A Proud Liberal

SOUR KOOL-AID

2009-02-20T00:01:00.001-07:00

SOUR KOOL-AID

I admit freely that I drank from the Democratic/Obama Kool-Aid punch bowl. The taste of that Kool-Aid has now soured beyond the point of drinkability. Make no mistake; the Bush/McCain/Republican punch bowl was much more than soured, it was pure poison. Two things since Obama took office have totally soured my taste for the Democratic/Obama Kool-Aid. The first and most damaging is the commitment of the administration to send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan. The second is the watered down and probably ineffective "Stimulus Package." I will now examine each of these in detail and why I think the "Glimmer of Hope" that was Obama is now a "Candle in the Wind."

The "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan are myth, public relations fabrications. They are NOT wars. They are invasions and occupations of over matched sovereign countries. The war mongering Right has been allowed to define these illegal and immoral actions in terms that sound patriotic and reasonable. The talking pinheads of the Right abuse the term "Liberal" constantly by characterizing Obama has being a radical Liberal. They have skewed the perceived middle point so far to the right, that traditional Conservatives like Barry Goldwater seem to be radical Liberals. President Obama is no Liberal and the sending of additional troops to Afghanistan is the most obvious proof.

He claims to have been against the Iraqi invasion from the beginning and I take him at his word so far, watching to see if the withdrawals from Iraq happen in a timely fashion. The continuation of construction of permanent bases within Iraq however has raised my level of skepticism. My first active participation in a presidential race was in 1972, with George McGovern running against Tricky Dick Nixon. I abhorred the killing and dying in Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia. Today I abhor the killing and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan even more, if that is possible. The best and most patriotic of our young people have died and are dying for no good reason. We as a country have enough blood of innocents, in all three countries, on our hands to rival the atrocities of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. We have failed to learn from history and the death toll keeps rising. We have seen the face of evil and it stares back from our mirrors.

When Bush/Cheney took office, the country had a surplus and there was a lot of talk of what to do with the "Peace Dividend." Tax cuts were the favorite of the Right because they no longer wanted the "free loading poor" putting their hands out. Never mind the radical overhaul to the Welfare System that took place under Clinton. Then 9/11/2001 occurred. All talk of a Peace Dividend disappeared and the drums of war began to beat loudly. Strangely though, the tax cuts for the rich and corporations stayed with us. The Right proceeded to tax less and spend more. They proved to have no basic arithmetic skills except lining their own bank accounts. The recipe for the ultimate distraction was put into place. We are now faced with economic troubles that may rival the Great Depression of 1920's and 1930's.

We have had tax cuts since Reagan took office in 1981. There is some evidence that for the short term they might help but in the long term they have failed to stave off longer and deeper recessions. Despite being elected with a firm mandate, Obama proposed a Stimulus Package that was flawed through compromise from the beginning. The results of making a third of his package tax cuts were the votes of three Republican Senators and NO Republican Representatives. Comparable money spent to bail out bankers and stockbrokers passed Congress without the same need to compromise. The rich were protected while the poor and middle class were screwed again.

People are worried about their homes, their next paycheck and even their next meal. They don't want to be bothered by the killing, dying and waste of Iraq and Afghanistan. The sleight of hand of keeping the economy in the forefront while the killing and dying continue is despicable. We are in this economic meltdown because of the military spending. Spending on Iraq and Afghanistan will need to stop before real recovery can start at home.

My hope today is that Obama can resist the wind and keep the candle lit. To do that, he must become the radical Liberal that the pinheads accuse him of being. He must embrace the light. Then and only then can the sourness of the Kool-Aid be alleviated.

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Let the Healing Begin

2009-01-21T00:01:00.002-07:00

Let the Healing Begin

The day many of us feared that would never come has happened; George W. "War Chimp and Criminal" Bush has finally left office. The stench that has permeated the White House and the Office of President for the past eight years is now residing in Texas. How long will it take to reverse the multitude of crimes and wrongs perpetrated by this crime organization? The honest answer is infinity. The lives of over a million Iraqis and Afghans can never be restored or fully compensated. The squandering of nearly 5000 American service personnel's lives is unforgivable and irreversible. The uncounted thousands of Americans permanently disabled cannot ever be justified.

There seems to be widespread sentiment to let these actions go unaccounted. We as Americans must never forget these things were done in our name. To let this cancer fester on the American body politic is just plain wrong. My friends at UNKNOWN NEWS sell a bumper sticker that states: Their blood is on the hands of those who lied, those who spread the lies, and those who voted for the liars. For any healing to begin in earnest requires an accounting of the crimes of the War Chimp's cabal. When a patient undergoes surgery for cancer, the surgeon endeavors to cut out the entire cancer mass so the patient can begin the road to recovery. Such is the case here. We must root out ALL those who broke the law and bring them to justice. Anything less would just leave the cancer in place to continue growing.

Prior to the inauguration of President Obama, I had a countdown clock on my blog sites showing the time left for the War Chimp's time in office. I have replaced that clock with a count-up clock showing the amount of time he has gone without persecution for his crimes. I fear this clock may still be ticking when I'm dead and buried. I pray it won't be, if my country has any chance of truly healing and getting on the road of recovery.

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Liars and Promises

2008-11-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

Liars and Promises

I spent some time with my eighty year old father yesterday. He is retired and spends much of his time watching the cable news channels. I never watch these channels or listen to the talking pinheads on them or conservative talk radio. He made me aware of their new chosen tactic of undermining Obama's presidency even before he takes the oath of office. They are doing this by posing the following question: What promises will Obama try to keep?

Some may think this is an appropriate thing to ask of any president elect. That thought should last for nanoseconds when one considers the source of this question and their agenda. This is the same group of lying jackals that declared Bill Clinton a failure before he was sworn in. They are masters of framing the arguments to suit their intended outcome without discussing anything approaching reality. Their unstated insidious assumption is that Obama will never keep all his promises because they have deemed it impossible or worse yet, they have decided or hope that Obama is just another lying politician. They are at the end of a twenty-eight year period where lying and/or stupidity or both have become the fashionable norm for our president.

The real answer to this question would astound these liars in its simplicity: All of them. Nearly 68 million voters cast their vote for Obama making this assumption, close to 9 million more than his opponent. To put this in historical context, no presidential candidate received 9 million votes in total until Woodrow Wilson was reelected in 1916. Many of those 68 million voters, I among them, felt the promises did not go far enough. We all voted for change including the assumption that the lying and the just plain criminality of the last eight years needed to end.

Our country is deeply divided. The last time we were this deeply divided was during the election cycle of 1860. That resulted in the Civil War, the single seminal event of our country's history. Before that war the United States was referred to with plural references such as "the United States are," since the references are in the singular such as "the United States is." Obama has so far done some astounding things but the one of the most astounding is the idea of appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I admit that initially I was against this action but after further thought, I have come to believe this is very Lincoln-like. When Lincoln took office, he formed a cabinet that included many political rivals. This type of action goes back to Obama's choice of Biden as running mate, a former opponent in the primaries.

Our country is in deep economic trouble. The last time we were this deeply in economic trouble was the election cycle of 1932. Many of the programs and regulations that helped dig us out of that crisis have been systematically dismantled over the last twenty-eight years. It is not mere coincidence that we are again on the brink of another Great Depression. My father remembers living through the Great Depression. To quote him, "The bastards have done it again."

Most are suffering because of this division and hardship. Very few are prospering as result of this suffering. Among those that prosper are the liars that are promoting the idea Obama can't possibly succeed. Their vested interested is in seeing Obama fail. They are not the loyal opposition, they are just the opposition. Their loyalties are to their bank accounts and those that fill them. They have convinced far too many to vote against their own best interests with their lies. It is past time to tell them if they can't be loyal to the country, to shut up and go away. The Big Lie has been "Government is the Problem." This must be vanquished to rhetoric Hell, for "a Government of the People, for the People, and by the People," is our singular hope.

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Keeping the Glimmer of Hope

2008-11-10T00:01:00.004-07:00

Keeping the Glimmer of Hope

Barack Obama is the president-elect. We now have a glimmer of hope. We might even become optimistic if given a chance. If the last twenty-eight years have shown us anything, it is how fragile hope is. We are at the bottom of a long steep tunnel. The cynical and pessimistic side of us fears that glimmer of light at the end of tunnel is the headlight from the NeoCon freight train ready run us further into the ground. Make no mistake, they have been in power for a long time and the only way to assure they won't steal it back is to succeed with all our vigor and will. Here in no special order are some thoughts on how president-elect Obama can fulfill the promises of his campaign and right the ship of state.

Stop running for office. The election is over and you won. This point in history demands a leader who governs. The first term of the War Chimp is a prefect example of what goes wrong when your priority and main concern is maintaining power. Governing goes by the wayside and only cronies and rich donors prosper. Nothing succeeds like success; if you govern well, reelection is assured.

Ignore the labels. At the end of campaign you were accused in a conflated manner of being liberal/socialist/Marxist/Communist. Now in an effort to salvage their flawed ideology, some right wing gasbags are attempting to say you were elected because you embraced the ideas of Ronnie Raygun. You survived being labeled, "Tax and Spend." It remains to be seen whether we as a country can recover from the "Borrow and Spend" policies of the eight years of the War Chimp's administration. You have a firm majority in Congress, insist it isn't squandered. Ask the American public to judge you on your results, not some nebulous political labels. If your proposal(s) are labeled "Liberal" or "Progressive" or "Conservative" it matters little. What matters is if they succeed. I can tell you as a Proud Liberal despite being labeled liberal; Bill Clinton was a truer conservative than the War Chimp in many respects. Until both sides can rationally look at the other all that will be accomplished is finger pointing while the country goes to Hell in a basket.

Use control of the Congressional majorities. There is nothing in the Constitution that defines a majority in the Senate as sixty percent. When the opposition threatens filibuster, threaten the nuclear option that the Republicans did in the 1990's. Make them physically filibuster, forcing them to appear on camera as the obstructionists they are when filibustering. We can longer come to a street fight and fight like a gentlemen's debate club.

Don't knowingly lie to the American public. This practice by presidents from both sides of the aisle has done more harm to our country than any other single factor. Americans can fact check better than anytime in history. You have a good start at gaining the trust of the public. Do nothing that could jeopardize this process. This includes promptly and openly admitting mistakes. Nixon could have finished his second term had he understood the capacity of the American populace to understand and forgive.

Get us out of the occupation business. The use of military force should be the means of last resort for the United States. The deaths and displacement in both Iraq and Afghanistan is on the collective conscience of our entire nation. Might does not make right. The restoration of our national honor is a must. A side effect to getting out of this morass is the cessation of squandering of resources and then they can be used for the needs of humanity both at home and abroad.

Bring back respect for competence and intelligence. We have come to expect so little from our leaders, that Sarah Palin was taken as a serious candidate. We have gone from a nation of innovators to a country of consumers. Solutions to the catastrophic environmental crisis will require innovation. Once we were the leaders of science and engineering, entertaining the notions of right wing wackos has possibly put us over an edge from which we may never recover. To be plain: the two sides of the same wooden nickel, Creationism and Intelligent Design, masquerading as science has put the average high school and college student at a severe and possibly non-recoverable position in the twin worlds of science and engineering. It is time to relegate these ideas to the Philosophy and Religion classrooms. Science advances via the scientific method not superstition.

Reward real results and stop rewarding smoke and mirror results. Executives of all types have been rewarded for far too long, far too much, for things not real. One of the results of this is the current recession. Nothing any of these executives do is worth the thousands of dollars per hour they receive. In many cases they are rewarded despite being abject failures. The days of the platinum parachute should be over. Lincoln stated correctly that the capital of America starts with the labors of the American worker not the bankers. There is a systemic problem when a company's stock rises on news of layoffs. If the system wasn't skewed, stocks should tank on layoff news.

So, there's my two cents worth. Expect my support but not blind support; I will keep your feet to the fire as I hope the newly energized electoral will. Politics in a modern world has become a matter of life and death on an everyday basis, not once every four years as in the past. One way to "Keep the Glimmer of Hope" is to continue the involvement of the non-traditional voter long past the election.

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Scorched Earth Politics Must End

2008-10-21T00:01:00.002-07:00

Scorched Earth Politics Must End

It is now two weeks to the election. The Republican campaign has shifted into high gear. For them this means using any innuendo or out right lie in an effort to win. That's their best result. Their second best would be to make the vote close enough they could perform election theft again ala 2000 and 2004. (Make no mistake about it, those two elections were stolen; there is no such thing as stealing them fair and square.) The third outcome, which now seems most likely, is for Obama to win the presidency. Their fall back plan is to guarantee that if elected Obama will be so weakened by the "Scorched Earth" effect that he will be unable to lead effectively.

When the War Chimp took the oath of office in 2001 and 2005, he claimed false mandates based on razor thin margins. His idea of compromise has been, "My way or the highway." With a compliant Congress, he has done as he damned well pleased for nearly eight years. McWar and Caribou Barbie want to extend this devastating practice. I am not sure we haven't gone past the point of no return but I am convinced that if they were to gain office, our chances would assuredly be zero.

This Scorched Earth campaign being waged pits white against black, rich against poor, liberal against conservative, young against old, and finally, worst of all, patriotic American against patriotic American. It is the politics of division and hate. Obama is being accused of being a terrorist by association. Big city dwellers are being told they don't see the real America. Obama is whispered to be a Muslim. Obama is accused of being the most liberal member of the Senate. I would like to say a few about each of these absurd accusations and assertions.

Obama is being accused of being a terrorist by association. This is ridiculous on its face but the Repugs are still making robo-calls with this accusation. Joseph McCarthy asked, "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" This accusation asks, "Do you now or have you ever associated with domestic terrorists?" A witch-hunt even worse than McCarthy! I try to live true to my liberal philosophy and have over the course of time volunteered for organizations at many different levels. While the organizations did some background checks on me, I would never consider it my role to check on those volunteering with me. This just goes beyond the pale.

Big city dwellers are being told they don't see the real America. This is a not so veiled reference to racial prejudices. This insidious ploy says people of color can't be real Americans because they are incapable seeing the real America. It is designed to destroy unity and promote divisiveness. The U in USA stands for United; any attempt at driving us apart is at its core, unpatriotic.

