LEFT is RIGHT (blogging against The Bush-war) |
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Iraq War Cost
 
 
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| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Blood-sucking leeches -- used for thousands of years in medicine -- now have the U.S. government's approval as a tool for healing skin grafts or restoring circulation, regulators said on Monday. The Food and Drug Administration approved an application from French firm Ricarimpex SAS to market leeches for medicinal purposes. The company has been breeding leeches for 150 years, the FDA said. Doctors have used the small aquatic worms for several thousand years in the belief that bloodletting helps to cure a wide range of complaints from headaches to gout. They reached their height of medicinal use in the mid-1800s. Today, doctors around the world use leeches to remove blood pooled under skin grafts for burn patients, or to restore circulation in blocked veins by removing pooled blood, the FDA said in a statement. Leeches are particularly useful in surgeries to reattach body parts such as fingers or ears, Ricarimpex said on its Web site. The leeches can help restore blood flow to reconnected veins. The FDA said it considered the leeches a medical device. The agency approved their sale after reviewing medical literature and safety data provided by Ricarimpex. The FDA also examined information about how the leeches are fed, their environment, and the employees who handle them. |
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Saw Spiderman II today. It's fun. Takes you mind off all the crap going on.
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Mouth Full of Money
Terrific post by Michael Miller, a Kucinich supporter with conviction.
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That Leaves $265.5 Billion for Guns and Uniforms
According to the Borgen Project:
| Top Global Issues and the Annual Amount Needed to Solve the Problem: • Eliminate Starvation and Malnutrition ($19 billion) • Provide Shelter ($21 billion) • Remove Landmines ($4 billion) • Eliminate Nuclear Weapons ($7 billion) • Refugee Relief ($5 billion) • Eliminate Illiteracy ($5 billion) • Provide Clean, Safe Water ($10 billion) • Provide Health Care and AIDS Control ($21 billion) • Stop Deforestation ($7 billion) • Stabilize Population ($10.5 billion) • Retire Developing Nations Debt ($30 billion) (Figures are from the World Game Institute, based on an annual budget with a 10-year period needed to achieve complete success.) |
Total Cost: $134.5 Billion.
Annual U.S. defense budget: approx. $400 Billion.
Go figure.
Go Kucinich.
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| "By making Iraq a playground for right-wing economic theorists, an employment agency for friends and family, and a source of lucrative contracts for corporate donors, the administration did terrorist recruiters a very big favor." ----Paul Krugman |
| "Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits." ----Dan Barker |
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June 29, 2004
Is Iraq now a sovereign nation? Let's see:
Huh? But yesterday Bush said, "15 months after the liberation of Iraq...the world witnessed the arrival of a free and sovereign Iraqi government."
Now I'm confused. Is our esteemed leader misleading us? Even if he is, I don't mind as long as the killing stops right now. Tens of thousands of humans have been slaughtered in Iraq since March, 2003, and someone must put an end to this uncivilized behaviour right now. There is no good reason for any more Iraqi children, or American and Iraqi men and women, to die by gun, knife or bomb. It's senseless and it's the obligation of the United States president to stop it. Now.
Groperzenegger not exactly "Cutting the Fat" of California government:
And don't forget to visit ArnoldWatch.org to keep up with all the other financial shenanigans spearheaded by Mr. Biceps and his band of rip-off accountants. Got to admit, though, compared to how Bush is bankrupting the federal government, Mr. B.'s thievery is chump change.
Better Off
Left i sez:
So, Eli, are you saying that the U.S. is somehow to blame for this? I think current and previous U.S.regimes administrations might disagree with you. Is that what you want, a disagreement? Why, you outspoken liberal you.
Jack Kinsella speculates who might be the anti-christ of the apocalypse, and then explains why it doesn't even matter (snippets):
I don't understand why no one from the Bush cartel made this list's top ten. Also, it seems that the coming of the christ before the anti-christ is going to take a lot of the novelty and glitter away from the latter, and this seems unchrist-like (stealing the spotlight), so I have some doubts.
Mrs. Left is Right says the apocalypse, according to all major religions, will be starting around 2012. If this is the case, then we have to do our damndest to get Hillary Clinton into the White House before then, because the Left needs to end in a blaze of glory, not in some wimp-ass, subservient conflagration.
Today's Definition of "Sovereignty"
Is Iraq now a sovereign nation? Let's see:
| The same day that U.S. administrator Paul Bremer officially ended the occupation, U.S. prosecutors refused to abide by an Iraqi judge's order acquitting Iraqi citizen Iyad Akmush Kanum of attempted murder of coalition troops. Instead, the prosecutors returned Kanum to the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, claiming that "they were not bound by Iraqi law." In the days leading up to his departure, Bremer "issued a raft of edicts" in an effort to "exert U.S. control over the country after the transfer of political authority." Specifically, Bremer empowered a seven-member appointed commission "to disqualify political parties and any of the candidates they support." Bremer also "appointed Iraqis handpicked by his aides to influential positions in the interim government" with multi-year terms to "promote his concepts of governance" after the handover. Iraq remains plagued by violence and "the primary military responsibility for fighting the insurgency remains as much in American hands as it did yesterday." As a result, the New York Times concludes it is "ludicrous for administration officials to suggest that America's occupation of Iraq has now somehow ended." |
Huh? But yesterday Bush said, "15 months after the liberation of Iraq...the world witnessed the arrival of a free and sovereign Iraqi government."
Now I'm confused. Is our esteemed leader misleading us? Even if he is, I don't mind as long as the killing stops right now. Tens of thousands of humans have been slaughtered in Iraq since March, 2003, and someone must put an end to this uncivilized behaviour right now. There is no good reason for any more Iraqi children, or American and Iraqi men and women, to die by gun, knife or bomb. It's senseless and it's the obligation of the United States president to stop it. Now.
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Pumping Up Sacramento's Payroll
Groperzenegger not exactly "Cutting the Fat" of California government:
| ....AP obtained the governor's office payroll records through a California Public Records Act request to the state Controller's Office. According to those records, the average annual salary for employees in the governor's office has risen 22 percent since Sept. 30, 2003, just a week before voters ousted Davis in the state's historic recall election. It rose from $48,861 in September to $59,585 as of May 28, seven months after Schwarzenegger was sworn in. Schwarzenegger also has 14 employees on the official governor's payroll making $100,000 or more a year, up from eight on Davis' staff as of Sept. 30. "For a governor who came to office saying he would cut the government, he seems to have really pumped it up, at least salaries for his inner circle," said Jamie Court, a consumer activist with the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "It doesn't show much respect for taxpayers." Voters blamed Davis for runaway state spending that led in part to the state's record budget deficit, replacing him with Schwarzenegger during the Oct. 7 recall election. Since then, Schwarzenegger has engineered a record round of state borrowing to help close a $17 billion budget gap. He has cut spending for higher education and other services and said he wants to save more money by reopening contracts with some state employee unions. ....In response to an AP request, Schwarzenegger's office on Tuesday released internal documents from the Davis administration showing the payroll records for all state employees who reported to Davis as of last August. That tally, which could not be immediately confirmed by official state records, shows Davis' office payroll at $3.54 million. Schwarzenegger's official office payroll by the end of May was still 2.5 percent higher. The state payroll records also show that many members of Schwarzenegger's staff are making higher salaries than their counterparts in the Davis administration. |
And don't forget to visit ArnoldWatch.org to keep up with all the other financial shenanigans spearheaded by Mr. Biceps and his band of rip-off accountants. Got to admit, though, compared to how Bush is bankrupting the federal government, Mr. B.'s thievery is chump change.
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Better Off Dead?
Left i sez:
| Is Iraq better off? One thing for sure. If the U.S. hadn't killed tens of thousands of them in the 1991 war, tens of thousands of Iraqis would be better off. If the U.S. hadn't encouraged revolts by the Kurds and the Shia following that war, and then left them out to dry, the mass graves of Hillah wouldn't have existed. If the U.S. hadn't been providing military intelligence to Iraq in 1988 for its war against Iran, along with chemical weapons, then the mass graves of Hallabjah might not have existed. If the U.S. hadn't pushed through (and then enforced and kept in place) a decade of cruel sanctions against Iraq, another million Iraqis would still be alive. If the U.S. hadn't invaded in 2003, at least ten thousand more Iraqis, and possibly twice that number, would also still be alive. Is Iraq better off? There are one hell of a lot of Iraqis who definitely aren't, thanks to the U.S. |
So, Eli, are you saying that the U.S. is somehow to blame for this? I think current and previous U.S.
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Apathy Towards the Anti-Christ
Jack Kinsella speculates who might be the anti-christ of the apocalypse, and then explains why it doesn't even matter (snippets):
| ....Charles, Prince of Wales....King Juan Carlos of Spain....Mikhail Gorbachev....Bill Gates....Cardinal Lustinger....Osama bin-Laden.... ....When it comes to the antichrist, I plead both ignorance and apathy. That is to say, as far as who he might be, I don't know. And I don't care. A lot of prophecy teachers claim that they know. Many others scour the Scriptures, seeking clues to his identity. They miss the point. The central message of Bible prophecy to the Christian on this side of the Rapture is to know when His coming 'is near, even at the door' -- not the antichrist's. Trying to identify the antichrist is, to the Christian in the Church Age, an exercise in futility. We'll never know if we guess right anyway. It does sell books, but it does so by sensationalizing something that is of no consequence to the Church. The coming of the antichrist is the evidence, not the substance, of the Blessed Hope of the Church Age. Scripture and fulfilled prophecy are spectacular enough on the surface. The Bible promises a crown of righteousness for those who love His coming. Not for watching for His enemy. Looking for the antichrist misdirects the focus away from the Lord's return -- an event that must occur first. That is the mid trib and post trib rapture views' fatal flaw. Their proponents are looking for signs of the antichrist, and expect Christ later. But the Crown of Righteousness is for waiting for HIS appearing, not the antichrist's. The two are inconsistent positions. Indeed, they are more consistent with the Jewish view of the Messiah showing up at the end. They put their faith in signs, like the antichrist, and expect Christ to come later, looking for (and fearing) the rise of antichrist, instead of looking for the coming of Christ for His Church. And that is, after all, the mechanism the Scripture says the antichrist uses to fool the world. They are looking for the wrong Messiah.... |
I don't understand why no one from the Bush cartel made this list's top ten. Also, it seems that the coming of the christ before the anti-christ is going to take a lot of the novelty and glitter away from the latter, and this seems unchrist-like (stealing the spotlight), so I have some doubts.
