LEFT is RIGHT (blogging against The Bush-war) |
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Iraq War Cost
 
 
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| -Mail Virus Turns PCs into Spam Machines - Fri October 31, 2003 12:38 PM ET LONDON (Reuters) - A new e-mail virus capable of turning infected personal computers into "spamming" machines emerged on Friday targeting corporate and home users in Europe and the United States, a computer security expert said. Anti-virus software makers Trend Micro reported that tens of thousands of its corporate computer users in France and Germany were hit on Friday afternoon by the virus, dubbed "Mimail.C." By 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday, there were reports of infections in the United States too, said Raimund Genes, European president of Trend Micro. The firm had a "medium risk" rating on the bug. "We may be upgrading it to high risk if it spreads in the U.S.," he added. The virus carries the subject message line "our private photos ???." Opening the e-mail triggers the virus into action. The virus installs an SMTP, or simple mail transfer protocol, program on an infected PC that turns the computer into a type of e-mail computer server capable of sending out torrents of virus-infected messages, Genes said. The e-mail has spread quickly because it spoofs e-mail addresses, making it appear as if the e-mail comes from a friend or co-worker. "It's an old spammers trick," said Genes. |
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FRIDAY FUN
Crazy Old Couple (if you only try one, make it this one - it's hilarious)
Traffic Light Wars
Gum That Grows Your Nipples
Harry Potter Scams a Nigerian Scammer
Top-earning Dead Celebrities
H-69
Name That Album Cover
Memory Glasses
Mug Shots
Star Wars Sex (Scout Walkers do it)
HALLOWEEN EXTRAS!!
Witch Barbie (read the reviews)100 Scariest Movies
Ghost Source
Halloween Puns
U.S. Govt. Facts on Halloween
Ways To Confuse Trick-or-Treaters
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"The cabinet sees it as a way to educate families about the value of health care and the cost of health care.''
Screwing the Poor, part MMIII-W
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If you weren't scared of clowns before, maybe THIS will add to your phobias.
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Can't Say It Any Better Than This:
Mark Morford today:
| Look. Bush told Americans we were going to enter into this savage and bloody war no one really wanted because Iraq posed an immediate and imminent threat to the security of the U.S. and its citizens. He gutted the economy for it. He destroyed long-standing relationships with countless international allies for it. He made America into this rogue superpower brat, disrespected and untrustable and appalling, for it. And it was never true. How about this? More soldiers have died since BushCo declared the war essentially over six months ago than during the war itself. And guerrilla attacks on U.S. forces have more than doubled over recent months to more than 25 per day, with fresh American causalities coming in nonstop. No matter, says the GOP. All part of the clumsy "rebuilding" process, they say. By the way, that $87 billion BushCo just begged for to keep the Iraq war machine clunking along? That's more than the fiscal debt of all the gutted U.S. states combined. Iraq is, by every account, a devastating U.S. money pit. Might it be worth mentioning here that comprehensive new nonpartisan investigation that reveals how at least 15,000 Iraqis, including a minimum of 4,000 civilians, were slaughtered by U.S. forces in the first days of the invasion? Or that some estimates of total Iraqi civilian deaths go as high as nearly 10,000? Do those people matter? All those women and children and poor families? Nah. Screw 'em. And you know why they don't matter, according to the GOP? Because we got rid of a pesky evil pip-squeak tyrant, that's why. One who was zero threat to the U.S., and not much of a threat to neighboring countries, and had no 9/11 connection, but who we know killed lots of his own people 20 years ago, with America's full and complicit assistance, including the biotoxins we sold to him. And how he's gone. Yay! Mission accomplished! Except, of course, he's not. Still alive, apparently. But he's hiding somewhere! And he's probably really furious that he had to shave his mustache, too! Ha! That oughta show him! That's $300 billion and hundreds of dead U.S. soldiers well spent, baby! God bless America. This needs to be said. This needs to be repeated, over and over again, because apparently it is still not clear and apparently Republican apologists love to trot it out as some sort of justification, some sort of hollow and childish accusation, signifying nothing. Yes, Bill Clinton lied, too. He lied about stupid adulterous sex. And the GOP savaged him like rabid feral swine attacking a rutabaga. Had him impeached over it. Loathe him still, and his wife, too, with unprecedented level of hatred and bile and vicious litigious action never before seen in this nation. No such fate for BushCo. Shockingly, the GOP isn't the slightest bit upset about this pro-corporate, oil-drunk administration's deadly string of lies. Shall we wonder why? Or is it just too poisonous and sad to consider for very long, lest the intellect curdle and the soul recoil? OK, I'll spell it out: George W. Bush and his entire senior administration lied, and continue to lie, flagrantly, openly, knowingly, with full intent, about the need to drive this nation into a brutal and unwinnable and fiscally debilitating war, one that protects no one and inhibits no terrorism and defends nothing but BushCo's own petrochemical cronies and political stratagems. This much is obvious. This much is painfully, crushingly sad. And this much we must purge like so much clotted gunk from the collective social artery one year from now. Otherwise, we should just turn in our stained and bloody Superpower badge, and resign ourselves to our fate. |
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October 30, 2003
Another solar storm is due to hit Earth today and tomorrow. Probably won't cause any significant events except for great opportunities for photographers.
When Howard Dean said the following recently, we think he failed to realize the existence some of the other candidates, including Kucinich:
One way Kucinich can win this is to hang around, continue to pound out his theme, and watch the other candidates (led by Dean) destroy each other. These days, anything is possible.
Another solar storm is due to hit Earth today and tomorrow. Probably won't cause any significant events except for great opportunities for photographers.
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Dean Sinks to New Low
When Howard Dean said the following recently, we think he failed to realize the existence some of the other candidates, including Kucinich:
| "It's possible that I am the only Democrat who can get elected," he said. "And let me tell you why: Every other Democrat in this race believes that the way to beat George Bush is to be like George Bush. I believe the way to beat George Bush is to bring a lot of new people into this process." |
One way Kucinich can win this is to hang around, continue to pound out his theme, and watch the other candidates (led by Dean) destroy each other. These days, anything is possible.
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October 29, 2003
Bush yesterday:
Steve Gilliard's analysis:
Who says Republicans don't have a post-war plan in Iraq? Trent Lott does:
I'll bet olive trees burst into flames when Trent Lott walks past.
Great behind-the-scenes look at how the news is censored at Fox News. Snippet:
Terrific article by James Boyne about President Bush: The Greatest Liberal of the Century. Some snippets:
There's a whole lot more. Read the article.
From PPI:
It's good to hear that there are some kids who aren't sitting on their expanding butts all day long drinking Slurpees and playing video games or watching MTV. Oh, wait, we're supposed to be outraged by this? Something tells me that the children in third world countries churning out huge quantities of consumables at 50-cents a day for Wal-Mart customers may have it a wee bit worse.
Picked up THIS ARTICLE in the San Jose Mercury News, after reading Left i today. It expands on a post on Left is Right a few days ago. Snippet:
You've gotta love this comment by Eli Stephens:
Here's an essay by D. P. Welch regarding Dennis Kucinich's dissing Chris Matthews' request for a second appearance on Hardball. Snippet:
Center for American Progress reveals a few of the astounding number of lies in yesterday's Bush press conference.
PLUS:
21+ Rules for Being a Republican.
A nice essay by Ed Garvey on Dennis Kucinich.
Also, if you haven't read Rolling Stone's interview of Dennis Kucinich, don't miss it.
California's $38 Billion dollar deficit fairy tale.
CHER
| Cher's call to C-Span this week regarding her visit to the wounded servicemen (who served in Iraq) at Walter Reed Hospital has created quite a stir in the media. You can hear it HERE or at this cut-and-paste URL: http://video.c-span.org:8080/ramgen/fdrive/15days/wj102703.rm Cher's call starts at 18:32 into the program. You'll need Realplayer to see/hear it. Basically, it is one of the most moving things I've heard in a long time. I can't imagine anyone listening to this and not becoming even more outraged at our current politicians in Washington. Kudos to Cher for speaking out and reluctantly revealing herself only after being prodded by the show's host. I never realized just how classy a person she is. |
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Dry Drunk
Bush yesterday:
| The "Mission Accomplished" sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. |
Steve Gilliard's analysis:
| Instead of accepting responsibility, he shifts blame to the crew of the Lincoln, who have previously shown no evidence of using mylar banners to celebrate other events. Especially, given the dangers of the flight deck, that large banners pose a real risk to the flight deck crew. If they were going to use a banner, they would not do so on a live flight deck, where strong winds could rip it off and cause it to be sucked into an exhaust, foul a helicopter rotor or drag a crewman off the deck and into the briny deep. Of course, since this is a specialized kind of printing, one not commonly needed on a carrier, and one the president uses frequently, well, it's obvious that the story is a lie. But why lie? Because he's a dry drunk and he lies about anything when pressed. His life is a series of lies. He cannot accept responsibility for anything. Any problem is someone else's fault. Never his. So instead of accepting that he did something which didn't work, he'll blame the innocent and expect them to remain silent. Which I seriously doubt will happen in this case. Lies are lies and with Bush, they keep mounting up. |
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"Mow the Whole Place Down"
Who says Republicans don't have a post-war plan in Iraq? Trent Lott does:
| “Honestly, it’s a little tougher than I thought it was going to be,” Lott said. In a sign of frustration, he offered an unorthodox military solution: “If we have to, we just mow the whole place down, see what happens. You’re dealing with insane suicide bombers who are killing our people, and we need to be very aggressive in taking them out.” |
I'll bet olive trees burst into flames when Trent Lott walks past.
