link
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Welcome to the first day of fascist America
Passing Senate bill 3930, repealed habeas corpus rights. Rolled back history more than 900 years and invalidated our constitution.
Habeas corpus has existed since the Magna Carta in 1215. Were our senators thinking that because it's old it is no longer valid or "quaint?" So is the constitution "quaint" too?
In the constitution it states:
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2
The Constitution of the United States
Have we been invaded or is there a rebellion? No. It's just Bush's "war on terror." This "war" allows him, in his own mind, to assume the powers of king. He can disappear US citizens as easily as citizens of the rest of the world. McCain, et al's earlier disagreement was merely a smoke screen.
Rear Admiral JOHN D. HUTSON's [ADM JAGC USN (RET.),DEAN AND PREFRANKLINRANKLIN PIERCE LAW CENTER] testimony on 09/26/06, in front of the UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, set out a coherent arguement against this bill. "A persuasive argument can be made that the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the Great Writ, is the single most important bulwark in protecting our rights and freedoms. It is virtually sacrosanct, and those who have suspended it have often been treated harshly by history. That is why these hearings are so important and the action Congress is being asked to take is so momentous. This is an historic moment.
The Great Writ breathes life into all our fundamental and most cherished rights and freedoms. None of them have value if potential violations canÂ’t be tested in court. What value is Freedom of Speech if those who speak out are incarcerated and not able to have their cases heard?"
So, we turn back the clock to before the Magna Carta in 1215, to the time when the King could imprison someone for whatever reasons he wanted, and the accused could not answer the charges agasint him because they were not allowed to know the charges.
This is not beeing "light" on terror. It is noting that our constitutional rights are being legislated away. Soon King George can start "disappearing" people, although he has already done it. Now the thinks he can gain a "free pass" for torture and demolishing the constitution.
Habeas corpus has existed since the Magna Carta in 1215. Were our senators thinking that because it's old it is no longer valid or "quaint?" So is the constitution "quaint" too?
In the constitution it states:
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2
The Constitution of the United States
Have we been invaded or is there a rebellion? No. It's just Bush's "war on terror." This "war" allows him, in his own mind, to assume the powers of king. He can disappear US citizens as easily as citizens of the rest of the world. McCain, et al's earlier disagreement was merely a smoke screen.
Rear Admiral JOHN D. HUTSON's [ADM JAGC USN (RET.),DEAN AND PREFRANKLINRANKLIN PIERCE LAW CENTER] testimony on 09/26/06, in front of the UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, set out a coherent arguement against this bill. "A persuasive argument can be made that the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the Great Writ, is the single most important bulwark in protecting our rights and freedoms. It is virtually sacrosanct, and those who have suspended it have often been treated harshly by history. That is why these hearings are so important and the action Congress is being asked to take is so momentous. This is an historic moment.
The Great Writ breathes life into all our fundamental and most cherished rights and freedoms. None of them have value if potential violations canÂ’t be tested in court. What value is Freedom of Speech if those who speak out are incarcerated and not able to have their cases heard?"
So, we turn back the clock to before the Magna Carta in 1215, to the time when the King could imprison someone for whatever reasons he wanted, and the accused could not answer the charges agasint him because they were not allowed to know the charges.
This is not beeing "light" on terror. It is noting that our constitutional rights are being legislated away. Soon King George can start "disappearing" people, although he has already done it. Now the thinks he can gain a "free pass" for torture and demolishing the constitution.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
Seven New Beatitudes to Change the World
Rev. Bob Edgar (General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA)
I believe there are millions of Americans--faithful Christians, Jews and Muslims--who are tired, fed up and angry. They want this country to once again be the beacon of moral clarity it once was. They want this nation to lead when it sees fellow human beings dying of hunger and disease. They want this nation to lead when it sees melting glaciers and rising oceans due to global warming.
They want this nation to reflect the best of their religious traditions when it comes to taking care of our brothers and sisters no matter where they live, of taking care of this planet that God created and entrusted to us to cherish and respect.
In my book, "Middle Church, Reclaiming the Moral Values of the Faithful Majority from the Religious Right," I have a chapter entitled, "Changing our Beatitudes: Guideposts for Deep-Water Citizenship." The Beatitudes refers to the section of the Gospel of Matthew (5:3-12) and Luke (6:20-23) where Jesus has a list outlining what are his priorities for his followers: "Blesses are the peacemakers..., Blessed are the meek..., Blessed are the poor in spirit...," etc. It is my firm belief that if we are to reclaim our nation's values that the rest of the world has looked up to for so many years we must shake ourselves from our complacency and connect the values of the faith we share with the faith of the nation we cherish. I know that we can do this.
