the way it is, and there ain't nothin' you're gonna do about it."

Bitterly,
Fdog

t r u t h o u t - Senator Boxer | Why I Must Object

2005-01-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Senator Boxer | Why I Must Object

The only Democrat with a spine- when the Republicans come for her I'll personally drive down to California to put myself in between her and them.

National Endowment for Democracy

2005-01-03T22:47:00.000-08:00

These Bastards

Funny how Orwellian these bastards are- "The Endowment is guided by the belief that freedom is a universal human aspiration that can be realized through the development of democratic institutions" so much so, that we keep funding coups against democratically elected governments, which represent majority constituencies, in order to put in puppet regimes controlled by Washington!

To think I was doing a google search for "Washington for America..."

BAW: Conyers to object to Ohio vote count, certification

2005-01-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

BAW: Conyers to object to Ohio vote count, certification

Go Rep. Conyers! Go Jesse! "Jackson and civil rights lawyers who were also on the conference call said they would like access to a laptop belonging to Karl Rove, Bush's political adviser, to determine what communication was transmitted between Rove and Ohio Republicans during the election."

"We're talking to a number of senators," Conyers said Monday. "I think we're going to get some [senators' support on Thursday] this time. I don't think they'll embarrass themselves again. They left it up to Michael Moore last time."

t r u t h o u t - David Swanson | Media Whites Out Vote Fraud

2005-01-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - David Swanson | Media Whites Out Vote Fraud

Yet again... your vote didn't count- votes are the very foundation of democracy... this is no longer a democracy... yawn.

Do nothing about it... yawn.

When they come for me, I'll be the one screaming and yelling, but after that.... whatever. Yawn.

t r u t h o u t - The Top Ten War Profiteers of 2004

2005-01-01T15:24:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - The Top Ten War Profiteers of 2004

Here they are- the treasonous, puppet-masters who bought the whitehouse. Take them out and there is no more neocon fascist titular head (Bush/Cheney).

Animations, LIAR at Kontraband

2004-12-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

Animations, LIAR at Kontraband

Johnny Rotten and Vote Fraud... like chocolate and coffee. Check it out, courtesy of http://www.fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com.

INAUGURATION...

2004-12-31T22:12:00.000-08:00

INAUGURATION...

OK, you'ze guys... this is a good resource for all your January 20th Fun!

Happy New Year! Keeping it alive in 2005!

The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Election 2004

2004-12-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Election 2004

I don't know.... this couldn't possibly be considered compelling, could it?

Anyone else feel like giving Mr. Blackwell a blanket party after reading this one? I hope the Ohio Supreme Court finds the bastard in contempt!

Bastards! Corrupt, theiving, lying, rotten scoundrels! The gibbet is too goddamn good for them! Arg!

<>

Write your rep and your senators.

t r u t h o u t - Steve Weissman | How Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela

2004-12-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Steve Weissman | How Uncle Santa Diddles Dems from Ukraine to Venezuela

I really couldn't have said it better... I have gone on about the Venezuela coup before, but something here really hit me here- the involvement of the AFL-CIO. What in the hell is a union- think "workers of the world"- doing supporting the anti-democratic coup? I expect such activities (sadly) from NED and the International Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute... but are the unions secretly working against their populist roots? If I buy Union-made (i.e. "No Sweat Apparel") am I really just feeding another mouth of the same beast?

If so, then Frodo didn't just fail... he failed long ago.

t r u t h o u t - Video Supporting Ohio Vote Fraud Claim Revealed

2004-12-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Video Supporting Ohio Vote Fraud Claim Revealed

Why isn't this on the front page of every paper in the U.S.?

Well, they can try to suppress this story ("manage" it) all they want-You had better believe it will be THE story very soon.