Obama is whispered to be a Muslim. When Colin Powell endorsed Obama, he said the correct response to this should be, "So what?" While the Constitution includes several qualifications for President, there is only one thing that it specifically excludes, a religious test. The Repugs claim to be strict Constitutionalists, but it now appears to be only when it will let gain and maintain power. For me, the most enlightening thing is that Obama is head and shoulders a better Christian than either McWar or Caribou Barbie. McWar came to Obama defense when a woman from the crowd said she couldn't vote for Obama because he was an Arab. McWar said Obama was a good family man, implying an Arab couldn't be a good family man, revealing a deep-seated bigotry that may or may not even be conscious. The other is this conflating of Arab and Muslim. Not all Arabs are Muslim. Not all Muslims are Arab. But, most of all, very few Arabs, Muslims, Christians or Jews are radical extremists willing to die or kill for their cause.

Obama is accused of being the most liberal member of the Senate. I would be extremely pleased if only this were true. Obama is far from being the traditional liberal. The NeoCons have turned this term into such a pejorative, they believe just applying the label is the kiss of death. It is for the sheeple that believe Fox News. For the true liberal, we know the names of Kennedy and Sanders are better representations of the liberal philosophy.

Stop this Scorched Earth policy. United we stand, divided we fall. Embrace the differences and roll up your sleeves and let's try to right this ship of state.

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How Big a Clothespin?

2008-06-22T00:01:00.002-07:00

How Big a Clothespin?

It has been several months since I have posted in this blog. One reason has been the work that has been required getting the over 58,000 names posted in my Namnesia Antidote blog. The names on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall have been posted at least in triplicate there. Work continues and those postings and indices will continue to expand.

While the other blog has taken the majority of my time, I studiously avoided making any posting about the Democratic Party's nomination process. This is because as the nominating process progressed, I became increasingly apathetic about the candidates. In my mini-profile posted in the sidebar of all my blogs, I mention my first eligible presidential election was when George McGovern ran against Tricky Dick. My vote that year was an exception to the majority of presidential votes I would cast over the years. It was an unabashed vote FOR the Democratic nominee. Many of my votes in later elections were votes for the lesser of two evils or AGAINST the Republican candidate. Dukakis and Gore were the exception to this pattern.

I have had a procession of candidates I supported actively during this primary season. My first choice was to draft Al Gore, giving him a chance to regain what stolen from him in November 2000. His focus and energies are spent on the most critical challenges the WORLD faces today, I wish him success in his efforts; he must be successful if my children are to have any type of future. My next choice was Dennis Kucinich. Dennis is man of peace, courage and integrity. His candidacy was trivialized by his opponents and the media. Opportunistic Democrats in Cleveland tried to unseat him in the Congressional primaries, so he was forced to leave the race. He recently presented 35 Articles of Impeachment against the War Chimp, thus continuing to establish his bona-fides as true supporter of the Constitution and the whole country.

The next candidate to receive my support was Edwards. Edwards made his chops taking on corporations as a trial lawyer before he entered the Senate. Since the stolen 2004 election, he has concentrated on fighting poverty. These characteristics doomed his candidacy. This left Mike Gravel as the only true peace candidate. (I know many Ron Paul supporters that feel differently. I could never support a candidate whose main objection to the war was that it cost too much not that it was a crime against humanity. Additionally, his Conservative Libertarian history, that allows economic and racial injustices, was a disqualification.) Gravel not being an office holder meant he was able to carrying on his efforts longer but no more effectively than Kucinich or Edwards.

This left Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Neither are Progressive candidates of the FDR/JFK Democratic Party. Hillary's association with the Democratic Leadership Conference (Bill's DLC association made him the best Republican president of the twentieth century.) and vote for the Iraq War made her a possible nominee that was the greater of two evils. Obama was a wild card. Since he has secured the nomination, he has gone and groveled to AIPAC and supported amnesty for the telecom companies in the War Chimp's blatantly illegal and unconstitutional eavesdropping program. Things both he and his presumptive Republican opponent are guilty of doing.

That being said about Obama, I must state unequivocally that John McWarSameBush would be an unmitigated disaster for the country. This would result in a third War Chimp term but with a vengeance. This brings me to the title of this entry: How Big a Clothespin? The answer: However big it needs to be to allow me to vote for Obama. This is not a vote for Obama because I believe him to be a JFK/RFK. It is a vote of preservation of the country and me & mine, against John McWarSameBush. I can only hope that enough voters across the country can overcome whatever election theft methodologies the Republicans have planned for 2008.

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New Blog by A Proud Liberal—Namnesia Antidote

2008-03-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

What is Namnesia Antidote?

When a fellow poster, anniefey, made a post at the TV News Lies Board about these two syndromes I was struck by the pervasiveness of this type of thinking when it comes to the occupation of Iraq. The warmongers in the administration and Congress not only suffer from Namnesia but have gone out of their way to spread the infection. When George "War Criminal" Bush talks about not repeating the mistakes of Vietnam, he is stating our error was withdrawing prematurely and leaving only 58,168 known dead Americans. He is determined to "stay the course" indefinitely in Iraq, no matter the cost in human lives and resources. When anniefey made her post it was with two unhappy coincidences; the five-year anniversary of the Iraq invasion and the occasion of the 4,000th American causality. We had once again failed to learn from history and were doomed to repeating the same errors.

Posts on this blog begin on March 23rd. In 2008, this was both Easter and the date of the aforementioned 4,000th causality. The names posted on this blog are from the Vietnam War Memorial Wall as extracted from the No Quarter organization website. Any errors in the extraction are mine and I apologize in advance for them. While a laudable goal would be to have a posting for everyone whose name appears on The Wall, it is just not feasible for a one-man operation. What I will attempt here is to have posted for each day of the year two lists of these names; the first commemorating the date of death and the second celebrating the birth of those who gave their lives. I encourage anyone to post comments on these individuals, when such a comment is posted, I will attempt to create an individual post with more detailed information for that person. This will give family, friends and supporters the chance to collectively honor and remember these fallen service men. I will post these individual posts by birthdates.

The information on this blog will also appear in my This Day in History blog daily posts. I hope this double posting will give some additional exposure to these men and women while aiding in combating Namnesia.

Thank and Support Montel Williams

2008-02-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

Thank and Support Montel Williams

Recently when Fox News invited Montel Williams to come on the air to discuss the death of movie star Heath Ledger, he refused to discuss it in depth saying that while he felt for the star's family the deaths in Iraq deserved discussion. At the end of this post, there is a YouTube link where one can view the entire segment. It is not long since this is only the part where Williams appeared. The talking heads of Faux went to commercial when they were unable to turn Williams away from the subject of Iraq. He was not with the panel after the return from commercial break.

This was not the end of the matter however, over the next three days, Fox affiliates that carried the "Montel Williams Show" all declined to sign renewal contracts for 2008-2009. The syndicators of the show then announced that the show was being cancelled. This means Montel was essentially fired for having the audacity to talk about troop deaths on Fox. The power of a monolithic Main Stream Media has reached a new obscene level. They have proven to be coconspirators with the warmongers of the Bush regime. Ignoring the death and destruction in Iraq has allowed almost 4,000 American military deaths and over 1 million civilian Iraqi deaths. This is head in the sand, what they don't know won't hurt them attitude, is a war crime in and of itself.

I have spent the last few days looking for place to support Montel. While I did find several bloggers that supported him, one even linking to a Fox complaint site, I did not find any with the sole purpose of saying thank you. I have decided to start an online petition to do just that.

Petition to Thank and Support Montel Williams

The petition states:

To Montel Williams:
We the undersigned would like to say thank you. We applaud your efforts to try to discuss the human costs of the Iraq invasion and occupation. We deplore the fact that your efforts have cost you your job. We send our best wishes and hopes for success in your future endeavors. Please keep thinking free and do not let the country forget the killing and dying—it will only let the Iraqi situation continue with no end in sight.

Video of Montel Williams' Apperance on Fox

This blog is posted at the following two places. Place feel free to spread it far and wide being sure to include at a minimum the link to the petition.

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How Many More Scandals in Reserve?

2007-12-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

How Many More Scandals in Reserve?

Last week's events seemed at first blush a very good thing that were long overdue. George W. "War Criminal" Bush had been PROVEN and EXPOSED as the liar he is. His talk of World War III being at hand and that we have Iran to blame was shown to be pure fabrication. We appeared to have the smoking gun of his duplicitous actions. He knowingly lied in an attempt to start another pre-emptive war. This remained the top news story for no more than a single news cycle. Why? The war cabal had a scandal in reserve to divert attention from the War Criminal's blatant lying. Before the weekend news cycle, all eyes and ears had been diverted to the destroyed torture tapes.

Yes, torture is a bad thing, but any rational, thinking and informed person already knew torture was being committed in our names. These tapes were not destroyed because they would change anyone's mind. Their destruction was a calculated action. The destruction was over two years ago. The war cabal put their destruction in their reserve of distractions. Whenever the momentum is swinging to bringing Bush and company to account, there is convenient diversion. I am forced to wonder how many more of these scandals lie dormant for the war cabal to divert the American public from the real criminals.

This is the same type of lie that got us into Iraq. Over a million innocent lives lost—we must leave as soon as possible. It is long past time to impeach, convict and remove from office both Bush and Cheney. Once that is accomplished, it is our duty as members of the human race to make sure they are tried as the war criminals they have been exposed. We must not let a "sound bite" mentality divert us from this. If we do allow this to work, there is no telling how many more diversions are being kept in reserve.

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JFK and Thanksgiving: 44 Years Later

2007-11-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

JFK and Thanksgiving: 44 Years Later

Thanksgiving this year falls on the anniversary of the assassination John Fitzgerald Kennedy. It was forty-four years ago in Dallas that the direction of this country was irrevocably changed. Changed for the worse. There have been brief periods of hope only to have the downward spiral continue in even steeper rushes to oblivion.

The details of those intervening years matter little. Discussions about those details only serve as a distraction about the real issues of the day. The vast majority of Americans will spend the next two days concerned about gluttony and greed, and the powers in charge couldn't be more delighted. We were running "duck and cover" drills in the years around JFK's killing. Today we have a corrupt war criminal playing games with nuclear war to further line the pockets of the rich. We seem to be running headlong and willingly to World War III.

Three instances of this insanity: One—we invaded a sovereign nation under false pretensions. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and had no connection with the 9/11 attacks. Two—the same rhetoric is being used about Iran. Diplomacy isn't even considered an option. Three—"one of our strongest allies in the War on Terror" is a military fascist regime with known and flaunted nuclear capability. This is Pakistan for those not paying attention.

Dissent is now considered unpatriotic and treasonous. Last week on "Fox and Friends" it was openly suggested that the next time members of Code Pink dared to speak out or even show passive silent dissent that "a Tazing would be in order" and "when will these women learn no one cares what they think." I find myself feeling just as helpless about the situation we are in today as I felt about the killing of JFK then.

Code Pink and those on the front line of dissent are about the only things I can feel thankful. I find the majority of politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, to be responsive only to dollars not to the will of the people. I hold little hope that by next Thanksgiving there will be any drastic improvement and have genuine fears of an openly fascist America and/or World War III being fought. Part of being a Proud Liberal is a general optimism that I no longer have the strength to feel. As a small voice in this mess, I will repeat the five positive steps I suggested in my last Blog entry.

1. – Never refer to the Bush administration with deference. They are war criminals and need to be referred to as such.

2. – Resist at all opportunities the occupation of Iraq. Tell your local Congress critters that their continued support for the occupation makes them accomplices in murder. By any legal definition of murder, accomplices are just as guilty as the main perpetrators.

3. – When engaging in discussion with the opposition, do NOT let them define the parameters and terms of the discussion. Remember the great lesson of Orwell's 1984 was that whoever defines the language has already won the argument.

4. – Wear a black armband of mourning. This is especially effective as people are always sympathetic and solicitous. When they ask what or whom you are in mourning for respond, "Are you sure you want to know?" Most will say of course and respond that you are mourning the Constitution and the rule of law; that both are in their death throes because of the criminals currently in charge.

5. – Insist that the best candidate be the one you support not just the one that can win. Elections are not horse races and the bandwagon effect has been a determent to the entire process. Remember the members of Democratic Leadership Conference (DLC) are just Republicans that have labeled themselves Democrats. The 40 percent that voted for McGovern were vindicated in the end when Nixon was finally caught.

These might not accomplish anything. To do nothing is tacit approval of the war crimes being committed in our names. We as patriotic Americans can not remain silent or complacent unless we want to become the "new Germans" of the twenty-first century.

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(They're Still) Running the World (on the) Eve of Destruction For What It's Worth

2007-10-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

(They're Still) Running the World (on the) Eve of Destruction For What It's Worth

When I thought about writing this piece based on three protest songs (1. Running the World, Written and Recorded by Jarvis Cocker; 2. Eve of Destruction, Written by P. F. Sloan, Recorded by Barry McGuire; 3. For What It's Worth, Written by Stephen Stills, Recorded by Buffalo Springfield;) I had no doubt that the three songs were on target for what I wanted to express. I did have some misgivings about the first song because of its explicit nature. Further reflection has led me to believe that those who would be offended would not consider having an open mind about my thoughts. Their false sense of propriety is one the things I was condemning. Therefore, I have decided to declare this piece to be rated R. That is R for REALITY. Too often liberals think the word politics implies politeness. Our NeoCon advisories observe no such convention. Truthfulness and reality are also missing from their playbook. They do however observe the BIG LIE RULE, repeat something often enough and it will be perceived as the truth no matter how far from reality and truth it is based. This piece is for thoughtful mature adults, written in what I hope is an intelligent but blunt manner. If you are offended by the words used here, please examine if the words are what offends or if it is uncomfortable and novel ideas. That being said here is the uncensored title of this piece:

(Cunts Are Still) Running the World (on the) Eve of Destruction For What It's Worth

There are few words with a more negative connotation than "cunt." This is what caused my initial hesitation. The use of this word in this piece is not gratuitous but is an integral part of the song being used to demonstrate the ideas under discussion. The following can be found at http://www.answers.com/topic/profanity?cat=biz-fin

Interestingly, the word "cunt," while retaining its original meaning in America, has changed in meaning somewhat in Great Britain in the past thirty years. Where American usage of the word exclusively refers to either female anatomy or (in extreme cases) an ill-tempered woman {Ann Coulter being the exception or extreme case that proves the rule – APL}, "cunt" in the UK has attained the status of a gender-neutral insult, akin to asshole etc.