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"The Memo"
Great behind-the-scenes look at how the news is censored at Fox News. Snippet:
| But the roots of FNC's day-to-day on-air bias are actual and direct. They come in the form of an executive memo distributed electronically each morning, addressing what stories will be covered and, often, suggesting how they should be covered. To the newsroom personnel responsible for the channel's daytime programming, The Memo is the bible. If, on any given day, you notice that the Fox anchors seem to be trying to drive a particular point home, you can bet The Memo is behind it. |
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Bush the Liberal
Terrific article by James Boyne about President Bush: The Greatest Liberal of the Century. Some snippets:
| Bush is one of the most liberal Presidents we have ever had. Liberal with our tax dollars by giving tax breaks to the wealthiest 1% of American taxpayers. Liberal with big Government spending programs by endorsing a military budget of over $350 billion, when there is no more Soviet Union and no more Cold War. Liberal with his big "non existent" programs and policies to solve the health care crisis that serves to perpetuate the trillion dollar health care system of waste, fraud and deceit and its accompanying suffering and needless dying. Liberal with his "let it be" attitude with regard to big corporation fraud and corruption. And now, he is liberally giving $15 billion of our tax dollars away to the continent of Africa, when here in America we have millions of unemployed, millions of homeless, millions upon million without any health coverage of any kind, and millions of children who cant get a decent education. Bush is liberally spending $4 billion a month to build up a country we just spent $70 billion to destroy---and every “conservative Republican” has voted to liberally spend $87 billion dollars of the American taxpayers money. Why is spending American taxes on needy Americans or on well conceived large American Federal programs so abhorrent to “conservative Republicans”, and yet they continue to liberally throw our money away by the shipload to other ungrateful countries. Must we always first bully and then bribe our way to “friendship” with other nations? President Bush is a true liberal. He is liberally spending $4 billion a month to provide security to a destitute, poor, third world country, Iraq, that we ourselves destroyed. He is ready to liberally spend $600 billion American dollars in the next several years to rebuild a country where instead of “In God We Trust”, we hear street mobs chanting “Death To America”, ”Death To The Occupiers”, “Death To The Infidels”. We have been unable to get the water running in Iraq, or the electricity, much less the oil. And back here in America Bush is liberally letting our electrical infrastructure deteriorate; letting gas prices reach inflationary, price gouging rates due to a liberal energy policy of “money, money, money for all Republican, big corporate special energy interests. --- I call upon all true conservatives, and conservative Republicans to support Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) in the 2004 election. Rep. Kucinich is a progressive. A populist, and a Democrat. Labels and party affiliations really don’t matter any more. America is in trouble. We need a man with integrity, honesty, common sense, straightforwardness, and intelligence. Rep. Kucinich is just such a man. We need a man who comes from a simple, middle class background who has raised himself up by the bootstraps. We need a man who has known hardship and adversity, and who can relate to common people. Rep. Kucinich is just such a man. We need a President who can speak. We need a President who can deliver a persuasive, eloquent, inspiring speech without an army of speech writers and speech coaches. We need a President who can speak his mind. One who means what he says and says what he means. The only candidate who comes close to having all this characteristics and qualifications for the job is Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). |
There's a whole lot more. Read the article.
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From PPI:
| PPI | Trade Fact of the Week | October 29, 2003 Over 100,000 American Children Work in Agribusiness The Numbers: Number of U.S. states exempting agriculture from child labor laws: 16 What They Mean: A 1998 report by the General Accounting Office, echoed by more recent NGO reporting, has a surprising finding: "Current laws allow children to work in agriculture at younger ages, for longer hours, and in more dangerous occupations than children working in other industries... children working in agriculture are more likely to have severe work-related injuries and work-related deaths than children working other industries. Furthermore, they are less likely to be enrolled in school and less likely to be graduated from high school than other children." The report goes on to say that 16 states have no legal minimum age for agriculture; that few states effectively enforce those child labor laws that do apply to farmworkers; and that many children working on farms face health and safety risks from heavy machinery, pesticide use, and long sun hours, to name a few. |
It's good to hear that there are some kids who aren't sitting on their expanding butts all day long drinking Slurpees and playing video games or watching MTV. Oh, wait, we're supposed to be outraged by this? Something tells me that the children in third world countries churning out huge quantities of consumables at 50-cents a day for Wal-Mart customers may have it a wee bit worse.
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Picked up THIS ARTICLE in the San Jose Mercury News, after reading Left i today. It expands on a post on Left is Right a few days ago. Snippet:
| Chaparral, from the Spanish word chaparro, or scrub oak, poses unique problems for fire prevention. A mixture of tough shrubs such as chamise, manzanita and sage, it is designed to burn. Many of its plants need fire to sprout their seeds. When left to nature, chaparral would burn every 30 to 100 years from lightning strikes. When fire is suppressed, as it has been for a century in populated areas of the state, shrubs grow tall, dense and, in drought-parched summers, dangerously dry. "There are really dense thickets of vegetation that burn quite readily,'' said Dar Roberts, an expert in remote sensing and wildfires at the University of California-Santa Barbara. "In some areas you can hardly walk through it. It's like one giant thick fuel bed.'' |
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You've gotta love this comment by Eli Stephens:
| And while we're on the subject of language, how many more times and from how many more people (both politicians and media dutifully following George Bush's orders to report the "good news") are we going to hear that re-opening schools and hospitals in Iraq and restoring electricity service to its pre-war levels is "progress"? To use an analogy I've used before, isn't this like sticking a knife in someone's back and then claiming that it's "progress" when you pull it out? |
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"Takes a whole lot o' tryin'"
Here's an essay by D. P. Welch regarding Dennis Kucinich's dissing Chris Matthews' request for a second appearance on Hardball. Snippet:
| Sure, it means more flying time and more traveling--but DK's people don't stay in hotels. Sure we work harder for every victory--but we are all used to that. I know that it takes time, and it's a double-edged sword. The national media won't take DK seriously until the first surprising votes roll in. And without exposure, we worry that the momentum will ever reach critical mass. But make no mistake: the permanent branding of Dennis the Also Ran, with DK himself laying his head on the block, has equal power to shape this exposure in a way that will permanently set him in the back of the pack. Unless he has an affair with Gennifer Flowers and the media are all over him all of a sudden, I don't think there is much good that can come from submitting to Matthews' crap. |
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Lies, Lies I Tell you
Center for American Progress reveals a few of the astounding number of lies in yesterday's Bush press conference.
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| "Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair." ---George Burns |
PLUS:
21+ Rules for Being a Republican.
A nice essay by Ed Garvey on Dennis Kucinich.
Also, if you haven't read Rolling Stone's interview of Dennis Kucinich, don't miss it.
California's $38 Billion dollar deficit fairy tale.
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October 28, 2003
Bush's Press Conference was today. It ranged from his completely dodging questions:
to completely continuing the lies about Saddam and 9-11:
Maybe Bush IS IN CHARGE:
But maybe he should be replaced:
My birthday wish.
We're guessing that THIS DEVICE will be very popular with Hummer owners, who already think they own the road. See also HERE.