Mrs. Left is Right says the apocalypse, according to all major religions, will be starting around 2012. If this is the case, then we have to do our damndest to get Hillary Clinton into the White House before then, because the Left needs to end in a blaze of glory, not in some wimp-ass, subservient conflagration.
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June 28, 2004
Just tried this "President Match" site which helps you decide which candidate best matches your political ideals. My results: Kucinich-95%... Kerry-77%... Bush-0% (really!). Give it a try, it's fun.
Found this section of a personal review of F-9/11 very interesting:
I saw nothing of the sort at the theatre I attended, maybe because it was in Orange County, CA. I am wondering if others have had similar experiences as described above. If so, kindly leave a comment.
Undecided? Try This.
Just tried this "President Match" site which helps you decide which candidate best matches your political ideals. My results: Kucinich-95%... Kerry-77%... Bush-0% (really!). Give it a try, it's fun.
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Found this section of a personal review of F-9/11 very interesting:
| ....i will say it's most definitely NOT the feel good film of the summer. when i saw it portland, leaving the theater, unlike a lot of films i see where people are just yaking and off to home to relieve the baby sitter of the kids, or off to beer, coffee or the mall food court, people stood around in groupings, all with stunned, sad looks on their face, and a few grown men and women openly sobbing over what they had just seen..... |
I saw nothing of the sort at the theatre I attended, maybe because it was in Orange County, CA. I am wondering if others have had similar experiences as described above. If so, kindly leave a comment.
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June 27, 2004
The Price is
What are the costs of the Iraq War so far? Here's a sample from Institute for Policy Studies:
The Price is Right Wrong
What are the costs of the Iraq War so far? Here's a sample from Institute for Policy Studies:
| Economic Costs: The Bill So Far: Congress has already approved of $126.1 billion for Iraq and an additional $25 billion is heading towards Congressional approval, for a total of $151.1 billion through this year. Congressional leaders have promised an additional supplemental appropriation after the election. Long-term Impact on U.S. Economy: Economist Doug Henwood has estimated that the war bill will add up to an average of at least $3,415 for every U.S. household. Another economist, James Galbraith of the University of Texas, predicts that while war spending may boost the economy initially, over the long term it is likely to bring a decade of economic troubles, including an expanded trade deficit and high inflation. Oil Prices: Gas prices topped $2 a gallon in May 2004, a development that most analysts attribute at least in part to the deteriorating situation in Iraq. According to a mid-May CBS survey, 85 percent of Americans said they had been affected measurably by higher gas prices. According to one estimate, if crude oil prices stay around $40 a barrel for a year, U.S. gross domestic product will decline by more than $50 billion. |
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June 26, 2004
Went to see F-9/11 today. It was an early showing, 10:30 a.m., which is why I assume the theatre was nearly empty. I had read all the hype and reports and figured it would be packed. Oh well, at least we got front-and-center seats. Very little in the movie surprised me, as I get most of my info from the internet and had seen or heard most everything already. If you're a regular of Left is Right (yes, all two of you), then you'll most likely gain very little knowledge by seeing F-9/11 since you must frequent progressive blogs and sites.
However, what you will gain is an idea of what a lot of people are going to see for the first time, and this will give you much more substantive "ammunition" when debating Bush with the doubters at home and at work, assuming they too saw the film. If they haven't, then offer to buy tickets for them. Hell, offer to drive them to the theatre.
I can see why the Republicans are scared shitless about this movie. If you believe only 25% of the content, that's still more than enough to convince you that only a total bonehead would vote for Bush in November. Considering how easily the Bush administration convinced something like 70-80% of the public that Iraq caused 9/11, with just speeches, then showing the visual content of F-9/11 to these same people will be a slam dunk.
For me the most gut wrenching parts involved the Flint, Michigan mother whose son died in a Blackhawk helicopter crash east of Baghdad in May, 2004. Being neither a mother nor having had one of my sons killed in war, I was still absorbed into her pervasive suffering and emotions. I think the fact that she was such a strongly principled woman, and that Michael Moore did such an excellent job of not exploiting her situation, made her sorrow all the more compelling.
I haven't heard anyone suggest this yet, so I want to be the first. This movie is going to make tons of money, here and abroad, anyway. So, Michael Moore, why not reduce the ticket prices to make it more affordable, or have the distributor show the movie in colleges and community centers, or start releasing the movie on DVD now. This movie is not, and should not be, about money. You say you want this documentary to affect the election? Then make sure you do everything possible to get as many people as you can to see it. This election, between electronic voting, disenfranchised voters and a wimp-ass Bush-lite Democratic candidate who gives us no real reason to go vote "for" anyone, is going to be difficult enough to rip from the bloodless, oil-veined hands of the ruling junta in Washington, so every little bit you do will help.
When Bush loses the vote and then declares marshal law before Kerry's inauguration, we are going to need the help of every able-bodied true-believer when we march on Washington and demand our country back.
(By the way, if you're into this kind of thing, you can track the top box office receipts by day HERE, then select the date.)
Saw F-9/11 today
Went to see F-9/11 today. It was an early showing, 10:30 a.m., which is why I assume the theatre was nearly empty. I had read all the hype and reports and figured it would be packed. Oh well, at least we got front-and-center seats. Very little in the movie surprised me, as I get most of my info from the internet and had seen or heard most everything already. If you're a regular of Left is Right (yes, all two of you), then you'll most likely gain very little knowledge by seeing F-9/11 since you must frequent progressive blogs and sites.
However, what you will gain is an idea of what a lot of people are going to see for the first time, and this will give you much more substantive "ammunition" when debating Bush with the doubters at home and at work, assuming they too saw the film. If they haven't, then offer to buy tickets for them. Hell, offer to drive them to the theatre.
I can see why the Republicans are scared shitless about this movie. If you believe only 25% of the content, that's still more than enough to convince you that only a total bonehead would vote for Bush in November. Considering how easily the Bush administration convinced something like 70-80% of the public that Iraq caused 9/11, with just speeches, then showing the visual content of F-9/11 to these same people will be a slam dunk.
For me the most gut wrenching parts involved the Flint, Michigan mother whose son died in a Blackhawk helicopter crash east of Baghdad in May, 2004. Being neither a mother nor having had one of my sons killed in war, I was still absorbed into her pervasive suffering and emotions. I think the fact that she was such a strongly principled woman, and that Michael Moore did such an excellent job of not exploiting her situation, made her sorrow all the more compelling.
I haven't heard anyone suggest this yet, so I want to be the first. This movie is going to make tons of money, here and abroad, anyway. So, Michael Moore, why not reduce the ticket prices to make it more affordable, or have the distributor show the movie in colleges and community centers, or start releasing the movie on DVD now. This movie is not, and should not be, about money. You say you want this documentary to affect the election? Then make sure you do everything possible to get as many people as you can to see it. This election, between electronic voting, disenfranchised voters and a wimp-ass Bush-lite Democratic candidate who gives us no real reason to go vote "for" anyone, is going to be difficult enough to rip from the bloodless, oil-veined hands of the ruling junta in Washington, so every little bit you do will help.
When Bush loses the vote and then declares marshal law before Kerry's inauguration, we are going to need the help of every able-bodied true-believer when we march on Washington and demand our country back.
(By the way, if you're into this kind of thing, you can track the top box office receipts by day HERE, then select the date.)
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June 25, 2004
I'm soooooooooo confused. I guess if Bush getsreelected then there will be a sequel. I wonder if anyone will be shipping this thing to our soldiers in Iraq... probably not a good idea - they already feel bad enough about being there.
Those gosh-darned Republicans are at it again:
Bullies.
STUDY: EPA KNOWINGLY UNDERREPORTS TOXIC AIR EMISSIONS FROM REFINERIES, CHEMICAL PLANTS BY 330 MILLION POUNDS PER YEAR
Solution: Breathe only when absolutely necessary.
From CAP's Under The Radar:
So there you have it. In spite of what you learned in 4th Grade U.S. History, we exist under a government that is Of, By and For the People, "People" defined as wealthy corporate evangelical christians. Game, set and match; they win, we lose. Everything. Well, except for our souls, because how could we suffer without souls, and how could the neocons continue their inhuman behavior if they still had theirs?
I just want to know how neocons sleep at night. Sure, Rush L. takes some kind of drug smorgasborg and Bush drinks himself into a stupor while clutching a bible, but what about the rest? How do they fall asleep knowing that what they have done today has increased the misery of millions of already impoverished humans, at least those who have not been killed by our military or died from preventable or curable diseases that America could wipe off the face of the planet at one-tenth the cost of the military budget?
Dennis Kucinich does have many answers, including the the best idea ever generated by a presidential candidate, a Department of Peace:
I know, I know.... It's always "the children, save the children" etc. Well, seriously, it's our children who are going to pay off the financial, political and social debt currently developing under our generation's blind eyes, spearheaded by our smirking leaders. Let's at least give our kids a little bit of support. Let's get the deadly riff-raff out of the White House and Halls of Congress, and start being serious about our world rather than our wallets.
Look, I've been against literally everything Bush has done since January, 2001. I drive a hybrid car, pay ALL my taxes, and don't steal or kill. I obey all the laws (okay, maybe I consider speed limit signs more as "guides") and never buy bootleg items. I try to treat all people equally (although I avidly avoid people with strong body odor) and teach my children to do the same. I ignore American media and seek out unbiased news in order to remain intelligently informed. I donate to causes that I consider humane (though I admittedly could give more) and I am terrified of handguns. Yet, I can rarely fall peacefully asleep knowing what I know. So, again I ask, how do neocons sleep at night?
2004 Summer Olympics (everything you could possibly want to know)
AFI's Top 100 Movie Songs (list)
Buy your own Missile Base (really! and here's the Inside)
Catching the Light (astronomical photograhs)
Elemental Spelling (game)
Flip Me Out (choose "games", then "flip me out")
Godchecker (choose from over 1,600 gods)
Graffiti Art
Indoor Olympics (games to play at home or work)
KaleidoDraw (art game)
Old Car Manual Project (repair manuals for older cars)
Strong Bad's e-mails
The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things Traveling Roadside Attraction and Museum
Titanic Sinking - In 30 Seconds by Bunnies (video)
What Should I Do if the Internet Goes Down?
Okay, So Which Is It?