This song was indeed written and performed by a British artist, Jarvis Cocker. It was used during the closing credits in the recent hit film, Children of Men. It has a very pleasant melody that can be deceiving as to the depth of the lyrics. The fact is I listened to the song several times before it sunk in just what he was trying to say. If you are a liberal with a complete distaste for the word, please mentally substitute asshole and I believe the picture will become focused. With that thought, I will begin trying to explain why I believe these three songs are all saying something vitally important about the situation America finds itself in today. At the end of this piece, I have included the complete text of all three songs.

Well did you hear, there’s a natural order?
Those most deserving will end up with the most.
That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top,
Well I say: Shit floats.
If you thought things had changed,
Friend you’d better think again,
Bluntly put in the fewest of words,
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

This has to be the best criticism of the Social Darwinism of the NeoCon bunch I have heard or seen. With two words, Shit floats, Cocker sums up the false premise of entitlement that George W. Bush and Paris Hilton share. Bush is the same small-minded idiot who commuted "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence to zero but refused to commute Karla Faye Tucker's death sentence to life in prison, going so far as to mock her plea for clemency by smirking and saying, "Please, don't kill me." Richard Paey is a man incarcerated in Florida for the distribution of drugs, despite the fact that there is no evidence he ever sold a single pill, based on drug laws that allow officials to prosecute based on the quantity an individual possesses. Bush has refused to even hear the facts of the case. Richard Paey sits in a Florida prison serving a twenty-five year sentence in a wheel chair caused by spinal injuries and gets a morphine drip to his back stronger than the drugs he was accused of possessing. Rush Limbaugh who did the same as Paey received no jail time even though his drug possession was for a fix. Rush was offered a plea bargain where anyone else discovered with the same evidence would have served jail time. Paey's lawyers have attempted to get a pardon or commutation from Bush but have been rebuffed at every turn. Libby and Limbaugh get preferential treatment and Paey literally rots in jail.

It should come as no surprise that this group so vehemently opposed to evolution have such a poor grasp of Darwin. Just the term Social Darwinism is a misnomer since Darwin said the best adaptation would be the eventual survivor not the strongest. Darwin was at a disadvantage of not knowing about DNA but when applying his theories to an intimate knowledge of genetics just confirms Darwin was right. The NeoCons have tried and in many cases succeeded in conning the public into believing that anyone through hard work and right thinking can become the cream of the crop thus entitling them to the spoils of society. This is their big carrot just out of reach, behave and you will become one of us. This has let them convince many to vote against obvious self-interest. The idea of natural order lends the notion that God has ordained this system. This is repeated so often that the BIG LIE RULE succeeds and it becomes "common sense." It is time for us liberals to stomp out this BIG LIE. We need to stress that Thomas Jefferson's words are truer now than ever before:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

I have made the mistake (my mistake is a case of a weak stomach and the resulting nausea) of visiting my local Congress creature's web site where he uses this quote in the welcome banner. This NeoCon believes that there is no separation of Church and State as long as it is his view of the Church that takes hold. He sees fit to ignore Jefferson's strongly worded letters declaring the firm establishment of "a wall between church and state" in the Bill of Rights.

NeoCons love to point out the hypocrisy inherent in this statement being written by a slave owner and that the Declaration of Independence is not part of the official laws of the country. This is the false logic of two wrongs make a right – if Jefferson really believed in the "natural order" that one person is better than another then there is nothing wrong in them believing the same thing. In Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration, there was the following statement:

"he (King George III of England) has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither."

It was one of his greatest disappointments until his death that this was stricken from the final Declaration. Without the removal of this statement, the Southern colonies would have never voted for Independence as stated in the Declaration. The Continental Congress imposed unanimity as a condition and the country could not afford to die before being born.

It would do us good to remember that the Bush regime considers the Geneva Conventions "quaint." The Bush regime has done its level best to ignore the Constitution and laws of the land. The Declaration of Independence not being an official part of the laws they already trash is just a happy coincidence for the NeoCons. The defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment and the codification of anti-gay laws are just two of the most obvious ways the NeoCons dupe the public. Polls show that about 70% of the public believe that equal pay for equal work is the law of the land. They are unaware that a woman is on average still paid about 75% of what a man is paid for the same job. This is the natural order of things for the NeoCons and any light we can shine on these cockroaches would help to relieve the pervasive ignorance.

Now the working classes are obsolete,
They are surplus to societies needs,
So let ‘em all kill each other,
And get it made overseas.
That’s the word don’t you know,
From the guys that's running the show,
Lets be perfectly clear boys and girls,
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

The mismanagement of the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina was NO accident or oversight. If either had been the case there wouldn't be 100,000 displaced people that have been unable to return to their homes even now. Undamaged public housing remains empty because of the desire to replace it with housing for the "right kind" of people. The only reason the housing hasn't been torn down and replaced already is simple; the levees and dikes must be rebuilt so the new upper class housing can never suffer the same fate that the poor neighborhoods of New Orleans and environs did during Hurricane Katrina. NeoCons are more than willing to continue the debate about the immediate aftermath of Katrina because it distracts from the real crime that nothing to correct the deficiencies has taken place in the YEARS since.

Labor unions are at an all time low. Attempts to reverse this and insure workers rights are rebuffed at every level of government. The United Auto Workers (UAW) could during the 1960's shut down the production of autos in both the US and Canada. Their aggressive pursuit of benefits got health insurance not just for its members but also for many average workers throughout the country. During recent negotiations, the UAW conceded to wage cuts of one third. The only concession in return was bonuses for those long-term employees who retire early. The working classes are the people of the middle classes. In this country, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the middle classes are rapidly disappearing and joining the poor.

The NeoCon has extended this attitude to Iraq – let them kill each other. The truth is without our illegal and immoral invasion and occupation there would not be the level of killing in Iraq that exists today. The average worker in Iraq today no longer has any job. Those are either being performed by American/British contractors or where the contractors feel the work is beneath them, by imported cheap labor.

The two biggest myths of Iraq: This is a war and the Iraqis are sovereign over their own country. In order for a situation to be war there must be an identifiable enemy. Wars end not through the genocide of the enemy but through political means like negotiation or surrender. In Vietnam for all of its shortcomings, we were able to sit and have dialogue with an enemy. This is impossible in Iraq because there is no enemy to sit down with and negotiate. If Iraq had true sovereignty, it would be up to Iraq when Americans would leave not the NeoCons of the Bush regime or even American public opinion. During any of the elections that were held in Iraq, the US prevented any candidate or party from advocating American withdrawal, this was a forbidden and censured subject. The next time you hear the Shrub or some NeoCon tool talk about democracy in Iraq remember it is pure fabrication and an outright lie.

Oh feed your children on Cray fish and Lobster tails,
Find a school near the top of the league,
In theory, I respect your right to exist,
I will kill ya, if you move in next to me,
Ah it stinks, it sucks, it’s anthropologically unjust,
But the takings are up by a third, Oh So
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

Every soccer mom and NASCAR dad buys into this mythology. They receive validation of their self worth through their children. The circus values of the Roman Games have been skillfully instilled into our cultural moirés. Token African Americans are allowed into many arenas but their numbers nowhere approach their numbers in the population as a whole. The Williams sisters play professional tennis but not to crowds from South-Central. Those crowds at Wimbledon and the US Open are whiter than white bread. Tiger Woods makes millions but the vast majority of the crowds at golf tournaments secretly cheer at his every misstep.

I lived in California when African-American Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley was the multiple-time Democratic nominee for governor. He would enter Election Day with as much as a 15-point lead in the polls only to be soundly defeated. Voters would tell pollsters one thing and then in the secrecy of the voting booth vote their prejudices. Many of the prejudices involved were not conscious or examined. In many cases, they were what are called Reagan Democrats. These are voters that the NeoCon policies have put on the street or near starvation but believe the fallacious arguments that affirmative action or illegal immigration caused them to lose their jobs. Profit is the true God of the NeoCon. To have truly large profits there needs to be few masters and many consumers. Too few remember the presidential debates of 1980 when Reagan stated ". . . from the days when I was young and when this country didn't even know it had a racial problem" and it was only because of the civil rights movement that race became a problem. Since his election, civil rights have deteriorated until now where it appears the Supreme Court is willing to overturn Brown v. Broad of Education.

One of the biggest failings liberals have in modern political discourse is allowing the other side to frame the arguments and define the terms used. This puts us at an extreme disadvantage during debates or discussions. We liberals must at all times refuse to concede these things and insist on reality-based terms. This is especially true when talking about Iraq. We must separate support for the troops from support for the continued illegal occupation. Every time we are accused of being unpatriotic, we must respond even louder that we will not continue to abet crimes against humanity that occur on a daily basis just by our presence in Iraq.

Your free market is perfectly natural,
Or do you think that I’m some kind of dummy,
It’s the ideal way to order the world,
Fuck the morals, does it make any money?
And if you don’t like it? Then leave.
Or use your right to protest on the street,
Yeah, use your rights but don’t imagine that it’s heard, Oh no no,
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

Business Ethics now tops the list of oxymorons formerly held by Military Intelligence. If some honest executive raises his head, and attempts to do the right thing he is mocked by those around him. The average person in America cannot spend the time to become a "real estate guru" because of the hand to mouth existence of paying rent and feeding the family.

"Fuck the morals, does it make any money?" is the best summing up of Iraq that I have seen. Invading and causing the deaths of over 1,000,000 innocent civilians for the profit is the epitome of immoral action. This is not a matter of mere political opinion; it is a true lack of moral fiber. A close examination of history shows that the average German knew about the Holocaust but private agreement with the policy and apathy let it continue. The Bush administration and all who support their actions are guilty of the same crimes that Nazi leaders were hung.

I recently made the mistake of watching a local newscast where an Army Specialist on leave from Iraq went to a local elementary school where he had pen pals. Interviews with the students afterwards non-critically reported how great it was that he came to explain how he was protecting Americans by serving in Iraq. This one American sincerely wishes that this protection would cease immediately. Do not continue this criminal enterprise in my name or for me. This series of crimes has one motivation – profit. Profit at the expense of human life and liberty is immoral and must be resisted at every turn. We liberals and peace lovers of every stripe must resist the ridicule factor. We are not the extreme, we are the mainstream. Those who support America's co-opting of Iraq are the extremists and must be treated and exposed as such.

The eastern world it tis explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

When I heard this song for the first time some forty years ago, I had no idea that it would still be applicable today. Of course, I was naïve enough to believe that we were capable of learning from History. Yes it is true that eighteen is now the voting age but the tactics today is to make sure the votes aren't counted (Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004) if it is obvious that you probably will vote against the powers that are. The most insidious and hypocritical of these tactics is the caging of votes of active military. We have had two presidential elections stolen and a third is inevitable unless there are drastic changes. The simplest way to steal the 2008 election is to not hold it. To do that however requires even more power than Bush and his criminal organization have been able to amass for the time being but just barely. Ominous executive orders and actions make this a distinct possibility by November 2008.

Progress towards peace in Israel and surrounding areas is thwarted by declaring democratically elected governments terrorist organizations. We only recognize those entities that are willing to toe the NeoCon line. The Palestinians and Lebanese elected Hezbollah and Hamas because they felt they would be best represented by them. The parental figures of the United States and Israel have decided that these people do not have the right of self-determination. Whenever the NeoCons spout their garbage about terrorists in the region it sounds exactly like the rhetoric that was given about Communists for fifty years. It is time to break the cycle and not give them a continued new punching bag.

Pat Tillman is a prefect case in point of gun toting peace lovers. This tragic figure is the epitome of patriotism but was killed for no good reason. The military in its own wisdom decided it was not necessary to find out just who killed him since he was an atheist. The investigating officer said that since he was an atheist being dead meant that from the Tillman family point of view he was now just so much "worm soil."

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

The NeoCons want us to be in fear. They want a delicate balance of fear however because a paralyzing fear brings a halt to the profits generated. They don't want the fear to be a motivating factor in getting rid of their sham of democracy. We have a new boogey man called terrorists now that the Communists have been "vanquished." We have mortgaged ourselves to the most populous country in the world, China, which is indeed still under a truer form of Communism than the Soviets ever were. The advantage of having terrorists as your "enemy du jour" is that anybody can be labeled as "the enemy." Suspension of the Constitution in dealing with these bad guys is seductive in its appeal because they don't have rules so why should we.

It is through fear that they manipulate their party faithful. The concept that we must fight and kill them over there, or they will come here and kill us, is an exceptionally strong motivator albeit a false one. They have told this lie often and loud enough that it is now considered common sense. We have made enemies of people who at one time were in favor of us, if for no other reason than the removal of Saddam. Remember, despite the rhetoric the government in Iraq is no more than a puppet regime controlled by the NeoCons in Washington. Not since the Vichy government in France during World War II have we seen such a blatant non-democratic and non-local government.

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
and marches alone can't bring integration,
when human respect is disintegratin',
this whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
and you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Here we are more than forty years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it no longer takes a handful of Senators to keep things screwed up. All it takes is one named Joe Lieberman. This one Senator has single handedly thwarted the will of the majority of Americans. I would like to believe that he is sincere and honest in his stances, but years of political observation say otherwise. This is a case of where there is smoke, there is fire. His desire to keep his job at all costs is responsible for the death of many innocent Iraqis and if he were to have his way, Iranians as well. It is unfortunate that the Democratic Party has so compromised itself that it has not done the honorable and moral thing and told Lieberman to take a hike. His ultimate act of arrogance in refusing to accept the outcome of the primary only gave the Republicans the wedge they needed to co-opt his votes on the war. Make no mistake, the Republicans actively supported Lieberman over their elected nominee and the real Democratic nominee.