A moving piece today From The Bunker. Excerpt:
POTUS Rambles
Bush's Press Conference was today. It ranged from his completely dodging questions:
| Q: Thank you, Mr. President. You recently put Condoleezza Rice, your National Security Advisor, in charge of the management of the administration's Iraq policy. What has effectively changed since she's been in charge? And the second question, can you promise a year from now that you will have reduced the number of troops in Iraq? THE PRESIDENT: The second question is a trick question, so I won't answer it. The first question was Condoleezza Rice. Her job is to coordinate interagency. She's doing a fine job of coordinating interagency. She's doing -- the role of the National Security Advisor is to not only provide good advice to the President, which she does on a regular basis -- I value her judgment and her intelligence -- but her job is also to deal interagency and to help unstick things that may get stuck, is the best way to put it. She's an unsticker. And -- is she listening? Okay, well, she's doing a fine job. Dana. Q: Thank you, Mr. President. You have said that you are eager to find out whether somebody in the White House leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent. Many experts in such investigations say you can find if there was a leaker in the White House within hours if you asked all staff members to sign affidavits denying involvement. Why not take that step? THE PRESIDENT: Well, the best person to that, Dana, so that the -- or the best group of people to do that so that you believe the answer is the professionals at the Justice Department. And they're moving forward with the investigation. It's a criminal investigation. It is an important investigation. I'd like to know if somebody in my White House did leak sensitive information. As you know, I've been outspoken on leaks. And whether they happened in the White House, or happened in the administration, or happened on Capitol Hill, it is a -- they can be very damaging. And so this investigation is ongoing and -- by professionals who do this for a living, and I hope they -- I'd like to know. |
to completely continuing the lies about Saddam and 9-11:
| The American people know that Saddam Hussein was a gathering danger, as I said. And he was a gathering danger, and the world is safer as a result for us removing him from power -- "us" being more than the United States, Great Britain and other countries who are willing to participate -- Poland, Australia -- all willing to join up to remove this danger. And the intelligence that said he had a weapons system was intelligence that had been used by a multinational agency, the U.N., to pass resolutions; it had been used by my predecessor to conduct bombing raids. It was intelligence gathered from a variety of sources that clearly said Saddam Hussein was a threat. And given the attacks of September the 11th, it was -- we needed to enforce U.N. resolution for the security of the world. And we did. We took action based upon good, solid intelligence. It was the right thing to do to make America more secure and the world more peaceful. |
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Maybe Bush IS IN CHARGE:
| The image of Bush as a rudderless ship held barely afloat in the swollen seas created by the hurricane-strength feuding among his foreign policy advisers is evocative. But it is profoundly wrong. Bush, in fact, is very much in charge of his own administration, on the domestic as well as the foreign policy front. His decision to surround himself with “very strong, smart people” who often disagree was a deliberate one. “I know that disagreement will be based upon solid thought,” Bush said about his team before taking office. “And what you need to know is that if there is disagreement, I’ll be prepared to make the decision necessary for the good of the country.” |
But maybe he should be replaced:
| Ultimately, though, the Bush revolution is bound to fail, because its core premise — that America’s security rested on an America unbound — is deeply mistaken. For all the talk of the United States as a hyperpower, the world at the start of the twenty-first century is beyond the ability of any one country to control. Many of the most important challenges America faces overseas — from defeating terrorism to promoting economic prosperity and halting the spread of killer diseases — can be tackled successfully only with the active cooperation of others. The Iraq example demonstrates that American power is not enough to ensure such cooperation. Rather than follow the American lead as Bush and his advisers predicted other countries would inevitably do, the rest of the world has largely chosen to abstain. In contrast to other peace operations in the past decade, where the American troop and financial contribution represented a small percentage of the overall effort, the vast majority of the troops deployed, casualties suffered, and dollars expended in Iraq are American. |
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My birthday wish.
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MIRT
We're guessing that THIS DEVICE will be very popular with Hummer owners, who already think they own the road. See also HERE.
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A moving piece today From The Bunker. Excerpt:
| And while some, in the West, look on the Islamic world with skeptical derision, those of us who wish to see a more globalized communtiy can only hope that it will be allowed to evolve into a modern and humanist state that offers equal inclusion for women and a moderate approach to dissent. But it will be challenged to maintain the core of its value system while the technologized world wages its assault. For the West has made its religion in the practice of capitalism and free markets. Where each individual stands as one atomic particle, pitted in endless competition against the others. And the only faith left, the only true faith, resides in that omni-present, but ever undetected, invisible hand. And the notion of one unified community of interest is not fertile ground for the growth of the corporatist paradigm. |
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October 27, 2003
As the Iraqis promised recently, the Ramadan Offensive has begun.
Good thing the pentagon ordered more of THESE back in January. It's now up to the American voters to decide next year whether more need to be ordered. I know that if Kucinich is elected, we'll be able to return many of them to the vendor for credit.
From the Bunker:
You KNOW that the oil companies are always playing games with the gas prices, making billions in profit each time they "spike" the price. Jake Sexton finds a great review on this. Snippet:
Quite an interesting conversation, as reported by Atrios. Three BIG cheers for Cher, one classy lady.
From Newsday (snippets):
From Center for American Progress (snippet):
Wait, let me make sure I'm understanding this... Things aren't going well?
Per Hesiod:
From SFGate:
I'm sorry, it's all just too overwhelming. I'm packin' my ice skates and headin' for hell.
As the Iraqis promised recently, the Ramadan Offensive has begun.
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"Human Remains Pouches"
Good thing the pentagon ordered more of THESE back in January. It's now up to the American voters to decide next year whether more need to be ordered. I know that if Kucinich is elected, we'll be able to return many of them to the vendor for credit.
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"Fundamental Idiocy"
From the Bunker:
| It's an eerie feeling being back in the comfort of my apartment with watching the drizzle and fog obscure the Empire State Building, reading about the Red Cross bombing today in dusty Baghdad. We drove by the compound many times. Today's attacks are no surprise for anyone clued in on the street. The resistance is only heating up. The suicide car bombings are almost certainly the work of outside religious fanatics, possibly Al Qaeda but not necessarily. The rocket attack on the Al Rashid, which I predicted the day we left, was most likely orchestrated by Baathist ex-military men. Probably the most collosal blunder the U.S. made was sacking the entire Iraqi army right off the bat. There are now 400,000 out of work warriors who are being told in no uncertain terms they don't have a role in the New Iraq. And we wonder why they're taking up arms. But these are mere details. The central lesson I took away from my experience in the country is the fundamental idiocy of thinking an American army could occupy an Arab country for more than a couple of months without widespread resistance brewing. It is just not possible. No matter how many schools we build, sheiks we pay off, and telephones we switch on, we will be bringing home young Americans in bodybags for a long time to come. |
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Chevron: Oil Be Getting Even Richer Off Your Wallet
You KNOW that the oil companies are always playing games with the gas prices, making billions in profit each time they "spike" the price. Jake Sexton finds a great review on this. Snippet:
| The party line is that rising crude oil costs, refinery disruptions, pipeline breaks, power outages and complex market forces limit supply and drive up corporate costs, forcing price hikes like the ones in August and March. And it's true that market forces affecting oil and gas prices are complex. Interplay between the price of oil and gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and economic reports, political events and natural disasters create a thick smoke screen behind which wholesale and retail prices are manipulated. What's not true is that any of these events significantly raised oil company costs in 2003. On the contrary, rising retail gasoline prices have enriched the big oil companies enormously, more than doubling their margins and resulting in the largest quarterly corporate profits in the history of the world. In the fourth quarter of 2000, ExxonMobil made front-page news when it recorded the largest quarterly profit ever: $5.12 billion. In the first quarter of this year, during the anxious months leading up to the Iraq war, the company blew that record out of the water, racking up more than $7 billion in pure profit. |
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Cher Calls C-Span About Visit to Army Hospital
Quite an interesting conversation, as reported by Atrios. Three BIG cheers for Cher, one classy lady.
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Kucinich Fights Back
From Newsday (snippets):
| Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich is demanding that New Hampshire television stations stop broadcasting ads from rival Howard Dean, arguing that the spots distort the records of both candidates. Earlier this week, Dean began airing two 30-second spots in New Hampshire criticizing his opponents' record on the war in Iraq and prescription drug benefits. While highlighting his opposition to the war, the former Vermont governor says "the best my opponents can do is ask questions today that they should have asked before they supported the war." Dean does not name his rivals. Kucinich, the Ohio congressman and the only candidate who voted against the resolution authorizing the war, took exception to the spots. "I am proud of my record of opposition to the war on Iraq and the occupation of Iraq, and I will not stand by while a fellow Democrat distorts my record and his own," Kucinich said Friday. Later, at a news conference in Portsmouth, N.H., Kucinich said he would not let the issue drop "until those ads come off the air and he issues an apology to the people of New Hampshire, as well as to the candidates -- not just myself -- but all the candidates whom he has misrepresented." Kucinich's lawyer, Donald McTigue, sent a letter to New Hampshire television stations asking them to pull the ad and give Kucinich's campaign free air time to respond. The campaign said it also plans to petition the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communication Commission. ------ Democrat Dennis Kucinich won't be joining "Hardball" host Chris Matthews anytime soon. The Ohio congressman is refusing to participate in a candidate forum hosted by Harvard University and aired live on MSNBC's "Hardball," arguing that Matthews has tainted the show with a conservative and corporate agenda. Kucinich, who voted against the congressional resolution authorizing the Iraq war, also complained that Matthews wrongly said that only Howard Dean opposed the war. "He's biased in favor of corporate interests over the public's interest," Kucinich campaign spokesman David Swanson said Friday. Matthews "has made false statements about the campaign." |
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From Center for American Progress (snippet):
| Today's Column In Pursuit of a Better Way by John Podesta, Richard C. Leone and Robert Kuttner - October 27, 2003 Every day we are incurring the costs – both human and financial – of a policy built on deception and myth, both about the imminence of the threat in Iraq and the cost and scope of rebuilding. Reconstruction is all the more arduous because the U.S. is going it alone. American forces are spread dangerously thin, both in Iraq and elsewhere. The singular focus on Iraq has damaged other critical U.S. foreign policy goals. It has diverted attention from more serious threats, including proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, and has led the administration to downplay very real dangers in Korea, Iran, and inside Saudi Arabia. Afghanistan is still dangerously unstable. Osama bin Laden is still at large. The road to Jerusalem was said to lead through Baghdad, but the failure to attend to Mideast policy has left the Israelis and the Palestinians further apart than ever. The region is enflamed and the Administration has too little leverage to reduce violence and provocation, much less to build a durable peace. The plain contempt expressed for allies has made it harder for the U.S. to count on their support for other important diplomatic goals, ranging from a new trade round, to a common strategy against nuclear proliferation, to shared contributions for Iraq's reconstruction. Meanwhile, national security at home has gotten short shrift. Instead of using the Department of Homeland Security to help first-responders in state and local governments and to coordinate far-flung federal efforts, the new Department has become one more agency in a fragmented bureaucracy. The administration often seems to be trying to win the war against terrorism at home by short-circuiting civil liberties. |
Wait, let me make sure I'm understanding this... Things aren't going well?