I'm soooooooooo confused. I guess if Bush gets
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HHS Restricts Scientists from Helping Each Other
Those gosh-darned Republicans are at it again:
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is making it harder for scientists to speak to their global colleagues and restricting who can attend an upcoming major AIDS conference, a congressman charged on Thursday. Rep. Henry Waxman said he has a letter showing that the Health and Human Services Department has imposed new limits on who may speak to the World Health Organization. Under the new policy, WHO must ask HHS for permission to speak to scientists and must allow HHS to choose who will respond. "This policy is unprecedented. For the first time political appointees will routinely be able to keep the top experts in their field from responding to WHO requests for guidance on international health issues," the California Democrat wrote in a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. "This is a raw attempt to exert political control over scientists and scientific evidence in the area of international health," Waxman wrote. "Under the new policy the administration will be able to refuse to provide any experts whenever it wishes to stall international progress on controversial topics." An HHS spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Waxman also complained that HHS had cut back a list of scientists planning to attend the International AIDS Society conference in Bangkok, Thailand, next month. The conference is considered the premiere meeting for AIDS experts. Waxman said that 40 presentations scheduled for the conference were withdrawn after HHS decided that only 50 U.S. scientists could attend. "The scientific community was outraged by this pullback," he wrote. "I ask you to rescind this ill-advised policy until it can be adequately reviewed and justified," Waxman wrote of the restrictions on WHO requests. He also urged Thompson to review his decision on the Bangkok conference. |
Bullies.
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A Government For The People? Naw, That's So 1990's
STUDY: EPA KNOWINGLY UNDERREPORTS TOXIC AIR EMISSIONS FROM REFINERIES, CHEMICAL PLANTS BY 330 MILLION POUNDS PER YEAR
| Review of 10 Toxic Air Emissions Finds “Startlingly” Bad Data Reaching Public; Key Flaw: EPA’s Failure to Act and New Steps to Undermine Accuracy of Reporting. WASHINGTON, D.C. and HOUSTON, TX.///June 22, 2004 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state governments appear to be underreporting refinery and chemical plant toxic air emissions – including known carcinogens benzene and butadiene – on the “startling magnitude” of at least 330 million pounds per year, according to a new study released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and Galveston Houston-Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP). The study is being released ahead of EPA’s release of the 2002 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), expected to come out this week. The EIP-GHASP analysis finds that the presence of the carcinogens benzene and butadiene in the air in the United States may be four to five times higher than the level the EPA reports to the public. The study, which is based on findings by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), applies the Commission’s findings on the underreporting of certain toxic emissions nationwide and concludes that at least 16 percent of toxic air emissions from all sources “have been kept ‘off the books’.” Additionally, the EIP-GHASP study notes that the EPA for years has knowingly underreported the air pollution data in its annual TRI data. The study concludes: “… EPA has failed to improve monitoring and reporting of toxic air pollution. In fact, EPA has moved in the opposite direction and has weakened some federal monitoring requirements … in 2004, EPA adopted new rules that actually weakened air emission reporting requirements … EPA’s old rules required that major air pollution sources conduct monitoring sufficient to reveal whether or not the source was complying with federal pollution limits … EPA revised these rules to only require monitoring that occurs more than once every five years. Such infrequent monitoring is clearly inadequate for tracking compliance and means that more sources will be using emission calculations and estimations, rather than actual monitoring, to report emissions. This is obviously a step in the wrong direction.” Environmental Integrity Project Counsel and Equal Justice Works Fellow Kelly Haragan said: “The public is being exposed to far more toxic air pollution than the EPA acknowledges for the record. It is time that EPA and the states deal with the problem of inaccurate and flawed reporting of toxic releases. Systematic underreporting happens today because most air pollution is now estimated – not monitored. To make matters worse, the ‘guesswork’ is being done by the polluters who have the incentives to keep the numbers as low as possible. Refineries and chemical plants report their toxic emissions under an honor system that is based on calculations that are outdated and inaccurate. Instead of cleaning up this problem, the EPA has further weakened monitoring rules and continues to knowingly feed the public inaccurate data regarding toxic air emissions.”.... |
Solution: Breathe only when absolutely necessary.
From CAP's Under The Radar:
| Last night, the Senate approved a $447 billion defense bill. Conservatives, however, blocked efforts to hold President Bush accountable for the money. Although Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) threw their support behind the measure, the rest of the congressional right shot down a proposal by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) that would direct the White House to report on progress in Iraq, including estimates of the number of troops who will be there by the end of next year. Conservatives also killed a measure by Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) which would guarantee annual increases in health benefits for veterans. And before voting on the larger measure, conservatives voted 50-45 to defeat "a measure that would have declared all U.S. officials bound by anti-torture laws," AP reports. |
So there you have it. In spite of what you learned in 4th Grade U.S. History, we exist under a government that is Of, By and For the People, "People" defined as wealthy corporate evangelical christians. Game, set and match; they win, we lose. Everything. Well, except for our souls, because how could we suffer without souls, and how could the neocons continue their inhuman behavior if they still had theirs?
I just want to know how neocons sleep at night. Sure, Rush L. takes some kind of drug smorgasborg and Bush drinks himself into a stupor while clutching a bible, but what about the rest? How do they fall asleep knowing that what they have done today has increased the misery of millions of already impoverished humans, at least those who have not been killed by our military or died from preventable or curable diseases that America could wipe off the face of the planet at one-tenth the cost of the military budget?
Dennis Kucinich does have many answers, including the the best idea ever generated by a presidential candidate, a Department of Peace:
| The United States was founded on hope, optimism, and a commitment to freedom. We can once again become a beacon of hope for the world. To do that, we must reject the current administration's policies of fear, suspicion, and preemptive war. It is time to jettison our illusions and fears and to transform age-old challenges with new thinking. This is the idea behind my proposal to establish a Department of Peace. This is the idea to make nonviolence an organizing principle at home and abroad and dedicate ourselves to peaceful coexistence, consensus building, disarmament, and respect for international treaties. Violence and war are not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable. We can conceive of peace as not simply the absence of violence but the presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of human awareness, of respect, trust, and integrity. We can conceive of peace as a tool to tap the infinite capabilities of humanity to transform consciousness and conditions that impel or compel violence at a personal, group, or national level toward creating understanding, compassion, and love. We can bring forth new understandings where peace, not war, becomes inevitable. We can move from wars to end all wars to peace to end all wars. Citizens across the United States are now uniting in a great cause to establish a Department of Peace, seeking nothing less than the transformation of our society, to make non-violence an organizing principle, to make war archaic through creating a paradigm shift in our culture for human development for economic and political justice and for violence control. Its work in violence control will be to support disarmament, treaties, peaceful coexistence and peaceful consensus building. Its focus on economic and political justice will examine and enhance resource distribution, human and economic rights and strengthen democratic values. We must change the metaphor of our society from one of war to one of peace. The Department of Defense now requires in excess of $400 billion for its activities. A Department of Peace can be an effective counterbalance, redirecting our national energies towards nonviolent intervention, mediation, and conflict resolution on all matters of human security. A Department of Peace can look at the domestic issues that our society faces and often ignores as we focus on matters internationally. We have a problem with violence in our own society, and we need to look at it and address it in a structured way. Domestically, the Department of Peace would address violence in the home, spousal abuse, child abuse, gangs, police-community relations conflicts and work with individuals and groups to achieve changes in attitudes that examine the mythologies of cherished world views, such as "violence is inevitable" or "war is inevitable." Thus, it will help with the discovery of new selves and new paths toward peaceful consensus. The Department of Peace will also address human development and the unique concerns of women and children. It will envision and seek to implement plans for peace education, not simply as a course of study, but as a template for all pursuits of knowledge within formal educational settings. Americans have proven over and over again we're a nation that can rise to the challenges of our times, because our people have that capacity. And so, the concept of a Department of Peace is the vehicle by which we express our belief that we have the capacity to evolve as a people, that someday we could look back at this moment and understand that we took the steps along the way to make war archaic. Violence is not inevitable. War is not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable. We can make of this world a gift of peace which will confirm the presence of universal spirit in our lives. We can send into the future the gift which will protect our children from fear, from harm, from destruction. |
I know, I know.... It's always "the children, save the children" etc. Well, seriously, it's our children who are going to pay off the financial, political and social debt currently developing under our generation's blind eyes, spearheaded by our smirking leaders. Let's at least give our kids a little bit of support. Let's get the deadly riff-raff out of the White House and Halls of Congress, and start being serious about our world rather than our wallets.
Look, I've been against literally everything Bush has done since January, 2001. I drive a hybrid car, pay ALL my taxes, and don't steal or kill. I obey all the laws (okay, maybe I consider speed limit signs more as "guides") and never buy bootleg items. I try to treat all people equally (although I avidly avoid people with strong body odor) and teach my children to do the same. I ignore American media and seek out unbiased news in order to remain intelligently informed. I donate to causes that I consider humane (though I admittedly could give more) and I am terrified of handguns. Yet, I can rarely fall peacefully asleep knowing what I know. So, again I ask, how do neocons sleep at night?
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| "We prefer to live under the terror of one of our own than under the humiliation of a foreign occupation." ---- former female undercover opposition Shi'ite militant against Saddam |
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FRIDAY FUN
2004 Summer Olympics (everything you could possibly want to know)
AFI's Top 100 Movie Songs (list)
Buy your own Missile Base (really! and here's the Inside)
Catching the Light (astronomical photograhs)
Elemental Spelling (game)
Flip Me Out (choose "games", then "flip me out")
Godchecker (choose from over 1,600 gods)
Graffiti Art
Indoor Olympics (games to play at home or work)
KaleidoDraw (art game)
Old Car Manual Project (repair manuals for older cars)
Strong Bad's e-mails
The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things Traveling Roadside Attraction and Museum
Titanic Sinking - In 30 Seconds by Bunnies (video)
What Should I Do if the Internet Goes Down?
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June 24, 2004
THIS is hot.
Steve Soto give a good, concise summary of the status of Bush's accomplished mission:
Yay team. Keep up thegood goon work. Someday we should eventually reach the point where things can only get better. Unfortunately for the average Iraqi civilian, that day is one helluva long way off, courtesy Bush's military/petroleum/industrial machine.
No thanks. But start a petition to rid our planet of the 1.4M million facist puss-spewing loveless bigoted homophobic spouse-abusing child-raping assholes just mentioned, and I'll be the first in line to sign. (Sorry, got a bit carried away, but I just loathe sorry-ass losers who refuse to respect other humans.)
Stupid church, stupid law, stupid state and, for good measure, stupid president Bush.
