LEFT is RIGHT (blogging against The Bush-war) |
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| ....Rumsfeld and Kagan believe that a successful war against Iraq will produce other benefits, such as serving an object lesson for nations such as Iran and Syria. Rumsfeld, as befits his sensitive position, puts it rather gently. If a regime change were to take place in Iraq, other nations pursuing weapons of mass destruction "would get the message that having them . . . is attracting attention that is not favorable and is not helpful," he says. Kagan is more blunt. "People worry a lot about how the Arab street is going to react," he notes. "Well, I see that the Arab street has gotten very, very quiet since we started blowing things up." The cost of such a global commitment would be enormous. In 2000, we spent $281 billion on our military, which was more than the next 11 nations combined. By 2003, our expenditures will have risen to $378 billion. In other words, the increase in our defense budget from 1999-2003 will be more than the total amount spent annually by China, our next largest competitor. The lure of empire is ancient and powerful, and over the millennia it has driven men to commit terrible crimes on its behalf. But with the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the Soviet Union, a global empire was essentially laid at the feet of the United States. To the chagrin of some, we did not seize it at the time, in large part because the American people have never been comfortable with themselves as a New Rome. Now, more than a decade later, the events of Sept. 11 have given those advocates of empire a new opportunity to press their case with a new president. So in debating whether to invade Iraq, we are really debating the role that the United States will play in the years and decades to come. Are peace and security best achieved by seeking strong alliances and international consensus, led by the United States? Or is it necessary to take a more unilateral approach, accepting and enhancing the global dominance that, according to some, history has thrust upon us? If we do decide to seize empire, we should make that decision knowingly, as a democracy. The price of maintaining an empire is always high. Kagan and others argue that the price of rejecting it would be higher still.... |
The entire article has a more extensive analysis and links to supporting references, along with a brief bio of the key PNAC players currently in high Administration offices. If you're not already well-versed in these matters, take ten minutes and read this article.
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Some Good News for Progressive Democrats
It looks like Dr. Howard Dean's chances for heading the DNC are improving. I know Dean' a centrist, but compared to the current Democratic party leadership, he's a radical leftist. I'm sure that anyone significantly more to the left of Dean wouldn't be able to garner enough support to win, so let's take what we can get at this point.
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Nurses Attack Groperzenegger
| Governor Schwarzenegger told the LA Times Saturday that he would raise about $50 million for his 2005 special election ballot initiative campaigns from national sources. Wall Street has the biggest interest in Schwarzenegger's plot to privatize public pension funds, so you can bet the investment bankers will kick in big to get corporate reformers at CALPERS off their backs and to get their hands on hundreds of millions of more dollars in 401k funds. The Governor has put a big for sale sign on the California ballot initiative process and is marketing himself across America as a celebrity salesman who can peddle snake oil simply by claiming those against him - a.k.a. non-Schwarzenegger donors - are the "special interests." As Arnold goes national with hands out for money, California nurses - who the Gov labeled a "special interest" for criticizing his rollback of patient safety rules - are going national with a TV advertisement that tells America what Arnold really stands for and who he stands against. The advertisement - which can be watched at http://www.arnoldwatch.net - was created by "Outfoxed" director Robert Greenwald, who volunteered for the project. When A&E repeats its bio-pic "Run, Arnold, Run" Wednesday night, Americans will also see the 60 second Greenwald spot that separates the facts about Arnold from the fiction. The nurses ad will also air on CNN and other cable stations all week. We'll see how Arnold runs from that. |
The charming governor is slowly but surely charming the State of California into a financial quagmire.
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January 28, 2005
Terrific article on dealing with our guilt arising out of Bush's War. Encourage your friends and family to read it this weekend, and then discuss it.
So well put. For anyone with an ounce of compassion or humanity, this is a no-brainer. For our Bush-war Administration, this is as foreign a concept as a Neocon buying a hot meal for a homeless veteran.
That guy in the middle frame running with the bomb... those things must weigh hundreds of pounds.
I understand that so far, in almost two years, the US has trained around 8,000 Iraqis to adequately fight the insurgents. At that rate we'll be there at least another 10-20 years. Good news for all those other nations Bush was planning to invade. Not only will we be thinning our forces by around 10,000 per year due to death, injury or mental illness from fighting in Iraq and be tied down far longer than the Neocons foresaw, but the Army and Marines are having a heck of a time getting enough newsuckers recruits.
However, eventually as Bush's federally-funded entitlement/social net programs dwindle to nothing over the next several years due to massive military spending, reduction in tax revenues and the upcoming economic tailspin and depression, our unemployed youth and young adults will have no option but to enlist. So we will ultimately have enough uniformed servants to protect our military-and-corporate-controlled colonies around the world and to invade lots of nuclear-free countries.
It's time, people. It's time to put down our pens and keyboards. It's time to revolt.
Chasing Tornadoes
World's Worst Weatherman (video, slow loading)
Mind Reader
Numanuma (just a crazy video)
Here's Johnny (be sure to check out the infamous "Tomahawk Toss" video)
The Biggest Web Design Mistakes of 2004
Space: The Final Frontier (for getting drunk)
Diagnosing Gollum
It's obvious that you're no Einstein
Biz Markie Clock
Stonehenge Pocket Watch (especially for Will)
Renting Chest Space
Obviously the Iraqi election in two days will be a sham since the Administration already knows who "won" because they've already spoken to the "winners". And how many hundreds of people are going to get killed or injured while trying to go vote anyway, even though their votes are worthless?
Weekend Reading Assignment
Terrific article on dealing with our guilt arising out of Bush's War. Encourage your friends and family to read it this weekend, and then discuss it.
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Reason # 354 of Why I Hate Our Administration
| "Rumsfeld and the White House would have us believe that there is no connection between policy documents exploring torture and evasion of the Geneva Convention and the misconduct on the ground in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan -- misconduct that has produced at least 30 deaths in detention associated with "extreme" interrogation techniques. But the Nuremberg tradition contradicts such a contention. At Nuremberg, U.S. prosecutors held German officials accountable for the consequences of their policy decisions without offering proof that these decisions were implemented with the knowledge of the policymakers. The existence of the policies and evidence that the conduct contemplated in them occurred was taken as proof enough. There is no doubt that individuals like [Cpl. Charles] Graner and [Pfc. Lynndie]England should be held to account. But where is justice -- and where are the principles the U.S. proudly advanced at Nuremberg -- if those in the administration and the military who seem most culpable for the tragedy not only escape punishment but in some cases are slated for promotion?" - - - Scott Horton |
So well put. For anyone with an ounce of compassion or humanity, this is a no-brainer. For our Bush-war Administration, this is as foreign a concept as a Neocon buying a hot meal for a homeless veteran.
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Friday Warped Fun
That guy in the middle frame running with the bomb... those things must weigh hundreds of pounds.
I understand that so far, in almost two years, the US has trained around 8,000 Iraqis to adequately fight the insurgents. At that rate we'll be there at least another 10-20 years. Good news for all those other nations Bush was planning to invade. Not only will we be thinning our forces by around 10,000 per year due to death, injury or mental illness from fighting in Iraq and be tied down far longer than the Neocons foresaw, but the Army and Marines are having a heck of a time getting enough new
However, eventually as Bush's federally-funded entitlement/social net programs dwindle to nothing over the next several years due to massive military spending, reduction in tax revenues and the upcoming economic tailspin and depression, our unemployed youth and young adults will have no option but to enlist. So we will ultimately have enough uniformed servants to protect our military-and-corporate-controlled colonies around the world and to invade lots of nuclear-free countries.
It's time, people. It's time to put down our pens and keyboards. It's time to revolt.
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FRIDAY FUN
Chasing Tornadoes
World's Worst Weatherman (video, slow loading)
Mind Reader
Numanuma (just a crazy video)
Here's Johnny (be sure to check out the infamous "Tomahawk Toss" video)
The Biggest Web Design Mistakes of 2004
Space: The Final Frontier (for getting drunk)
Diagnosing Gollum
It's obvious that you're no Einstein
Biz Markie Clock
Stonehenge Pocket Watch (especially for Will)
Renting Chest Space
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Sham Election
| "I've, you know, heard the voices of the people that presumably will be in a position of responsibility after these elections, although you never know. But it seems like most of the leadership there understands that there will be a need for coalition troops at least until Iraqis are able to fight." - - - President Bush, 1-27-05 |
Obviously the Iraqi election in two days will be a sham since the Administration already knows who "won" because they've already spoken to the "winners". And how many hundreds of people are going to get killed or injured while trying to go vote anyway, even though their votes are worthless?
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January 27, 2005
The subject of torture is topping the news again with the Senate confirmation hearings of Gonzales for Attorney General. Torture is possibly the most inhumane behavior of our species and is practiced by only our species (which just goes to show you, not everything unique to humans makes us more advanced than other animals). The idea of torture makes most of us cringe and sick to our stomachs, yet our Bush-war Administration is trying very hard to justify its use as a common military weapon. Read this account of torture used in a time of war and then keep it in mind when reading the news about Abu Ghraib, Gitmo and Gonzales. Torture should be a subject that never comes up as a viable form of punishment in any venue, and anyone who practices, supports or justifies it should be treated as if they just raped every baby in a newborn nursery.
HOW DID WE GET HERE? (video re the Gonzales nomination)
If you haven't already done so, then be sure to check out THESE PHOTOS of the celebration of Bush's Inauguration.
The last time anyone ever honestly compared Bush's job to anything historically admirable was when he was praised in the "press" for his "bold" actions immediately after 9/11. Since then I think the best one can do is compare Bush's work to deciding whether or not to eat a bag of stale Fritos.
I just get sick to my stomach when I look at this:
Are we going to find another Clinton to fix this too? I really doubt it.