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Per Hesiod:
| "How anyone who continues to support Bush, given the current state of affairs, can sleep at night is a mystery to me. It truly is. You'd have to be engaged in some world-class denial, and self-medicating to achieve that level of obliviousness." |
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Bizarre Story of the Month
From SFGate:
| Student whose father died in windshield killing gets scholarship from death-row inmates ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer Thursday, October 23, 2003 A college student whose father was hit by a car and left to die in the windshield -- and who forgave the woman who did it -- was awarded a $10,000 scholarship raised by death-row inmates. The money for Brandon Biggs, 20, was raised through donations and subscriptions to "Compassion," a bimonthly newsletter written by the nation's death-row inmates and a project of the Roman Catholic church's peace and justice committee. |
I'm sorry, it's all just too overwhelming. I'm packin' my ice skates and headin' for hell.
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October 26, 2003
Good evening from *COUGH* *COUGH* beautiful Southern *COUGH* *COUGH* California. The skies were an eerie reddish brown all day, the sun a fuzzy orange, and large chunks of ash covered everything. The smoke is bad enough that very few people are out and about, except in their cars. And we're at least 30 miles from the nearest fire.
As usual around this time of year, people get pretty riled up about all those pesky brush fires, which just so happen to occur this time EVERY YEAR. Why? Because it's a natural part of the ecosystem here in So. Cal. Mix in zero rain from March through October (= dry brush and grass) + low humidity and hot winds (hello Santa Anas) + spontaneously combustible plants + sunlight, and you get fire.
Spontaneously combustible plants? Yep. There is a species of brush indigenous to So. Cal foothills and mountains that have seeds which burst into flames given the above conditions, part of this species' germination process. It's been happening for millions of years. It's nature's way of clearing out the old, overgrown vegetation.
Enter arrogant mankind, building with abandon all over the Southland. Until we totally concrete over the counties of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura, there will be brush fires every, and we mean every, year. It's guaranteed.
But wait, you say, some of the fires were started by arsonists. Well, sure, give a person of the combustion initiation persuasion the opportunity to run out to the foothills, toss a match into this 10-million acre tinderbox, and then run home to be entertained by the massive news coverage all weekend, how can they resist?
So let's not get too compassionate for the jerks who insist on buying homes in these fire-prone areas. They are either really stupid, or else insolent enough to think that it can't happen to them. The builders don't care; their motto will always be, you build it and they will come. All we know is, our insurance rates are higher because of their greed.
So stop being surprised at the smoke and fire every autumn in Los Angeles. It will not stop. And, look for those consequential mudslides coming up around February. It's guaranteed.
As usual around this time of year, people get pretty riled up about all those pesky brush fires, which just so happen to occur this time EVERY YEAR. Why? Because it's a natural part of the ecosystem here in So. Cal. Mix in zero rain from March through October (= dry brush and grass) + low humidity and hot winds (hello Santa Anas) + spontaneously combustible plants + sunlight, and you get fire.
Spontaneously combustible plants? Yep. There is a species of brush indigenous to So. Cal foothills and mountains that have seeds which burst into flames given the above conditions, part of this species' germination process. It's been happening for millions of years. It's nature's way of clearing out the old, overgrown vegetation.
Enter arrogant mankind, building with abandon all over the Southland. Until we totally concrete over the counties of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura, there will be brush fires every, and we mean every, year. It's guaranteed.
But wait, you say, some of the fires were started by arsonists. Well, sure, give a person of the combustion initiation persuasion the opportunity to run out to the foothills, toss a match into this 10-million acre tinderbox, and then run home to be entertained by the massive news coverage all weekend, how can they resist?
So let's not get too compassionate for the jerks who insist on buying homes in these fire-prone areas. They are either really stupid, or else insolent enough to think that it can't happen to them. The builders don't care; their motto will always be, you build it and they will come. All we know is, our insurance rates are higher because of their greed.
So stop being surprised at the smoke and fire every autumn in Los Angeles. It will not stop. And, look for those consequential mudslides coming up around February. It's guaranteed.
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October 24, 2003
We finally figured out Bush's solution to the jobless situation in the U.S.
By sending soldiers off to get killed in his fake wars, by increasing deaths from major illnesses in those no longer able to afford health insurance, by increasing deaths due to higher pollution levels in the air and water, and by the increased casualties from terrorists attacks on U.S. citizens as a result of escalating hatred of America, he's creating more job openings for the unemployed.
God bless the man with a plan!
Groperzenegger YESTERDAY:
Groperzenneger TODAY:
Thanks to Kevin Drum for the lead/edit.
Solar blast to hit Earth today.
More proof that Satan shops at Wal-Mart.
What You Can Do To Make A Difference
Nice gift for the wife or girlfriend.
Best of RHF: Computer, Science and Math Jokes
Emotional Eric (scroll left sidebar)
Halloween Costumes
YES (Find out the name of that song you just heard on the radio.)
Hover Bump (game)
National Mole Day
Ex-wife's Beanie Babies (comments at bottom are hilarious)
Postcards from Disneyland (A stroll down Nostalgia Boulevard)
Bush's Jobs Recovery Program
We finally figured out Bush's solution to the jobless situation in the U.S.
By sending soldiers off to get killed in his fake wars, by increasing deaths from major illnesses in those no longer able to afford health insurance, by increasing deaths due to higher pollution levels in the air and water, and by the increased casualties from terrorists attacks on U.S. citizens as a result of escalating hatred of America, he's creating more job openings for the unemployed.
God bless the man with a plan!
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Groperzenegger YESTERDAY:
| "Action, action, action, action — that's what people have voted me into this office for," Schwarzenegger told reporters as he began a late-afternoon meeting with the top two party leaders from both houses of the Legislature. "They wanted to have a governor that is filled with action, that performs and that represents the people, and that's what I'm here to do." |
Groperzenneger TODAY:
| "The problem was created over the last five years, and so you can't expect that -- even though I've played very, very heroic characters in the movies, but you can't expect me to walk into his office and all of a sudden come out with the answers," said the governor-elect, whose usual ebullience was dampened after the meeting. "It will take a while to resolve those problems. They are very difficult problems, and we are really in a disastrous situation financially." |
Thanks to Kevin Drum for the lead/edit.
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Question of the Week
| "A simple question for the president of the United States: If you don’t read the newspapers, how can you criticize the media coverage of Iraq?" ---David Corn |
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In the News
Solar blast to hit Earth today.
More proof that Satan shops at Wal-Mart.
What You Can Do To Make A Difference
Nice gift for the wife or girlfriend.
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Quote of the Week
| "George W. Bush has lied about September 11, the Iraq war, the economy, his record as governor of Texas, his relationship with corporate criminals, and his own military record. In short, he has lied day after day after day about all of the issues he and his administration claim to hold dear. I do not hate George W. Bush merely for the sake of hatred, or because he is a Republican. I hate him because he is a cancer that is rotting out the guts of this country. I hate him because he would not know the truth if it crawled up his leg and grabbed him by the nose. Truth does not advance the profit motive." ---William Rivers Pitt |
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FRIDAY FUN
Best of RHF: Computer, Science and Math Jokes
Emotional Eric (scroll left sidebar)
Halloween Costumes
YES (Find out the name of that song you just heard on the radio.)
Hover Bump (game)
National Mole Day
Ex-wife's Beanie Babies (comments at bottom are hilarious)
Postcards from Disneyland (A stroll down Nostalgia Boulevard)
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October 23, 2003
As Bush gets ready to sign the partial birth abortion bill, NDOL tries to get the facts straight. Snippet:
If you haven't read this Nation article about Dennis Kucinich, go read it now. Snippet:
From Reuters (snippets):
MoveOn is starting a drive to raise $$ for airing ads attacking Bush. Contribute now.