Marches alone didn't change race relations or get us out of Vietnam but they were a large contributing factor. One of the reasons they had such a strong effect is that these marches were not ignored by the mainstream media. News departments of that time-period did not have to answer to the sales or profit driven entities of their organizations. The news departments of today are responsible for showing their own profits. This is a direct result of the removal of the Fairness Doctrine during Reagan's years of deregulation. This has allowed a small group of NeoCons to control the vast majority of news outlets and contents. They have kept terms like 'war' instead of the more accurate 'invasion and occupation' at the forefront of the American mindset. Terms like "insurgent" and "terrorist," would have been used by the British during our own Revolutionary War and by the Nazis during WWII in any of the various occupied countries. The Bush regime does not use Freedom Fighter for the average Iraqi angered by the occupation of his country like Reagan/Bush HW did for the Contras in Nicaragua.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
but when you return, it's the same old place,
the poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
you can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace,
and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

We are now in the compromised position where we must ignore the hate in Red China. They hold the mortgage on the USA. We dare not offend or piss them off or they will bring our economy crashing down. Selma now has de facto segregation. The whites built private schools for their children. The public schools are over 95% African American students. Since the school boards are run by the whites of the area, they set the taxation rates low making proper funding of the public schools impossible. This also frees up money in the private sector for the white attended private schools. Of course, if these bunches in office and on the Supreme Court have their way, it won't matter any way because segregation will again become legal and accepted. During their last session, the Supreme Court came dangerously close to overturning Brown v The Board of Education. It now appears too many on this, the highest court in the land, use the Bible for their Constitution.

We have succeeded at burying our dead and not leaving a trace. The only figures of Iraqi occupation causalities that are published and counted are military. The military numbers in Iraq now appear to be at best half the story. We have outsourced so many functions, including the dying, to private contractors that no accurate accounting of their numbers can be made. There is a growing number of widows and orphans of dead contractors that are unable to be vocal enough to stop this outrage. They have no recourse with the contracting firms since the contracts their loved ones signed waived all the companies' liabilities. When a contracting firm runs empty trucks down the road to feed their profits on cost-plus contracts and their employees are killed, it is just one of the costs of doing business to make a profit.

Yes, we are on the eve of destruction but maybe not our physical destruction. The destruction of our democracy is imminent if it hasn't already occurred. The destruction of our Constitution and the rule of law is at hand. The war crimes committed by the Bush regime are not just technical abstractions. The most reliable numbers available put Iraqi civilian deaths at over one million. Have no doubt this is a crime against humanity. Any reasonable legal scholar will tell you that support during or after the fact make one as legally culpable as the main perpetrators in any crime. This means those in Congress that continue to vote for this immoral and illegal invasion and occupation are just as guilty of war crimes and murder as Bush and his cohorts. Any impeachment proceedings should then include Bush, Cheney and all war criminals that enabled the crimes in Congress. If one is the subject of impeachment proceedings then one becomes ineligible to vote in the proceedings and protect one's conflicted vested interest. This should adequately take care of any so-called majority problems the Democratic Leadership claim to have in pursuing impeachment.

There's somethin' happenin' here.
What it is ain't exactly clear.
There's a man with a gun over there
A-tellin' me I've got to beware.
I think it's time we stop.
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin' down.

Here we have the specters of the war criminal Bush, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker telling us how the surge in Iraq has just begun to dent the presence of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. There is no acknowledgement of several key facts: Saddam and Al-Qaeda were NOT allied and were even in active opposition to one another. Al-Qaeda did not become a factor in Iraq until after the occupation. These three would have us believe that Al-Qaeda is the major and sole source of the continuing violence when the Army's own numbers show that at worst they account for 5% of the opposition with this number much more likely in the 2% range. What seems to be more important is to dupe the American public into believing that our presence in Iraq is a response to the attacks on 9/11/2001.

If anything is to be learned from history then Osama and Al-Qaeda must believe that these attacks were the most successful ever. Their demands that the United States remove their bases from the holy places in Saudi Arabia were quietly and fully met. Yes, BushCo gave the true terrorists exactly what they wanted and in their headlong rush for profits have created an entire country that hates and distrusts America. What will we Americans do when they examine history and determine the only way to get us to leave is again attack us on American soil? One of the hardest lessons of history is understanding that evil is never in the first person. These actors feel there is no other recourse and when we blindly apply even more pressure to an already intolerable situation that results in deadly and explosive circumstances.

There's battle lines bein' drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speakin' their minds
A-gettin' so much resistance from behind.
I think it's time we stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin' down.

Extremists of every stripe are dangerous. The Christian Fundamentalist and the Islamic Fundamentalist are equally dangerous. Both have God on "their side" and are fully convinced of the righteousness of their causes. There is no convincing either side to change their minds. The line above, Nobody's right if everybody's wrong applies more than ever. Neither of these extremists have a tolerance for a pluralistic society. Never has the case for the separation of Church and State been exposed more so than when war becomes a "Crusade." It is time to get the preachers back to their churches, mosques and synagogues and out of the halls of the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court and most importantly the Pentagon. We cannot force Iraqis to have our type of democracy without killing many more of them. I see where Bush views his mandate from God to export moral democracy to the Middle East. This is impossible since the people doing the exporting are the least moral leaders for a generation. I would prefer dozens more presidents like "Blowjob Bill" to the new holocaust now being committed in our name in Iraq and the attempts to extend it to Iran.

Those Democrats and moderate Republicans that supported this invasion and occupation now face the ultimate test of their morality. A friend of mine uses the following signature line:
"When people who are honestly mistaken learn the truth, they will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest." --Anon.
Will Congress prove there is no longer the chance to be "honestly mistaken" and join the likes of the Germans under the Nazis.

What a field day for the heat.
A thousand people in the street
Singin' songs and a-carryin' signs
Mostly sayin' hooray for our side.
It's time we stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin' down.

Protests have been marginalized by lack of Main Stream Media coverage and the ridicule of the NeoCoNazi pundits. I am continuingly astounded by the likes of Ann Coulter that claim that the church of liberalism has no moral basis and no God. They take the moral high ground on rhetoric only and continue to tell the lie that Iraq is the moral thing to do. Murder is never justified, that is what makes it murder. We liberals need to reclaim the moral high ground discarding the wisdom of the DC beltway.

Paranoia strikes deep.
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you're always afraid.
Step out of line, the men come and take you away.
You better stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..
You better stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..
You better stop.
Now, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..
You better stop.
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..

It is time to realize that we have reason to be paranoid but not of those the Neocons tell us. It is the war criminals and Neocons themselves where we need to have a healthy paranoia. Remember it is in the name of our country that these war crimes are being carried out. Yes, we need to stop.

One of the reasons I hesitate to write a piece like this one is all too often in the past many pieces like this seem to turn into pure bitch fests with the offering of little if any concrete actions we can take. I would like to end with making what I hope is a few concrete ideas of what we as mainstream Americans can do.

1. – Never refer to the Bush administration with deference. They are war criminals and need to be referred to as such.

2. – Resist at all opportunities the occupation of Iraq. Tell your local Congress critters that their continued support for the occupation makes them accomplices in murder. By any legal definition of murder, accomplices are just as guilty as the main perpetrators.

3. – When engaging in discussion with the opposition, do NOT let them define the parameters and terms of the discussion. Remember the great lesson of Orwell's 1984 was that whoever defines the language has already won the argument.

4. – Wear a black armband of mourning. This is especially effective as people are always sympathetic and solicitous. When they ask what or whom you are in mourning for respond, "Are you sure you want to know?" Most will say of course and respond that you are mourning the Constitution and the rule of law; that both are in their death throes because of the criminals currently in charge.

5. – Insist that the best candidate be the one you support not just the one that can win. Elections are not horse races and the bandwagon effect has been a determent to the entire process. Remember the members of Democratic Leadership Conference (DLC) are just Republicans that have labeled themselves Democrats. The 40 percent that voted for McGovern were vindicated in the end when Nixon was finally caught.

This piece has taken a lot longer to write than I originally anticipated but to do nothing in these times is the moral equivalent of being one of the war criminals themselves. Keep up the good fight and the odds of success will eventually turn in our favor.

Complete Text of All Three Songs

(Cunts Are Still) Running the World

Written and Recorded by "Jarvis Cocker"
Album: "Children of Men Soundtrack"

Well did you hear, there’s a natural order?
Those most deserving will end up with the most.
That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top,
Well I say: Shit floats.
If you thought things had changed,
Friend you’d better think again,
Bluntly put in the fewest of words,
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

Now the working classes are obsolete,
They are surplus to societies needs,
So let ‘em all kill each other,
And get it made overseas.
That’s the word don’t you know,
From the guys that's running the show,
Lets be perfectly clear boys and girls,
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

Oh feed your children on Cray fish and Lobster tails,
Find a school near the top of the league,
In theory, I respect your right to exist,
I will kill ya, if you move in next to me,
Ah it stinks, it sucks, it’s anthropologically unjust,
But the takings are up by a third, Oh So
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

Your free market is perfectly natural,
Or do you think that I’m some kind of dummy,
It’s the ideal way to order the world,
Fuck the morals, does it make any money?
And if you don’t like it? Then leave.
Or use your right to protest on the street,
Yeah, use your rights but don’t imagine that it’s heard, Oh no no,
Cunts are still running the world,
Cunts are still running the world.

Eve of Destruction

Recorded by "Barry McGuire"
Written by "P. F. Sloan"
Album: "Eve of Destruction"

The eastern world it tis explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
and marches alone can't bring integration,
when human respect is disintegratin',
this whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
and you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
but when you return, it's the same old place,
the poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
you can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace,
and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

For What It's Worth

Written by "Stephen Stills"
Recorded by "Buffalo Springfield"
Album: "Best of Buffalo Springfield"

There's somethin' happenin' here.
What it is ain't exactly clear.
There's a man with a gun over there
A-tellin' me I've got to beware.
I think it's time we stop.
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin' down.

There's battle lines bein' drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speakin' their minds
A-gettin' so much resistance from behind.
I think it's time we stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin' down.

What a field day for the heat.
A thousand people in the street
Singin' songs and a-carryin' signs
Mostly sayin' hooray for our side.
It's time we stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin' down.

Paranoia strikes deep.
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you're always afraid.
Step out of line, the men come and take you away.
You better stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..
You better stop.
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..
You better stop.
Now, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..
You better stop.
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's goin'..

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JUST SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED

2007-06-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

JUST SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED

I have been neglecting to stay current on my two blogs, at first this was because of a physical complaint of having a case of spring/summer flu. As is often the case with me a bad illness can send me into a deep funk, what is now called a depression. Usually anger and hard work will get me out this depression. The unfortunate thing was the timing of this depression, as it coincided with the caving of the Democrats to Bush's demand for a military spending bill with no conditions or oversights.

Barack and Hillary only voted against the bill after its passage was assured. The fix was in and the moneymakers are still making it hand over fist. The contractors of death and destruction continue to make magnitudes of money more than the average grunt on the front line. The net effect of the so-called surge was to give the Iraqis more targets to shoot and bomb. They have taken advantage of this to kill record numbers of American service men. It is time to admit that we have reached the stage where Bush can longer have his back door draft. Whenever someone tries to say the only way to support the troops is to get them the hell out of harm's way the warmongers answer that the troops knew the risks before signing up. What a load of crap. The average reservist and National Guard had no idea they were going to have extended and multiple tours in a war zone where they are only one of two things: target or killer.

After Nixon started his so-called Vietnamization of the Vietnam War, one the measures taken to deflect criticism of the death toll were to make sure that a tour in Vietnam was voluntary. It is past time to do the same in Iraq. Many soldiers and Marines say they don't need mothers deciding whether they should be in the war zone. So the American thing to do is give them the free un-coerced choice of deployment or not. To do anything less is to become accomplices in forcing people to kill or be killed without their consent. Bush and Cheney lied to get us into this war and by legal definition; the deaths that have occurred are murder. Should we stand by as a population and country and say nothing? NO! Doing so only makes us accomplices in murder.

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Living Blue in a Red State Part 2

2007-05-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Living Blue in a Red State Part 2

I saw the following bumper sticker the other day that brought on an instant headache:

I Support President Bush and Our Troops

It is only in a state like Arizona where I live that this bumper sticker would be displayed. The person driving the SUV with the sticker is blind to the impossibility of the statement. Shrub with his veto of the spending bill has proven that he only supports a continuation of the immoral and illegal Iraqi War. He seems to believe his own spin-doctors, Support the War, Support the Troops. So does the person displaying this bumper sticker. These sycophants are incapable of independent rational thought.

Support of this war is the opposite of supporting our troops. Supporting this war will only lead to more deaths and maiming of our troops that are senseless. These numbers are miniscule compared to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians that have died and the many more hundreds of thousands that have been crippled, left homeless or left Iraq. Shrub is responsible for bombing Iraq back to the 19th century. HE LIED AND PEOPLE DIED. By any legal definition, this is MURDER. Anyone who aids and abets a murderer is also a murderer. It is past the time to say this is just politics. This is criminal and needs to end.

Fund the troops and stop funding the war, anything else is just a continuation of the criminal enterprise known as the Iraqi War. This is NOT a war on terrorism; it is a terrorist attack on the Iraqi people. Impeaching Bush and Cheney is not enough; they must be convicted, removed from office and then prosecuted criminally. Then the twenty some percent of Americans that are blind sycophants to the Republicans and NeoCons can get back to politics instead of murder.

Link to Original Living Blue in a Red State

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IN PLAIN SIGHT:ALTERNATE WAYS TO FUND THE WAR

2007-03-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

IN PLAIN SIGHT:ALTERNATE WAYS TO FUND THE WAR

The House of Representatives passed a funding bill for the Iraqi War that included a timetable for withdrawal yesterday. Bush announced that any such legislation would be vetoed because he felt including a timetable is anti troop. He still suffers from the delusion that being against the war is being against the troops. He and his minions have repeatedly stated that refusing to provide the additional funding for the war is tantamount to refusing to support the troops; that any talk of withdrawal is demoralizing to the troops; that any anti-war stance is unpatriotic. Experience has shown that no amount of rational and reasoned discussion can reverse these opinions.

There seems to be a solution to this dilemma in plain sight. We now know that a major demoralizer for the troops in theater is the civilian contractors that have been used in unprecedented numbers during this invasion and occupation. They are not subject to the Military Code of Justice as are members of the armed forces. They are paid a magnitude more than are the regular troops. They decide when and if they wish to serve additional tours. For the administration, there are a number of advantages; causalities are hidden, there is no mechanism of oversight, political patronage can be doled out in the form of secret no-bid contracts.

I wonder why there has not been a proposal to fully fund and support our troops but pull the funding for the civilian contractors. Congress could simply limit money spent in Iraq to the equipping, training, supplying and paying members of the military. Funds for the medical and veterans' benefits should be fully funded. They could put a stop to the profiteering that has been an integral part of this fiasco from the beginning. The administration would not be able to make their political hay out of not supporting the troops. They would be forced to admit to the fact that our military prowess has deteriorated so badly that further persecution of the war would be impossible without the contractors. They would have difficulty explaining why funding just the troops would be far more inexpensive than continuing with the status quo.