Juan Cole has found the first draft of Bush's 2002 speech:
Torture Should Always Be Treated With Zero Tolerance
The subject of torture is topping the news again with the Senate confirmation hearings of Gonzales for Attorney General. Torture is possibly the most inhumane behavior of our species and is practiced by only our species (which just goes to show you, not everything unique to humans makes us more advanced than other animals). The idea of torture makes most of us cringe and sick to our stomachs, yet our Bush-war Administration is trying very hard to justify its use as a common military weapon. Read this account of torture used in a time of war and then keep it in mind when reading the news about Abu Ghraib, Gitmo and Gonzales. Torture should be a subject that never comes up as a viable form of punishment in any venue, and anyone who practices, supports or justifies it should be treated as if they just raped every baby in a newborn nursery.
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HOW DID WE GET HERE? (video re the Gonzales nomination)
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| "My pacifism is an instinctive feeling, a feeling that possesses me because the murder of men is abhorrent. My attitude is not derived from intellectual theory but is based on my deepest antipathy to every kind of cruelty and hatred." - - - Albert Einstein |
| "The point of public relations slogans like "Support our troops" is that they don't mean anything... That's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody's going to be against, and everybody's going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That's the one you're not allowed to talk about." - - - Noam Chomsky |
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If you haven't already done so, then be sure to check out THESE PHOTOS of the celebration of Bush's Inauguration.
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Lowering the standards of comparison
| "In his appearances on Wednesday, President Bush said that it was a positive that Iraqis are even having elections, since three years ago it would have seemed out of the question. You know, if all you have to boast about is that you are better than Saddam Hussein, it isn't actually a good sign. Can you imagine what would have happened to the Republican Party if its reply to Kerry's criticisms of last summer had been, "Well, the American Republican Party is a damn sight more progressive than Hitler was." Saddam was overthrown on April 9, 2003. It is 2005, and the US has been running Iraq for nearly two years. Now the question is, how does the situation in Iraq compare to the Philippines, or India, or Turkey. Answer: It sucks. There is little security, people are killed daily, there is a massive crime wave, and elections are being held in which most of the candidates cannot be identified for fear of their lives. So the conclusion is that the Bush administration has done a worse job in Iraq than the Congress Party does in India, or the AK Party does in Turkey. That's the standard of comparison once Saddam was gone." - - - Juan Cole |
The last time anyone ever honestly compared Bush's job to anything historically admirable was when he was praised in the "press" for his "bold" actions immediately after 9/11. Since then I think the best one can do is compare Bush's work to deciding whether or not to eat a bag of stale Fritos.
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I just get sick to my stomach when I look at this:
Are we going to find another Clinton to fix this too? I really doubt it.
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The Other Speech
Juan Cole has found the first draft of Bush's 2002 speech:
| This is the speech that I wish President Bush had given in fall, 2002, as he was trying to convince Congress to give him the authority to go to war against Iraq: My fellow Americans: I want us to go to war against Iraq. But I want us to have our eyes open and be completely realistic. A war against Iraq will be expensive. It will cost you, the taxpayer, about $300 billion over five years. I know Wolfowitz is telling you Iraq's oil revenues will pay for it all, but that's ridiculous. Iraq only pumps about $10 billion a year worth of oil, and it's going to need that just to run the new government we're putting in. No, we're going to have to pay for it, ourselves. I'm going to ask you for $25 billion, then $80 billion, then another $80 billion. And so on. I'm going to be back to you for money more often than that unemployed relative that you don't like. The cost of the war is going to drive up my already massive budget deficits from about $370 billion to more like $450 billion a year. Just so you understand, I'm going to cut taxes on rich people at the same time that I fight this war. Then I'm going to borrow the money to fight it, and to pay for much of what the government does. And you and your children will be paying off that debt for decades. In the meantime, your dollar isn't going to go as far when you buy something made overseas, since running those kinds of deficits will weaken our currency. (And I've set things up so that most things you buy will be made overseas.) We'll have to keep interest rates higher than they would otherwise have been and keep the economy in the doldrums, because otherwise my war deficits would cause massive inflation. So I'm going to put you, your children, and your grandchildren deeply in hock to fight this war. I'm going to make it so there won't be a lot of new jobs created, and I'm going to use the excuse of the Federal red ink to cut way back on government services that you depend on. For the super-rich, or as I call them, "my base," this Iraq war thing is truly inspired. We use it to put up the deficit to the point where the Democrats and the more bleeding heart Republicans in Congress can't dare create any new programs to help the middle classes. We all know that the super-rich--about 3 million people in our country of 295 million-- would have to pay for those programs, since they own 45 percent of the privately held wealth. I'm damn sure going to make sure they aren't inconvenienced that way for a good long time to come. Then, this Iraq War that I want you to authorize as part of the War on Terror is going to be costly in American lives. By the time of my second inaugural, over 1,300 brave women and men of the US armed forces will be dead as a result of this Iraq war, and 10,371 will have been maimed and wounded, many of them for life. America's streets and homeless shelters will likely be flooded, down the line, with some of these wounded vets. They will have problems finding work, with one or two limbs gone and often significant psychological damage. They will have even more trouble keeping any jobs they find. They will be mentally traumatized the rest of their lives by the horror they are going to see, and sometimes commit, in Iraq. But, well we've got a saying in Texas. I think you've got in over in Arkansas, too. You can't make an omelette without . . . you gotta break some eggs to wrassle up some breakfast. I know Dick Cheney and Condi Rice have gone around scaring your kids with wild talk of Iraqi nukes. I have to confess to you that my CIA director, George Tenet, tells me that the evidence for that kind of thing just doesn't exist. In fact, I have to be frank and say that the Intelligence and Research Division of the State Department doesn't think Saddam has much of anything left even from his chemical weapons program. Maybe he destroyed the stuff and doesn't want to admit it because he's afraid the Shiites and Kurds will rise up against him without it. Anyway, Iraq just doesn't pose any immediate threat to the United States and probably doesn't have anything useful left of their weapons programs of the 1980s. There also isn't any operational link between a secular Arab nationalist like Saddam and the religious loonies of al-Qaeda. They're scared of one another and hate each other more than each hates us. In fact, I have to be perfectly honest and admit that if we overthrow Saddam's secular Arab nationalist government, Iraq's Sunni Arabs will be disillusioned and full of despair. They are likely to turn to al-Qaeda as an alternative. So, folks, what I'm about to do could deliver 5 million Iraqis into the hands of people who are insisting they join some al-Qaeda offshoot immediately. Or else. So why do I want to go to war? Look, folks, I'm just not going to tell you. I don't have to tell you. There is little transparency about these things in the executive, because we're running a kind of rump empire out of the president's office. After 20 or 30 years it will all leak out. Until then, you'll just have to trust me. |
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January 26, 2005
From KFWB:
Would Wal-Mart employees have done the same?
And the Bush Administration would be happiest if there was no Iraqi left standing, thus giving the American Petroleum Industry unfettered access to all that sweet Arab oil. Come on!! The Neocons don't give a rat's ass about dead American soldiers or dead Iraqi citizens. If they did, we wouldn't be having this discussion today. In fact, the only thing the Bush Administration would consider as a "fuck up" would be if there WAS an Iraqi left standing.
We are all, apparently, soulless, spineless, and morally-challenged Americans. If we weren't, we'd be actually doing something about this rather than just talking incessantly about it. The rest of the world already knows it. When are we Americans going to reach the same conclusion and purge our government of these evil madmen?
Costco Employees Rock!
From KFWB:
| Costco Employees Fight Flames, Pull Mangled from Wreck GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) 1.26.05, 2:00p -- Jenny Doll had just arrived at her job as a store clerk early Wednesday when a thunderous explosion split the air and the building shook violently. Doll, 30, and about a dozen other Costco employees working near the warehouse store's loading dock rushed outside to find a splintered Metrolink commuter train jutting into the parking lot. Trapped passengers -- some severely injured -- screamed for help as flames raced toward the front of the mangled train car and smoke and diesel fumes filled the air. The flames had almost reached at least six passengers trapped in the nose of the train car, said Doll, who with other employees attempted to douse the flames with small fire extinguishers. Employees recounted a desperate scene, with forklift operators, truck drivers and stock clerks working side-by-side to pull victims from the wreckage before flames consumed them. They used store carts to wheel some of the most severely injured to safety. "There were people stuck in the front. Everything was mangled," Doll said. "You could not even tell that it was a train cab at all." Ten people were killed and 200 were injured just after 6 a.m. when a commuter train smashed into an SUV driven onto its tracks by a suicidal man. The SUV driver, identified as Juan Manuel Alvarez, 26, of Compton, changed his mind about suicide and left the vehicle before it was hit, Police Chief Randy Adams said. One elderly man from the back of the train was covered in blood and soot and appeared to have broken arms and legs. He was one of the last rescued before employees backed off because of leaking diesel. "The man they took out of the back, he was mangled. I wish I never saw it," Doll said as she watched firefighters continue the rescue. The elderly man survived for a few minutes after being pulled from the train, but died after thanking his rescuers, said Hugo Moran, a 34-year-old receiving clerk from Van Nuys. "He was saying he was thankful (to be pulled out) because he didn't want to burn. He was saying, 'Pray for me, pray for me,"' Moran said. "I was telling him stay awake because he was going into shock." Other said they were frustrated they couldn't do more with limited supplies. "You can only do so much with small fire extinguishers. We really couldn't crawl in there," said Mark Zavala, a forklift operator. "A lot of people weren't able to get out." Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn praised the Costco employees for their rescue efforts. After the initial rescue, store employees spent the morning providing survivors with water and clean clothes and cooking pizzas for firefighters. Most other nearby stores and restaurants had not opened. "Personnel here at Costco rushed out with blankets and other supplies to help people," Hahn said. "There were a lot of good stories in that respect." Dennis Davenport, assistant store manager, said he was proud of his employees. "I think they were pretty shaken up. I'm just glad none of them were hurt," he said, adding that the employees didn't have specialized first aid training. Other Costco workers rushed to the scene only to be forced back by thick smoke and diesel fumes. Many were afraid the wreckage would explode, they said. Hernan Tobar said he and several employees wanted to help, but were pushed back by the smoke. "Some people came out bleeding from the forehead, limping. Everybody had something different -- their own injuries," said Tobar, a 23-year-old stock clerk. "Some people, I'm amazed, came out unhurt." |
Would Wal-Mart employees have done the same?