Additives Found in American Cigarettes
Low-Carb Fad Seen as Unhealthy and a Ripoff
You can get additional information on this subject at the Partnership for Essential Nutrition website.
THIS is hot.
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Steve Soto give a good, concise summary of the status of Bush's accomplished mission:
| With less than a week before the transfer of some authority to the Iraqi transitional government, Al Qaeda claimed credit today for a string of car bombings throughout Iraq that have claimed nearly a hundred lives, with hundreds more injured. Keeping in mind that Al Qaeda wasn’t even a presence inside Iraq before our war to liberate Iraq as the second stop on George W. Bush’s war on terrorism, the likely upswing in Al Qaeda-manufactured violence between now and June 30, and well after that date firmly demonstrates not only to the world, but more importantly to Iraqis themselves that their security is worse now as a result of Bush than it was under the thug Hussein. Fallujah is out of control, as the experiment to allow local militias to run the town has backfired because the local police forces we trained are turning against us and failing to fight the militias. And all of this is happening as the Iraqis take over the ministries today and assume control of government workers. It is a recipe for certain martial law in the days ahead, implemented by our forces on behalf of a government led by a former CIA operative. |
Yay team. Keep up the
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The Homophobe Amendment
| Dear Mike, On or about July 15, the U.S. Senate will vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment. The amendment defines marriage as being only between one man and one woman. However, several Senators have vowed to kill the amendment by voting against it. You will hear a lot of rhetoric about the amendment, but in simple words here is a summary: A vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment is a vote for homosexual marriage. A vote for the FMA is a vote for traditional marriage. We are attempting to secure two million names on a petition to Senators. These petitions will be sorted and separated by state and presented to the individual Senators. I urge you to sign the petition in support of traditional marriage and opposing homosexual marriage. CLICK THIS LINK TO SIGN THE PETITION After you have signed the petition, please forward it to your friends and family. We currently have nearly 1.4 million signatures but need another 600,000. Our children and grandchildren thank you for caring enough to get involved. Sincerely, Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman American Family Association |
No thanks. But start a petition to rid our planet of the 1.4M million facist puss-spewing loveless bigoted homophobic spouse-abusing child-raping assholes just mentioned, and I'll be the first in line to sign. (Sorry, got a bit carried away, but I just loathe sorry-ass losers who refuse to respect other humans.)
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| Church Teacher Banned After Gay Marriage FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- A woman who married her lesbian partner in Massachusetts was banned from teaching in the Church of Christ, Scientist, after she refused to "repent" for her actions. A church letter sent to Kathleen Clementson said she had abused her role as a teacher and could teach spiritual healing again only if she repented and served a three-year probation. Clementson, 62, instead returned her teaching credentials and left the church. "I don't feel I have anything to repent for more than anyone else," she told The News-Press of Fort Myers.... |
Stupid church, stupid law, stupid state and, for good measure, stupid president Bush.
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Need a Reason to Quit Smoking?
Additives Found in American Cigarettes
| In addition to tobacco, which contains nicotine, the following 599 ingredients have been identified in tobacco industry documents as being added to tobacco in the manufacturing of cigarettes by the five major American cigarette manufacturing companies. While some of these chemicals, such as sugars, vanilla extract, prune juice, and vinegar, are generally recognized as safe when used in food products, all produce numerous additional chemical compounds when burned. None, probably, is more deadly than nicotine, however. |
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Low-Carb Diet Low on Benefits?
Low-Carb Fad Seen as Unhealthy and a Ripoff
| By Maggie Fox WASHINGTON (Reuters) Jun 23 - Popular low-carbohydrate diets are leading Americans to poor health and spawning a rip-off industry of "carb-friendly" products, health experts and consumer advocates said on Tuesday. They announced a new group, called the Partnership for Essential Nutrition, to help educate Americans about the need for healthy carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains. "When unproven science becomes a sales pitch, some people get rich and the rest of us get ripped off," Jeffrey Prince of the American Institute for Cancer Research told a news conference. "Eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, which are all predominantly carbohydrate, is linked to a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and a range of other chronic diseases." Prince said low-carb diets that advocate piling on the animal protein and fat are "increasing the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases." The new group includes such organizations as the Alliance for Aging Research, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the AICR and the American Obesity Association. Its Web site at http://www.essentialnutrition.org/ is especially critical of programs, such as the Atkins diet, that advocate throwing the body into a condition called ketosis. During this phase the body sheds water as it tries to get rid of excess protein and fat-breakdown products. "Losing weight on these extreme low-carb diets can lead to such serious health problems as kidney stress, liver disorders and gout," the group advises. ATKINS DENIAL Dr. Stuart Trager, Medical Director for Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., said the Atkins diet is healthy. "In fact, the Atkins Nutritional Approach includes spinach, eggplant, broccoli, asparagus and leafy greens, in addition to other high-fiber vegetables and fruits," Trager said in a statement. "Even during induction, Atkins requires five servings of vegetables and/or fruits a day." The new group published a survey of 1,017 adults, done by Opinion Research Corporation, that showed 19 percent of dieters are trying to cut carbs. The survey found that 47 percent them believed that low-carb diets can help them lose weight without cutting calories. "They are confused. They lack an understanding of the basic science," Barbara Moore, president of Shape Up America, told the news conference. She said a "trickle-down effect" meant other Americans were now eating fewer fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. The U.S. government, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute and American Diabetes Association all recommend getting at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables. They also recommend eating plenty of whole grains. The National Consumers League said it found dieters were spending an average of $85 a month on so-called low-carbohydrate products, although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not evaluate or regulate low-carb claims. "Consumers are paying a premium price for a carb-friendly lifestyle," said Alison Rein of the National Consumers League. She called for the FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies to issue immediate guidelines on such claims. Studies show that a low-carbohydrate approach can cause people to lose weight more quickly than a low-fat diet for the first six months, but the low-fat approach catches up after a year. |
You can get additional information on this subject at the Partnership for Essential Nutrition website.
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June 23, 2004
The FCC is stealing my money. I received this notice today from Verizon, my DSL and telephone carrier:
What's the problem? Well, I'll tell you. I already pay this fee as part of my telephone service. Verizon's answer:
So I'm paying the same fee twice for using one phone wire. This is highway robbery!
Of course, Bush will channel this additional tax as income to the wealthy, as part of their next round of tax cuts. You know, a spittoon has more value than the Bush Administration.
TV Show of the Year: THE DAILY SHOW, Monday, June 21, 2004.
I got dry mouth watching Stewart's jaw-dropping interview (or should I say skewering) of Weekly Standard writer Stephen Hayes.
NRA and Bush, Sittin' in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G
| "Voters who have had their toenail clippers confiscated at airport safety checks before being allowed to head out on their summer vacations may not look kindly on a leader who, for no other reason than political expediency, makes it easier for the real bad guys to arm themselves with weapons of massive destruction." ---- Arianna Huffington, on Bush and the Republican Congress, who are dragging their feet on renewal of the assault weapons ban. |
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The FCC is stealing my money. I received this notice today from Verizon, my DSL and telephone carrier:
| We'd like to inform you of an important charge that will affect your Verizon Online DSL bill. Starting June 1, 2004, Verizon Online will begin adding a monthly Supplier Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF) Recovery fee on DSL Service. Verizon Online is assessed the FUSF fee by its suppliers (companies that provide the network services Verizon Online uses to bring you DSL service), which are required to contribute to the Federal Universal Service Fund on revenues they receive for transporting Internet services over telephone lines. The fee will be no greater than the current quarterly rate set by the Federal Communications Commission to cover the FUSF fees Verizon Online pays to its suppliers. For the vast majority of our customers, the fee will be between $2.00-$3.00. Some customers with higher-grade DSL services, primarily business customers, will pay more depending on their type of service. While the price of your Verizon Online DSL Internet service itself will be the same, your bill will now include this new additional monthly charge. |
What's the problem? Well, I'll tell you. I already pay this fee as part of my telephone service. Verizon's answer:
| Wireline broadband Internet access services are classified by the Federal Communications Commission as "information services", with a telecommunications component, rather than telecommunications services. In other words, your DSL service is classified as separate from your telephone service. Both types of services are subject to FUSF fees, even though they run on the same “wire line” into your home. |
So I'm paying the same fee twice for using one phone wire. This is highway robbery!
Of course, Bush will channel this additional tax as income to the wealthy, as part of their next round of tax cuts. You know, a spittoon has more value than the Bush Administration.
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Jon Stewart: Fake News, Real Balls
TV Show of the Year: THE DAILY SHOW, Monday, June 21, 2004.
I got dry mouth watching Stewart's jaw-dropping interview (or should I say skewering) of Weekly Standard writer Stephen Hayes.
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June 22, 2004
So, you've got that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that says the economy may not be recovering quite like the Bush Administration says? Well, you're not alone. Josh Bivens, writing for EPI, gives substance to your feelings:
More important than what he says is the graph that accompanies his article. A must-see, eye-popping visual aid.
Recovery? I See No Stinkin' Economic Recovery
So, you've got that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that says the economy may not be recovering quite like the Bush Administration says? Well, you're not alone. Josh Bivens, writing for EPI, gives substance to your feelings:
| ....Despite recent good news on employment growth, the current economic recovery, now approaching its third year, remains the most unbalanced on record in respect to the distribution of income gains between corporate profits and labor compensation. Essentially, rapid gains in productivity have been translating into higher corporate profits without increasing the wage and salary income of American workers. Corporate profits have risen 62.2% since the peak, compared to average growth of 13.9% at the same point in the last eight recoveries that have lasted as long as the current one. This is the fastest rate of profit growth in a recovery since World War II. Total labor compensation has also turned in a historic performance: growing only 2.8%, the slowest growth in any recovery since World War II and well under the historical average of 9.9%. Most of this growth in total labor compensation has been accounted for by rising non-wage payments, like health care and pension benefits. Rapidly rising health care costs and pension funding requirements imply that these higher benefit payments are not translating into increased living standards for workers, but are rather just covering the higher costs of health care and pension funding. Growth in total wage and salary income, the primary source of take-home pay for workers, has actually been negative for private-sector workers: -0.6%, versus the 7.2% gain that is the average increase in private wage and salary income at this point in a recovery. These are ominous signs, suggesting a new march toward greater inequality in the American economy. Worse, the growth in profits combined with a drop in wage and salary incomes suggest that the recovery has a narrow base, with most American consumers only able to increase their purchasing power through debt. Wage growth is not just fair, it is also necessary for a more sustainable recovery. |
More important than what he says is the graph that accompanies his article. A must-see, eye-popping visual aid.