Therefore, there exists a solution in plain sight if only we as a democracy have the courage to admit its existence.

There is But One Top Priority

2007-01-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

There is But One Top Priority

If I were to list the top 100 things that need doing in America, numbers 1 to 90 would all be the same: GET US OUT OF IRAQ Anything beyond this pales in comparison. The continued loss of life and the extreme human suffering is intolerable. No amount of "surge" will lessen the loss of life or human suffering. We as a country need to have the courage to admit that we are the cause not the solution to the problem. We as a country need to have the courage to admit that we cannot win someone else's civil war. We as a country need to have the courage to admit that we only support Democracies if they are being run "our way." We as a country need to have the courage to admit that we are the biggest hypocrites of modern times.

Bush continues to deny the reality that this immoral, ill advised and illegal war cannot be salvaged. He talks about supporting the only Democracy in the area. The fact is this: Iran's government is far more democratic than Iraq's. Yes, Iraq had elections but no candidate could propose what the vast majority (over 90%) of Iraqis wanted and continue to want; the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq. Hardliners like Iran's current President were elected as a response to our invasion in Iraq, any number of more moderate candidates in Iran lost the election because they did not oppose the invasion as overtly. Iran's candidates were free to advocate any point of view without interference from any foreign governments; the same cannot be said for Iraq.

The parallels to the Vietnam War cannot be ignored, except that the moral justifications for our involvement in Vietnam far out weighed those in Iraq. The most glaring of these is the fact that one side (the South) of a continuing civil war wanted our participation, in Iraq there was no civil war until the invasion and occupation. On December 31, 1970, the U.S. Congress repealed the entirely fictitious Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which in 1964 authorized a dramatic increase in U.S. military involvement in Vietnam in response to an attack on U.S. forces that later turned out to not have happened. Why cannot the current Congress step up to the bat and do the same with the Congressional resolution that supposedly gave Bush the power to invade Iraq? The basis for that resolution was even more false than the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. No more "but look at how many Democrats voted for it," should even be allowed. Continuing two wrongs still does not make a thing right.

The posturing that is occurring between potential Presidential candidates is repugnant. McCain's argument that withdrawal is wrong because it would admit defeat is right from one point of view; defeat is inevitable because victory is impossible. Senator Clinton's proposed troop level cap is a band-aid on a gushing mortal wound. There are over a hundred civilian deaths acknowledged on a daily basis. U.S. military deaths are severely under reported. Contractors' lives are just as valuable as soldiers are and their deaths are just as much a military death as a soldier's.

We must first GET OUT OF IRAQ. We fail as human beings and Americans doing anything less. Only after this is done is it worth discussing items 91 through 100 on my list.

Still Insane After All These Years

2006-12-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Still Insane After All These Years

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I have seen this quote attributed to both Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. No matter its true source, it is very true. It’s time we stand up as a country and say, “STOP, THIS INSANITY!” The President has retired with his “war cabinet” to try to determine a new course in Iraq. This same group got us into the quagmire that is Iraq in the first place. Rumsfeld being gone is only a small start. The rest of these incompetents should be on the street looking for real work.

To look to this group for advice is tantamount to saying we want to stay the course. This will only continue in the needless loss of lives, American and Iraqi. Why did the president bother to have a bi-partisan commission look into Iraq, if only to ignore its recommendations? He should apologize to public servants like Sandra Day O’Connor who came out of retirement to serve on the commission. It has served as only a public relations stunt.

The new Congress faces a vital test of its backbone in January. This is not the time for timid action. It is time to inform Emperor George not only do we know he has no clothes but we know he has no clue. We can no longer permit the insane course of the Iraq War to continue.

1984 Kool-Aid Drinkers

2006-11-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

I have waited the past ten days for the outcry from rational conservatives, very much in vain. George W. Bush has finally lost it with, “Listen, we've never been stay the course, George (referring to George Stephanopoulos).” I keep waiting for the mass of rational people to stand up and scream, “Mr. President, we are not that stupid!” Even his political opponents seemed overwhelmed by the pure doublespeak.

It is very much like we have become a country of Winston Smith’s. The Bush regime got their torture and detain without charge bill passed with barely a whimper. Now he blatantly contradicts over three and half years of rhetoric and his interviewer is so taken aback that he doesn’t challenge the obvious absurdity of the statement.

Those Republicans and conservatives that believe this line would have been right at home with Jim Jones. He was always looking for someone to mix the Kool-Aid. Any elected officials that want to investigate this bunch would do well to remember the fate of Congressman Leo Ryan at the hands of Jim Jones. This administration has proven they value loyalty above the truth or any other principle. This election is a not just another nice time to try to win it is a necessary win. It is time to give this experiment in democracy another lease on life. Voting for a Republican at any level supports the lies, corruption and just plain evil that have been perpetrated for the last nearly six years. A vote for the current Republican status quo is the same as drinking that 1984 Kool-Aid, CHEERS!

I Never Thought I Would Miss Nixon……Then Again

2006-10-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

I saw the following bumper sticker the other day that brought a smile to my lips:

I Never Thought I Would Miss Nixon

What brought the smile was the shear amount of truth in those seven words. Yes, George W. Bush has done what I would have thought impossible. He made me miss Tricky Dick in all his ugly glory. When Nixon was in power, I was firmly convinced that there could never be another President as bad. With Georgie, I have discovered there not only could be as bad but there is worse. Nixon inherited his war, Vietnam; it was a full bore going tragedy when he took office. He also claimed, falsely, to have a secret peace plan. He got many killed needlessly, both military and civilian. Bush is the middle of a quagmire of his own making and insistence that we stay there with him. Nixon had a lust for power but it was tempered by a certain respect for the office of President that Bush rarely even bothers to pretend to have.

Nixon was swept into office on a landslide in 1972. Bush squeaked by in both 2000 and 2004. From these two statements alone, one would assume that Nixon was the one with more absolute power. And one would be wrong. What the driver of the truck with the bumper sticker and I really miss, is a Congress that keeps the system in balance. Congress during the Nixon years was controlled by the Democrats thus preventing the establishment of King Dick. The Republican Congress of the last six years has anointed King George.

I was going to an out of state college in 1972 and had to vote absentee. Absentee ballots had to be witnessed by a notary in those days so a dorm mate and I walked over to the Student Union to get our ballots notarized before mailing. He told me he was voting for Nixon because McGovern was just too radical. I tried to argue that voting for Nixon was a mistake because look at all the bad crap he had pulled during his first term. My friend said not to worry because even though he was voting for Nixon, his Congressional votes were for Democrats to keep Nixon in line. He proved to be right. Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.

The current Congress has nearly abdicated all their power and turned it over to the Executive branch. We now have the closest thing to a unitary Executive that we have ever had in our history. The Patriot Act and the Torture & Detainee Act are America’s first steps analogous to the 1930’s Enabling Acts of Nazi Germany. The country now exists at a critical crossroads. Elections are not football games. It is not a matter of rooting for the winner, it is a matter of if we want the Republic to endure or collapse under the weight of political expediency. Patriots, no matter what their normal political leanings, must examine objectively the actions of this President and this Congress. We don’t vote for President until 2008 but we have the chance in three weeks to decisively affect the Congress. We need a government of three branches not one. We must give up on the idea that our local guy is not as bad as the rest of them, so it doesn’t hurt to vote for him. That attitude and many similar ones is what brought us to this juncture in the first place. We must vote for a change, and the only viable choice is a Democratic Congress before it is too late.

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Mark Foley, A Different View: A Misdirection Ploy

2006-10-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

I have a different point of view on the Mark Foley scandal. I believe it is one of the greatest misdirection ploys of all time by Rove and the Republicans. Coincidences may happen but rarely do they happen with such good results. You say, “What good results?” Lost in all this discussion about Foley is the fact that Senate Bill 3930, “A bill to authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes,” has gone to the President to sign. Even though Bush got damned near everything he wanted in the bill, his proclivity for signing statements will make up for any perceived inadequacies. Incumbents on both sides of the aisle can more easily deflect criticism about Foley’s peccadilloes than they can defend supporting this reversal of the Magna Carta.

Lost in all this discussion of how this hurts the Republican cause is no critical examination of the timing of this scandal. A month ago, most liberals and Democrats were outraged about ABC showing the crapudrama, “The Path to 9/11.” While ABC made some changes to this piece of propaganda, it still left many with the impression that 9/11 was all Bill Clinton’s fault and Bush was in the clear. Can we believe that ABC changed their stripes in one short month? I say, “NO!” ABC has a stake in remaining in the administration’s good graces. ABC would not have released the Foley story without at least the tacit approval of the White House.

I cannot believe for a moment that Rove and company would have any compunction about sacrificing Foley to pay for this integral part of consolidating Bush’s power. I mean here was a GAY Republican House member just waiting to be outed, why not kill two birds with one stone. Bird one: Deflect attention away the detainee and torture law. Those who voted for the bill are not going to be held to account for their vote as they might have. Most can easily deflect any criticisms cast their way about Foley. Bird two: The albatross that was Foley is eliminated. The Republicans have already claimed the reason Foley didn’t get in trouble earlier was they did not to appear to be “Gay Bashing.” The Republicans are such homophobes they still believe homosexual and pedophile are synonymous. This was the perfect opportunity to look good to their base and fence sitters that they were cleaning “House” of undesirables.

I am now going to ask any that read this to step through the fog of Republican misdirection. It is time to ask this Congress, why what little you did do, was so dismal. I have researched the final roll call votes on the detainee and torture bill. Most members of Congress voted along party lines as might be expected. Many Republicans voting for the bill said they expected reversal by the courts and voted for the bill out political expediency. I guess I am a minority of one that believes this is a violation of their oath of office to defend and support the Constitution. Those who did not vote along party lines deserve special recognition and consideration in three categories:

FIRST CATEGORY: HALL OF BRAVERY
These Republicans had the convictions of their beliefs to vote against this step to tyranny.
In the Senate, 1 Senator:
Chafee (RI)
In the House, 7 Representatives:
Bartlett (MD-6)
Gilchrest (MD-1)
Jones (NC-3)
LaTourette (OH-14)
Leach (IA-2)
Moran (KS-1)
Paul (TX-14)

SECOND CATEGORY: HALL OF SHAME
These Democrats supported this step to tyranny. I would assume from political expediency, with many using the same excuse as Republicans, it would be reversed by the courts. The 12 from the Senate are particularly troubling, since this many defections made any chance of a filibuster nil.
In the Senate, 12 Senators:
Carper (DE)
Johnson (SD)
Landrieu (LA)
Lautenberg (NJ)
Lieberman (CT)
Menendez (NJ)
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Pryor (AR)
Rockefeller (WV)
Salazar (CO)
Stabenow (MI)
In the House, 34 Representatives:
Andrews (NJ-1)
Barrow (GA-12)
Bean (IL-8)
Bishop (GA-2)
Boren (OK-2)
Boswell (IA-3)
Boyd (FL-2)
Brown (OH-13)
Chandler (KY-6)
Cramer (AL-5)
Cuellar (TX-28)
Davis (AL-7)
Davis (TN-4)
Edwards (TX-17)
Etheridge (NC-2)
Ford (TN-9)
Gordon (TN-6)
Herseth (SD-At Large)
Higgins (NY-27)
Holden (PA-17)
Marshall (GA-23)
Matheson (UT-2)
McIntyre (NC-7)
Melancon (LA-3)
Michaud (ME-2)
Moore (KS-3)
Peterson (MN-7)
Pomeroy (ND-At Large)
Ross (AR-4)
Salazar (CO-3)
Scott (GA-13)
Spratt (SC-5)
Tanner (TN-8)
Taylor (MS-4)

THIRD CATEGORY: HALL OF SLOTH
These lawmakers come from both sides of the aisle. They couldn’t be bothered with voting on this step to tyranny.
In the Senate, 1 Senator:
Snowe (R-ME)
In the House, 12 Representatives:
Castle (R-DE-At Large)
Cleaver (D-MI-5)
Davis (D-FL-11)
Davis (R-VA-11)
Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18)
Keller (R-FL-8)
Lewis (D-GA-5)
Meehan (D-MA-5)
Millender-McDonald (D-CA-37)
Ney (R-OH-18)
Radanovich (R-CA-19)
Strickland (D-OH-6)

Please examine these “Halls” and give special attention to any of them that represent you. Encourage those in the Hall of Bravery and hold feet to the fire from the other two. I am especially troubled by the 46 Democrats in the Hall of Shame. Even if they win reelection and the Democrats take numerical control of the Congress, are these 46 reliable enough not to cross party lines and give the Republicans the majority on a whim.

PRIMING THE PUMP

2006-10-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

In the days before cable news, there was a term for election year tax cuts. It was “Priming the Pump.” The thinking was very simple; give the people a taste of their own hard-earned money, and tell them if they want it to continue they must return the incumbents to office. That particular ploy would not be effective with this regime however, since all their tax breaks have been for the limited numbers of the very rich.

Today’s version of this carries a completely new literal meaning. Prices for gasoline have dropped over a dollar from their highest point in the last year. Gas pumps are literally being primed for the upcoming elections. It appears the thinking goes something like this: If the voter only pays $2.159/gal when he was paying $3.199/gal, he will figure he needs to keep the incumbent in office in order to keep the price low. The problem with the voter thinking that is, he is very liable to find a new meaning to the term “November Surprise.” There are really no guarantees or even promises the prices will stay low.

This downward trend defies the rules of supply and demand. The Alaskan Pipeline in the last 9 weeks has had major problems and the supply of oil from this domestic (meaning cheaper) source has been severely restricted. If anything the price of oil should be going up not down, if it were truly a matter of supply and demand. When this subject first occurred to me, I went and checked to see if we were dumping oil onto the market from the country’s strategic reserve. If their website is to be believed, we are not doing that. The other possibility is that the oil companies and their cartel, OPEC, have decided they could afford to forego their obscene profit levels for a short period to ensure the continuing of the current single party rule.