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Hello? Is Anybody With a Conscience Out There?
| "The situation is untenable. 1,578 dead. $300 billion in treasure. Another two hellish years for our troops. All for what? More Iraqis are dying now than died during Saddam's regime. The torture rooms are still open for business. Iraq is now a prime terrorist recruitment and training ground. "Democracy" is nowhere to be found. Civil war is imminent. Our armed forces are being degraded into paper tiger status. The war has cost us international support and respect. We no longer have the ability to respond to genuine threats. It's not just a monumental fuck up, but one that keeps on sucking us dry, and apparently will for at least two more years." - - - Kos |
And the Bush Administration would be happiest if there was no Iraqi left standing, thus giving the American Petroleum Industry unfettered access to all that sweet Arab oil. Come on!! The Neocons don't give a rat's ass about dead American soldiers or dead Iraqi citizens. If they did, we wouldn't be having this discussion today. In fact, the only thing the Bush Administration would consider as a "fuck up" would be if there WAS an Iraqi left standing.
We are all, apparently, soulless, spineless, and morally-challenged Americans. If we weren't, we'd be actually doing something about this rather than just talking incessantly about it. The rest of the world already knows it. When are we Americans going to reach the same conclusion and purge our government of these evil madmen?
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A blast from the past.
&
A blast from the future.
12 democratic US Senators voted against the confirmation of C. Rice for Secretary of State today:
Mark Dayton of Minnesota
Barbara Boxer of California
Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts
Carl Levin of Michigan
Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Richard Durbin of Illinois
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii
Evan Bayh of Indiana
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
Tom Harkin of Iowa
James Jeffords of Vermont, an Independent, also voted against Ms. Rice. All but two other Senators voted in favor. Before everyone gets all excited about this, remember that 32 other Democratic Senators did not vote against this confirmation. That is how totally f*cked up the current Democratic Party is, and how much control Corporate America has over our Federal Government. You'd think that, after four years of only evil decisions by the Bush Administration, at least most of the Democrats in Congress would start listening to their consciences instead of their personal financial advisors. Many who voted in favor use the excuse that Bush, as the President, deserves the respect to be able to choose his cabinet as he sees fit. What has Bush done to deserve our respect?
(Thanks to Bark Bark Woof Woof for the lead.)
Mark Morford on recent neocon/fundagelical events (e.g. Spongebob, $80B Iraq request, Spanish Catholic Church and condoms, etc.):
I just love that guy.
&
A blast from the future.
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12 Democratic Senators Who Rediscovered Their Spines
12 democratic US Senators voted against the confirmation of C. Rice for Secretary of State today:
Mark Dayton of Minnesota
Barbara Boxer of California
Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts
Carl Levin of Michigan
Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Richard Durbin of Illinois
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii
Evan Bayh of Indiana
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
Tom Harkin of Iowa
James Jeffords of Vermont, an Independent, also voted against Ms. Rice. All but two other Senators voted in favor. Before everyone gets all excited about this, remember that 32 other Democratic Senators did not vote against this confirmation. That is how totally f*cked up the current Democratic Party is, and how much control Corporate America has over our Federal Government. You'd think that, after four years of only evil decisions by the Bush Administration, at least most of the Democrats in Congress would start listening to their consciences instead of their personal financial advisors. Many who voted in favor use the excuse that Bush, as the President, deserves the respect to be able to choose his cabinet as he sees fit. What has Bush done to deserve our respect?
(Thanks to Bark Bark Woof Woof for the lead.)
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Fodder for Neocon Eyerolling
Mark Morford on recent neocon/fundagelical events (e.g. Spongebob, $80B Iraq request, Spanish Catholic Church and condoms, etc.):
| "Note the blood-red thread of fear and dread and homophobia, the brutal irony throughout all these stories. Shrill extremist sects and small-minded leaders with too much control, saddled with self-righteous and outdated doctrines that refuse to allow the culture to progress, to laugh, to moan in joy and sticky happiness. Note the people who look at hilarious children's cartoons and see only sinister mind control, who look at their fellow human souls and see only an army of debauched heathens, who look (reluctantly) at their own genitals and see only a gnarled clump of pain and confusion, who look up at the beautiful blue sky and see only a massive canopy of daggers." |
I just love that guy.
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January 25, 2005
If you have the time, be sure to read this incredible story. Written by Sara Solovitch in Esquire Magazine, it weaves a tale of apparent torture, prison and rape as told through the eyes of the Iraqi victim, Jumana Mikhail Hanna, and recounted by the Washington Post, and then spread everywhere by the Bush Administration. But then things fall apart...
Mad Kane has started a blog: President Boxer. She explains why:
Boxer is proving to us that she is one of the few remaining Senators to stand by one's convictions. I understand that she received, in November, more votes for an elected office than any candidate other than Bush [update: or Kerry]. Let's give her all the support possible until she retires in 2010.
The Senate's C. Rice confirmation hearings are on C-SPAN 2 right now. You can watch it live online.
The American Dream
If you have the time, be sure to read this incredible story. Written by Sara Solovitch in Esquire Magazine, it weaves a tale of apparent torture, prison and rape as told through the eyes of the Iraqi victim, Jumana Mikhail Hanna, and recounted by the Washington Post, and then spread everywhere by the Bush Administration. But then things fall apart...
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Barbara Boxer for President
Mad Kane has started a blog: President Boxer. She explains why:
| Boxer Has Balls Why President Boxer? Republicans feel free to create their own realities, so why can't I? And in my idealized reality, Senator Barbara Boxer is the President of the United States. She's a true liberal, she does her homework and, unlike the weenie-dems in the Senate and House, she has the courage of her convictions. Barbara Boxer's actions throughout the Ohio vote and Condi Rice hearings are more than enough to earn my support. Moreover, Boxer puts her fellow democrats to shame. On second thought, the weenie-dems put themselves to shame. |
Boxer is proving to us that she is one of the few remaining Senators to stand by one's convictions. I understand that she received, in November, more votes for an elected office than any candidate other than Bush [update: or Kerry]. Let's give her all the support possible until she retires in 2010.
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C-Span 2
The Senate's C. Rice confirmation hearings are on C-SPAN 2 right now. You can watch it live online.
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January 24, 2005
Bush's War continues to bring freedom to the Iraqis. Here an Iraqi girl is "freed" from her parents moments after US Troops mowed down the car carrying her, her siblings and her parents:
Both parents were murdered, the girl injured. You can see the entire BBC photostory HERE. This horrendous inhumanity is happeningdaily hourly in Iraq, in spite of the fact that the US news chooses not to report it.
Just a reminder: This blood is on our hands. This is our country's, our government's, our army's war. If you are a US citizen, and especially if you pay taxes, then you are funding and supporting this grand scale manslaughter. If you are shamed by this, then why aren't you out there protesting? If you are not shamed, then you'll probably rot in hell.
Bush is not going to end this... it's up to us. You know it and I know it. So, Lazy-ass Liberals, what's it going to be?
| "The $40 million inauguration extravaganza – the most expensive ever - symbolically urinates upon the graves of the over 1300 young Americans who’ve died for Bush’s lies, mistakes, and corporate greed. That money would buy one helluva lot of body armor for our troops. But that $40 mil will instead buy martinis, hookers, influence, and contracts here in America. Yet the believers revel while our young soldiers continue to die (and worse) before they’ve even lived their lives. Tomorrow more shall die, these will die secure in the knowledge that their deaths are in vain. For there are no explanations or excuses left as to why they’re being made to die. None will be forthcoming either. No one who can stop the killing, cares any more." - - - Dom Stasi |
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Bush's War
Bush's War continues to bring freedom to the Iraqis. Here an Iraqi girl is "freed" from her parents moments after US Troops mowed down the car carrying her, her siblings and her parents:
Both parents were murdered, the girl injured. You can see the entire BBC photostory HERE. This horrendous inhumanity is happening
Just a reminder: This blood is on our hands. This is our country's, our government's, our army's war. If you are a US citizen, and especially if you pay taxes, then you are funding and supporting this grand scale manslaughter. If you are shamed by this, then why aren't you out there protesting? If you are not shamed, then you'll probably rot in hell.
Bush is not going to end this... it's up to us. You know it and I know it. So, Lazy-ass Liberals, what's it going to be?
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| "A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt...If the game runs sometime against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake." - - - Thomas Jefferson, 1798 |
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January 21, 2005
This is worth reprinting in its entirety:
Come on, name just one day, in the past four years, that was better, not worse, than the day before. You can't, because every day we spiral closer to hell, the door of which can be found in Washington, DC, just off Pennsylvania Ave. If the Neocons are not the disciples of Satan, then we Lefties don't belong in this universe.
HERE are just two of 100,000 reasons why Bush should be impeached, convicted and executed (Texas-style of course).
Here's some post-election stress relief.
Ooops! Judy Bachrach trips Fox News.