The reference to "deep waters" refers to a saying of Jesus in Luke's Gospel. I see it today as Deep-Water Citizenship which is a simple plan I humbly offer to change today's world with seven beatitudes.
1. Blessed are the faithful risk-takers. Too many faith leaders are silent on matters Jesus cared about deeply. My evangelical friend, Tony Campolo, laments that he can't quote Jesus in churches these days because folks don't want to hear about loving your enemies or overcoming evil with good. Faith leaders should be grounding their message from the pulpit in the deep waters of Jesus.
2. Blessed is the courageous remnant. The Hebrew prophets were not very popular. But they remind us even majorities can be wrong. Jesus quoted those prophets all the time. They were vilified by those in power. Some were stoned. But they spoke the truth and found the courage to do so. We need to find that same courage and speak up for what is right. Sometimes the majority needs to be led.
3. Blessed are those who love the stranger. If there is one thing common to the religious traditions of Abraham--the Muslims, Christians and Jews--it's the Golden rule. If we really, really kept that law there would fewer people killed in name of God in the world today.
4. Blessed are those who read the Whole Bible. I've often said you can use various verses of the Bible to justify almost anything...slavery, polygamy, subjugation of women and children, even child sacrifice. But Middle Church has to own up to the whole of the Bible. We have to take seriously the words of Jesus when he tells us to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love our very selves. How important is what is called the Greatest Commandment? Jesus even answered that: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:40)
5. Blessed are the Faithful Voters. What would our government do if Middle Church voters followed the Greatest Commandment? We would trigger a seismic and historic change in American politics. I don't care which party is in power because I think the faithful voter should speak Gospel truth to power regardless of party loyalty. If we are to be faithful voters, politicians must be afraid to cut welfare as they are to raise taxes, as eager to make peace as they are to start wars.
6. Blessed are those who challenge us to work for Justice. A lot of mainline Protestant pastors tell me they're afraid if they preach prophetically they'll lose members in their already dwindling congregations. They'll lose those members if they don't preach prophetically. We need leaders with vision who can take the Gospel imperatives to help "the least of these", our brothers and sisters, in cooperation with corporations and government. We need everyone's shoulder to the wheel to rid our towns and cities of poverty, homelessness and hunger. We are the leaders we've been waiting for. Let's get to work.
7. Blessed are those with a sense of humor and a sense of hope. At the heart of Christianity is hope. We are a people of hope. And we should be people who can laugh in the face of great adversity. We must not let the enormity of what we see in today's world to overwhelm us into inaction. We must always draw on that hope with its companion joyful laughter to carry on this Gospel gladness. The question I ask my fellow Christians in Middle Church is, "Do we value our faith enough to reclaim it?"
I do. I believe in my hopeful heart of hearts there are millions like me who want to reclaim the values this country once held dear. We've been distracted recently. We need to get back to the Greatest Commandment, the Sermon on the Mount and the Jesus who reached beyond the boundaries of his society to include everyone.
This is an excellent idea, as the Repigs talk morality, but don't practice it. They really should be ashamed of themselves.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Christian Jihadist children
See the trailer of Jesus Camp which depicts the training of "Christian" children to be jihadists for Jesus. I think this documentary will be well worth watching. It is frightening to think that young children in the US are being indoctrinated just like Muslim kids in medrassas. What ever happened to Jesus' message of peace? These people are not Christians, they have warped the meaning of Christianity. This is not the church camp I grew up going to!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Stop HR 4844
Call (202) 225-4511 today and ask Rep. Henry Bonilla to vote against the rigging of election rules for partisan advantage. Ask Rep. Henry Bonilla to vote against H.R. 4844.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 4844, which requires that all citizens voting in a federal election must show a photo ID card that proves their citizenship. Take a look at your driver's license. Does it state that you're a citizen? If not, you'll need to bring your passport when you vote if this bill becomes law.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 4844, which requires that all citizens voting in a federal election must show a photo ID card that proves their citizenship. Take a look at your driver's license. Does it state that you're a citizen? If not, you'll need to bring your passport when you vote if this bill becomes law.
Remembering Gov. Ann Richards
I was here for this speech and it was awe inspiring as we got ready to go march for our right, as women, to choose what happens to our bodies. Gov. Richards was a champion of women's rights and an example to us all. I still remember, as a young bride in Ft. Worth, that I could not cash a check at a bank without my husband's permission. There were many things that could not be done without a husband's permission at that time. Texas was truly backwards to me, a military kid, who had lived in many other states. Ann paved the way for us to have a fair share in Texas, and for that I will be forever grateful.