In my research, I found protestations that the oil industry was just too large for such manipulations. All these protests of impotence came from incumbent Republicans. There is a reason we call OPEC a cartel, they can do whatever they damn well please. If any single member decides to get greedy, the others can flood the market and ruin the renegade’s profit level. If a member decides to undercut his fellow cartel members, he could well find himself without spare parts or transportation. This is not a play nice group. The United States represent their largest single market. It is in their self interest to keep oil friendly politicians in power, even it means not making a billion or two for a couple of months. They can always make up for it in spades on the other side of the election.

I found an alternate theory at http://deconsumption.typepad.com/deconsumption/2006/09/running_on_empt.html

I would like to “restate” what Mr. King said: What this means folks, is that hedge funds and institutional money that “TRACKS THE INDEX” were FORCED TO SELL 75% of their gasoline futures to conform with the reconstituted GSCI. And if anyone hasn’t noticed the timing of the price of the gasoline price collapse…just in time for November’s Mid Term Elections!

So don’t be fooled into believing that potential energy shortages have “magically been solved.” In all likelihood – much of the recent decline in the price of gasoline we have all “welcomed” has been the result of paper tricks being played on what amounts to a wealthy flock of sheep.

No matter who is doing the manipulating;

DO NOT BE FOOLED.

Voting for the incumbents that have screwed us and lied to us in the past only allows them to do it again.

September 20, 1187 - Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem

2006-09-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

September 20, 1187 - Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(1187)

At the end of September, Balian rode out with an embassy to meet with the sultan, offering the surrender that he had initially refused. Saladin would not accept this, seeing that as they spoke, his men had scaled the walls and planted their banners. Soon, however, the crusaders repelled their attack. Saladin acquiesced, and the two agreed that the city would be handed over to Saladin peacefully. The sultan allowed a ransom of twenty bezants for men, ten for women, and five for children, but those who could not pay were to be sold into slavery. Balian argued in vain that there were far more people who could not pay, as there were perhaps as many as 20000 refugees from elsewhere in the kingdom.

After returning to Jerusalem, it was decided that seven thousand of the poor inhabitants could be ransomed from money drawn from the treasury that Henry II of England had established there, which was being guarded by the Hospitallers. This money was meant to be used by Henry on a pilgrimage or a crusade, in penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, but the king never arrived, and his treasury had already been used to pay mercenaries for the Battle of Hattin.

Balian met with Saladin again and the sultan agreed to lower the ransom to ten bezants for men, five for women, and one for children. Balian argued that this would still be too great, and Saladin suggested a ransom of 100 000 bezants for all the inhabitants. Balian thought this was impossible, and Saladin said he would ransom seven thousand people for no lower than 50 000 bezants. Finally it was decided that Saladin would free the seven thousand for 30 000 bezants; two women or ten children would be permitted to take the place of one man for the same price.

Surrender of the city

Balian handed over the keys to the Tower of David, the citadel, on October 2. It was announced that every inhabitant had about a month to pay their ransom, if they could (the length of time was perhaps 30 to 50 days, depending on the source). Saladin was generous and freed some of those who were forced into slavery; his brother Saphadin did the same, and both Balian and Heraclius, not wishing to be seen less generous than their enemies, freed many others with their own money. Saladin also allowed for an orderly march away from Jerusalem and prevented the sort of massacre that had occurred when the crusaders captured the city in 1099. Even Heraclius, who disgusted the Muslim chronicler Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani by hoarding all his wealth and the treasures of the church instead of contributing to the ransom of the poor, was escorted
from the city unmolested. The ransomed inhabitants marched away in three columns; the Templars and Hospitallers led the first two, with Balian and the Patriarch leading the third. Balian and his family were permitted to flee to Tripoli.

I note for the sake of those screaming conservatives that say Islam is a violent religion that almost all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were freed without conversion, sold into slavery or death. Saladin is one of the greatest heroes of Islam, wouldn’t it make sense that if the religion required the sword he would have been one to use it?

Rockey Who?

2006-09-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

I am sure almost everyone reading this knows the name Spike Lee. Lee has been twice nominated for an Oscar. His latest project is "When the Levees Broke,” a documentary on the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and the government's response to the crisis. It is presented as "A Requiem in Four Acts.” The documentary is airing on HBO. Spike Lee is no stranger to controversy and many of his films have caused a stir even before their release. Despite the subject matter of this newest project, the Main Stream Media (MSM) virtually ignored Lee in preference to a man named Rockey Vaccarella. Or as I like to call him, Rockey Who? The Bush administration had once again diverted attention away from their monumental mismanagement of the Katrina aftermath with a White House lawn photo op.

From http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2006/08/bush-visits-new-orleans-farts-around.html

Bush spoke on the South Lawn of the White House after meeting in the Oval Office with a New Orleans-area man who lost his home in the storm. Rockey Vaccarella, 41, of Meraux in St. Bernard Parish, has been traveling the Gulf Coast region to mark the Katrina anniversary.
"I told Rockey the first obligation of the federal government is to write a check big enough to help the people down there," Bush said. "And I told him that to the extent that there's still bureaucratic hurdles, and the need for the federal government to help eradicate those hurdles, we want to do that."

I wanted to know who this guy was. Here is some of the information I found:

From http://www.attytood.com/archives/003647.html#more

In fact, we had a hunch -- that maybe, just maybe, Rockey Vaccarella had a background himself in GOP politics.

And, whaddya know? Turns out that the earthy Vaccarella -- a highly successful businessman in the fast-food industry -- is indeed a Republican pol, having run unsuccessfully under the GOP banner for a seat on the St. Bernard Parish commission back in 1999. We don't have a good link, but here (via Nexis) is part of his bio that ran in the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Oct. 15, 1999:

ROCKEY
VACCARELLA
PERSONAL
Republican
35. Born in New Orleans. Grew up in Arabi and Chalmette. Lived 11 years in Meraux.
Married, two children.
Graduated from Chalmette High, 1982. Attended St. Bernard Community College.
Director of operations, Lundy Enterprises, as manager of 31 Pizza Hut restaurants and 450 employees. Former general restaurant manager of Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits on East Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette

One of things that Rockey did during his visit to Bush was tell the press he wished Bush could have a third term. A suggestion that Bush feigned embarrassment when made. The MSM never reported anything on Rockey’s past except that “he had lost everything to Katrina.” Many of those 31 Pizza Huts survived Katrina since they were spread over a wide range in the south. He was back at work in a relatively short period.

So you say what the harm is with Rockey having his fifteen minutes of fame. Nothing except it was at the expense of filmmaker Lee. Documentaries are not the big budget productions that dramatic films are. Almost all HBO’s entire promotion budget was spent on plugging “When the Levees Broke” on the HBO networks themselves. The news cycles that would have normally highlighted Lee’s film were supplanted by coverage of Rockey. The film debuted on HBO without the publicity it would have normally had. Yes, the film was critical of the administration’s response to Katrina but instead of trying to correct the mismanagement of the response, the administration instead chose to stifle criticism. Bush and his administration gave a lot of lip service to rebuilding New Orleans last week during the one-year anniversary of Katrina then went about business as normal after leaving town.

Last week during that anniversary, New Orleans had a visitor from one of the countries that suffered from the tsunami. He said he did not understand how his country was able to recover faster and better than the United States. In addition, how the United States helped in his country’s recovery but it looked like America couldn’t help itself. Remember when the Iraq vote took place, remote voting stations were setup over the U.S. for Iraqis living here to vote. When New Orleans had elections, no such accommodations were made for the approximately 400,000 displaced American citizens from New Orleans. If I were more cynical, I might think this is being done on purpose.

American Exceptionalism = H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y

2006-08-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

American Exceptionalism = H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y

When I was in school, I was told that a hypocrite was someone who told you not do something but did it himself anyway. A hypocrite functioned under the “do as I say NOT as I do” philosophy. Jesus is said to have condemned the Pharisees for being hypocrites. Hypocrites practice hypocrisy. I was taught this was one of the Earth’s lower moral life forms.

From http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07610a.htm
Hypocrisy is the pretension to qualities which one does not possess, or, more cognately to the scope of this article, the putting forward of a false appearance of virtue or religion.

Essentially its malice is identical with that of lying; in both cases there is discordance between what a man has in his mind and the simultaneous manifestation of himself. So far as the morality of the act goes, it is unimportant that this difference between the interior and the exterior be set out in words, as happens in formal lies, or be acted out in one's demeanor, as is true of simulation.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the act of pretending to have morals or virtues that one does not truly possess or practice. … A classic example of a hypocritical act is to criticize others for carrying out some action while carrying out the same action oneself.

American Exceptionalism is the philosophy that states no one else can do something EXCEPT America and those we have chosen. American Exceptionalism is hypocrisy because at its core there is a belief that we can do whatever we want and others must be restricted from similar actions. Under the Bush regime, American Exceptionalism has been taken to new lows.

HAVING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Ever since the days of “duck and cover,” I wondered why it was okay for America to spend billions on a nuclear arsenal that could destroy the Earth many times over while insisting that other countries should have no nuclear weapons. I was told it was because only the U.S. and its allies could be trusted with such dangerous weapons, despite the fact that we are the only country in history to use such weapons in an attack, twice. The two times nuclear weapons have been used it was on essentially civilian targets. This was a deliberate choice. Some of the scientist involved wanted the bombs exploded over a relatively flat area with a population, so they could quantify the destruction of the bombs. Purely military targets in the mountains and hills were rejected because the chances the data would not be a useful.

YELLOW-BELLIED CHICKENHAWKS
This particular group of people preaches about how great it is for our young people to fight in the war. You will not catch them or their children doing the fighting however. It isn’t the fighting man in Iraq that is getting rich, it is those who send them and would never go themselves.

PRODUCING MORE WMDs
The only WMDs found in Iraq were the inert remnants of poison gas. This has been used by some regime shills to justify our invasion and occupation. The U.S. has recently started to produce chemical and biological weapons again, saying they are needed for defensive purposes. Are they needed so we can sell them to the next Saddam that comes down the pike? If we need them for defense, why don’t other countries?

OPPRESSION AT HOME AND ABROAD
Our government in the last five plus years has illegally wiretapped phones, held prisoners without charge for years, has started a preventive (not even preemptive) war, and so on. They have done these things saying they are in the defense of freedom. How can one defend freedom at the same time as restricting freedom?

CASHING IN ON WAR AND PEOPLE’S SUFFERING
This is how Harry Truman dealt with war profiteers. From http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030512/editors:
When he heard rumors of such profiteering, Truman got into his Dodge and, during a Congressional recess, drove 30,000 miles paying unannounced visits to corporate offices and worksites. The Senate committee he chaired launched aggressive investigations into shady wartime business practices and found "waste, inefficiency, mismanagement and profiteering," according to Truman, who argued that such behavior was unpatriotic. Urged on by Truman and others in Congress, President Roosevelt supported broad increases in the corporate income tax, raised the excess-profits tax to 90 percent and charged the Office of War Mobilization with the task of eliminating illegal profits. Truman, who became a national hero for his fight against the profiteers, was tapped to be FDR's running mate in 1944.
He believed the worst offenders had committed treason. The climate of the current administration would bring investigations into the people who would dare to speak out. They say we fighting for democracy and freedom in Iraq. The sad truth is profit is the major motivation.

RACISM IS CONDONED
The Department of Justice’s enforcement of the civil rights code has dramatically decreased under Bush to the point of near extinction. If a designated enemy is seen as being racist, swift and total condemnation follows. Profiling based on race instead of actions is now the new push. Looking Muslim is considered reason enough for the abuses that used to be visited on African Americans. Trouble is how does one look Muslim?

INDISCRIMINATE KILLING
When the invasion of Iraq started, there was period of thirty days called “Shock and Awe.”

From http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/awe
to awe, (transitive verb) To inspire with fear and reverence.

The majority of shells and bombs used on Iraq during these days were not “smart” bombs. They killed babies as well as Republican Guard troops. This indiscriminate killing was designed to bring fear to the entire country. We gave lip service to “winning the hearts and minds” of Iraqis but our intentions were anything but. This attitude has been carried on through the duration, American troops have broken discipline, and the indiscriminate killing continues.

STEALING ELECTIONS
This is the most glaring cases of hypocrisy. The Bush regime talks about exporting democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan, when it does not exist here at home. Additionally, the democracy in Iraq is a façade; candidates during the elections there were not allowed to advocate the withdrawal of American troops, despite nearly 90% of the population favoring just such a move.

YOUNG LIVES WASTED
This is the most tragic of my points. This includes the dead of the war. This includes the injured of the war, many that come home to find their benefits are non-existent. Soldiers recovering in Army hospitals have been asked to pay for their own food. Those mentally affected find their treatment to be lacking if it exists at all. However, the most tragic part of all this is how the Bush regime uses these young people to garner support for their immoral and illegal war. They have equated support for the troops with support for the war. People do not want to appear to be not supporting the troops so they feel compelled to support the war.

A quick summary:

Having nuclear weapons
Yellow-bellied Chickenhawks
Producing more WMDs
Oppression at home and abroad
Cashing in on war and people’s suffering
Racism is condoned
Indiscriminate killing
Stealing elections
Young lives wasted

Who is the most fascist like, al Qaeda or the Bush Administration?

2006-08-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

The motivation for this article is very simple. George Bush has a new term for our terrorist enemies. The term takes the two forms of “Islamofascist” or "Islamic fascists.” In an effort to critically analysis the validity of these terms, I decided to determine just what a fascist is. I had seen this first article before and it immediately sounded like the Bush administration. It seemed to me the only fair thing to do was to compare the administration to al Qaeda and see just who the fascist is.

The following comes from http://www.veteransforpeace.org/The_14_characteristics_030303.htm

The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
by Lawrence Britt
Spring 2003
Free Inquiry magazine

Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine's policy.

The 14 characteristics are:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

6. Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Copyright © 2003 Free Inquiry magazine
Reprinted for Fair Use Only.

The following is quoted from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucmg/20060815/cm_ucmg/theislamofascistthreat

THE ISLAMOFASCIST THREAT
By Maggie Gallagher

When the news broke that a gang of terrorists planned to blow up six airplanes, killing thousands of innocent passengers, President Bush took the opportunity for the first time to name our enemy "Islamic fascists." Sen. Rick Santorum R-Pa., among others, has been urging this strategic shift. Terrorism is only a tactic. Would we call World War II the "war on blitzkrieg"? By naming our enemy "Islamofascism," the president suggests our current war is the equivalent of our long, triumphant fights against Nazism and communism.