What happened to The West Wing? It once was one of the finest shows on TV. The acting was first-rate, and it never succumbed to compromise when touching politically and socially hot topics. Now it dances around tough issues like Tinkerbell on ecstasy. Rather than challenging us viewers to decipher the complexities of the issues, it now bludgeons us repeatedly until we scream, "Okay, we got it!" What a pity. Did Aaron Sorkin really make that much of a difference?
This Bush fights hard for the environment. (L.A. Times article. One-time registration required - it's worth it.)
From the Washington Post (snippet):
Don't Lose the Focus on Abortion Rights
As Bush gets ready to sign the partial birth abortion bill, NDOL tries to get the facts straight. Snippet:
| The simple truth is that the "partial-birth" ban has never been designed to reduce the number of abortions performed in America. From the very beginning, it's always been a torturously contrived effort by right-to-lifers and their Republican allies to force an abortion-related vote in Congress and in state legislatures on a proposal that would command a comfortable majority in public opinion polls and identify Democrats with something that sounds horrible. But the right-to-life strategy on "partial-birth" abortions has another element that's important to recognize right now: an effort to convince the public that pro-choicers simply can't bring themselves to accept any restrictions at all on abortion, in any circumstances or at any stage of pregnancy before full-term live birth. And unfortunately, many pro-choice advocacy groups have risen to the bait, acting as though a "partial-birth" ban is functionally the same as a revocation of basic abortion rights. That's a mistake, and confuses Kabuki Theater with the real issue and the real drama on abortion: the determination of George W. Bush and the GOP leadership to obtain enough Supreme Court appointments to accomplish their real goal, which is to overturn Roe v. Wade and re-criminalize abortion generally. |
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"Who's Afraid of Dennis Kucinich?"
If you haven't read this Nation article about Dennis Kucinich, go read it now. Snippet:
| The politics of Dennis Kucinich are easy to see but hard to describe, which is why conventional journalism, comfortable only with crass idiocies, has settled on calling him a leftist and burying him in the thirteenth paragraph. But to me the best way to describe Kucinich is to say that he seems to be the only candidate who responds as an intellectually ambitious human being would to the problem of the presidency. When you think about it--and few people do--no great thinker or leader, no Thoreau or Bertrand Russell or Martin Luther King Jr., would look at the vastly complex problem of the human condition and see as the most urgent solutions incremental numerical adjustments of the type espoused by most candidates. It is hard to imagine a Gandhi feeling passionate about a 30 percent tax credit for investment in renewable energy (Gephardt), or $66 billion for Iraq instead of $87 billion (Edwards), or a Community Oriented Policing Program ("COPS," a Kerry creature) that puts a few more cops on the streets. No, the great leader would see vast sicknesses to tend to, gross misapplications of human effort, problems rooted not in numbers but in society's emotional priorities. And his solutions upon taking a great office would be of commensurate greatness: the elimination of war, the conquest of greed, the restoration of community. I'm not saying Kucinich is a great man. But he does think in these terms. He is clearly an intellectual who is measuring himself against history, not the other candidates. And it is this disdain for the other kind of ambition that has led observers to describe him as unserious. |
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As Expected: Bush Heckled by Aussies
From Reuters (snippets):
| Bush Heckled in Australia as Defends Iraq War Thu October 23, 2003 12:07 PM ET - By Belinda Goldsmith CANBERRA (Reuters) - Heckled inside and outside Australia's parliament, President Bush Thursday defended the invasion of Iraq during a symbolic visit to thank Australia for its staunch support in the war on terror. Bush, wrapping up a six-nation Asian tour focused on security and trade, said the allies who had fought alongside each other in two world wars and Vietnam had a "special responsibility throughout the Pacific" to help keep peace. "In the war on terror, once again, we are at each other's side," Bush said, recalling the nightclub bombings in Bali last October that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. He told a special joint sitting of parliament in Canberra the war in Iraq was justified, but "with decisive victories behind us, we still have decisive days ahead." "America, Australia and other nations acted in Iraq to remove a grave and gathering danger, instead of wishing and waiting while tragedy drew closer," Bush said. "Who can possibly think that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein still in power?" The U.S. president was on a whirlwind visit to Australia to reward conservative Prime Minister John Howard, whom he dubbed "a man of steel" for sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, despite public protests. His 20-hour visit triggered a massive security operation in the usually sleepy capital with armed air force jets escorting Bush into Canberra late Wednesday night and patrolling the city's skies until he flew out Thursday evening. Authorities took the unprecedented step of barring the public from the parliament where Bush spoke Thursday, backing a special security role for Australia in the Asia-Pacific region that has raised concerns among Asian neighbors. ...... But his tagging of Australia as a regional "sheriff" and staunch defense of the Iraq war angered left-leaning Green politicians whose heckling twice stopped the president's speech. "We are not a sheriff," shouted Greens leader Bob Brown who ignored an order to leave the house. The heckling did not rattle Bush, who is on his first trip to Australia. The last U.S. president to visit Australia was Bill Clinton in 1996 -- who was also heckled by Brown. "I love free speech," quipped Bush, to cheers from the house, having been warned he could face politicians' protests. ...... |
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CONTRIBUTE - IT'S MONEY WELL SPENT
MoveOn is starting a drive to raise $$ for airing ads attacking Bush. Contribute now.
| The MoveOn.org Voter Fund is a new 527 fund affiliated with MoveOn.org, the pre-eminent online advocacy group in the United States. The Voter Fund will create and run powerful political ads in swing states to challenge President Bush's policies and his administration. The Voter Fund will also house other projects which will expose the gap between President Bush's carefully constructed image and his failed policies. |
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The West Wing Flies South
What happened to The West Wing? It once was one of the finest shows on TV. The acting was first-rate, and it never succumbed to compromise when touching politically and socially hot topics. Now it dances around tough issues like Tinkerbell on ecstasy. Rather than challenging us viewers to decipher the complexities of the issues, it now bludgeons us repeatedly until we scream, "Okay, we got it!" What a pity. Did Aaron Sorkin really make that much of a difference?
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This Bush fights hard for the environment. (L.A. Times article. One-time registration required - it's worth it.)
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Smuggling in The Dead
From the Washington Post (snippet):
| Curtains Ordered for Media Coverage of Returning Coffins By Dana Milbank - Tuesday, October 21, 2003; Page A23 Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets. To this problem, the Bush administration has found a simple solution: It has ended the public dissemination of such images by banning news coverage and photography of dead soldiers' homecomings on all military bases. In March, on the eve of the Iraq war, a directive arrived from the Pentagon at U.S. military bases. "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base, to include interim stops," the Defense Department said, referring to the major ports for the returning remains. |
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October 22, 2003
Is the end of conservatism near? (Original post. Scroll down to "The coming failure of conservatism".) Or read it HERE.
Contra Costa Times has an excellent, in-depth article comparing the health care benefit costs of Wal-Mart employees to those of other food chains such as Costco and those currently locking out their employees or "suffering" through the strike. Good reading if you want a better understanding of the current chaos in Southern California. Snippets:
After learning how Wal-Mart treats its employees, how can anyone in good conscience shop there? Not only is the corporation mistreating its employees, but the other food chains are using Wal-Mart as an excuse to abuse their own employees.
It's so easy for you to make a huge impact on the outcome of these events:
Don't cross the picket lines at Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons!
Don't shop at Wal-Mart! (UPDATE: Strikers march on Oxnard Wal-Mart)
Shop at stores that treat their employees with the same respect that you want from your employer. It's that simple.
Veralynne at ACT gave Left is Right a glowing review. Much appreciated!
How did your Congressmen/women vote on Bush's $87 billion appropriations bill? Click HERE for your Senators and HERE for your representative. You may want to send an e-mail to your "YEA" congressman/woman and let him/her know exactly how you feel about their vote. (UPDATE: Link for representatives votes corrected 10/23/03)
The NRA has a list of prominent individuals and organizations who support anti-gun policies or gun control legislation. Are you a prominent individual? Are you anti-gun? See if you're on the list.
Is the end of conservatism near? (Original post. Scroll down to "The coming failure of conservatism".) Or read it HERE.