Strong Words
This is worth reprinting in its entirety:
| The Empire of Vulgarity by Mike Carlton George Bush's second inaugural extravaganza was every bit as repugnant as I had expected, a vulgar orgy of triumphalism probably unmatched since Napoleon crowned himself emperor of the French in Notre Dame in 1804. The little Corsican corporal had a few decent victories to his escutcheon. Lodi, Marengo, that sort of thing. Not so this strutting Texan mountebank, with his chimpanzee smirk and his born-again banalities delivered in that constipated syntax that sounds the way cold cheeseburgers look, and his grinning plastic wife, and his scheming junta of neo-con spivs, shamans, flatterers and armchair warmongers, and his sinuous evasions and his brazen lies, and his sleight of hand theft from the American poor, and his rape of the environment, and his lethal conviction that the world must submit to his Pax Americana or be bombed into charcoal. Difficult to know what was more repellent: the estimated $US40 million cost of this jamboree (most of it stumped up by Republican fat-cats buying future presidential favours), or the sheer crassness of its excess when American boys are dying in the quagmire of Bush's very own Iraq war. Other wartime presidents sought restraint. Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address in 1865 - "with malice toward none, with charity for all" - is the shortest ever. And he had pretty much won the Civil War by that time. In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt opened his fourth-term speech with the "wish that the form of this inauguration be simple and its words brief". He spoke for a couple of eloquent minutes, then went off to a light lunch, his wartime victory almost complete as well. But restraint is not a Dubya word. Learning nothing, the dumbest and nastiest president since the scandalous Warren Harding died in 1923, Bush is now intent on expanding the Iraq war to neighbouring Iran. Condoleezza Rice did admit to the US Senate this week that there had been some "not so good" decisions. But the more I see of her gleaming teeth and her fibreglass helmet of hair and her perky confidence, the more I am convinced that back in the '60s she used to be Cindy Birdsong, up there beside Diana Ross as one of the Supremes of Motown fame. I don't think it's a good idea to let her make a comeback as Secretary of State. The war in Iran is under way already, if we believe Seymour Hersh, the distinguished investigative writer for The New Yorker magazine. Hersh reported this week that clandestine US special forces have been on the ground there, targeting nuclear facilities to be bombed whenever Bush feels the time is ripe. "The immediate goals of the attacks would be to destroy, or at least temporarily derail, Iran's ability to go nuclear," he wrote, quoting reliable intelligence sources. "But there are other, equally purposeful, motives at work. The government consultant told me that the hawks in the Pentagon, in private discussions, have been urging a limited attack on Iran because they believe it could lead to a toppling of the religious leadership." Naturally, Pentagon flacks rushed out to deny all. But then they did that when Hersh broke the story of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam in 1968, and again when he revealed the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. A tussle for the truth between Hersh and the Pentagon is no contest. What terrifies me most is the people planning this new war. The CIA professionals have been frozen out: too weak and wimpy for the Bushies. The Defence Secretary, the incompetent Donald Rumsfeld, has seized control, aided by two Pentagon under-secretaries. One is Douglas Feith, a mad-eyed Zionist largely responsible for the post-invasion collapse of order in Iraq, a civilian bureaucrat memorably described by the former Centcom commander, General Tommy Franks, as "the f---ing stupidest guy on the face of the Earth". The other is army Lieutenant General William G. (Jerry) Boykin, whose name also rings a bell. Jerry is a born-again Christian evangelical, a three-star bigot who, in his spare time, stumps the country in full uniform, preaching that America's enemy is Satan, Allah is a false idol, and that George Bush has been ordained by the Lord to rout evil. "He's in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this," Jerry told a prayer meetin' in Oregon just a while back. Be very afraid. |
Come on, name just one day, in the past four years, that was better, not worse, than the day before. You can't, because every day we spiral closer to hell, the door of which can be found in Washington, DC, just off Pennsylvania Ave. If the Neocons are not the disciples of Satan, then we Lefties don't belong in this universe.
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HERE are just two of 100,000 reasons why Bush should be impeached, convicted and executed (Texas-style of course).
Here's some post-election stress relief.
Ooops! Judy Bachrach trips Fox News.
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Why would Homeland Security hire former Stasi chief Markus Wolfe and former head of the KGB General Yevgeni Primakov?
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I apologize for the slow page-loading today. Sitemeter (the hit-counter) is running very slow and consequently holding up the display of this page.
UPDATE: Boy, it's not a good day for the internet. Now Blogger servers are up again, down again...
Update: Here is the link mentioned by Gary (in the Comments) that reprints a save-marriage letter from homophobe senator Santorum, along with Gary's (I think) comments. Take a look.
21st Century Lullabies
Crispin Glover doesn't like clowns (video)
"What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?"
Hand Art
Consumer Reports rates...... condoms!
For David Hasselhoff lovers only (non D.H. lovers: you were warned!)
How to Kill a Mockingbird (video) and the Soundtrack
Cheesy Gifts for Teachers
For the Gals (video) and For the Guys (video)
A Gay Abraham Lincoln
Ugly Christmas Lights (slow loading)
How many socks have you worn?
Delicious Dogs
Metrosexual Tarot
UPDATE: Boy, it's not a good day for the internet. Now Blogger servers are up again, down again...
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Conservative Quote of the Week
| "Government should be the last place people go for help. Liberals would prefer that government be the first choice. Before government intervened, charities proliferated in this country. They are still active, but it's now easier for those in trouble to get money from the bureaucracy. But they don't get the moral incentive which is the only thing that will enable them to stand on their own feet." - - - Peter and Helen Evans |
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Our Newest Terrorist:
Update: Here is the link mentioned by Gary (in the Comments) that reprints a save-marriage letter from homophobe senator Santorum, along with Gary's (I think) comments. Take a look.
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Friday Fun
21st Century Lullabies
Crispin Glover doesn't like clowns (video)
"What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?"
Hand Art
Consumer Reports rates...... condoms!
For David Hasselhoff lovers only (non D.H. lovers: you were warned!)
How to Kill a Mockingbird (video) and the Soundtrack
Cheesy Gifts for Teachers
For the Gals (video) and For the Guys (video)
A Gay Abraham Lincoln
Ugly Christmas Lights (slow loading)
How many socks have you worn?
Delicious Dogs
Metrosexual Tarot
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January 20, 2005
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January 19, 2005
CAP presents most of the possible scenarios of the upcoming Iraq election. Although presented in an awkward, cumbersome roulette-wheel format, the brief summaries are a good snapshot of the possible outcomes.
Mark Morford's latest rant (excerpt):
I wish for the ability to write like that.
Spin the Results
CAP presents most of the possible scenarios of the upcoming Iraq election. Although presented in an awkward, cumbersome roulette-wheel format, the brief summaries are a good snapshot of the possible outcomes.
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Waiting for the Dark Period to End
Mark Morford's latest rant (excerpt):
| ....the terrorists are as giddy as schoolgirls. Bush's warmongering agenda has done more to destabilize the Middle East than Osama could have ever dreamed. The U.S. is more loathed and mocked on the global stage than anytime in past 100 years. Our credibility as a peacemaker and a humanitarian force is the lowest in modern history, so much so that Bush had to send out a signed op-ed letter to the international papers, claiming that the American government really does care about all those dead Muslim tsunami victims, no really we do, despite how many of their co-religionists we're killing in our brutal occupation of Iraq. And now, all outrage has become muted and lethargic. All protests, in the wake of BushCo's nauseating fear-based win last November, have become pale and moot and limp. We are numb and resigned to the steady stream of lie and abuse. This is the sentiment, even among many fear-hammered red staters who insist on seeing Bush as their pseudo-religious dumb-guy Messiah: a sort of national teeth gritting, a dark period in America, a hunkering down and waiting for it to be over and for the light to emerge again. Term II is under way. The vicious Republican PR machine is of such potent talent that Bush could now walk up to a live TV camera and jam his thumbs in his big monkey ears and wiggle his fingers and stick out his tongue and say Ppppbbbtthhtt, ha ha America, it's my gul-dang war and I knew all along Saddam was an easy mark, a pip-squeak tyrant, never had WMDs, and I lied to the whole stupid nation to make me look manly and to help my buddies in Big Oil, and in the military industry, and in my daddy's Carlyle Group, and for my rich Saudi pals. And he could say: Too bad about all those dead 'Murkin soldiers. Too bad about all those soldiers who will be dying very soon. Too bad they can't go AWOL and skip out on the war like I did. Too bad they're dying for reasons no one can justify, and never could. Okey doke, I'm off to the ranch for even more vacation, the most of any president in American history. Bye now. Oh, yes, one more thing: ppppbbbtthhtt! And most of America would apparently sit there and watch him, and sigh, and go, oh that Dubya, such an honest and God-loving man, so simple and plainspoken and not all that bright. Just like the rest of us. He's a Good Man, isn't he? He's sturdy and stalwart and on the side of righteousness. I mean, isn't he, Lord? Hello? |
I wish for the ability to write like that.
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January 18, 2005
If that is true, then the aim of Progressive Democrats must be to take the Party away from the Washington Beltway Corporate Interests and reconstitute in the cities, offering support and alternatives to blue collar workers, unions, teachers, and anyone who sees JUSTICE as the core Democratic value. Republicans want LIBERTY, the liberty to keep their money, not justice. It's ours for the taking, fellow progressives. All we need to do is put our foot to the concrete, support programs that bring justice into our lives and spread the word. That's all it takes. We don't have to abandon the Democratic Party, just reclaim it.
The bitingly funny Fox TV show, Family Guy, which was cancelled and then reborn with a new season around the corner, was once again cancelled by the network after pressure from the puritanically-driven FCC.
South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons are/were some of the most entertaining, well-written and socially provocative shows on TV, irrespective of the fact that they're animated. The fundagelicals are slowly but surely overtaking the airways, the FCC and the corporate media.
UPDATE: Thanks to Dean Austin's comments, I reviewed my sources again and determined that the show has been censored, not re-cancelled. (bad news about my research abilities, good news about the show, and still bad news about the FCC...)
Pursuing Justice: A Solution for Democrats?
| "The Progressive movement in the United States ended in 1972. Once women got the vote, child labor banished, Social Security and other government social programs established, then the motivating force behind the movement died. We need to rediscover and pursue those issues that are a threat to justice in America." - - - paraphrased from Joe Dunn, California State Senator. |
If that is true, then the aim of Progressive Democrats must be to take the Party away from the Washington Beltway Corporate Interests and reconstitute in the cities, offering support and alternatives to blue collar workers, unions, teachers, and anyone who sees JUSTICE as the core Democratic value. Republicans want LIBERTY, the liberty to keep their money, not justice. It's ours for the taking, fellow progressives. All we need to do is put our foot to the concrete, support programs that bring justice into our lives and spread the word. That's all it takes. We don't have to abandon the Democratic Party, just reclaim it.