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June 21, 2004
Want to see how Bush is spending your tax dollars? Go HERE and then click CIVILIAN DEATHS on the left sidebar.
We all saw this one coming, didn't we? I'm betting that Moore let his request for permission from Bradbury purposely slide just to stoke even more controversy and garner even more (Moore?) attention.
UPDATE: Dan Gillmor has additional thoughts about this.
Making a Killing With Those IRS Collections
Want to see how Bush is spending your tax dollars? Go HERE and then click CIVILIAN DEATHS on the left sidebar.
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Moore Questionable Behavior
| Moore Film Title Angers Author Bradbury Sat Jun 19, 5:08 PM ET - By PAUL CHAVEZ, Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES - Ray Bradbury is demanding an apology from filmmaker Michael Moore (news) for lifting the title from his classic science-fiction novel "Fahrenheit 451" without permission and wants the new documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" to be renamed. "He didn't ask my permission," Bradbury, 83, told The Associated Press on Friday. "That's not his novel, that's not his title, so he shouldn't have done it." The 1953 novel, widely considered Bradbury's masterpiece, portrays an ugly futuristic society in which firemen burn homes and libraries in order to destroy the books inside and keep people from thinking independently. "Fahrenheit 451" takes its title from the temperature at which books burn. Moore has called "Fahrenheit 9/11" the "temperature at which freedom burns." .... |
We all saw this one coming, didn't we? I'm betting that Moore let his request for permission from Bradbury purposely slide just to stoke even more controversy and garner even more (Moore?) attention.
UPDATE: Dan Gillmor has additional thoughts about this.
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Rapture on TV
Speaking of the Rapture, check out this week's "Six Feet Under" on HBO. In this episode a rapture-awaiting christian sees some naked bodies floating into the sky, jumps out of her car and is killed crossing the street while in pursuit. Turns out the rising objects were balloons of naked women, destination probably a bachelor party, accidentally released from a pickup truck. Hilarious. Oh, and sad of course.
Looks like not everyone who hates Bush likes Kerry. Take John Chuckman, for example:
We Progressives are still waiting for the real John Kerry to appear on stage so that we can finally know if we're totally wasting our votes in November or actually trying to elect someone of substance.
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Kerry, the Monotone Moose of American Politics
Looks like not everyone who hates Bush likes Kerry. Take John Chuckman, for example:
| ....I recognize that Kerry needs all the advertising and marketing he can get. Every niche counts for one of the most uninspiring candidates in memory, although competition for the distinction of "most uninspiring" is tight in America. The nation's political system seems capable only of advancing con men, bumblers, and paste-board cutouts anymore, although, occasionally, as in the case of the late Great Communicator, a single man combines all three identities. A network of powerful interests, much like rivers and tributaries running together to form one roaring cataract, sweeps away any candidate in a major party who might actually stand for something other than the imperial ethos. God knows Kerry never has represented much of substance. Efforts to sell him are likely wasted. Ask any professional marketer whether he or she thinks Bud Lite, even with the best marketing effort, can outsell Bud. If there's a better description of John Kerry than "Bush Lite," it eludes me. Kerry, the boring, monotone moose of American politics, has hung up his set of Senate-fundraising cummerbunds - or at least restricted photographers access to the galas when he still hitches them up - in favor of casual plaid shirts. Well, he isn't completely consistent about the plaid shirts: it's a matter of which group he's addressing whether he wants to suggest being a regular guy or society swell. When he does wear the plaid - always immaculately pressed to make sure no one mistakes him for someone who actually works for a living - there is more than a passing nod to millionaire, perpetual candidate, Lamar Alexander, who made a hobby of running for the Republican nomination sporting custom-made red lumberjack shirts. People in struggling or oppressed lands who dream of being able to vote freely will be distressed to learn that America squanders her national elections on such costumed silliness, but it really cannot be otherwise when candidates have almost nothing to say.... |
We Progressives are still waiting for the real John Kerry to appear on stage so that we can finally know if we're totally wasting our votes in November or actually trying to elect someone of substance.
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June 19, 2004
Now we really don't need to find those pesky, hard-to-locate WMD's for further proof. And if you still don't believe your beloved, benevolentdictator President, then you must be just like me, a vomit-spewing baby-beheading child-raping amoral treasonous god-hating Liberal.
Because I Said So
| "The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda [is] because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda." President Bush, finally revealing the undisputable and long-awaited evidence of one of the two reasons he invaded Iraq. |
Now we really don't need to find those pesky, hard-to-locate WMD's for further proof. And if you still don't believe your beloved, benevolent
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June 18, 2004
Did he mislead Californians? No, absolutely not, as long as you exclude the 2,740 donations he's received so far.
ddjangoWIrE's rant echos my feelings, on the Bush Administration:
I'd say the jig has only begun. Come November 3, 2004, there'll be record numbers of Americans applying for, or getting updated, passports as they begin planning their escape from this country we once called a republic. Left is Right strongly suggests applying now, to avoid the rush. Here's a good place to start looking.
I received a personal message today from President Bush himself (excerpt):
Other than the first graf and the begging for $, I find nothing he said to be true. If Mr. President wants my money he's going to have a lot more 'splainin to do.
Beat the Wall (game)
Desktop Screen of George Bush (click "Start")
Etymology and History of First Names
Maps of the Ancient World
PDN Annual Photo Contest
Rules for Riding "Shotgun"
Truck from Duel (the movie)
Two Things
Pump Me Up (my wallet, that is...)
| "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house. I don’t have to take money from anybody. I have plenty of money." Arnold Groperzenegger, August 7, 2003 "Any of those kinds of real big, powerful special interests, if you take money from them, you owe them something." ---- Arnold Groperzenegger, August 31, 2003 |
Did he mislead Californians? No, absolutely not, as long as you exclude the 2,740 donations he's received so far.
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ddjangoWIrE's rant echos my feelings, on the Bush Administration:
| ....Lookee here. The whole thing has unravelled on them and they just don't care. They keep on keepin' on like the tidal wave of outrage is but a sparrow's whisper. There was a shot of Kerry and I looked into his eyes and realized that he's only going through the motions. He won't lose one wink of sleep if he's still a Senator on November 4th. His lot won't change one bit if Doubleduh gets to live in that damned castle for a few more years. But yours will; mine will. I realized last night that I can't figure out what they're waiting for: they've bought the government and sold a lot of it off; Congress is theirs and so's the SOTUS. They've almost finished decapitating and decimating the US armed forces, while building a group of private, corporate military organizations who could take on the US Army and win. Worst of all, they've neatly divided the citizenry in more or less half: one half knows they're lying but can't figure out what the fuck to do about it; the other half knows they're lying but thinks that's just fine because they're right, goddammit ! Money and evangelism trump truth and reality anytime. The jig is nearly up, boyzngrrrlz. Think real hard . . . what do you think would happen if these jokers just said tomorrow, "attack imminent, constitution suspended, martial law in force?" |
I'd say the jig has only begun. Come November 3, 2004, there'll be record numbers of Americans applying for, or getting updated, passports as they begin planning their escape from this country we once called a republic. Left is Right strongly suggests applying now, to avoid the rush. Here's a good place to start looking.
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Bush asks Left is Right for Help
I received a personal message today from President Bush himself (excerpt):
| ....The man who sits in the Oval Office will set the course of the War on Terror and the direction of our economy. So there is a lot at stake in this coming November election. My opponent has built up quite a record in nearly 20 years in Washington, D.C. In fact, he's been in Washington long enough to take both sides on nearly every issue. He reminds me of a saying we have about the weather in Texas -- If you don't like it at the moment, just wait a few minutes...it'll change. That is no way to lead a nation, particularly when so much is on the line. My opponent hasn't offered much in the way of strategies to win the War on Terror or to expand prosperity. But he has certainly got his liberal allies all stirred up to attack me. These groups, funded by large "soft money" donations from wealthy left-wing liberals have been running television commercials against me for months now. That's why I need your help. Federal law allows gifts up to $2,000 per person or $4,000 per couple: I would greatly appreciate it if you'd send $2,000, $1,000, $500, $250 or even $100 or $50 today. www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute/ Mindy ["Mindy"? Who's Mindy?], we still have work to do. We must win the War on Terror; the world is counting on America. We must spread prosperity to every part of our nation. We must work together over the next four years to make America a safer, more prosperous and better place -- and encourage the spirit of service and compassion that makes America the finest country on the face of the Earth. History has given us great challenges. Let us welcome these challenges and let our actions testify to the greatness of America. Thank you for your friendship and your prayers. May God continue to bless our nation. |
Other than the first graf and the begging for $, I find nothing he said to be true. If Mr. President wants my money he's going to have a lot more 'splainin to do.
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FRIDAY FUN
Beat the Wall (game)
Desktop Screen of George Bush (click "Start")
Etymology and History of First Names
Maps of the Ancient World
PDN Annual Photo Contest
Rules for Riding "Shotgun"
Truck from Duel (the movie)
Two Things
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June 17, 2004
Monty Python's Terry Jones considers using torture on his son:
Thanks to Bush we can now control our teenage kids.
WeCount.org recently conducted an unscientific poll, of voters of the progressive persuasion, with questions directed mostly at how they feel about "John Kerry's positions on key political issues". Quite interesting results. From the summary page:
Where Did You Go After Choir Practice, Son?
Monty Python's Terry Jones considers using torture on his son:
| ....The thing is, if people don't say where they're going after choir practice, this country is at risk. So I have been applying a certain amount of pressure on my son to tell me where he's going. To begin with I simply put a bag over his head and chained him to a radiator. But did that persuade him? ....I currently have a lot of my son's friends locked up in the garage, and I'm applying electrical charges to their genitals and sexually humiliating them in order to get them to tell me where my son goes after choir practice. Dick Cheney's counsel, David S Addington, says that's just fine. William J Haynes, the US defence department's general counsel, agrees it's just fine. And so does the US air force general counsel, Mary Walker. In fact, practically everybody in the US administration seems to think it's just fine, except for the state department lawyer, William H Taft IV, who perversely claims that I might be opening the door to people applying electrical charges to my genitals and sexually humiliating me.... |
Thanks to Bush we can now control our teenage kids.
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Progressives: Kerry, yes, but only if....