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Wal-Mart: Where Satan Shops
Contra Costa Times has an excellent, in-depth article comparing the health care benefit costs of Wal-Mart employees to those of other food chains such as Costco and those currently locking out their employees or "suffering" through the strike. Good reading if you want a better understanding of the current chaos in Southern California. Snippets:
| But Wal-Mart's health insurance strategy is acquiring a growing number of critics. A San Jose assemblywoman claims health benefits are so unaffordable that workers instead sign up for government health care at the urging of the retailer. And perhaps the most visable opponents are the 70,000 striking Southern California grocery workers, who blame the retail giant for forcing their traditional grocery employers to phase out one of the best health benefits packages in the retail industry. Research shows that Wal-Mart spends less money on health care coverage than retailers and non-competitors. Wal-Mart spent an average of $3,500 per worker for health benefits in 2002. That's compared with $5,646 per worker for all employers and $4,834 per worker in the wholesale and retail industries, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Nearly 80 percent of Wal-Mart workers in California have coverage through an HMO. On average, they pay $106 per month for the insurance premium. That relatively high cost becomes even more expensive considering that Wal-Mart's hourly wage is at the low end of the industry. Wal-Mart will not give exact wage figures, but workers at Bay Area stores say the starting salary ranges from about $8 to $8.25 per hour, although it can go higher if a worker has special skills or experience. By comparison, the lowest paying job at Safeway, Albertson's and other unionized traditional grocer chains starts at $8.39, and Costco starts workers at about $10 per hour. Most importantly, workers at those stores move up the pay scale more quickly than Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart officials say it's unfair to compare Safeway Inc. and Albertson's Inc. store workers to Wal-Mart workers ("associates" in Wal-Mart's parlance) because the retail giant isn't a direct competitor with the traditional grocers. But the only significant difference in the work forces is that Safeway and Albertson's workers are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which gives them more leverage to maintain their pay and benefits. At Costco, which is partially unionized, workers pay for 8 percent of their total health care costs, while Wal-Mart store workers chip in about one-third of the cost. A new full-time Costco worker can sign up for benefits in half the time that a comparable Wal-Mart worker can. For part-time workers, Costco employees get their benefits in one-fourth the time. Wal-Mart does offer health insurance with a monthly premium as low as $26 per month for an individual plan. But under that coverage, the worker pays up to $1,000 per year before the plan starts paying for part of any medical charges. |
After learning how Wal-Mart treats its employees, how can anyone in good conscience shop there? Not only is the corporation mistreating its employees, but the other food chains are using Wal-Mart as an excuse to abuse their own employees.
It's so easy for you to make a huge impact on the outcome of these events:
Don't cross the picket lines at Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons!
Don't shop at Wal-Mart! (UPDATE: Strikers march on Oxnard Wal-Mart)
Shop at stores that treat their employees with the same respect that you want from your employer. It's that simple.
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We're Blushing
Veralynne at ACT gave Left is Right a glowing review. Much appreciated!
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Vote on $87 Billion
How did your Congressmen/women vote on Bush's $87 billion appropriations bill? Click HERE for your Senators and HERE for your representative. You may want to send an e-mail to your "YEA" congressman/woman and let him/her know exactly how you feel about their vote. (UPDATE: Link for representatives votes corrected 10/23/03)
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Planning on Becoming Famous? Don't Forget to Join The NRA's "List"
The NRA has a list of prominent individuals and organizations who support anti-gun policies or gun control legislation. Are you a prominent individual? Are you anti-gun? See if you're on the list.
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October 21, 2003
| "On a personal note -- and I hate to be an old fuddy duddy, which of course describes anyone who uses the term fuddy duddy -- this has to be reported: Once the Kobe case is over, I could go the rest of my life without hearing the words sperm or panties in a newscast." --- Bret Lewis |
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The "Recall Arnold?" poll was a lot of fun, but I think it was significantly increasing page loading times for all faithful Left is Right fans. Thus, I've decided to stop it. Here are the results:
Question: Should Arnold Schwarzenegger be recalled as soon as he is eligible?
Number... Percent... Choice
9..............18%.........No, it's time to stop the madness.
10............20%.........Yes, the Republican Ultra-Right must be stopped.
11............22%.........No, Californians deserve what they wanted.
10............20%.........No, let the next three years destroy Arnold's political career.
3..............6%...........Yes, it's time to start fighting back using Republican tactics.
7..............14%.........Yes, but only if Martin Sheen runs.
50............100%.......TOTAL
The equity of responses was very profound, with no clear preference. This implies that the readership is varied in political choices and opinions. This is typical of the Left. That is a good thing, something you expect in a liberal, progressively-oriented group. You would never see such diversity of responses in a Republican poll, as people on the Right go out of their way to conform to the most popular conservative opinion. The problem that might arise next year would be the failure of liberals to modify their independent behavior and jointly back one candidate in order to defeat Bush. I was also a bit surprised by the small number (6%) wanting to take revenge using Republican tactics, an example of the general moral difference between Left and Right.
Wow.
I received this letter today from my U.S. Senator (edited for personal data):
This is my "Democratic" Senator, yet is sounds as Republican as anything I've read from the Right. Senator Feinstein refers to many incorrect items, such as the assumption that OUR military must remain until the establishment of an interim authority, "as the fighting stops" (sorry, but that's not happening), the WMD thing (they aren't and they haven't for a long time!), and the reference to "tribal" hostilities (makes it sound primitive/uncivilized). The biggest contradiction is the comment on our (i.e. current administration's) desire to "see the entire world safe, prosperous and free" (right - Iraq is a good example of that).
This letter reaffirms my belief that our current representatives in Congress, with very few exceptions, are spineless puppets of the Bush Administration and of corporate campaign contributors. Correct me if I'm wrong.
In case you didn't know, if you're a college student, you're getting royally ripped off. From the NY Times (snippets):
Statement by Jim Robinson Regarding the State of our Free Republic - October 20, 2003
Gee, talk about a political spring cleaning. Where exactly do they want us to go? Bermuda?
Question: Should Arnold Schwarzenegger be recalled as soon as he is eligible?
Number... Percent... Choice
9..............18%.........No, it's time to stop the madness.
10............20%.........Yes, the Republican Ultra-Right must be stopped.
11............22%.........No, Californians deserve what they wanted.
10............20%.........No, let the next three years destroy Arnold's political career.
3..............6%...........Yes, it's time to start fighting back using Republican tactics.
7..............14%.........Yes, but only if Martin Sheen runs.
50............100%.......TOTAL
The equity of responses was very profound, with no clear preference. This implies that the readership is varied in political choices and opinions. This is typical of the Left. That is a good thing, something you expect in a liberal, progressively-oriented group. You would never see such diversity of responses in a Republican poll, as people on the Right go out of their way to conform to the most popular conservative opinion. The problem that might arise next year would be the failure of liberals to modify their independent behavior and jointly back one candidate in order to defeat Bush. I was also a bit surprised by the small number (6%) wanting to take revenge using Republican tactics, an example of the general moral difference between Left and Right.
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Eye-Popping Fact of the Day
| Seventy-three percent of black fourth-graders are enrolled in schools where more than half of the students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. (Source: Status and Trends in the Education of Blacks National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education (10/14/03) http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2003034) |
Wow.
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Feinstein Looking for Spine Donor
I received this letter today from my U.S. Senator (edited for personal data):
| October 21, 2003 Mr. [Left is Right] [Progressive] Street [Somewhere], California 9[8765-4321] Dear Mr. [Left is Right]: Thank you for writing me regarding the future of Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. Throughout the majority of Iraq, the regime of Saddam Hussein has been defeated and removed from power. Despite our success in freeing the Iraqi people, our military continues to encounter resistance throughout the country and must maintain a presence until an interim authority can be established to restore order and begin helping the Iraqi people reconstitute their basic social services. So, as the fighting stops and as the remnants of the regime are removed, we must take the lead in rebuilding the Iraqi nation, in stabilizing its new government, in providing interim security to prevent the emergence of tribal hostilities and to see that Iraq is no longer a producer of weapons of mass destruction. I am hopeful that all Iraqis of every ethnic and faith group, large and small, will be engaged in the process to establish a new Iraq. I firmly believe that the U.S. should work closely with the United Nations and our allies in the reconstruction of Iraq. It is essential to demonstrate to Muslims everywhere that the United States, while a powerful nation, is motivated by a sincere desire to one day see the entire world safe, prosperous, and free. Again, thank you for writing. I hope you will continue to keep me informed of your views and concerns. If you should have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841. Best Regards. Sincerely yours, Dianne Feinstein United States Senator |
This is my "Democratic" Senator, yet is sounds as Republican as anything I've read from the Right. Senator Feinstein refers to many incorrect items, such as the assumption that OUR military must remain until the establishment of an interim authority, "as the fighting stops" (sorry, but that's not happening), the WMD thing (they aren't and they haven't for a long time!), and the reference to "tribal" hostilities (makes it sound primitive/uncivilized). The biggest contradiction is the comment on our (i.e. current administration's) desire to "see the entire world safe, prosperous and free" (right - Iraq is a good example of that).