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Family Guy cancelled again
The bitingly funny Fox TV show, Family Guy, which was cancelled and then reborn with a new season around the corner, was once again cancelled by the network after pressure from the puritanically-driven FCC.
South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons are/were some of the most entertaining, well-written and socially provocative shows on TV, irrespective of the fact that they're animated. The fundagelicals are slowly but surely overtaking the airways, the FCC and the corporate media.
UPDATE: Thanks to Dean Austin's comments, I reviewed my sources again and determined that the show has been censored, not re-cancelled. (bad news about my research abilities, good news about the show, and still bad news about the FCC...)
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January 17, 2005
If THIS ARTICLE by SEYMOUR M. HERSH doesn't scare the bejesus out of you, probably nothing will. Excerpts:
There's also a large section detailing the rise of covert operations since Iran-Contra and how they are gradually moving from the C.I.A. (which must report its activities to Congress) to the Defense Department (which reports basically only up through Bush). What's scary is that this is all happening right now, and Bush is trying to "complete the job" in the Middle East before the end of his second term.
Ya Gotta Read This Article
If THIS ARTICLE by SEYMOUR M. HERSH doesn't scare the bejesus out of you, probably nothing will. Excerpts:
| ....The President and his national-security advisers have consolidated control over the military and intelligence communities’ strategic analyses and covert operations to a degree unmatched since the rise of the post-Second World War national-security state. Bush has an aggressive and ambitious agenda for using that control—against the mullahs in Iran and against targets in the ongoing war on terrorism—during his second term. The C.I.A. will continue to be downgraded, and the agency will increasingly serve, as one government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon put it, as “facilitators” of policy emanating from President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. This process is well under way. Despite the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the Bush Administration has not reconsidered its basic long-range policy goal in the Middle East: the establishment of democracy throughout the region. Bush’s reëlection is regarded within the Administration as evidence of America’s support for his decision to go to war. It has reaffirmed the position of the neoconservatives in the Pentagon’s civilian leadership who advocated the invasion, including Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Douglas Feith, the Under-secretary for Policy. According to a former high-level intelligence official, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff shortly after the election and told them, in essence, that the naysayers had been heard and the American people did not accept their message. Rumsfeld added that America was committed to staying in Iraq and that there would be no second-guessing. “This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah—we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.” Bush and Cheney may have set the policy, but it is Rumsfeld who has directed its implementation and has absorbed much of the public criticism when things went wrong—whether it was prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib or lack of sufficient armor plating for G.I.s’ vehicles in Iraq. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for Rumsfeld’s dismissal, and he is not widely admired inside the military. Nonetheless, his reappointment as Defense Secretary was never in doubt.... ....The Administration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran at least since last summer. Much of the focus is on the accumulation of intelligence and targeting information on Iranian nuclear, chemical, and missile sites, both declared and suspected. The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids. “The civilians in the Pentagon want to go into Iran and destroy as much of the military infrastructure as possible,” the government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon told me. Some of the missions involve extraordinary coöperation. For example, the former high-level intelligence official told me that an American commando task force has been set up in South Asia and is now working closely with a group of Pakistani scientists and technicians who had dealt with Iranian counterparts. (In 2003, the I.A.E.A. disclosed that Iran had been secretly receiving nuclear technology from Pakistan for more than a decade, and had withheld that information from inspectors.) The American task force, aided by the information from Pakistan, has been penetrating eastern Iran from Afghanistan in a hunt for underground installations. The task-force members, or their locally recruited agents, secreted remote detection devices—known as sniffers—capable of sampling the atmosphere for radioactive emissions and other evidence of nuclear-enrichment programs. Getting such evidence is a pressing concern for the Bush Administration. The former high-level intelligence official told me, “They don’t want to make any W.M.D. intelligence mistakes, as in Iraq. The Republicans can’t have two of those.... ....The White House solidified its control over intelligence last month, when it forced last-minute changes in the intelligence-reform bill. The legislation, based substantially on recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, originally gave broad powers, including authority over intelligence spending, to a new national-intelligence director. (The Pentagon controls roughly eighty per cent of the intelligence budget.) A reform bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 96-2. Before the House voted, however, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld balked. The White House publicly supported the legislation, but House Speaker Dennis Hastert refused to bring a House version of the bill to the floor for a vote—ostensibly in defiance of the President, though it was widely understood in Congress that Hastert had been delegated to stall the bill. After intense White House and Pentagon lobbying, the legislation was rewritten. The bill that Congress approved sharply reduced the new director’s power, in the name of permitting the Secretary of Defense to maintain his “statutory responsibilities.” Fred Kaplan, in the online magazine Slate, described the real issues behind Hastert’s action, quoting a congressional aide who expressed amazement as White House lobbyists bashed the Senate bill and came up “with all sorts of ludicrous reasons why it was unacceptable.” “Rummy’s plan was to get a compromise in the bill in which the Pentagon keeps its marbles and the C.I.A. loses theirs,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Then all the pieces of the puzzle fall in place. He gets authority for covert action that is not attributable, the ability to directly task national-intelligence assets”—including the many intelligence satellites that constantly orbit the world. “Rumsfeld will no longer have to refer anything through the government’s intelligence wringer,” the former official went on. “The intelligence system was designed to put competing agencies in competition. What’s missing will be the dynamic tension that insures everyone’s priorities—in the C.I.A., the D.O.D., the F.B.I., and even the Department of Homeland Security—are discussed. The most insidious implication of the new system is that Rumsfeld no longer has to tell people what he’s doing so they can ask, ‘Why are you doing this?’ or ‘What are your priorities?’ Now he can keep all of the mattress mice out of it.” |
There's also a large section detailing the rise of covert operations since Iran-Contra and how they are gradually moving from the C.I.A. (which must report its activities to Congress) to the Defense Department (which reports basically only up through Bush). What's scary is that this is all happening right now, and Bush is trying to "complete the job" in the Middle East before the end of his second term.
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January 14, 2005
Video: Message from the Iraqi Resistance.
Sends chills up my spine.
Message to Bush: There's going to be a bloodbath during and after the Iraqi "election". Get out NOW.
From the NY Times:
I agree totally. We don't want to waste our taxpayer money on this when we can use it in the rat hole called Iraq and get lots of Iraqi civilians and American kids slaughtered as a bonus. My god, what was our government thinking?!
Many veterans returning home from Iraq are finding themselves homeless and/or jobless. GNN has available for your viewing a work-in-progress documentary film HERE that is enlightening and disturbing. Check it out, especially Part II.
I received this email today:
This is a blatant scam letter designed to draw some trusting soul to a site that will ask them to "update" their personal identity info. The message is written well enough to probably fool a lot of people, so beware if you get it. The message asks you to go to THIS page, which immediately asks for some very personal and secure information (eBay login and password, SSN, mother's maiden name, address, phone, credit card info, bank account info, etc., pretty much the whole gamut). The links at the bottom of the message are actually legit eBay pages, which adds to the deception. The first immediate tipoff to me that it was a scam letter was that it was sent to an email account of mine that I do NOT have listed on eBay, so my warning flag went up in about 5 milliseconds. Be careful out there...
I went ahead and put in completely fake info on the scam page. That should use at least some of their resources (time/effort) before they catch on. If you want me to forward their email to you so that you can take a look and maybe scam them back, send your email address to me.
Sent by Jason:
Video from Iraq
Video: Message from the Iraqi Resistance.
Sends chills up my spine.
Message to Bush: There's going to be a bloodbath during and after the Iraqi "election". Get out NOW.
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From Rat Hole to Rat Hole
From the NY Times:
| "I hope we haven't just been pouring money down a rat hole at taxpayers' expense." Senator Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, on the FBI being on "the verge of scrapping a $170 million computer overhaul that is considered critical to the campaign against terrorism but has been riddled with technical and planning problems". |
I agree totally. We don't want to waste our taxpayer money on this when we can use it in the rat hole called Iraq and get lots of Iraqi civilians and American kids slaughtered as a bonus. My god, what was our government thinking?!
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Welcome home. Now go away.
Many veterans returning home from Iraq are finding themselves homeless and/or jobless. GNN has available for your viewing a work-in-progress documentary film HERE that is enlightening and disturbing. Check it out, especially Part II.
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Beware: Safeharbor is out to steal your identity
I received this email today:
| Dear valued customer We regret to inform you that your eBay account could be suspended if you don't re-update your account information. To resolve this problems please click here and re-enter your account information. If your problems could not be resolved your account will be suspended for a period of 24 hours, after this period your account will be terminated. For the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us. Due to the suspension of this account, please be advised you are prohibited from using eBay in any way. This includes the registering of a new account. Please note that this suspension does not relieve you of your agreed-upon obligation to pay any fees you may owe to eBay. Regards, Safeharbor Department eBay, Inc The eBay team. This is an automatic message. Please do not reply. |
This is a blatant scam letter designed to draw some trusting soul to a site that will ask them to "update" their personal identity info. The message is written well enough to probably fool a lot of people, so beware if you get it. The message asks you to go to THIS page, which immediately asks for some very personal and secure information (eBay login and password, SSN, mother's maiden name, address, phone, credit card info, bank account info, etc., pretty much the whole gamut). The links at the bottom of the message are actually legit eBay pages, which adds to the deception. The first immediate tipoff to me that it was a scam letter was that it was sent to an email account of mine that I do NOT have listed on eBay, so my warning flag went up in about 5 milliseconds. Be careful out there...
I went ahead and put in completely fake info on the scam page. That should use at least some of their resources (time/effort) before they catch on. If you want me to forward their email to you so that you can take a look and maybe scam them back, send your email address to me.
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Sent by Jason:
| Once again, The Washington Post published its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for various words. And the winners are... 1. Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon. 2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained. 3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. 4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk. 5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent. 6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown. 7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp. 8. Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash. 9. Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller. 10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline. 11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam. 12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you. 13. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions. 14. Pokemon (n), A Jamaican proctologist. 15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die your Soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there. 16. Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts. |
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FRIDAY FUN
Doodles, Drafts and Designs (new Smithsonian exhibit)
A Car with Hutzpah
Combover: The Movie
Balancing Rocks
Famous Letters of Resignation
Lowest-priced DVD Rewinder
Everything you've wanted to know about Marine Biology.