The speech:
On April 25th, 2004 more than 1.1 million men, women and children gathered in Washington, D.C. to speak out for reproductive choice. Governor Richards proudly led the Texas delegation in D.C. and gave an inspiring and moving speech to a sold-out, standing room-only rally for Texans before the March.
Thank you, Governor Richards. We honor and appreciate your outstanding leadership and all the doors you've opened for those who follow you. We follow humbly in your footsteps. The Staff and Board of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas
Remarks of
Ann W. Richards
to the
Texas Delegation
at the
March for Women's Lives
Washington, D.C.
April 25, 2004
Well, I don't think I have ever seen a better looking crowd.
If we had this kind of turnout ten years ago, George Bush would still be running a baseball team.
Good morning...and welcome to the March for Women's Lives.
I am proud of all of you for being here today...and I am proud to march with you.
You and I have fought a lot of battles together...but none is more important than the one that we commit ourselves to today.
We will not tolerate the right-wing politicians who want the government to make the most personal of choices in our lives.
And we have a message for them: Come November...You're fired!
For most of my lifetime, American women have been moving toward greater freedom and independence...and greater achievement in their professional lives.
And reproductive freedom is the basic right that made all our other successes possible.
It's been a little more than 40 years since we got the pill.
And on this very date 37 years ago, the Republican governor of Colorado signed a bill making abortions legal if three doctors recommended the procedure.
And then, Sarah Weddington argued Roe v. Wade...and for the first time in our history, women truly had the ability to determine their own future...to seek professional careers and earn money.
Two generations of American women have come of age with the freedom to plan their families, make decisions about their health - and about their lives - without government interference.
But those freedoms are threatened now.
Today we are marching against a tide of right-wing politicians and their propaganda machine.
A right-wing Congress and a right-wing President are hell-bent to limit the protection of Roe v. Wade.
From day one, this Congress and this President have led the assault on reproductive freedom.
And, when the cameras are rolling, they talk about abortion...but it is contraception and family planning that they are after.
You know what it is like when you are trying to drive somewhere and every intersection you hit has a red light?
Well, that's what these guys have done for women who want family planning.
They are like one big red light on the road to reproductive freedom.
In their first budget, they stopped federal employee's insurance coverage for contraceptives...but - and I want to be sure you hear this - they allowed continued coverage for Viagra.
They stopped Medicaid funding for family planning for many low-income women.
They stopped every effort to require insurance companies to cover contraceptive prescriptions.
They stopped legislation that would have allowed women in military service to have abortions...even if they paid for it with their own money.
They stopped funding to a Center for Disease Control sex education program because it urged parents to talk to their kids about contraception and protecting themselves from disease.
They stopped distributing public information about a study that showed the use of condoms did not increase promiscuity...and another that showed condoms were an effective way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
And they stopped family planning groups that oppose their policies...by threatening their funding if they speak out.
But while that traffic signal has been flashing red for the women of America...it has been bright green for the opponents of choice.
They green-lighted John Ashcroft as attorney general - a guy who is so anti-choice that he had to be shamed into protecting family planning clinics from bomb-throwers.
That green light stayed on while Ashcroft sent federal agents into hospitals to comb through women's medical records...looking for abortion cases to prosecute.
We all know about John Ashcroft and their anti-choice judicial nominees...but many of their other appointments speed right by under the radar.
They gave a green light to the head of the Center for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases...who opposes the use of condoms.
They gave a green light to the "abstinence only" proponent who oversees the distribution of federal funding to family planning groups.
They gave a green light to doctors opposed to contraception who advise the Food and Drug Administration on reproductive health.
And, their first day in office, they gave a green light to a gag rule on every international organization that receives federal funding.
Basically, the rule says that if you even mention abortion when you talk to patients about their health, you lose your money.
Their bottom line is simple.
They want to outlaw abortion and contraception.
These same men declare grandly that they want to spread freedom all over the world.
So why do they want to restrict our freedom here at home?
The good news is that they cannot silence American women.
We are here today to say, once again, that no judge, no bureaucrat, no government official has the right to tell us whether or when we will have children.
We are not fighting for mere convenience or selfish ambition.
We are fighting for our sons and daughters who deserve medically sound advice about their sexual health.
We are fighting for the confidentiality of the doctor patient relationship.
We are fighting for the confidentiality of hospital and clinic records.