And someone is going to pay.

t r u t h o u t - Hill and Richie | Cries for Electoral Standards Mount

2004-12-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

t r u t h o u t - Hill and Richie Cries for Electoral Standards Mount

See, here's what I'm talkin' about: While Republicans want to have a Constitutional Amendment to strip homosexuals of their rights, the Progressives of this country want to fix the problems we all face. This isn't about Democrats vs. Republicans- it's about our rights. Voting is a right, and the Constitution should say so... but we're talking about gay marriage... make sense?

OK, but even if I were a stingy-its-all-about-me-screw-you-Republican, it's still about MY RIGHTS (to hell with you, pal), right? Even they can understand that if YOU don't have full rights, I don't either, can't they? It really is in your own best interest to fight for the rights of those who would strip you of yours- as distasteful as it may be at the time- correct?

But we're not fighting against a rationality that believes in your right to vote, or anyone's right to vote, for that matter... we are fighting a rationality that has given the bottom line the same rights we enjoy by simply calling the companies enslaved to the bottom line something called "personhood." And these companies can buy politicians, and they call it "freedom of speech," under the pretense that money = speech. Even this assumption is wrong, because money = action, but who am I to question those who would profit from the raping of the public commons? How long before they demand corporations have the right to vote?

And it is these corporations who perpetrate the "Left Vs. Right" myth in the media. It has nothing to do with left vs. right, but everything, everything, everything to do with Haves Vs. Have-Nots. Rich Vs. Poor. Them Vs. Us.

Make you sick? Wanna do something about it? It starts with voting, and protecting your right to vote. That is step one: Get involved.

Step 2- take the fight to them. You can do that at: http://reclaimdemocracy.org

PDA - Progressive Democrats of America

2004-12-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

PDA - Progressive Democrats of America

Activist? Progressive? Dems not listening to you? Join the Progressive Democrats!

Seriously- check them out. If you were a Dean, Kucinich, Edwards, or Sharpton brand of Democrat during the caucuses, then join the Progressive Dems and work to reform the Democratic Party from the inside... 'cause the best way to create change is from the inside.

No things Ohio

2004-12-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

I am posting nothing about Ohio tonight. It is my own protest, against my own blog. I have read so much about the election, yet... yet... it is going nowhere tonight. So I am going to post nothing about Ohio. I am going to write nothing about the election fraud. Nothing about Florida, Nevada, or New Mexico.

Vote Fraud: Only Chumps and Compulsive Gamblers Keep On Playing in a Rigged Game

2004-12-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

Vote Fraud: Only Chumps and Compulsive Gamblers Keep On Playing in a Rigged Game :: ILCA Online :: Making Labor Media a Force to Be Reckoned With

Now, this is what I'm talking about. Compliments of Howard Martin at http://www.howieinseattle.blogspot.com.

Whining about it is not enough- people need to hit the streets.

Shop with a Conscience this Holiday Season

2004-12-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

Shop with a Conscience this Holiday Season

Just got my Mojos- since Nike bought Converse it seemed like there wasn't a sneaker made in the USA. Now there is. Plus, the NoSweat models are hot... but not in the typical slick advertising way.

This week in Ohio

2004-12-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/996

...head... hurts...

Info on Ohio

2004-12-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121704Z.shtml

Blackwell Responds to the GAO

2004-12-14T22:10:00.000-08:00

As I was saying...

2004-12-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.joetrippi.com/node/view/839

As I was saying- running to the middle is what got Democrats in the crap-hole they're in now.

Greg Moses: Whitewashing the Voter Fraud Issue

2004-12-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

Greg Moses: Whitewashing the Voter Fraud Issue

I get so sick of trying to draw attention to the fact the election was tainted, and all the underlying issues (ie. racism, greed, etc.) that go hand in hand with the systematic fraud are being investigated by the GOA... but what just gets my goat is when some republican-hack emails me and says "you lost, get over it, you pussy." You know, the morons sending these emails are pencil-neck half-wits who make the mistake of thinking because I'm a Left-Wing Democrat that I am a pacifist. They think I'd hesitate to defend myself or my country. They make the mistake of thinking I care about the issues because I want a "nanny-state" that redistributes wealth to the "worthless, lazy elements of society."