The Rotundus Security/Surveillance Robot
The Best of Still Photojournalism 2004
Create Your Own Blockbuster Screenplay Outline
A Car with Hutzpah
Combover: The Movie
Balancing Rocks
Famous Letters of Resignation
Lowest-priced DVD Rewinder
Everything you've wanted to know about Marine Biology.
The Rotundus Security/Surveillance Robot
The Best of Still Photojournalism 2004
Create Your Own Blockbuster Screenplay Outline
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January 12, 2005
Well, as out-of-touch as the DLC usually is, they still occasionally put up some good stuff:
Being married to a Spec. Ed. teacher, I can confirm that NCLB, as it is being carried out by the Bush Administration, is the worst thing to hit the U.S. education system since, well, since ever.
In case you haven't kept up with any fundagelical blogs lately, here's one that will refresh your suspicion of the rampant ignorance and prejudice so pervasive (is that redundant?) in our culture (snippet):
This was actually a post about some Catholic Archbishop's "apology for remarks made in a sermon comparing abortion to the mass-murder crimes of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin". When I read this kind of evil filth it makes me want to pack my bags and go live in a cave (in the tropics, not anywhere that gets cold... I'm not that stupid).
Thanks to Atrios for finding this.
Recently I posted a brief note about the decline of organized labor. The Serpentine Dancing Queen has another take on unions (snippet):
The simple fact that workers of identical jobs are significantly better off unionized is still the overriding factor in assessing the value of organized labor in a democracy, or even in an oligarchy like the United States.
On an unrelated note, I came across THIS site that has a huge number of union songs, with both the complete lyrics and mp3 recordings. There's some really interesting stuff there, including the Iraqi War Song. Check it out.
Arianna Huffington reiterates what many of us already know, that the Bush Administration is following a policy of preparation for End Times (snippet):
It's okay. Let all the Neocon/Fundagelical corporate elite float up to heaven naked and leave the rest of us here, finally rid of them. At least maybe then the Democrats would have a fighting chance. Although, the way we've been fractured and disorganized the past 24 years, it still may not be enough.
I sure hope the rapture doesn't affect my internet connection. Or my TiVo.
DLC vs. NCLB
Well, as out-of-touch as the DLC usually is, they still occasionally put up some good stuff:
| DLC | New Dem Daily | January 12, 2005 Fumbling Education Reform The No Child Left Behind education reform law is the one genuine domestic reform initiative that has been backed by the Bush administration, and is also the one significant bipartisan policy effort it has supported to date. But as the Progressive Policy Institute's Andrew Rotherham explains in today's New York Times, the administration is in serious danger of fumbling No Child Left Behind, in no small part because it has consistently elevated spin over substance in promoting the law, trying to take credit for the initiative instead of actually supporting its proper implementation. The recent furor over the revelation that the Department of Education paid conservative pundit Armstrong Williams $241,000 for promoting NCLB on his television show and in his newspaper columns is but the latest example of the administration's obsession with spin and credit, says Rotherham. "Ultimately, this is a second-tier scandal, but it takes a place among a series of bad decisions that risk scuttling the most ambitious effort in a generation to improve education for poor and minority youngsters." Over and over, the administration has given ammunition to critics of NCLB and undermined bipartisan support for the initiative, notes Rotherham. "Initially, it was slow to work with states and school districts and explain what the new education law requires, causing confusion among all parties.... Playing politics with the law's financing also gave its critics an easy target. Considering the overall lack of fiscal constraint typical of this administration, its decision to suddenly become stingy on crucial programs called for in the law is inexplicable." This pattern of negligence, compounded by the administration's tendency to dismiss all criticism of NCLB's implementation as a secret desire to repeal it, has consistently undermined bipartisan support for education reform. "The stream of almost entirely avoidable problems and Department of Education gaffes makes it even harder for Democratic supporters of the law to resist the pressure [from NCLB opponents]," says Rotherham. But resist that pressure we must, because the goal of NCLB, which is to greatly reduce the educational opportunity gap that is daily damaging poor and disadvantaged kids, is too important to let it fail, especially for progressives. The most urgent task for Margaret Spellings, who seems certain to become the new Secretary of Education, is clear. It is to convince the White House to get out of the business of trying to close the political gap on education, which has been its operating principle these last four years, and onto the business of closing the achievement gap. |
Being married to a Spec. Ed. teacher, I can confirm that NCLB, as it is being carried out by the Bush Administration, is the worst thing to hit the U.S. education system since, well, since ever.
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Apology not universally accepted
In case you haven't kept up with any fundagelical blogs lately, here's one that will refresh your suspicion of the rampant ignorance and prejudice so pervasive (is that redundant?) in our culture (snippet):
| ....The Jews are far from the only historical victims of genocide. They are not even the most recent victims. Now some of them seem to wish to make make a profession out of running around screaming "never forget" while simultaneously ignoring or even supporting the very same sort of evil being unleashed in places like the Sudan and the abortion clinics around the world. I'd never understood how the medieval kings found it so easy to get the common people to hate the Jews in their midst. But if those medieval Jewish leaders were anything like the idiots running the ADL, the ACLU and the Council of Jews, one can see where the idea of persecuting them would have held some appeal. |
This was actually a post about some Catholic Archbishop's "apology for remarks made in a sermon comparing abortion to the mass-murder crimes of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin". When I read this kind of evil filth it makes me want to pack my bags and go live in a cave (in the tropics, not anywhere that gets cold... I'm not that stupid).
Thanks to Atrios for finding this.
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Singing for Unions
Recently I posted a brief note about the decline of organized labor. The Serpentine Dancing Queen has another take on unions (snippet):
| ....Personally, I'm troubled by the corruption that abounds in most unions: Tons of money is spent on overhead and political contributions and unions either spend too much money on servicing their members or too much money organizing new members. (SEIU falls into the latter category; most of their money and resources are spent convincing people to join their union and then they leave most members without adequate support staff to help them bargain their contracts and uphold them.) And then there's a problem with the fact that most traditional union sectors of the economy are going overseas. As more and more people have white collar employment, unions appear to be less relevant to our society. I personally disagree with that assessment. I think the most powerful unions in the country are government employee unions. They set the gold standard for healthcare, pensions, and time off. Unfortunately, they can also create an environment where it is very difficult to fire someone who isn't doing their job. But, ultimately it's management's responsibility to negotiate a contract that offers clear disciplinary guidelines and it's management's job to enforce the work ethic. I've had some really interesting life experience with unions. My father ran to be president of his union local (he's a government employee) and my mother is in management (for the same agency). And the stuff I saw while I was a union organizer was heartbreaking (when we lost) and inspiring (when we won). Ultimately, I think the only way to create a worker's movement in this country that is truly progressive and populist is for workers themselves to organize. I think unions have something important to offer America, but I'm just not sure if the leadership of any of the major unions is truly willing to give up control of the movement to the masses.... |
The simple fact that workers of identical jobs are significantly better off unionized is still the overriding factor in assessing the value of organized labor in a democracy, or even in an oligarchy like the United States.
On an unrelated note, I came across THIS site that has a huge number of union songs, with both the complete lyrics and mp3 recordings. There's some really interesting stuff there, including the Iraqi War Song. Check it out.
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A Rapturous Future
Arianna Huffington reiterates what many of us already know, that the Bush Administration is following a policy of preparation for End Times (snippet):
| ....why worry about minor little details like clean air, clean water, safe ports and the safety net when Jesus is going to give the world an "Extreme Makeover: Planet Edition" right after he finishes putting Satan in his place once and for all? Keep in mind: This nutty notion is not a fringe belief being espoused by some street corner Jeremiah wearing a "The End Is Nigh!" sandwich board. End-Timers have repeatedly made the "Left Behind" series of apocalyptic books among America's best-selling titles, with over 60 million copies sold. And they have also spawned a mini-industry of imminent doomsday Web sites like ApocalypseSoon.org and Raptureready.com. The latter features a Rapture Index that, according to the site, acts as a "Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity" and a "prophetic speedometer" (the higher the number, the faster we're moving toward the Second Coming). For those of you keeping score, the Rapture Index is currently 152 — an off-the-chart mark of prophetic indicators. Now I'm not saying that Bush is a delusion-driven End-Timer (although he has let it be known that God speaks to — and through— him, and he believes "in a divine plan that supersedes all human plans"). But he and his crew are certainly acting as if that's the case. Take the jaw-dropping federal debt, which currently stands at $4.3 trillion. Just last month the Government Accountability Office released a report that found that Bush's economic policies "will result in massive fiscal pressures that, if not effectively addressed, could cripple the economy, threaten our national security, and adversely affect the quality of life of Americans in the future." And what was the administration's reaction to this frightening assessment? Vice President Cheney shrugged, took a hearty swig of the End-Time Kool-Aid, and announced that the administration wants another round of tax cuts. Basically a big fuck you.... |
It's okay. Let all the Neocon/Fundagelical corporate elite float up to heaven naked and leave the rest of us here, finally rid of them. At least maybe then the Democrats would have a fighting chance. Although, the way we've been fractured and disorganized the past 24 years, it still may not be enough.
I sure hope the rapture doesn't affect my internet connection. Or my TiVo.
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January 11, 2005
Organized labor, one of the stalwarts of democracy, has had both its size and influence greatly eroded over the past two decades. The NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) has been the primary culprit as explained in a recent article in TNR and excerpted below:
There isn't a single characteristic of organized labor that is shared by the Neocon agenda, and the current Bush Admnistration will continue to support any policies that further undermine labor's influence in society.
If you need a good example of how the Right is flat-out lying about how the Social Security Program is reaching "crisis" time, just read this pile of trash by Donald Luskin of NRO. Almost every "fact" in it is incorrect. If the Democrats and moderate Republicans can't stop Bush's attempts to privatize Social Security, then, folks, it's time to pack your bags and move on. Literally.