WeCount.org recently conducted an unscientific poll, of voters of the progressive persuasion, with questions directed mostly at how they feel about "John Kerry's positions on key political issues". Quite interesting results. From the summary page:
| ....8% of the total number of voters responding are undecided. 3.4% are probably not voting for Kerry. This suggests that Kerry has an opportunity to gain an additional 11.4% of the progressive/independent/moderate voters, in addition to the 85.3% of respondents who are probably or definitely voting for him. Only 3.4% of the total respondents state that they will definitely NOT vote for Kerry. The 11.4% of voters who are undecided or leaning against Kerry disagree with him strongly on the issues of the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act and civil liberties, and globalization; and to a lesser degree on health care, terrorism, job growth and taxes. Kerry does better with this group on the issues of education, the environment, corporate reform, and campaign finance reform. In addition, the majority of this group said they would be “much more likely” to vote for Kerry if they knew that Dennis Kucinich and/or Ralph Nader were going to have a place in his administration. |
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June 16, 2004
Mark Morford on the mourning of Reagan (snippet):
I just can't image what a horrible world we would have now if Clinton had not beaten Bush I in 1992. We are still gasping for the last few wisps of political perfume from the Clinton Administration as we slowly succumb to the overwhelmingly rotten and toxic stench blasting incessantly from the White House (and Congress) today.
Mark Morford on the mourning of Reagan (snippet):
| ....As for the mourners, they weep not because Reagan was such a profound intellect, not because he was such a generous humanitarian, not because he balanced budgets or worked to end poverty or because he, as Clinton did, brokered peace in Northern Ireland and came closer than any president in history to finally ending conflict in the Middle East, and nearly winning the Nobel Peace Prize in the process. No, they want Reagan canonized because he was a wildly successful, hugely manipulative media presence. Because he charmed them to death, because he shaped American politics like no other president in recent history. This is what people are remembering: essentially, a surreal and often sad and yet indelible hunk of American history, a time when America fell under a slick jingoistic spell and conservatism found its voice and became much of what it is today: you know, mean-spirited and hawkish and ideologically lopsided, corporate sponsored, homophobic and fiscally reckless and more oriented toward one overarching agenda: military might uber alles. This, then, is what we have to thank Reagan for. A bruising, devious, glossy worldview, fiscal irresponsibility, the art of the slick media sound bite, humanitarianism treated like a disease to be eradicated. And now, with his passing, it's only appropriate to try to show a little respect. After all, you have to give the man credit -- he did indeed do a great deal to alter the timbre and direction modern American politics. His legacy is convoluted and eternally debatable and yet absolutely, undeniably extraordinary. He is the GOP's icon of finger-wagging righteousness. He is their demigod o' slippery prefab swagger. His attitudes and policies have had a titanic effect on the shape of modern American conservatism.... |
I just can't image what a horrible world we would have now if Clinton had not beaten Bush I in 1992. We are still gasping for the last few wisps of political perfume from the Clinton Administration as we slowly succumb to the overwhelmingly rotten and toxic stench blasting incessantly from the White House (and Congress) today.
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June 15, 2004
From the NY Times:
And from Steve Perry, we have A Child's ABC's of Terrorism.
Let me rub my eyes and look again..... Yep, it's true: FOX News RECOMMENDS Farenheit 9/11.
Political science professor Steven Weber contemplates some questions on everyone's minds (snippet):
| “That I have died means I have failed to achieve the one thing in life I truly longed to give the world — peace. The plight of human suffering consumed me and I dedicated much to trying to find the ideas that might lead humankind toward alleviating it for all. It was a quest which was inextricably intertwined with my quest for freedom. If you know anything about me you know that. Understand it and come to understand how the suffering of others tormented my soul. Then seek to honor my memory by trying to achieve what I could not.” ---- a young Marine who gave an interview with Pacifica Radio’s Peacewatch program the night before he was deployed to Iraq and was killed in late June |
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From the NY Times:
| "There are many questions yet to be resolved about electronic voting, but one thing is clear: a vote for president should be at least as secure as a 25-cent bet in Las Vegas." |
And from Steve Perry, we have A Child's ABC's of Terrorism.
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Let me rub my eyes and look again..... Yep, it's true: FOX News RECOMMENDS Farenheit 9/11.
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| "My father crapped bigger ones than George Bush." ---- Ron Reagan |
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Surfing Find
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$100 a Barrel?
Political science professor Steven Weber contemplates some questions on everyone's minds (snippet):
| ....How would the rest of the world view an abrupt exit from Iraq by the U.S.? With great disappointment — maybe not because it's such a terrible idea, but because we pumped up people's expectations about what this war was actually about. We told them we were going to remove a dictator, democratize the country, and then use that experience as leverage to transform the Middle East by example. Well, that's probably not going to happen, although it's not a zero percent probability. The U.S. would lose credibility in the abstract sense if we were to walk away from this commitment, but that's not as compelling an argument as some people think it is. The message that we would be sending in that case, which is credible, is simply that we can undermine the regime of anyone we want to, at any time. Aren't we too dependent on future Iraqi oil supplies to walk away? Iraqi oil would be a good thing to have on the market, but we're critically dependent for now and the foreseeable future on the oil flowing through Saudi Arabia. The real risk in the oil question is Saudi Arabia. Given the recent trajectory of events in Saudi Arabia, we should be more than a little worried. Saudi oil goes off the market, and we're screwed. Screwed. What if tomorrow there were a major terrorist attack on a significant Saudi Arabian oil installation — not housing complexes for engineers, but a real part of the oil infrastructure, like one of their big loading docks? The price of oil would hit $100 per barrel. I believe that at that point we would see the vast majority of the 150,000 American troops in Iraq moved out to protect the oil installations in Saudi Arabia. Our dependence on oil is a key feature of politics in this region and it's likely to be that way for the next 25, 30 years, at a minimum. Unless we do something aggressive to change that.... |
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June 14, 2004
David Rozelle instructs Kerry on how to overcome Bush's iron-clad support from the evangelical fundamentalists:
And the Financial Times gives the supporting numbers (snippets):
Liberals, this is not a battle we can afford to lose
From the desk of Eric Alterman:
I wouldn't say that our most basic civil liberties are suspended, yet; after all, we can still write this stuff and only get return fire from our god-fearing and rapture-ready aunts and uncles. However I'll most likely not renew my blogger subscription following the reelection of Bush/Cheney in November because starting at that time the Bush Administration will have consequence-free reign over all that is good, fair and free. Civil liberties will become fond memories told to the young'uns around campfires at gatherings of survivors of the nuclear holocaust brought on by Bush going the one step too far.
Ornicus summarizes the latest attacks by the fanatic Right, on the local level, on freedom of speech (snippet):
Discourse.net analyzes the "Torture" memo. Snippet:
Discourse does a good job trying to make sense out of something inherently illogical and contradictory.
The Fringe President
David Rozelle instructs Kerry on how to overcome Bush's iron-clad support from the evangelical fundamentalists:
| By David Rozelle - June 14, 2004 Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man. - Thomas Paine Be forewarned, John Kerry. By contesting George W. Bush, you are contesting "God." In spite of Bush's sworn duty to uphold the constitutional separation of church and state, this president wears his Christian evangelist religious fervor on not only his sleeve but his every policy proposal and decision, including the one that lied us into waging a world-be-damned war on a sovereign nation. From the day he took the oath of his office, George W. Bush has behaved more like a muddled mullah than a president. Asked, for instance, by Bob Woodward (as detailed in the book "Plan of Attack") how he approached the final decision to go to war, Bush replied, "I was praying for strength to do the Lord's will ... that I be as good a messenger of his will as possible." Asked if he had conferred with his father, George H.W. Bush, the president responded, "There is a higher father that I appeal to." And lest candidate Kerry simply dismiss "God as God," he should know the dimensions of the deity he may be up against. George W. Bush's divine father is the God of an estimated 90 million evangelical Christians in America. Most assuredly, most evangelicals conduct themselves as witnesses to Christ's teachings of love and tolerance. Near their fringes, however, are large numbers of extremists who, unlike their more moderate co-religionists, practice no "love thy neighbor" unless their neighbors believe as they believe: no religious or racial parity, no gay or abortion rights, no stem cell research, no United Nations, no evolution, no environmentalism, no eye without an eye in return, no personal salvation without their Christ. And at their absolute fringe, they are the befuddling prophesiers who hold that something they call the "Rapture" may be at hand. In short, this phantasmagoric forecast calls for a final "seven-year tribulation" between Israel and the hordes of the "antichrist." Before the onset of their Rapture, God's truest believers will be lifted into heaven to observe the pestilence and bloodshed erupting below. To ensure his re-election, this "faith-based" president will rely on the coattails of extremist right-wing Christians like these. They number in the tens of millions. They could make the difference. So what's to be done? First, as Bush's opponent, Kerry would do well to study ex-President Jimmy Carter's broad pragmatic distinction between Christians. In a recent interview, Carter, a Baptist, said that "the two principal things in a practical sense that starkly separate the ultra-right-wing Christian community from the rest of the Christian world" are the support of peace and the "alleviation of suffering among the poor and the outcast." Second, while Kerry cannot run as a religiously inspired candidate (he has read the Constitution), the question becomes can he win over Christian voters - including legions of evangelicals - without citing Christianity? He can. What John Kerry must do is cast his every position on every vital issue in a bright moral light that reflects the longstanding ideals of this nation. Embedded in our ideals is a humane concept of Jesus Christ that stands in sharp contrast to Bush's harsh, vainglorious vision. For most of us, believers or not, Christ is a peacemaker, champion of the poor, a healer, steward of the earth, a lover of each of us as a child of God without exception. Kerry, in secular opposition to Bush, must invoke the moral philosophy that underlies our Constitution. On Iraq, he must offer a plan for a generous withdrawal, leaving behind a country guided by the United Nations. On the economy, he must renounce the rich as the fount of economic well-being for the rest of us, while repositioning the poor and middle class for prosperity. On human rights, he must assert that all of the world's inhabitants have the same rights to dignity and respect. On the environment, he must avow that the Earth is now in our human hands to hold precious for future generations. Kerry must proclaim that if he is elected president of the most powerful nation on Earth, its "rules" will be a return to the "golden rule" of its Constitution and Bill of Rights. That's all. Really. What's so hard about saying that? These ideals embody what most of us as Americans thought we stood for. And by Nov. 3, we could stand for them again. "Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man," Paine reminds us. It also makes for a cruel nation. To defeat George W. Bush, we must defeat his god as well. |
And the Financial Times gives the supporting numbers (snippets):
| ....According to The Economist in its "American Survey" of November 2003, Evangelical Christians make up the largest single religious group in the US, larger than Roman Catholics. Thirty per cent of all Americans in 2003 (up from 24 per cent in 1987) belong to the group, which, according to Professor George Marsden of Notre Dame University in Indiana, includes "holiness churches, Pentecostals, traditionalist Methodists, all sorts of Baptists, Presbyterians, black churches in all these traditions, fundamentalists, pietist groups, Reformed and Lutheran confessionalists, Anabaptists such as Mennonites, Churches of Christ, to name only the most prominent types". In spite of this bewildering variety, Evangelicals generally agree on the absolute authority, and literal truth, of the Bible, the redemptive power of Christ, the importance of missionary work and the centrality of a spiritually transformed life. George Bush became an Evangelical in 1985 by being "born again". Being born again transforms the believer. As the Gospel According to St John puts it, "Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John, 3:5). Bush makes no secret of the fact that God transformed his life in just that way. Asked at a televised debate during the Iowa primary in 2000 to name his favourite philosopher, he said, instantly, "Christ" - explaining how, through Christ, he had become a new man. Here, too, he shares his identity with a very large number of his fellow citizens. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, about 35 per cent of Americans have been "born again". In a survey carried out in April 2004 for the Public Broadcasting Service, 71 per cent of Evangelicals polled said they would vote for George W. Bush if the election were held at the time of the poll. No wonder the White House calls them "the base", that bloc of voters in "Middle America" whose unstinting loyalty to the Republican party and willingness to turn out to vote gives the president a built-in core of support, a support strengthened by the way the Electoral College magnifies the distribution of votes in the south and south-west, areas of Evangelical predominance.... |
Liberals, this is not a battle we can afford to lose
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You, Over There.... Got a Question?