But they are wrong. As usual. They make the constant mistake of believing that being stupid is good, so they work tirelessly at making themselves as stupid as they can get; they latch on to lies because facts are for "smarty-pants, faggot-intellectuals" and then they repeat these lies over and over again as if that will make truths out of them. Then they think I should respect them and their viewpoint! Idiots with no concept of the issues do NOT deserve respect for thier viewpoints, therefore I do not grant it to them. I'll always respect them their rights as granted by the Bill of Rights, but it ends there. They deserve no admiration or respect for being willfully ignorant and stupid.

So here we go again- this time, you stupid republican pukes, pay attention- because being stupid is not good, it's just stupid:
9-11 was Osama Bin Laden's handi-work.
Iraq had no Weapons of Mass Distruction (WMD).
There was no link between Al Quaeda and Iraq.
Supporting the troops means giving them armor, not sending them to a pointless war ill equipt.
Only 14% of the U.S. is evangelical Christian, and they are too stupid to understand what Jesus meant by "Blessed Are The Peacemakers;" they aren't really Christians at all, they're whacked out cultists who warp the message of Jesus into some twisted cult of blood, damnation, and hell-fire.

Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? You republican pukes do have the mental capacity to understand that, don't you?

If not, I can simplify it even more: Fuck Off.

About time...

2004-12-11T15:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121204Y.shtml

It is about time someone called the DLC out... The DNC is getting their due criticism, but the ones who need to be bitch-slapped into line are the DLC (democratic leadership council) slime-bags who brought us the clintonista revolution. Don't get me wrong- Bill was the right man at the right time, but with two failed presidential elections where the Democrats have pandered to the middle by imitating the republicans... well, it just won't work again. That particular success of the DLC had less to do with imitating republicans and more to do with Bill's charisma- so we need to stop letting them claim otherwise. Imitating republicans hasn't worked for us, despite the party leadership trying.

There are things which need to be central to the party: Social Security preservation, environmental repair, healthcare reform, energy independence, a hefty injection of sanity into our disastrous foreign policy, corporate accountability, etc... NOT increasing the size of the military, a relaxation of regulation, and an about-face on the social contracts which our entitlements are built upon. Do the DLC "centrists" think their strategy works? It does- as republicanism... which is great for those earning money with their vast amounts of money, but not so good for those in the trailer-parks working 60 hours a week voting for republicans. So why the hell is the DNC following the DLC? What kind of bizarre crap is that?

And ONLY Howard Dean has had the cajounes to take the fight right into the red states. No one else. Which is why Dean for DNC chair is such a no-brainer. Think of those republican-voting minimum-wage earners... all it takes is showing them how badly they're being screwed and suddenly- with simple time-honored populism- you can have a new, highly partisan voting block. Duh. Show 'em who is screwing them and we win. No pandering to the republican ideals necessary- those ideals just don't work for us, and they don't work for 98% of those in the red states, either. The truth is all it takes.

So good for Moveon.org for their challenging the power-center of the DNC! Call that turkey what it is, fix it, and start winning elections again (already)!

One More Way to Put the X Back In Xmas

2004-12-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.buyblue.org/bluexmas.html
http://www.choosetheblue.com/main.php

How you can fight the Republicans... fight them with Christmas. Don't you just love the irony of it? If we shop with a purpose (if you don't already) soon the Republicans will see the power of secularism and repent their evil ways...

Bet You Didn't Know This

2004-12-08T07:45:00.000-08:00

http://nightweed.com/usavotefacts.html

It's your vote- if you don't care they WILL TAKE it away from you...

What I meant to say... I meant to say they HAVE TAKEN it away, already. Your vote doesn't mean anything. Take a look at this list, then imagine the shenanigans that can be played with the electoral process... Diebold and ES&S make up 80% of the market, and they're run by brothers? Dude! That ain't right! To quote Joseph Stalin: "It's not the people who vote that count. It's the people who count the votes." Well, our old comrade would be proud of democracy, now. Finally, a model of democracy even the world's tyrants can love-

Hello America- HIT THE STREETS!!! The Ukraine is making us look bad...