This letter reaffirms my belief that our current representatives in Congress, with very few exceptions, are spineless puppets of the Bush Administration and of corporate campaign contributors. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Cheaper Textbooks
In case you didn't know, if you're a college student, you're getting royally ripped off. From the NY Times (snippets):
| Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50, Purchased Overseas - By TAMAR LEWIN - Published: October 21, 2003 Richard Sarkis and David Kinsley were juniors at Williams College, surfing the net for a cheap source for their economics textbook, when they discovered a little known economic fact: the very same college textbooks used in the United States sell for half price — or less — in England. Just like prescription drugs, textbooks cost far less overseas than they do in the United States. The publishing industry defends its pricing policies, saying that foreign sales would be impossible if book prices were not pegged to local market conditions. But many Americans do not see it that way. The National Association of College Stores has written to all the leading publishers asking them to end a practice they see as an unfair to American students. "We think it's frightening, and it's wrong, that the same American textbooks our stores buy here for $100 can be shipped in from some other country for $50," said Laura Nakoneczny, a spokeswoman for the association. "It represents price-gouging of the American public generally and college students in particular." But thanks to the Internet, more and more individual students and college bookstores are starting to order textbooks from abroad — and a few entrepreneurs, including Mr. Sarkis and his friends, have begun what are essentially arbitrage businesses to exploit the price differentials. "We couldn't understand why what costs $120 here should cost $50-something there," said Mr. Sarkis, who, with Mr. Kinsley and another classmate, has spent three years building a Web-based company, BookCentral.com, selling textbooks from abroad to students in the United States. "It seemed so sleazy of the publishers. We were sure that college students would be shocked and outraged if they knew about the foreign prices. But it's been this big secret." That is changing, though. To the despair of the textbook publishers who are still trying to block such sales, the reimporting of American texts from overseas has become far easier in recent years, thanks both to Internet sites that offer instant access to foreign book prices, and to a 1998 Supreme Court ruling that federal copyright law does not protect American manufacturers from having the products they arranged to sell overseas at a discount shipped back for sale in the United States. Before the Supreme Court decision, Americans could not take advantage of the discounts abroad without violating the copyright law. Now, however, "gray market" sales are taking off on campuses. Many students, individually, have begun to compare the textbook prices posted on American sites like Amazon.com, with the lower prices for the same books on foreign sites like Amazon.co.uk. The differences are often significant: "Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, Third Edition," for example, lists for $146.15 on the American Amazon site, but can be had for $63.48, plus $8.05 shipping, from the British one. And "Linear System Theory and Design, Third Edition" is $110 in the United States, but $41.76, or $49.81 with shipping, in Britain. Many college bookstores, meanwhile, have taken matters into their own hands, arranging their own overseas purchases. "I buy from Amazon.co.uk and from sources in the Far East, and I knew more and more students were doing the same thing, individually," said Tom Frey, owner of the University Bookstore at Purdue University, who sells the new books from overseas at the same price as a used American book. "Then this fall, for the first time, the Fed Ex man told me that the students at the Indian Association here at Purdue had just gotten a delivery of 14 skids of books, about 50 books each, from India. I think I'm losing about 10 percent of my sales to overseas books." Relations between textbook publishers and college booksellers have been seriously roiled by the issue. "This has become a very hot issue since last year, when it just seemed to explode all of a sudden," said Ms. Nakoneczny, of the college store association. The association's letter to the publishers warned that the pricing structure might be an antitrust violation. "The sale of identical books to foreign buyers at prices significantly lower than to domestic buyers, while publicly stating that domestic prices are due to high costs, could constitute an unfair or deceptive act," the letter said. While there is no longer protection in the federal copyright law for the pricing differentials, the major publishers are still trying to stop the reimporting of texts priced for foreign markets, mostly through contract language forbidding foreign wholesalers to sell to American distributors. Some have placed stickers on covers, saying "International Edition RESTRICTED Not for Sale in North America" or added the cover line "International Student Edition." None of the three major textbook publishers — Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Thomson — would discuss why overseas prices are so much lower than domestic ones, referring all questions to Allen Adler, the lawyer for the American Association of Publishers. "This is a season when textbook publishers get kicked around a lot, and they're feeling vulnerable," Mr. Adler said. "The practice of selling U.S. products abroad at prices keyed to the local market is longstanding. It's not unusual, it doesn't violate public policy and it's certainly not illegal. But publishers are still coming to terms with the dramatic change in the law." Mr. Adler contends that foreign textbook prices are pegged to the per capita income and economic conditions of the destination countries — and that foreign sales are a boon to America's standing in the world, to foreign students seeking an American-quality education, and even to American consumers, since each extra copy sold overseas, even at a low price, helps to spread the high costs of putting out a new textbook. Disgruntlement over textbook costs has been growing in the United States as prices have risen. Last month, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, announced that the average New York college freshman and sophomore spends more than $900 a year on texts — 41 percent more than in 1998 — and proposed a plan to make $1,000 of textbook costs tax deductible. The same week, University of Wisconsin students demonstrated against high textbook prices and in favor of creating a textbook rental system. To be sure, textbook costs, however high, are only the final straw for American college students, whose tuition costs and fees have been rising rapidly. At Williams and other elite universities, for example, tuition, room and board now tops $35,000 a year. In Britain, though, the cost of tuition is largely borne by the government and students pay much less. |
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Quote of the Week
Statement by Jim Robinson Regarding the State of our Free Republic - October 20, 2003
| "Then we all thanked God when Bush was finally declared the winner and off to Washington we went to celebrate at the Free Republic George W. Bush Inaugural Ball (I). "Then we all thank God again when after the cowardly attack on our nation by a gang of murderous international terrorists we realize how close we were to complete collapse and national destruction had the socialist U.N. loving Al Gore been in charge. Thank God for President Bush! "And I haven't even mentioned how evil I truly believe the official Democrat Party platform is. Here's a partial laundry list of what the Democrat Party supports and promotes: abortion; homosexuality; feminaziism; environmentalism; government control over every aspect of our lives and society; socialized health care; disarmament of the American people; subjugation of the U.S. to the U.N.; the complete elimination of our national sovereignty; complete destruction of our basic traditional family unit; loss of personal freedoms and individual liberty. In other words, complete destruction of our Constitution and Bill of Rights and our American way of life. "I came to the conclusion several years ago that there is no way this republic can survive if we allow the Democrat Party to maintain control over our government and other institutions. If America is to survive as we know it, Bill and Hillary Clinton and all the current democrat/socialist power mongers who share their philosophy and visions for a socialist America and socialist world must be soundly rejected and defeated at the polls. "And not just at the presidential level. They must be rejected and removed from both houses of Congress and from our State houses and local legislatures. For example, if we cannot remove them from the Senate, then there is no hope for reestablishing a judiciary built on the original intent of the Constitution and the rule-of-law. The liberals and socialists must be rooted out of our congress and our judiciary. Our free republic, our freedom and even liberty itself depends on it. "Just my humble opinion and why I act the way I do. I see the Democrat Party as domestic enemy number one of the Constitution and therefor it is my sworn enemy. And, in my eyes, anyone who helps to elect members of the Democrat party are aiding and abetting the enemy." |
Gee, talk about a political spring cleaning. Where exactly do they want us to go? Bermuda?
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October 20, 2003
36 Reasons To Vote For Bush and Republicans In 2004 - by James Boyne
Jake Sexton sends Southern Californians, who are tempted to cross the strikers' picket lines, some useful information:
In a story related to the California strikers' reactions to unfair increases in healthcare benefit costs, Left Coaster discusses a new poll on the public's feelings about universal healthcare:
If you been politically passive up to now, here is an easy way for you to contribute to the welfare of your working neighbor: support the grocery workers' strikes! Besides, you'll discover some really good grocery stores in your neighborhood that actually treat you as a valued customer (and sell some damn good groceries, to boot).
Well here's a synergy of two events, the So.Cal. grocery clerks strike/lockout and the Kucinich campaign, both supported by Left is Right. Snippet (emphasis added):
Last week Kucinich also gave his support to striking grocery workers in St. Louis who are also trying to retain Health Care Benefits.
Jeanne d'Arc has some thoughts about the So. Cal. grocery store strike/lockout (snippets):
Go read the entire post and check out her links to the newspaper articles.
Honestly, we need to get the entire Bush Administration to take this drug daily.
Which Way to Vote???
36 Reasons To Vote For Bush and Republicans In 2004 - by James Boyne
| "If you want to live like a Republican, you have to vote for Democrats" --- Richard Gephardt |
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SUPPORT THE STRIKES!