From the desk of Eric Alterman:
| ....It’s hard to say which is the best representation of what this war is doing to and has done to this country. Is it the lies that were told to get us into it? Is the fact that we are picking up innocent people off the street and torturing them? Is it that we have suspended the most basic civil liberties in our own country? Is it that the work of professional intelligence agencies has been corrupted? Is it that we have drawn resources away from the fight against Al Qaida which has completely regrouped? Is it that we are creating more terrorists? Is it that more than seven hundred Americans have been killed and thousands have been seriously injured? Is it that thousands of Iraqis have been killed but nobody is keeping an account of the numbers of their deaths? Is it that we are now more hated around the world than we have ever been? Is it that we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars while actually decreasing our security? Is it that we are doing all this while starving the most crucial homeland security programs? Is it that everyone who told the truth about what was being planned has been dismissed and seen their characters attacked? The usually soft-spoken and moderate intelligence analyst and author Thomas Powers does not exaggerate when he notes that Bush and the neocons have "caused the greatest foreign policy catastrophe in modern U.S. history." |
I wouldn't say that our most basic civil liberties are suspended, yet; after all, we can still write this stuff and only get return fire from our god-fearing and rapture-ready aunts and uncles. However I'll most likely not renew my blogger subscription following the reelection of Bush/Cheney in November because starting at that time the Bush Administration will have consequence-free reign over all that is good, fair and free. Civil liberties will become fond memories told to the young'uns around campfires at gatherings of survivors of the nuclear holocaust brought on by Bush going the one step too far.
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Fascism the American Way
Ornicus summarizes the latest attacks by the fanatic Right, on the local level, on freedom of speech (snippet):
| There has already been a huge outcry over Moore's forthcoming film, Fahrenheit 9/11, partly because the Disney Corp. killed its distribution deal for the film due to its anti-Bush content. The movie is being released anyway, and it's garnering lots of attention, pro and con, all of which no doubt will make it a box-office hit. It has all the earmarks of being a kind of cultural watershed, a reverse image, as it were, of Mel Gibson's The Passion. Where conservatives organized an off-the-boards campaign to drive out support for Gibson's anti-Semitic exercise in masochism, they appear poised to do the same to keep Moore's film from being shown. There has recently appeared a Web site calling itself "Move America Forward" -- which in turn is being promoted by the right-wing Web site NewsMax -- that is dedicated to shutting down showings of Fahrenheit 9/11, at least in part by urging the public to contact theater owners directly. The result, according to What Really Happened, is that some of these owners "are reporting receiving death threats." WRH also reports that it ran a DNS check on the "Move America Forward" site and found that it is owned by the San Francisco public-relations firm of Russo Marsh & Rogers. Sal Russo, one of the firm's principals, has extensive GOP ties, including service as an adviser for the "Recall Grey Davis" campaign. (Kurt Nimmo has been tracking these developments as well.) None of this will ever be directly connected to George W. Bush, of course. There's no need. There are too many people out there willing to do whatever it takes to keep him in office. Whatever it takes. |
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Discourse on "The Memo"
Discourse.net analyzes the "Torture" memo. Snippet:
| By page 39 of the memo, however, we’re back to the Vesting Clauses of the Constitution, and the argument the President is a law to himself regarding anything touching military matters. “Any effort by Congress to regulate the interrogation of battlefield combatants would violate the Constitution’s sole vesting of the Commander-in-Chief authority in the President.” And since intelligence gathering is so critical to modern warfare against terrorists, Congress certainly can’t interfere with that. In short, it’s the same Nixonian argument all over: the DOJ can’t prosecute anyone who, in anything arguably connected to the war effort, does what the President tells them to. But that’s not enough. The Memo then turns to other defenses besides Presidential authorization that might be raised by a person accused of torture. [I take it that this section of the memo applies to both accusations of “torture” which the authors admit is torture and accusations of “torture” that the memo writers would characterize as mere “cruel, inhuman, or degrading acts” that are not actual torture, but it’s a little vague on this, and it’s conceivable the authors mean this section only to apply to the latter. The memo speaks of force, even deadly force, which suggests it includes what they call torture, but elsewhere it notes that the force must be “proportional” to the need; given that the “need” is national security, and the memo treats this as the summum bonum, I read the memo to intend the defenses potentially to apply to all uses of force including the most severe torture.] The first is the “necessity” defense, the second is a notion of “self-defense”. I will leave it to others to skewer these. But I do feel a need to point out just how far down the slippery slope this memo goes by page 45. It argues that otherwise criminal individual acts can be defended by invoking the nations’s not the individual’s right to self-defense (and even in a footnote argues that there’s a relevant analogy to the right to national self-defense under international law. And this applies to suspected prospective attackers and their associates as well as soldiers in the field. How this differs from saying that if the US even suspects anyone of wanting to harm it, it can do anything it wants to them is not clear on first reading. |
Discourse does a good job trying to make sense out of something inherently illogical and contradictory.
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June 11, 2004
From Guardian Unlimited:
Mmmmmm..... I don't know about this. Bush had a desire to make a difference in people's lives, and look where that got us. Power corrupts, and Bush corrupts absolutely.
Here's a credit card scam making the rounds:
Thanks to Elena (you know who you are...) for the heads-up!
Aww, How Cute
From Guardian Unlimited:
| Readers used to seeing John Kerry's name appear in the newspaper may have been surprised to find him writing to Dear Abby's advice column. In a letter that began running in newspapers May 20, Kerry wrote in support of a 13-year-old girl who said she was ridiculed by her teacher and classmates for revealing that she'd one day like to be president of the United States. "I was touched by your letter to Dear Abby, and I want you to know that you can become the president of the United States because of who you are, not in spite of it," Kerry wrote. "I have no doubt a woman will be president one day, and America would be lucky to have you leading us every step of the way. When young people like you express such a desire to make a difference in people's lives, you should be applauded," Kerry continued. "Your teacher and your classmates were wrong to laugh at your dream." |
Mmmmmm..... I don't know about this. Bush had a desire to make a difference in people's lives, and look where that got us. Power corrupts, and Bush corrupts absolutely.
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Here's a credit card scam making the rounds:
| The scam works like this: Person calling says, “this is <name>, and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA; My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by <name> bank. Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $49799 from a marketing company based in Arizona?” When you say “No”, the caller continues with, “Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?” You say “yes”. The caller continues.. “I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1-800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control #.” The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. “Do you need me to read it again?” Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says he "needs to verify you are in possession of your card”. He’ll ask you to “turn your card over and look for some numbers. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are your card number, the next 3 are the ‘Security Numbers’ that verify you are in possession of the card. These are the numbers you use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. Read me the 3 numbers”. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, ”That is correct. I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?” After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, “Don’t hesitate to call back if you do”, and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. What the scammer wants is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them. Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or Master card direct. VISA or Master card never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement, you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost to late and/or harder to actually file a fraud report. |
Thanks to Elena (you know who you are...) for the heads-up!
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Sayonara Lakers?
and
The Speech We Want Bush to Make
I understand that the reason for the huge turnout of people to view Reagan's corpse in California and Washington, D.C., is that a large number of Reagan-haters want to make sure he's really dead.
Brad Delong on Seymour Hersh:
One thing you come to realize about our 43rd President: No matter how horrible the news, wait five minutes and you'll learn something even worse.
I listen to Amy on Democracy Now! every morning during my commute to work. I was convinced of her objectivity when she ripped into Ambassador (and former Democratic Presidential Candidate) Carol Moseley Braun, earlier this year, regarding a trip she took to Nigeria in 1996 under the dictatorship of Sani Abacha. Amy is hands down the best reporter alive today. If you want news about this country that the world outside the U.S. gets, this is your source.
Billiards (game)
Create Your Own Religion
Dishonest Dubya Action Figure
Island Cruisin' (game)
Photoshop Fun (1000's of pics)
Quiz (mild profanity)
Shizzolator (enter a URL; mild profanity, but otherwise hilarious)
Star Wars Kid (videos)
Where Did the Time Go?
and
The Speech We Want Bush to Make
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I understand that the reason for the huge turnout of people to view Reagan's corpse in California and Washington, D.C., is that a large number of Reagan-haters want to make sure he's really dead.
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Day Care, the Abu Ghraib Way
Brad Delong on Seymour Hersh:
| ....He said that after he broke Abu Ghraib people are coming out of the woodwork to tell him this stuff. He said he had seen all the Abu Ghraib pictures. He said, "You haven't begun to see evil..." then trailed off. He said, "horrible things done to children of women prisoners, as the cameras run." |
One thing you come to realize about our 43rd President: No matter how horrible the news, wait five minutes and you'll learn something even worse.