This made me wonder if I heard correctly. I have heard the term “fascist” many times. In most cases, it was used wrongly to describe almost any dictator. The two terms are NOT interchangeable. Stalin was a dictator but most definitely not a fascist. This “strategic shift” puts the billion and half followers of Islam in a very uncomfortable defensive position. If one were to apply this logic to the situation during WWII, then they would have been Christian fascists. I do not think all the world’s Christians should have been on the defensive because of the actions of Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco. Is this “strategic shift” just a strategy for the upcoming elections? Is it going to cause a dramatic shift in the way we fight the war?

The methodology for my comparison is simple. With each of the fourteen characteristics, I have given al Qaeda and the Bush Administration one of two point values, 0, or 1. Zero means there is little or no similarity. One means there is preponderance of similarities. Each time it will be expressed in the following form: (points this characteristic, running sub-total).

Comparing the adaptation of the 14 Characteristics of Fascism by al Qaeda and the Bus Administration:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Al Qaeda (0, 0); Bush Administration (1, 1)
Al Qaeda is an organization without national identity. The Taliban would have scored much higher, but receiving support from the Taliban does mean that you are the Taliban. I am unaware of any patriotic paraphernalia used by al Qaeda.

The Bush Administration has constantly made use of patriotic paraphernalia. Mottoes like “Fight them there, so won’t have to fight them here.” The American flag is treated with religious fervor. The flag burning amendment is the prefect example of this.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Al Qaeda (1, 1); Bush Administration (1, 2)
Al Qaeda is an organization that cares little about innocent human life, the ultimate human right.

The Bush Administration has justified many of their violations of the rule of law by citing the need for security. I see nowhere in the Constitution where the guaranteed rights can be suspended because of security needs. The wiretapping that has occurred without warrants and the holding of detainees without charge are prime examples.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
Al Qaeda (1, 2); Bush Administration (1, 3)
Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization that can only justify its actions by blaming its victims. They also do so by attacking their enemies for their own questionable actions.

The Bush Administration had the entire country unified on September 12, 2001. Muslim Americans were condemning the attacks just like any other American. Since then there has been a push for racial profiling. Our enemy is not dumb if racial profiling was put in place ways of circumventing it would be found. This administration has declared illegal immigrants from Mexico terrorists. This is just absurd. These are desperate people looking for a better way of life.

4. Supremacy of the Military
Al Qaeda (0, 2); Bush Administration (1, 4)
Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization that has no military structure. This is one the reasons that defeating them with military force is an impossible task.

The Bush Administration has ignored domestic issues to concentrate on the war in Iraq. They have made use of the military by equating support for the troops with support for war. Once the soldiers have completed their service and have returned to civilian life, they fall into the pit of being ignored by the government that used them.

5. Rampant Sexism
Al Qaeda (1, 3); Bush Administration (1, 5)
Al Qaeda treats women as mere possessions and chattel.

The Bush Administration gives lip service to women’s rights and turns around to condemn abortion. Enforcement of discrimination laws have virtually disappeared. Women in the administration are paraded out like the old Southern racists declaring some of his best friends were colored. This administration is highly homophobic.

6. Controlled Mass Media
Al Qaeda (0, 3); Bush Administration (1, 6)
Al Qaeda has no mass media to control. Their mode of operation depends on the secrecy that comes in operating in cells and in the shadows.

The Bush Administration will tell you that the media has a liberal bias. The facts of the situation are quite the opposite. Bias on radio runs very conservative with the number of conservative talk stations out numbering liberal stations by a factor of four or more. Bias in the print media runs at least 2 to 1 in a conservative bias. The bias on cable is even worse, when some network there tries to give a truly balanced report; the pundits are ready and willing to attack their liberalism. This has been done so often that impartial reporting is nearly non-existent.

7. Obsession with National Security
Al Qaeda (0, 3); Bush Administration (1, 7)
Al Qaeda has no nation to obsess about national security.

The Bush Administration are masters of fear. The raising of the terror alert status in order gain political advantage is just one example. This constant implication that the Democrats would be incapable protecting the country is another.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Al Qaeda (1, 4); Bush Administration (1, 8)
I will concede al Qaeda this point even though they have no nation. Religious fundamentalism is their reason for existence.

The Bush Administration is in office thanks in large part to the pandering to fundamentalist Christians. Their office for Faith Based Initiatives is under staffed and severely under funded. God bless American is used for political purposes not out of heart felt meaning.

9. Corporate Power is Protected
Al Qaeda (0, 4); Bush Administration (1, 9)
Corporate power is the antithesis of al Qaeda. The attack on the WTC was an attack on corporate power.

The Bush Administration has essentially established a government of the corporations, for the corporations and by the corporations. The tax and spend policies of this administration benefits friends of the administration not the people of the country.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed
Al Qaeda (0, 4); Bush Administration (1, 10)
Al Qaeda gets a zero here because they are in a no position to effect labor either positively or negatively.

The Bush Administration has been very successful in keeping the working poor person poor. The middle class labor pool is shrinking away to become part of working poor. Those who make their money through the manipulation of money not through productive labor are the most successful. The administration has been very successful in defining unions as either liberal, socialist, or communist. The most successful union in the country is prison guards.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Al Qaeda (1, 5); Bush Administration (1, 11)
Al Qaeda gets a one here because the truth and reality that would come with education and the arts would destroy their operation.

The Bush Administration is anti-science. Bush himself has said the jury is still out on evolution and Intelligent Design. Funding for higher education is eroding instead of increasing. Educators who dare to speak out have been dismissed. The attitude expressed to the Arts is dismal. There is an emphasis on the negative minority in the Arts and no acknowledgement of the positive majority.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Al Qaeda (1, 6); Bush Administration (1, 12)
Al Qaeda gets a one here because their view of an eye for an eye without trial.

The Bush Administration has taken police power that is unconstitutional and illegal. Warrantless wiretapping and rendering are the top two examples. Condoning torture is another.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Al Qaeda (0, 6); Bush Administration (1, 13)
Al Qaeda gets a zero here because if they were to discover corruption among the ranks execution would be the least that would happen.

The Bush Administration has taken these two characteristics to new heights. “Heck of a job you’re doing Brownie,” ring a bell? Corruption in the form of no bid contracts in Iraq that are not completed and over billed. Many cases of the fox guarding the hen house. There is currently an attempt to retroactively exempt the administration from prosecution for wrongdoing as severe as war crimes.

14. Fraudulent Elections
Al Qaeda (0, 6); Bush Administration (1, 14)
Al Qaeda gets a zero here because if they do not participate in elections since their power is supposedly God given.

The Bush Administration is so good with smear campaigns that a new term has been coined, swiftboating. The current gerrymandering of districts may no matter what keep control of Congress in Republican hands. In 2000, there was unprecedented involvement by the Supreme Court that ended with Bush essentially being appointed President. In both the 2000 and 2004 elections highly reliable exit polls were inaccurate only when the polls showed Democratic victories then to have the vote count say the Republicans won.

FINAL SCORE:
Al Qaeda 6/14
Bush Administration 14/14

I am well aware that Bush apologists will attack my motivations rather than my analysis. All I am asking for the sake of the country is to look at each point with an open mind.

Bush Administration: Cries Wolf, Fires Police, and Hires Army; End Result More Terrorists and Less Security

2006-08-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

Today the British proved the most effect way to fight terrorism is through police work not invasion. To fight terrorism one must concentrate on individuals not whole countries. It takes a scalpel not a sledgehammer. When Clinton was in power they fought terrorism by conventional means, after the first World Trade Center bombing, the perpetrators were arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. The same was true of the Oklahoma City bombing with the exception execution took place instead of imprisonment. The Clinton administration put counter terrorism agencies in place. The number and severity of attacks decreased afterwards. In other words, police enforcement and prevention actions worked.

The Clinton administration warned the Bush people, their single greatest threat was al Qaeda. The NeoCons in the Bush regime hated Clinton so blindly that these warnings were ignored. When the Intelligence community tried to brief Cheney on al Qaeda, he said all he wanted to hear about was Iraq. These people had a score to settle and nothing was going to stop them. Even though thoroughly debunked the administration and its shills continue to constantly connect Iraq with 9/11. Had the administration concentrated on al Qaeda and bin Laden from the beginning the twin towers might still be standing.

Before and after 9/11 the Bush administration defanged the counter terrorism entities within the government. Especially after 9/11, intelligence agencies were “encouraged” to tilt reports to fit political points of view. In Bush and Rumsfeld’s post 9/11 world the military intelligence groups are supreme, as is the use of military force. Police enforcement actions like those in England today have been few and far between. Some we have been told about only later to find they were either exaggerated or totally fabricated. The most famous one in Miami appears to have been a pure case of the FBI agent involved creating the terrorist cell and plot, even to the point administrating an al Qaeda oath to the group.

Today Bush spent a lot time thanking and praising the British for their fine work, meanwhile his former head of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, admitted that the terror alert level was raised multiple times for political reasons.

From http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8813.htm

Ridge said he wanted to "debunk the myth" that his agency was responsible for repeatedly raising the alert under a color-coded system he unveiled in 2002. “More often than not we were the least inclined to raise it,” Ridge told reporters. “Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment. Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put the country on (alert). ... There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, ‘For that?’ ”
…
The level is raised if a majority on the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council favors it and President Bush concurs. Among those on the council with Ridge were Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI chief Robert Mueller, CIA director George Tenet, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Ridge and Ashcroft publicly clashed over how to communicate threat information to the public. But Ridge has never before discussed internal dissention over the threat level.

The cry of wolf went up so often that the 2004 election was close enough that it could appear legitimate. Here we are two years later and the credibility of the whole Federal government is in the trash. The quagmire in Iraq only deepens and Israel is again at war. All of this is the greatest recruiting tools that the terrorists have ever possessed. I would not be surprised to find the terrorists arrested in England today were recruited since the invasion of Iraq.

I hope and pray that these were legitimate arrests and not a ploy to boost sagging poll numbers. We as citizens need to remain vigilant that actions concerning threat levels are real not inventions for the upcoming elections. I also hope and pray that the country will not become like the townsfolk in the Boy Who Cried Wolf, when the threat is real, that we can and will believe.

Bush Says No to Supreme Court -- An ACLU Call to Action

2006-08-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

I received the following letter as a call to action against a Bush administration proposal that appears to look an awful lot like "Enabling Acts." This is no time for us to be timid. If we value our Constitution and the rights it guarantees, we must stand up now. Remember the Constitution does not grant the rights it merely defines and guarantees them. I have added the letter in its entirety.

Dear Friend,

Only weeks after the Supreme Court declared illegal the Bush Administration's military commissions -- which were set up to try and convict detainees held indefinitely without basic due process protections -- the White House and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales are pushing Congress on an illegal proposal that violates the Supreme Court's decision and abandons the rule of law.

The Bush plan would ask Congress to rubber-stamp these illegal commissions, effectively reversing the Supreme Court decision. It would also violate the Geneva Conventions, which were ratified by Congress, taking away the most basic process protections from detainees who are being held indefinitely. Don't let the White House strong-arm Congress and the Supreme Court.

Go to http: //action.aclu.org/tribunals to send a message to your Senators and Representative that the United States must abide by the Geneva Conventions and uphold American values of due process.

Specifically, the White House proposal would:

Gut the enforceability of important Geneva Convention protections

Allow the use of evidence obtained through coercion, including horrific abuse

Sanction convictions based on secret evidence

Bar a defendant from being present at his or her own trial

Allow the use of hearsay evidence

During Senate hearings yesterday, even the Pentagon's top military lawyers agreed that no one should be convicted based on secret evidence and that every defendant has the right to be present at his own trial. They also made clear that coerced evidence -- such as "confessions" beaten out of witnesses -- has no place in any trial.

Your Senators and Representatives need to hear from you that Americans want the rule of law restored. Tell them that any legislation on criminal trials of detainees being held indefinitely must protect the Geneva Conventions and maintain basic due process protections respected by all Americans.

Take action now at http: //action.aclu.org/tribunals

Tell Congress that it should not take away the protections of the Geneva Conventions and basic American values like due process when trying detainees being held indefinitely by the federal government.

Thank you for taking action today.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson
Director, Washington Legislative Office
American Civil Liberties Union

P.S. To read more about the White House proposal before taking action, go here.

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And the Killing Keeps Going On

2006-07-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

And I walked in and sat down and they gave me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the psychiatrist, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill, KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sergeant came over, pinned a medal on me, sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."

Didn't feel too good about it.

Click to Hear Song Clip

Alice's Restaurant Massacre
Words and Music by Arlo Guthrie
©1966, 1967 (Renewed) by Appleseed Music Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

I feel like the White House must be full sycophants just like this, only they’re for real not just trying to get out of the draft. The Bush regime continues it nonsensical and lethal course in the Israel versus everybody Middle East conflict. Unlike Secretaries of State in the past that practiced shuttle diplomacy between the sides involved, Condoleezza Rice appears more as an agent for the Israelis. Henry Kissinger and Madeline Albright, even if personally and in private felt a bias for one side or the other, always tried to maintain public neutrality. They also had a sense of urgency that Rice is noticeably lacking.

Quoting from haaretz.com (an Israeli news service):

"It is very important to establish conditions under which a ceasefire can take place. We believe that a ceasefire is urgent. It is important to have conditions that will make it also sustainable," said Rice before a refueling stop in Shannon, Ireland.

Bush has so far resisted calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying Israel has a right to defend itself and a cessation of hostilities must address the root causes of the conflict.

After pressure from the Saudis, Rice seemed to take a softer line than last Friday when she said an immediate ceasefire would be a "false promise" that would let Hezbollah reemerge to attack Israel.

The result of this double talk has been the continuing civilian deaths in region, on both sides, including 4 unarmed U.N. observers. Also from haaretz.com, “Many Arab nations believe the United States has not put enough pressure on Israel to avoid civilian casualties in Lebanon, where more than 369 people have been killed since Hezbollah captured two IDF soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Thirty-seven Israelis have been killed.”

I have stated before that I believe behind this inaction/crazy action is the hidden agenda to start the so called end times. You would figure after all this time I would stop trying to find rational reasons for the actions of the Bush regime. I try to give them the benefit of doubt by not saying it just a total disregard for human life that is not white, upper class American. But the evidence says otherwise. The collateral damage in Iraq and Afghanistan is surely over 100,000. The sectarian violence in Iraq is just a euphemism for civil war. Not since the Vichy government of WWII France has a government been so obviously a puppet of foreign country. The situation in Darfur in the Sudan has approached or surpassed the genocide in Rwanda. At the end of World War II the hue and cry was, “Never Again!” Time has dimmed this memory and fervor, most disappointedly in Israel, where many of the survivors of the Nazi Holocaust settled.