Jake Sexton sends Southern Californians, who are tempted to cross the strikers' picket lines, some useful information:
| If you're in southern California and are tempted to cross the picket line of striking (and locked out) supermarket workers to get your groceries, here's a list of locations where you can shop and still honor the strike. They're mostly more upscale supermarkets like Gelson's and Whole Foods (who could use a union themselves, I'm told), so the food might cost a bit more. But if you can stick it out a little while, some low paid folks might be able to win against the grocery giants and retain health care benefits for themselves and their families. |
In a story related to the California strikers' reactions to unfair increases in healthcare benefit costs, Left Coaster discusses a new poll on the public's feelings about universal healthcare:
| And as I posted yesterday, the results of a new ABC News/Washington Post poll taken through last Monday show that Congressional Democrats should hold out for a Medicare drug coverage plan with no gaps. By nearly four-to-one margins, those polled supported a Medicare drug program, even if it meant higher taxes to pay for it. What’s even more eye opening, is the increasing public support for universal health care in the country. By a nearly two-to-one margin (62%-32%), those polled now would support a government-run universal health insurance program run like Medicare rather than our current system. A majority continues to support such a new approach, even if it means longer waiting times for nonemergency visits, or fewer physician choices. And if given a choice of holding down taxes and keeping the current system, or raising taxes and providing such a program, those polled chose a universal system with higher taxes by more than a four-to-one margin (80%-17%). |
If you been politically passive up to now, here is an easy way for you to contribute to the welfare of your working neighbor: support the grocery workers' strikes! Besides, you'll discover some really good grocery stores in your neighborhood that actually treat you as a valued customer (and sell some damn good groceries, to boot).
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Kucinich on Strike
Well here's a synergy of two events, the So.Cal. grocery clerks strike/lockout and the Kucinich campaign, both supported by Left is Right. Snippet (emphasis added):
| Grocery clerks from three chains — Kroger Co.'s Ralphs, Safeway Inc.'s Vons and Albertsons Inc. — went on strike or were locked out of stores from San Luis Obispo to San Diego in a contract dispute involving the cost of health care coverage and other issues. Union members got a boost Saturday when Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich spoke to picketing workers outside a Ralphs grocery store in Venice. "Every worker who's ever had their wage knocked down must support your efforts, and every worker who's ever been asked to sacrifice their health care benefits must support your efforts," said Kucinich, an Ohio congressman. The walkout by grocery clerks coupled with a strike by transit mechanics in Los Angeles has created a spate of problems across the region: Hundreds of thousands of commuters are stranded. Freeways are clogged. Grocery stores are scaling back hours. And the already ailing economy has taken another hit. |
Last week Kucinich also gave his support to striking grocery workers in St. Louis who are also trying to retain Health Care Benefits.
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Jeanne on Strike
Jeanne d'Arc has some thoughts about the So. Cal. grocery store strike/lockout (snippets):
| One little bit of sunshine I've had lately is driving by Vons and seeing the empty parking lot. I suspect a lot of people aren't crossing the picket line not because they support the union, but because it's hard to get caught hurting someone you deal with regularly. The checkers have an advantage other unions don't have. Customers know them. But with luck maybe a few extra people will remember this strike, learn something from it, and remember that crossing somebody's picket line is a cruel act, even if you don't know them. ..... And miracle of miracles, the San Diego Union-Tribune, which has always been a very conservative newspaper, has a surprisingly reasonable article about the grocery strike. This is the first article I've seen that really captures the importance of this strike -- "This is a strike about whether supermarket workers will be part of the middle class or the working poor" -- and acknowledges what two decades of union busting have done to the middle class in this country. The New York Times has a good look at the alternative if this strike fails -- Wal-Mart wages. |
Go read the entire post and check out her links to the newspaper articles.
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Honestly, we need to get the entire Bush Administration to take this drug daily.
| Paxil CR Gets FDA Nod for Social Phobia NEW YORK (Reuters) Oct 17 - GlaxoSmithKline Plc on Friday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its antidepressant Paxil (paroxetine) CR for treatment of social anxiety disorder. Paxil CR had previously been approved by the FDA for treatment of depression, panic disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Some 10 million Americans are affected by social anxiety disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Paxil CR is the controlled release version of the British drugmaker's top-selling antidepressant Paxil, which is facing eroding sales in the United States due to competition from cheaper generic copycats. The newly patented Paxil CR is not yet affected by generics. |
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October 19, 2003
Electricity from Water? You bet! Snippet:
Read Kevin Drum's assessment of the Southern California's supermarket strike. Left is Right fully supports the strikers and their attempts to prevent the grocery chain management from screwing the workers any further. Please do not cross the picket lines to shop at these union-busting stores. Support the strikers and, hence, the American working class (i.e. most of us). By the way, independent chain stores like Trader Joe's have great food - check them out.
Scientific Breakthrough
Electricity from Water? You bet! Snippet:
| Mon 20 Oct 2003 3:00am (UK) Scientists Generate Electricity from Water By John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News A team of scientists has discovered a completely new way to make electricity from nothing more than flowing water, it was revealed today. The breakthrough, the first new method of electricity production for 160 years, could provide free, clean energy for devices such as mobile phones and calculators. On a large scale, it could conceivably be used to feed power into the national grid. Dr David Lynch, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta in Canada, where the technology was developed, said: “The discovery of an entirely new way of producing power is an incredible fundamental research breakthrough that occurs once in a lifetime.” A “water powered” mobile phone would contain a small reservoir pressurised by a hand pump. Electricity is generated as the water is released and surges through an array of tiny microchannels. The system relies on the natural “electrokinetic” effect of a fluid flowing over a solid surface. An interplay of forces results in a thin layer of water – where it meets the surface – with a net electric charge. This region is known as the Electric Double Layer (EDL). Normally it goes unnoticed, but the Alberta scientists found that forcing water through a channel with a diameter similar to the EDL produces a flowing current. The amount of electricity generated by one microchannel is minute. But millions of parallel channels can produce enough power to operate electronic equipment such as a mobile phone. |
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Don't Cross!
Read Kevin Drum's assessment of the Southern California's supermarket strike. Left is Right fully supports the strikers and their attempts to prevent the grocery chain management from screwing the workers any further. Please do not cross the picket lines to shop at these union-busting stores. Support the strikers and, hence, the American working class (i.e. most of us). By the way, independent chain stores like Trader Joe's have great food - check them out.
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October 18, 2003
The Boston Globe has a story about the 2003 George Bush [Sr.] Award for Excellence in Public Service. This year the former President is giving his award to... SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY.
So, How Does Bush Sr. REALLY Feel About His Son the President?
The Boston Globe has a story about the 2003 George Bush [Sr.] Award for Excellence in Public Service. This year the former President is giving his award to... SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY.
| But the news from College Station, Texas, this week -- that the First Father, former President George H.W. Bush, has given his own most treasured award to Senator Edward Kennedy -- is nearly as astonishing. When it was announced (with amazingly little fanfare) that the pugnaciously anti-Iraq war Democrat Kennedy had been awarded the 2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service, so many jaws dropped all over Washington that usually voluble politicians were only heard swallowing their real thoughts. Since the current President Bush veered away from the real war against terrorism in Afghanistan and went a'venturing in Iraq, much to his father's dismay, just about everybody close to Washington politics has known of the policy schism between father and son. It was politically and philosophically obvious. But people around Father Bush, a coterie of traditional internationalist conservatives who protect him like a wolf mother does her cubs, would heatedly deny any family rift -- and nobody spoke publicly about it. Now it's all out. Father Bush has done it in his own preferred nuanced way -- the way Establishment gentlemen operate -- but he has revealed the depth of his disagreement with his impetuously uninformed son. |
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October 17, 2003
For your convenience we've alphabetized the entries in the FRIDAY FUN ARCHIVES links page. Enjoy!
First I thought he was holding up someone's hideous-looking foot. Then it looked like his grotesque 4-fingered hand with a huge thumb (thus the anguished look on his face) and a wrist support. But I'll go along with some kind of stone, to which the caption refers.
Daniel Patrick Welch analyzes the potential of Kucinich as a major candidate. Sounds far-fetched? Read his excellent piece. Snippet:
Helicopter
College papers
Matrix XP
Killer Butterflies
For your convenience we've alphabetized the entries in the FRIDAY FUN ARCHIVES links page. Enjoy!
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From Buzzflash.com:
First I thought he was holding up someone's hideous-looking foot. Then it looked like his grotesque 4-fingered hand with a huge thumb (thus the anguished look on his face) and a wrist support. But I'll go along with some kind of stone, to which the caption refers.
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Daniel Patrick Welch analyzes the potential of Kucinich as a major candidate. Sounds far-fetched? Read his excellent piece. Snippet:
| Even white people are getting the message. The Nation ran a piece in May quoting the likes of former Silicon Valley moguls on how they may have changed their minds about the need for unions, limits on corporate power and the like. The Kucinich campaign seizes on one of these transformations, maybe with a little too much hope of Things to Come (but who's to say?), a disaffected voter who, after 22 years of being a libertarian, just switched to Democrat because he finally found "someone to vote for: thank you Dennis Kucinich!" The notion of elections actually reflecting the popular will is at the root of radical democratic thought, and provides the ground on which elements of radical democratic, anarcho-socialist, libertarian and anarchist ideas intermingle. Expanding democracy can only be a good thing. If the people's voice were truly free to be heard, would people really be against such things as raising the minimum wage? Providing health care and education? Limiting the influence of corporations, and the intrusive power of government in private lives? |
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FRIDAY FUN
Helicopter
College papers
Matrix XP
Killer Butterflies
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October 16, 2003