Bill Cosby and some other lesser-known celebrities/political figures are suggested as Democratic presidential candidates for 2008 in this Washington Monthly article. Interesting...
Dean announces his desire to be the next DNC Chair (snippet, emphasis added):
Although Dean's a centrist, it would be a huge move to the left compared to today's DNC position, which currently is more to the right than the Republican Party of the 70's.
Organized Labor becoming only a pleasant memory?
Organized labor, one of the stalwarts of democracy, has had both its size and influence greatly eroded over the past two decades. The NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) has been the primary culprit as explained in a recent article in TNR and excerpted below:
| ....Union membership has plummeted from 23 percent in 1979 to 12.5 percent today. Some of that drop is due to a shift from unionized manufacturing industries to nonunionized whitecollar services, but most of the decline stems from the nlrb's acquiescence to aggressive--and often illegal--employer tactics. American workers are, of course, the principal victims of labor's decline. (Union workers enjoy a 15.5 percent advantage in wages over nonunion workers with comparable skills and are 18.3 percent more likely to have health insurance.) But our democratic system as a whole is also a victim. Unions are an interest group, but one whose scope and concern allows it to speak for the public interest. And, because of its numbers and electoral influence, labor has been able to check the often narrow interests of Washington's powerful business lobbies. Without labor's clout, it's unlikely that Medicare would have been enacted in 1965 or that the minimum wage would have been raised repeatedly over the last 50 years.... |
There isn't a single characteristic of organized labor that is shared by the Neocon agenda, and the current Bush Admnistration will continue to support any policies that further undermine labor's influence in society.
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Another Donald cartoon character
If you need a good example of how the Right is flat-out lying about how the Social Security Program is reaching "crisis" time, just read this pile of trash by Donald Luskin of NRO. Almost every "fact" in it is incorrect. If the Democrats and moderate Republicans can't stop Bush's attempts to privatize Social Security, then, folks, it's time to pack your bags and move on. Literally.
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'Cos in '08
Bill Cosby and some other lesser-known celebrities/political figures are suggested as Democratic presidential candidates for 2008 in this Washington Monthly article. Interesting...
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Dean Wants It
Dean announces his desire to be the next DNC Chair (snippet, emphasis added):
| ....As I have traveled across our country, I have talked to thousands of people who are working for change in their own communities about the power of politics to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others. Every group I have spoken to, I have encouraged them to stand up for what they believe and to get involved, by volunteering, knocking on doors, leafleting, writing letters, donating money and most important, running for office. Today, I'm announcing my candidacy for the Chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, and I am asking for your vote. Terry McAuliffe will soon step down, leaving the Democratic Party solvent and poised for growth for the first time ever after a presidential campaign. As a result, our Party has an enormous opportunity to build on the energy and experience of the last election -- and your decision about our next leader will be critical to building a party that grows our base and creates a lasting majority. We need a party focused on more than the next election. We need to build an infrastructure now that will remain in place not only in 2008, but in 2005, 2006, 2007 and beyond. There is only one way to do this: together, we must build from the ground up. The states are a central piece of that strategy. The Democratic Party needs a vibrant, forward-thinking, long-term presence in every single state. We must give our state parties the tools and resources they need in order to be successful. We must be willing to contest every race at every level. We can only win when we show up. Another integral part of our strategy must be cultivating the party's grassroots. Our success depends on all of us taking an active role in our party and in the political process, by encouraging small donations, by taking the Democratic message into every community, and by organizing at the local level. After all, new ideas and new leaders don't come from consultants; they come from communities..... |
Although Dean's a centrist, it would be a huge move to the left compared to today's DNC position, which currently is more to the right than the Republican Party of the 70's.
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January 10, 2005
Hi, Scott
Here's a big hello to Scott Lamont who thinks highly enough of Left is Right to list it on his short "blogs I follow" list. Check out his very nicely formatted site, which has a lot of info and opinions. Best of all, Scott seems to hold every nursing degree in existence, but most importantly, he's from the world's greatest nation, Canada! Thanks for visiting, Scott.
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The possibly impending global economic meltdown explained. Snippet:
| ....The problem is that there are already enormous sums of dollars sitting in Chinese, Korean and Japanese Banks as well as the amount needed to offset transactions around the world. At the end of last year foreigners owned about $9.6 trillion in U.S. assets and we owned about $7.2 trillion in foreign assets leaving a net foreign investment (debt) of $2.4 trillion – three times what it was only four years ago and eight times what it was only a decade ago. In absolute terms that is at least hundreds of times bigger than the net foreign debt of any country in the history of the world. As a percentage of GDP, there are two countries, Australia and Portugal that have larger debts than the United States but the relationship between external debt and GDP does not provide the entire picture. The combined external debt of Australia and Portugal is about one four thousandth the size of the of the U.S. external debt. While the world economy could easily absorb the exports necessary to start paying down the debt of Australia and Portugal there seems little prospect of finding the more than half a trillion a year in new markets to absorb enough exports to begin to pay down the U.S. external debt. That debt will increase significantly again this year with a trade deficit that is approaching $600 billion. Furthermore, recent studies by a variety of analysts project the continued rapid growth of the U.S. external debt for the foreseeable future. In addition, the interest, rent or dividends that are due to foreigners who own U.S. assets ads even more to the debt. Even if U.S. assets are yielding no more than 2 or 3%, that increases the annual growth of the debt by an additional $50 to $60 billion.... |
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Some tsunami videos shot by amateurs.
Here's an animation of the tsunamis as they traveled throughout the Indian Ocean.
From a recent post on P!:
It is pitiful that Progressives and so-called Democrats must now stoop to such gimmicks as this type of political protest. This will be about as effective as Casual Fridays. We need to be out in the streets, peacefully protesting. We need to pick a Saturday and spend all day at street corners in our communities holding protest signs and passing out meaningful literature. We need people to SEE us, not MISS us.
Here's an animation of the tsunamis as they traveled throughout the Indian Ocean.
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From a recent post on P!:
| ....As a vehicle for meaningful progressive change, the Democratic Party as we once knew it (or plausibly hoped it might be) is kaput. Even as a defense mechanism against the worst excesses of the right, the Party's continued utility is highly questionable--as the fecklessness of congressional Democrats in the face of the Bush-GOP junta demonstrates. At best, the dwindling number of serious liberals remaining among the Party's growing cast of surrender monkeys can create some minor friction in the path of the rightward-moving juggernaut. Phil Ochs was right: if there's any hope for America, it lies in revolution. Not necessarily a revolution of the type associated with Che Guevera, but a revolution nonetheless--in the sense of a toppling of despotism and a fundamental transformation of the social order. And, if there's any hope for a revolution in American, the revolutionary movement it must speak to--and give voice to--those who don't necessarily think of themselves as revolutionaries, but whose lives, and ways of life, are being devastated by prevailing American politics as embodied by both major parties. |
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Absence Never Spawned a Revolution
| NOT ONE DAMN DIME DAY Since our leaders don't have the moral courage to speak out against the war in Iraq, Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One Damn Dime Day" in America. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending. During "Not One Damn Dime Day" please don't spend money, and don't use your credit card. Not one damn dime for gasoline. Not one damn dime for necessities or for impulse purchases. Nor toll/cab/bus or train ride money exchanges. Not one damn dime for anything for 24 hours. On "Not One Damn Dime Day," please boycott Walmart, KMart and Target. Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter). For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down. The object is simple. Remind the people in power that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal; that they are responsible for starting it and that it is their responsibility to stop it. "Not One Damn Dime Day" is to remind them, too, that they work for the people of the United States of America, not for the international corporations and K Street lobbyists who represent the corporations and funnel cash into American politics. "Not One Damn Dime Day" is about supporting the troops. The politicians put the troops in harm's way. Now 1,200 brave young Americans and (some estimate) 100,000 Iraqis have died. The politicians owe our troops a plan -- a way to come home. There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No left or right wing agenda to rant about. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" you take action by doing nothing. You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed. For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one damn dime, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people. |
It is pitiful that Progressives and so-called Democrats must now stoop to such gimmicks as this type of political protest. This will be about as effective as Casual Fridays. We need to be out in the streets, peacefully protesting. We need to pick a Saturday and spend all day at street corners in our communities holding protest signs and passing out meaningful literature. We need people to SEE us, not MISS us.
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Crummy Rummy
| Rummy is Crummy by Alon Barlevy, PhD., Vice President, Hubert Humphrey Democratic Club Earlier last month, at a town hall meeting with soldiers in Kuwait, Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, was asked the now famous question "why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromise ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles, and why don’t we have those resources readily available to us?" After stalling a little (utilizing the technique of asking to repeat the question), Rummy gave the now infamous answer "You go to war with the Army you have. .... not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time." The problem with that answer is that it simply does not apply to the situation in Iraq. This would have been the right answer if we were attacked, and we were using the Army we have to fight in self defense. The situation in Iraq is the exact opposite. We are the ones that started this "preemptive war", as the Bush Administration likes to call it, in order to disarm Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction (where are those WMD’s, by the way?) Under such circumstances, we should have waited to get all the equipment needed in order for the troops to successfully accomplish their mission. As Secretary of Defense who sends soldiers to risk their lives for their country, Rumsfeld must provide the troops with everything they need in order to minimize the risk, and maximize the probability of success. The fact that our troops do not have the equipment they need to keep them safe was well known prior to that town hall meeting in Kuwait. Just prior to the November elections, a story came out of soldiers in Iraq who refused to carry out an order because they were concerned that the vehicles provided were not safe enough to carry out the mission, making it a "suicide mission". The concerns were deemed justified, and no soldier was punished in that incident. We as a society should be outraged that the situation has deteriorated to a point where the issue of troop safety does not receive the proper attention until a soldier publicly asks such a question. Since that infamous exchange, we have learned that the question was actually planted by a journalist (although the soldier who asked the question has continued to stand behind it). The reason there was a need to plant the question in the first place is that journalists were barred from asking questions at that event. While it is perfectly understandable that the secretary may want to hold different events for troops and different events for journalists, Rumsfeld (like his boss) limits the questions that can be asked at his press conferences and the journalists that are invited. This is not something that should be tolerated in a properly functioning democracy. I’m not Rumsfeld's only critic. Republican Senators John McCain (AZ), Chuck Hagel (NE), Susan Collins (ME), Trent Lott (MS), and Norman Coleman (MN) have also been critical of Rumsfeld. It is time for Rumsfeld to be held accountable, and let go. |
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January 7, 2005
Iokiyar (reg. req.)