Once again the United States and Israel stand alone among the international community.
From agonist.org:

Russkis and Saudis Call For Cease-Fire
Saudi Arabia and Russia agree on the need for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East and the expansion of the Lebanese government's power, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said July 25 after a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Saudi Arabia: War Could Result
Saudi King Abdullah said a regional war could result from continued Israeli military offensives in Lebanon and against Palestinians, Saudi state television reported July 25. The channel also said Saudi Arabia has pledged $500 million to Lebanon and $250 million for the Palestinians.

Both the Lebanese and the Palestinians held free elections that had undesired results for Israel and the United States. The Lebanese elected Hezbollah members to their Parliament. When the Palestinians held elections Hamas won power. The voters in both cases dared to elect someone other than those approved by the Israelis and Americans.

Now that Israel did not get the quick decisive victory over Hezbollah that had been planned for the last three years, it appears that Rice’s role is to delay with her smoke and mirrors so Israel has more time to destroy Hezbollah and Hamas. Civilian casualties be damned. What harm can come from an immediate cease-fire? If it saves one unnecessary death then it is more than worth it.

In First Veto Bush Once Again Shuns Science

2006-07-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

George W. Bush exercised his first official veto this last week amid much fanfare. His veto was on a bill that would allow the expenditure of federal funds for stem cell research. The reason this was his first veto is simple, bills he didn’t want in past, he signed into law and issued signing statements declaring his intention to ignore the new law. As reported by Charlie Savage, in the Boston Globe on April 30, 2006, “President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.” He did not use a signing statement this time because he wanted to pander to the religious right that believes that even in-vitro fertilized human eggs rate the status of a full human life. This same crowd would make murderers out of all pregnant women having abortions and their physicians. He believes the publicity generated by his veto will help during the upcoming mid-term elections.

We should not forget that this issue was why Bush was asleep at the switch prior to 9/11 attacks. He had retired to his Crawford, Texas ranch that summer to study the embryonic stem cell issue. On August 9, 2001 (33 days before 9/11), Bush announced his decision to limit federal funding to already established research lines. A number he set at 64 when in reality it turned out to be 19 or 20, now all so contaminated as to be of little scientific use. During his press conference of the veto, he touted the viability of adult stem cells, a view held by a small minority of scientists in the field. He also had numerous children that were adopted after being abandoned in vitro only to be implanted in surrogates for the purpose of adoption. He did not explain why these ‘caring parents’ did not adopt any of the many children (mostly children of color) put up for adoption or the many older children needing homes.

With this veto, Bush has once again shown total contempt for rational scientific thought. He prefers theology to the scientific method. He has done this before in his support of so-called Intelligent Design (a thinly veiled form of Creationism). This is a truly synergistic relationship between Bush and the religious right as reported by Peter Slevin of the Washington Post on March 14, 2005, “They are acting now because they feel emboldened by the country's conservative currents and by President Bush, who angered many scientists and teachers by declaring that the jury is still out on evolution. Sharing strong convictions, deep pockets, and impressive political credentials -- if not always the same goals -- the activists are building a sizable network.”

Each side will continue to re-enforce the other unless rational thinking people standup and say “ENOUGH!”

The (Un?)intended Effects of the "War on Drugs"

2006-07-22T02:17:00.000-07:00

Whenever an administration declares renewed efforts on their "War on Drugs,” there is the usual list of platitudes; “Drugs are a scourge on the country.” “The worst threat our young people face.” The newest of these is: "Drugs are a major source of funding for the terrorists.” This last has been so debunked that the ads featuring this premise have virtually disappeared. It was not debunked to the point that conservatives don't believe that the average joint smoker is bin Laden's greatest supporter. This also ignores the fact that Afghanistan has become the largest supplier of heroin in world, a country funded by narcotics because of our war on terror. History has shown the real reason for the "War" is distraction. Starting with the Johnson administration and continuing with administrations from both parties it has been considered a "safe" issue that no one would oppose, lest they be called moral degenerates or worse. The "War" is not emphasized until an administration's other policies and poll numbers are in the toilet. This distraction ploy is so well recognized as to be non-controversial and always used as an argument against spending more money and resources on a "War" we can never win.

These are the outward and visible signs of discussion. I believe that there are two less obvious but much more insidious motivations behind the "War" and its associated laws and law enforcement efforts. Both involve keeping the poor and people of color ‘in their place.’ The first is stopping higher education in its tracks. Anyone convicted of a drug related offense has a lifetime ban on receiving Federal funds for education, including both grants and loan guarantees. Many states have followed suit with similar restrictions. Both levels of government restrict public assistance after conviction of a crime, especially drug related. With the poor and minorities much more likely to be convicted of these crimes, this virtually assures that that the cycle of poverty and ignorance will continue unabated. This is race and class discrimination at its ugliest.

For all their anti-union rhetoric, the Conservatives have a favorite union. This is the prison guard unions and associations, with their extremely well funded PACs. In California, these PACs are the single largest contributor to political campaigns. A union’s primary function is to ensure the continued existence of jobs for its members, closely followed by creating new ones. Well over half of the prison population is there for drug related crimes. The need for prisons and prison guards is driven by the number of prisoners. The politicians get two benefits, looking tough on crime by supporting new prison construction and contributions from the PACs. Many states disenfranchise convicts, again favoring Conservatives. The added nasty fact is that prison guard is the employment haven for the sadists and racists among us.

So the next time you hear about the “War on Drugs,” fully consider just what you may be supporting.

The Current Generation Gap

2006-07-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

When I was coming of age in the late sixties, the term “Generation Gap” was used widely. It was an attempt on the part of both sides of the Gap to reconcile the strong emotions involved. The biggest issues of the day were the Vietnam War and the military draft. The older generation generally did not understand the abhorrence of the younger generation. The older generation had fought the good fight of World War II and looked at Vietnam as a continuation of the same fight. Vietnam was the first war to be televised on a daily basis; the horrors of that war were in our living rooms everyday. There was no avoiding the flag-draped coffins coming back. The entire population was asked to make sacrifices. Families were ripped apart over these issues.

Middle and lower class America were where the Generation Gap occurred. Upper class America had methods at their disposal that any of them wishing to avoid service in Vietnam, was able to do so (i.e. Bush’s Air National Guard enlistment). Many sons were disowned when they decided to avoid the draft by going underground or moving to Canada. Many families still feel guilt over encouraging their sons to go fight in the war only to have them return dead, maimed, or emotionally crippled for life. In the best of cases reconciliation occurred. The end of the Vietnam War brought the end of the draft. America has since operated with all-volunteer Armed Forces.

It should be noted that in Vietnam unlike the Gulf Wars, there were NO reservists or National Guard troops called up to duty in country. This is because neither Johnson nor Nixon felt they had the political capital necessary to make such a move. The mainstream media would not have let them get away with doing so. Not only is the Bush regime allowed doing so with impunity, many reservists and Guard members have now served multiple tours in Iraq. The Generation Gap of today occurs not just because of age but also because of experiential knowledge. Those of my age and older remember the sacrifices of Vietnam. We are well aware of our peers and siblings that will never be the same. In the end Vietnam was a huge tragedy with its unneeded loss of human life and potential, no matter what high ideals were the motivation.

To be sure, only the most gullible still believe there are similar high ideals for the war in Iraq. The Generation Gap that exists today is one of ignorance and apathy. Most young people have no strong feelings either way about the Iraqi war. This is exactly what Bush wants. The country is not asked to make any wartime sacrifices. There is a subtle but definite dismissal of any concerns for the troops, “They all knew what they were getting into when they volunteered.” The middle and lower classes are so busy trying to make a living and eat; there is no time to be concerned about how they’re being shafted by the Bush regime.

It is our duty to close the current Generation Gap. Education is necessary to replace the ignorance propagated by the current administration. We must make those in ignorance realize the number of deaths occurring, both American and Iraqi. The only way to truly support the troops is to bring them home now. Apathy may be the end of the grand experiment that is democracy in America.

Bush Gives Middle East Peace the Middle Finger

2006-07-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Yes this picture is real and unedited.

The headline read:
Bush Rejects Lebanon's Call for Cease-Fire

This made me wonder what it was mad George was suffering from this time. Yes, the war Iraq is uniquely Bush’s but why he would want to escalate the violence in the area? Does he have so little empathy that killing more innocents does not bother him? Answering the second question first is easy. It does not bother him anymore than 100,000 plus Iraqi civilian deaths. The over 2,500 American deaths can be ignored because these deaths come from a part of society that Bush ignores anyway. His attitude is definitely one that if these troops were not smart enough (or rich enough) to stay out of harm’s way then their deaths are okay.

The first question is not so easy but even more insidious. Quoting the AP article, “President Bush rejected Lebanon's calls for a cease-fire in escalating Mideast violence on Friday, saying only that Israel should try to limit civilian casualties as it steps up attacks on its neighbor. -- “The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.” Bush has unique ideas of sovereignty. Israel has sovereign rights but Lebanon does not! The president wants to make military decisions for Lebanon, Iran, and North Korea but not for Israel. The best case for this attitude is not good. Bush is merely pacifying some of his core supporters who I describe as end-time crazies. Violence in and by Israel is required to start the rapture and final battles. The worst case is Bush is one of these crazies himself. During the first Gulf War, the elder Bush was able to convince the Israelis to have restraint and this was with Saddam lobbing SCUD missiles their way. The current President Bush will not repeat restraining the Israelis for some reason, none of which appears good or rational.

I get the majority of my news online, most notably through Truthout and Buzzflash. Living in the Phoenix area means there is no print or television media that I feel that are even close to balanced and fair. Their idea of fair means not calling for the summary execution by firing squad of any liberal, progressive or Democrat that might express a contrary opinion. The Air America station provides the only relief on the radio airwaves in this land of ditto-heads. Local media outlets have viewed the current Israeli response to the situation as totally justified. Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” The apathy I observe to this is extremely disheartening and sad. Christ was the most peace-loving prophet in history; can we really believe that these things should be carried out in his name? I think not, but there is too few who think similarly.
Original AP Story: Bush Rejects Lebanon's Call for Cease-Fire
Original Story on Truthout: Bush Rejects Lebanon's Call for Cease-Fire

Living Blue in a Red State

2006-07-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

I recently moved back to Arizona after living in Southern California for 17 years. I had forgotten just what it meant to be a blue person in a red state. Suddenly having long hair in a ponytail was exotic and subject to throwback reactions of “that damn Hippie.” I am a native of Arizona. I got all my elementary and secondary education here. The state has doubled its Electoral College votes from 5 to 10 since then. Either the time away dimmed my memory or I had hoped Arizona had grown up. Either way, Arizona has more than its 23% share of blind Bush followers. That is the percentage of the U.S. population that long term surveys show could easily support a new authoritarian state (read new fascist state here). Arizona is one those states with an above average number (more unquestioning people) to offset those with a below average number (more thinking and discerning people).

This means I can still see many “W in 04” bumper stickers. The most insulting one I have seen says, “Re-elect George W Bush, One Good Term Deserves Another.” Like Bush was elected in the first place! Right after returning to Phoenix we went shopping for school supplies and I overheard the following remark from a mother to her son, “There is no way you’re getting a pink pencil box. No son of mine is queer. What would people think?” I have since prayed that that boy is not gay because his mother will keep him in the closet for years or cause another teen suicide if he were.

I was spoiled in Southern California. Not only did we have NPR and Air America, we had Pacifica Radio, specifically KPFK. We lost Air America here locally for the month of March and I nearly went nuts trying to find a thinking person’s radio station. Their return has brought the peace of mind no amount of medications could bring.

My father-in-law is a member of the local Republican Committee. I tell him to have fun at his Bund meeting when he goes to one of their meetings. Nothing fazes him since your credit rating is his first method of judgment. So, I continue living blue in a red state.

What is a Proud Liberal?

2006-07-12T02:01:00.000-07:00

I was a child in the sixties
When dreams could be held through TV
We had Disney, and Cronkite, and Martin Luther
And, I believed, I believed . . . I BELIEVED
Click to Hear Song Clip

It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go
Words & Music by Nanci Griffith
© 1989 Ponder Heart Music/Irving Music Inc. (BMI)

Whenever I hear the above song and those lyrics in particular, I reaffirm my belief in Liberal ideals. Not only did I believe in the sixties, I continue to believe to this day. If you have similar feelings, then welcome brother or sister because you are a proud Liberal in your heart. The Conservatives of today have been able to frame the issues of today through inference instead of fact. Any ideas or thoughts that run counter to their extreme views are labeled “Liberal.” This labeling is no better than the red baiting of the fifties and sixties where labeling something “Communist” was the preferred method. We must examine the meat of issues not just the exterior. We cannot allow our body politic to become so A.D.D. that everything is boiled down to 5 or 10 second sound clips.

At the top of this blog, there is an excerpt of a speech that then Senator John F. Kennedy gave to the New York state convention of the Liberal Party. It was his acceptance of their nomination for President. This was in the days when Ronald Reagan was just a grade B movie star hosting “Death Valley Days.” The word and title “Liberal” was NOT something that politicians felt they had to avoid at all costs, as they do today.

Politicians like Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry may have been better served by embracing their Liberal roots. Instead, they chose to disguise themselves behind a smoke screen. This allowed their opponents to energize the anti-Liberal vote without giving the Liberals a chance to bring out the vote from their base. Clinton succeeded so well in being the least Liberal Democrat in recent memory; one might wonder why the Neo-Cons were so hell bent on destroying him. That is only until we examine the current administration. The current regime is so far to the right that Abby Hoffman and Barry Goldwater would appear to be political clones. Clinton represented a moderate force that the Republicans had little chance of using their smear campaign of “He’s a Liberal,” with any efficacy. Clinton could and did straddle the middle better than anybody around.

Here in unabridged form is the part of JFK’s speech where he addressed being labeled “Liberal.”

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label, “Liberal”? If by “Liberal” they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of “Liberal.” But, if by a “Liberal,” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I'm proud to say that I'm a “Liberal.”
Click Here to Hear Audio Clip of JFK's Speech