War is Peace

2004-12-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/20677/

That is correct. A military chanel. 24/7 psy-ops on the heartland. Propaganda war right here at home...

What kind of country wages psychological warfare on it's own citizens?

"No animal shall kill another animal- without cause."
-Orwell, Animal Farm.

Voters to Challenge US elections

2004-12-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1363399,00.html

You, too, can challenge it for yourself! Go on, don't be shy! If you think there was fraud- and every indication is there that fraud was rampant and widespread- then get off your ass and do something about it other than whine like a little sissy. No, I'm serious. Shut up and do something about it. For once in your life, get off your ass, and make news instead of watching it. Not knowing how is the lamest excuse, so don't even go there.

SORRY EVERYBODY

2004-11-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

HTTP://WWW.SORRYEVERYBODY.COM
We gave what we thought was our all.

Now, here in the ashes of our defeat,
I realize we have laid the foundation of a
world-wide movement for Social Justice.

I am deeply sorry we lost the battle of N2,
But rest assured... We WILL win the Peace.

Pro-Russia Ukrainians seek autonomy

2004-11-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

Pro-Russia Ukrainians seek autonomy

OK... problem here. Why am I getting this news from Aljazeera? I mean, why the hell doesn't msnbc have this covered? Why? Why? Why? Helloooooo! CNN, you listening?

The threat of an Ukrainian civil war is big news! How many more un-secured Soviet nuclear facilities does that equal? Anyone look at a map, lately? No ocean between them and the middle east- just a truck ride away from Baghdad or Jerusalem. Am I crazy, or is this real fucking news?!

But Aljazeera? What the hell IS THAT?!?! I get the NY Times, the celebrated Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post, and a host of other sites which use pretty much the same source material (Reuters, AP, Knight Ridder, etc...)- and I get this first from Quatar? From Aljazeera.

Man, how low can you go?

US report: Nearly 21,000 US casualties

2004-11-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

US report: Nearly 21,000 US casualties According to Reuters, who is citing the European branch of the US Armie's "Stars and Stripes," there have been 21,000 injuries. Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon put that exact same figure at 9,300... hmmm. Sounds like someone has been fudging numbers again. Why would Rummy do that?

Cloning kitty | csmonitor.com

2004-11-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

Cloning kitty | csmonitor.com

I wonder if each generation of clone becomes more stupid- can you imagine that? I imagine my cats with their heads in jars, falling off the fridge, eating electric cords...

Wow! It's like deja vu all over again....

2004-11-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/112904A.shtml

Now... I just can't seem to remember... where have I heard this before? It seems so... well... familiar! But I don't know.

What memory-hole?

Senate GOP to go nuclear

2004-11-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/112904Z.shtml

Bastards. The ones with the least spine- less than even the Democrats- are the conservative Republicans; they've become the neocon's prison bitches. At least Democrats don't have to pretend to like tossing DeLay's salad... the conservatives have turned their back on the issues of small government, fiscal responsibility, and the right of privacy- they've lost their principles. They are now the least of all men: grotesque ideologists, wringing their hands and licking the feet of an inferior Concept of Governance. They have become despicable.

"Shut up, McCain," you hear whispered in the dark hallways of the Senate, "and take it like the whore you are..."

It used to be the sound of the corporate lobbyists that made me sickest, but now it's the gang-raping of the Constitution (with the Conservative consent) taking place on Capitol Hill that takes the cake as the most nausea-inducing sound I can think of.

Bah! Worthless curs, every last one of them. I used to respect- if disagree- with the conservatives. Now they just make me sick.

2004-11-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1360080,00.html

Wow. What else can you say? This is another mind-bender, courtesy of Annie. They've been a-practicin' for N2, haven't they? Looks like we have a new norm... couple that with the post below and we are toast.