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In Just Two Days...
Get Ready for P! scheduled to debut Sunday, January 9th
Well, that didn't last long. I wonder who in the Bush Administration made the most convincing threat.
Mark Morford tries to understand Americans' hypocritical love of SUVs (snippets):
As a Prius driver I can tell you that watching a 105 pound twenty-something female chatting on the cell phone while swerving around in her freeway lane alone in her 4-ton behemoth SUV is probably the dumbest thing you can see on a daily basis.
From ArnoldWatch:
Calling Jenny in every area code
Nerd Gym
Huh? (spoof business consulting firm)
360 Degree Panoramas of New Year's Celebrations (interactive)
Lego Logic
Food Anomalies (photos)
Pi to Music
Moneywallet (how to make a wallet out of money)
Extreme Whale Watching (video)
Homemade Tank (comments are funny, too)
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| "The Bush administration hasn't changed. This is an administration that believes it can do and say whatever it wants, and that attitude is changing the very nature of the United States. It is eroding the checks and balances so crucial to American-style democracy. It led the U.S., against the advice of most of the world, to launch the dreadful war in Iraq. It led Mr. Gonzales to ignore the expressed concerns of the State Department and top military brass as he blithely opened the gates for the prisoner abuse vehicles to roll through. There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of power, arrogance and incompetence. In the Bush administration, that mixture has been explosive. Forget the meant-to-be-comforting rhetoric surrounding Mr. Gonzales's confirmation hearings. Nothing's changed. As detailed in The Washington Post earlier this month, the administration is making secret plans for the possible lifetime detention of suspected terrorists who will never even be charged. Due process? That's a laugh. Included among the detainees, the paper noted, are hundreds of people in military or C.I.A. custody "whom the government does not have enough evidence to charge in courts." And there will be plenty more detainees to come." - - - BOB HERBERT |
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| "Because sometimes it's just good to say "no," simply for the sake of saying it, because doing so lessens your complicity in a comfortable politics in which the destruction of American ideals is more admired for its clever tactics than it is condemned for its lasting damage. This is a government of vandals, and shame on anyone too dumb to realize it, or so ambitious that they'd make peace with it. Shame on any Democratic legislator who didn't line up with Boxer yesterday, especially the ones that gave pretty speeches and voted the other way. Shame on any Democrat who votes to confirm Alberto Gonzales. Shame on any Democrat who attaches himself to any Social Security plan while this administration is in office. This is a time to say no, just for the pure hell of it. Trust me, there's no political price to be paid that you're not already paying, piecemeal, out of your souls." - - - Charles Pierce |
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Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? No.
Well, that didn't last long. I wonder who in the Bush Administration made the most convincing threat.
| Staples, Inc. (ticker: PR_96244, exchange: Privately Held) News Release - 1/6/2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Statement about Staples media buying and Sinclair Broadcast Group FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2005--To clarify that Staples does not have a policy against advertising on Sinclair Broadcast Group news, Staples has the following statement: Our media buying process with Sinclair Broadcast Group stations has recently been misrepresented by an organization with no affiliation to Staples. Staples regularly drops and adds specific programs from our media buying schedule, as we evaluate and adjust how to best reach our customers. We do not let political agendas drive our media buying decisions. Staples does not support any political party. We advertise with a variety of media outlets, but do not necessarily share the same views of these organizations or what they report. As we have done for a number of years, Staples will continue to advertise on Sinclair Broadcast Group stations. |
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| "By using torture, we Americans transform ourselves into the very caricature our enemies have sought to make of us. True, that miserable man who pulled out his hair as he lay on the floor at Guantánamo may eventually tell his interrogators what he knows, or what they want to hear. But for America, torture is self-defeating; for a strong country it is in the end a strategy of weakness. After Mr. Gonzales is confirmed, the road back - to justice, order and propriety - will be very long. Torture will belong to us all." - - - UC Berkeley journalism professor Mark Danner |
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SUVs and Hypocricy
Mark Morford tries to understand Americans' hypocritical love of SUVs (snippets):
| ....You can see it in the eyes of most every new SUV buyer as they stare, wide eyed and overwhelmed, at the massive vehicles in the showroom: some sort of veil drops over their eyes, some sort of weird opiate pumps into their brains and they lose all sense of reason or intelligence or common sense or environmental concern and their ego balloons and their testosterone kicks up three notches and they go into some sort of spasm of denial about how purchasing one of these things will, in fact, contribute quite heartily to the overall ill health of their own bodies and the planet as a whole, not to mention the very reason we are so desperately, violently at war. And the salesman sees that look and just smiles and licks his chops and points out how this 4-ton hunk of environmental devastation can seat nine and tow a large tractor or maybe 15 head of cattle, plus it has 27 cup holders and three DVD players and a built-in sense of false superiority, and the vaguely depressed regularly emasculated suburban dad or the gum-snapping Marina girl with way too much of her parents' money and way too little self-defined taste takes one look and goes, oooh. What, too harsh? Not really. Most people know these facts to be true, but buy the tanks anyway in a mad collusion of wishful thinking and raw denial and false advertising, absolutely convinced the beasts are somehow safer and sturdier (they're neither) and that they absolutely must have 37 cubic feet of cargo space to haul their grocery bags and 4-wheel-drive traction to get over those little concrete barriers in the mall parking lot and just ignore the fact that the thing rides like a brick and handles like a block of lead and is about as attractive and beautifully designed as a jar of rocks. Irony? The SUV drips with it. Fact is, most Americans consider themselves environmentally conscious and claim to care deeply about protecting natural resources and don't really want war and suffering or the insane BushCo-brand oil dependence that causes both. But the truth is, if Americans really cared about energy and pollution and reducing reliance on foreign oil and getting us out from under the massive hypocritical terrorist-supportin' Saudi thumb, they'd buy smaller or more efficient vehicles. Period. But they don't. .... And I know there is no accounting for taste and that a big part of the sad American ideology is a willful separation of cause and effect, and that there are worse atrocities in the world than owning a shiny black knobby-tired 5-ton Ford Expedition that never sees anything more rugged than a pothole in the Krispy Kreme drive-thru. But, really, we have to just admit it: the SUV is hypocrisy incarnate. It is the perfect emblem for the American view, for our position in the world: gluttonous, vain, mostly useless (over 85 percent of SUVs never see a dirt road, much less need 4-wheel drive), ugly as hell and as graceful or practical as a school bus on an ice-skating rink. Just admit it. Maybe it will help. Maybe a tiny confession of guilt will put us back on the right track. After all, admission of the problem is the first step toward recovery, right?.... |
As a Prius driver I can tell you that watching a 105 pound twenty-something female chatting on the cell phone while swerving around in her freeway lane alone in her 4-ton behemoth SUV is probably the dumbest thing you can see on a daily basis.
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Arnold the Eliminator
From ArnoldWatch:
| Back To The Days Of The Hapsburg Dynasty by Jamie Court Today, the Governor announced the proposed elimination of 94 public protection oversight boards such as the Medical Board, Board of Registered Nursing, Accountancy Board, Racial Profiling Panel, the Brown vs. Board of Education Advisory Committee and the Campus Sexual Assault Taskforce. In doing so the governor would be eliminating public process and citizen oversight boards subject to open meetings laws that have been developed over decades. It’s a power grab befitting a king who wants to make all the decisions in closed chambers, with the aristocrats at his side and the serfs suffering the consequences. For example, instead of a committee of doctors and members of the public overseeing medical discipline through open meetings, the Governor would have his political appointee, former Assembly member Fred Aguiar (who took big money from doctors and insurers and voted their way) overseeing the profession. This will make the medical-insurance lobby jump for joy because they have Aguiar’s ear, but it will quash prosecution of dangerous doctors who happen to be politically connected. Similarly, hospitals will be given free reign to save money by letting less skilled caregivers take over the jobs of Registered Nurses if the Nursing Board disappears. All of this will turn the clock back on consumer protection and medical safety, and literally threaten patients’ lives. The same threat to life and limb holds true for the elimination of the Boards of Pharmacy, Building Standards, Dental Services, et al... To “absorb” control of professional licensing into a political bureaucracy where industry money talks is to forget the public and its safety. It belies the arrogance of a ruler who thinks that he and his court make up the only process that counts. Arnold wants to send us back to the House of Hapsburg, the rulers of much of Europe from 1218 to 1912. In those despotic days, the safety of buildings, medicine and dentistry were a little different too. In a related note: Arnold has not, interestingly, done away with the California Film Commission. Seems that the movie star has a little different view of what’s important. |
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Friday Fun
Calling Jenny in every area code
Nerd Gym
Huh? (spoof business consulting firm)
360 Degree Panoramas of New Year's Celebrations (interactive)
Lego Logic
Food Anomalies (photos)
Pi to Music
Moneywallet (how to make a wallet out of money)
Extreme Whale Watching (video)
Homemade Tank (comments are funny, too)
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January 6, 2005
Margaret Carlson, writing in the LA Times, wonders about the shrewdness of an inuagural ball amidst military vehicle armor shortages in Iraq and Sumatra tsunami victims (snippet):
Bush, Inaugural Balls and Cheap Gestures
Margaret Carlson, writing in the LA Times, wonders about the shrewdness of an inuagural ball amidst military vehicle armor shortages in Iraq and Sumatra tsunami victims (snippet):