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Amy
| "She gets up every morning of every day to be the only daily voice of truth on the radio in the United States of America. How sad that I even have to write those words! A nation of 300 million, a written guarantee of a free press, and no one will do the job that Amy Goodman does so simply, so profoundly. This book puts the pedal to the metal of all the lies we're told, day in and day out. Amy Goodman is a national treasure, and if you are unable to pick up her signal on the dial, you can now pick up this book, shake your head in disbelief and disgust as you read it, and then put it down so you can go raise some hell!" ----- Michael Moore |
I listen to Amy on Democracy Now! every morning during my commute to work. I was convinced of her objectivity when she ripped into Ambassador (and former Democratic Presidential Candidate) Carol Moseley Braun, earlier this year, regarding a trip she took to Nigeria in 1996 under the dictatorship of Sani Abacha. Amy is hands down the best reporter alive today. If you want news about this country that the world outside the U.S. gets, this is your source.
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FRIDAY FUN
Billiards (game)
Create Your Own Religion
Dishonest Dubya Action Figure
Island Cruisin' (game)
Photoshop Fun (1000's of pics)
Quiz (mild profanity)
Shizzolator (enter a URL; mild profanity, but otherwise hilarious)
Star Wars Kid (videos)
Where Did the Time Go?
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June 10, 2004
A bit on the gritty side, but this comment I found on Body and Soul kinda sums up my feelings about a president the country survived:
In response to comments about a recent post on this blog, Michael Miller of PDP wrote:
I honestly don't know what I can do to make a difference. I value my family too much to engage in non-violent protest against our current dictatorial administration and run the risk of imprisonment (does that make me a coward?). I attended peace marches in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I blog to air my opinions and reference those of others who seem to make sense to help perpetuate the Progressive platform. I send $ to Kucinich, Move-On and other progressive causes. I engage in non-confrontational political discussions with friends, family and coworkers.
I seem to be doing what hundreds of thousands of other Americans are also spending a significant amount of their personal time doing.
Are we making a difference? I hope so, but I have yet to see a major effect. Sure, there have been some otherwise unwinnable congressional seats secured due maybe to fundraising by several of the most popular liberal blogs. MoveOn has done more than any other single entity, including the Democratic Party, to mobilize liberals and educate the public about the failings of the Bush Administration. Will it all make the necessary difference? Bush and his group are responsible for more immoral, unethical and illegal acts than any federalist government in recent memory (and possibly all of history), and yet he is in a virtual dead-heat with his opponent in the upcoming election. How can this be?
The entire neoconservative religious Right is concerned about only one thing: doing whatever it takes to get into "Heaven", at any expense. These expenses include the rights of individuals, the inherent value of life for all non-neocons, and emotional and financial compassion for those unfortunate enough to be unable to care for themselves.
I know it's a broad stroke to paint, and when each policy and act of the Right is examined on it's own merit, a case could be made to justify it's moral validity. When you combine all of it, all the beliefs, acts, policies and laws of the Right, you form the most atrocious political/religious segment of society imaginable.
When you occasionally smack your spouse playfully on the behind and talk dirty, it enhances the relationship and tightens the loving bond. If you were to do it incessantly without acknowledging the spouse's pleas to stop, then you've crossed the line into evil. The Clinton Administration gently smacked our butts, encouraging us to move our civilization forward; the Bush Administration is shamelessly smacking us senseless and is on the verge of killing us all.
A bit on the gritty side, but this comment I found on Body and Soul kinda sums up my feelings about a president the country survived:
| Reagan was a venal and nasty and stupid man....and I see little reason to try and be nice about him. He destroyed unions, put families on the street by cutting welfare and waged an illegal war in central america.....oh, and lets see what else....he installed a hyper reactionary supreme court.....and he refused to address AIDS because it affected those terrible homo's and junkies. Nice guy. And Kerry gushes sentimental about him......I just dont get it. Remember ketchup as a vegetable? That was to save a billion or so on school lunches......which affects the poor, so who cares. I guess I just dont share this feeling of positivness --- the jingoism and re-writing of history that is CNN and other networks on the D Day anniversary and now the mawkish tributes to one of america's worst presidents. I think one must speak clearly about a Reagan....because history needs to be accurate....as much as it can.....and this was a very VERY bad president. Posted by: john steppling | June 7, 2004 08:05 AM |
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Miller: "What Do We Do?"
In response to comments about a recent post on this blog, Michael Miller of PDP wrote:
| I don't WANT to vote for Kerry. Nor will I argue that anyone should vote for Kerry. My whole point was that as I see it today, I will end up feeling like I have no choice but to vote for Kerry come November. In the meantime, I'm supporting Kucinich, sending him money, and working hard to get the progressive view (as in reality) pushed into the mainstream. At this point, I don't know what more to do except keep peddling uphill as hard as I can go... I too wish Dean and Edwards had stuck it out. I would have liked every one of them to still be on their soapboxes, duking it out on the issues. Sharpton, Kucinich, Dean, Gephardt, Edwards, Clark, Braun were all in there raising the points that needed to be raised over and over again. Who'd I miss? And no, I didn't miss Joe. I left him out on purpose. It almost looked like America for a while there. SO what do we do? |
I honestly don't know what I can do to make a difference. I value my family too much to engage in non-violent protest against our current dictatorial administration and run the risk of imprisonment (does that make me a coward?). I attended peace marches in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I blog to air my opinions and reference those of others who seem to make sense to help perpetuate the Progressive platform. I send $ to Kucinich, Move-On and other progressive causes. I engage in non-confrontational political discussions with friends, family and coworkers.
I seem to be doing what hundreds of thousands of other Americans are also spending a significant amount of their personal time doing.
Are we making a difference? I hope so, but I have yet to see a major effect. Sure, there have been some otherwise unwinnable congressional seats secured due maybe to fundraising by several of the most popular liberal blogs. MoveOn has done more than any other single entity, including the Democratic Party, to mobilize liberals and educate the public about the failings of the Bush Administration. Will it all make the necessary difference? Bush and his group are responsible for more immoral, unethical and illegal acts than any federalist government in recent memory (and possibly all of history), and yet he is in a virtual dead-heat with his opponent in the upcoming election. How can this be?
The entire neoconservative religious Right is concerned about only one thing: doing whatever it takes to get into "Heaven", at any expense. These expenses include the rights of individuals, the inherent value of life for all non-neocons, and emotional and financial compassion for those unfortunate enough to be unable to care for themselves.
I know it's a broad stroke to paint, and when each policy and act of the Right is examined on it's own merit, a case could be made to justify it's moral validity. When you combine all of it, all the beliefs, acts, policies and laws of the Right, you form the most atrocious political/religious segment of society imaginable.
When you occasionally smack your spouse playfully on the behind and talk dirty, it enhances the relationship and tightens the loving bond. If you were to do it incessantly without acknowledging the spouse's pleas to stop, then you've crossed the line into evil. The Clinton Administration gently smacked our butts, encouraging us to move our civilization forward; the Bush Administration is shamelessly smacking us senseless and is on the verge of killing us all.
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THIS PIECE by the Farmer is hilarious.
This one by Natalie Walker is not funny at all.
This one by Natalie Walker is not funny at all.
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June 9, 2004
If there's one conclusion that we can safely make from all the revelations of illegal activities previously and currently practiced by the Bush Administration, it's that we are now living under a military dicatorship. Democracy, we're sure gonna miss you.
Sir, Yes Sir!
If there's one conclusion that we can safely make from all the revelations of illegal activities previously and currently practiced by the Bush Administration, it's that we are now living under a military dicatorship. Democracy, we're sure gonna miss you.
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June 8, 2004
An interesting tidbit of Reagan history:
Damn radical hippie college kids....
By Jeffery Kahn, NewsCenter | 8 June 2004
An interesting tidbit of Reagan history:
| By Jeffery Kahn, NewsCenter | 8 June 2004 BERKELEY – Ronald Reagan launched his political career in 1966 by targeting UC Berkeley's student peace activists, professors, and, to a great extent, the University of California itself. In his successful campaign for governor of California, his first elective office, he attacked the Berkeley campus, cementing what would remain a turbulent relationship between Reagan and California's leading institution for public higher education. "This was not a happy relationship between the governor and the university — you have to acknowledge it," recalled Neil Smelser, who was a Berkeley professor of sociology during the Reagan years. "As a matter of Reagan's honest convictions but also as a matter of politics, Reagan launched an assault on the university," As the Vietnam War expanded and the death toll climbed, students at Berkeley launched a determined and, at times, confrontational attempt to stop the war with demonstrations and protests that eventually spread to college campuses across the country. Years later, much of the public came to agree with the students but in 1966, those opposed to the war were a distinct minority in America. Candidate Reagan capitalized on this. Smelser, assistant chancellor for educational development at the time Reagan ran for office, recalled that "Reagan took aim at the university for being irresponsible for failing to punish these dissident students. He said, ‘Get them out of there. Throw them out. They are spoiled and don't deserve the education they are getting. They don't have a right to take advantage of our system of education.'" Reagan had two themes in his first run for office. The man who later became known as "The Great Communicator" vowed to send "the welfare bums back to work," and "to clean up the mess at Berkeley." The latter became a Reagan mantra. Earl Cheit, dean emeritus of the Haas School of Business, was executive vice chancellor at Berkeley from 1965 to 1969. Like many at Berkeley, he remembers being at the wrong end of Reagan's political broom. "Incidents of campus disruption and reports about what was going on here -- often exaggerated reports -- became a standard part of his campaign rhetoric," said Cheit. "Reagan also argued that the faculty was too permissive, or supportive, of the students. One of his great skills was to understand popular feeling. He really tapped into the discontent people felt about what was happening on the campus. I have no doubt that this was a big factor in his election as governor." .... |
Damn radical hippie college kids....
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June 7, 2004
I like Left i on the News' comments about Kucinich:
Left Eye on Kucinich
I like Left i on the News' comments about Kucinich:
| ....Kucinich is the only candidate in the race as far as I know who has ever talked about Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) and Proportional Representation (PR), both of which are essential before Americans will ever be convinced to support a third party in significant numbers. Kucinich claims that with his 80 delegates he wants to go to the convention and use his delegates to talk to the Democrats about why we need to get out of Iraq. That isn't going to happen - Dennis Kucinich isn't going to change John Kerry's position on Iraq. But he could demand that Kerry and the Democrats endorse IRV and PR as a condition for supporting his candidacy, and threaten to take his supporters to Nader if Kerry doesn't agree. That's my suggestion for Dennis Kucinich. Think it couldn't happen? Look how much energy the Democrats focus on Ralph Nader. They are worried about Nader voters, and I guarantee they're worried about Kucinich voters too. |