And we are fighting for the right of every child to be a loved and wanted child.
This is a crucial year.
And the march today is a beginning.
We must register our sisters...and we must vote.
Because when women vote, we win.
Tomorrow, we will go home and get to work.
Because we are fighting for our lives.
And we will not be stopped.
The speech:
On April 25th, 2004 more than 1.1 million men, women and children gathered in Washington, D.C. to speak out for reproductive choice. Governor Richards proudly led the Texas delegation in D.C. and gave an inspiring and moving speech to a sold-out, standing room-only rally for Texans before the March.
Thank you, Governor Richards. We honor and appreciate your outstanding leadership and all the doors you've opened for those who follow you. We follow humbly in your footsteps. The Staff and Board of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas
Remarks of
Ann W. Richards
to the
Texas Delegation
at the
March for Women's Lives
Washington, D.C.
April 25, 2004
Well, I don't think I have ever seen a better looking crowd.
If we had this kind of turnout ten years ago, George Bush would still be running a baseball team.
Good morning...and welcome to the March for Women's Lives.
I am proud of all of you for being here today...and I am proud to march with you.
You and I have fought a lot of battles together...but none is more important than the one that we commit ourselves to today.
We will not tolerate the right-wing politicians who want the government to make the most personal of choices in our lives.
And we have a message for them: Come November...You're fired!
For most of my lifetime, American women have been moving toward greater freedom and independence...and greater achievement in their professional lives.
And reproductive freedom is the basic right that made all our other successes possible.
It's been a little more than 40 years since we got the pill.
And on this very date 37 years ago, the Republican governor of Colorado signed a bill making abortions legal if three doctors recommended the procedure.
And then, Sarah Weddington argued Roe v. Wade...and for the first time in our history, women truly had the ability to determine their own future...to seek professional careers and earn money.
Two generations of American women have come of age with the freedom to plan their families, make decisions about their health - and about their lives - without government interference.
But those freedoms are threatened now.
Today we are marching against a tide of right-wing politicians and their propaganda machine.
A right-wing Congress and a right-wing President are hell-bent to limit the protection of Roe v. Wade.
From day one, this Congress and this President have led the assault on reproductive freedom.
And, when the cameras are rolling, they talk about abortion...but it is contraception and family planning that they are after.
You know what it is like when you are trying to drive somewhere and every intersection you hit has a red light?
Well, that's what these guys have done for women who want family planning.
They are like one big red light on the road to reproductive freedom.
In their first budget, they stopped federal employee's insurance coverage for contraceptives...but - and I want to be sure you hear this - they allowed continued coverage for Viagra.
They stopped Medicaid funding for family planning for many low-income women.
They stopped every effort to require insurance companies to cover contraceptive prescriptions.
They stopped legislation that would have allowed women in military service to have abortions...even if they paid for it with their own money.
They stopped funding to a Center for Disease Control sex education program because it urged parents to talk to their kids about contraception and protecting themselves from disease.
They stopped distributing public information about a study that showed the use of condoms did not increase promiscuity...and another that showed condoms were an effective way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
And they stopped family planning groups that oppose their policies...by threatening their funding if they speak out.
But while that traffic signal has been flashing red for the women of America...it has been bright green for the opponents of choice.
They green-lighted John Ashcroft as attorney general - a guy who is so anti-choice that he had to be shamed into protecting family planning clinics from bomb-throwers.
That green light stayed on while Ashcroft sent federal agents into hospitals to comb through women's medical records...looking for abortion cases to prosecute.
We all know about John Ashcroft and their anti-choice judicial nominees...but many of their other appointments speed right by under the radar.
They gave a green light to the head of the Center for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases...who opposes the use of condoms.
They gave a green light to the "abstinence only" proponent who oversees the distribution of federal funding to family planning groups.
They gave a green light to doctors opposed to contraception who advise the Food and Drug Administration on reproductive health.
And, their first day in office, they gave a green light to a gag rule on every international organization that receives federal funding.
Basically, the rule says that if you even mention abortion when you talk to patients about their health, you lose your money.
Their bottom line is simple.
They want to outlaw abortion and contraception.
These same men declare grandly that they want to spread freedom all over the world.
So why do they want to restrict our freedom here at home?
The good news is that they cannot silence American women.
We are here today to say, once again, that no judge, no bureaucrat, no government official has the right to tell us whether or when we will have children.
We are not fighting for mere convenience or selfish ambition.
We are fighting for our sons and daughters who deserve medically sound advice about their sexual health.
We are fighting for the confidentiality of the doctor patient relationship.
We are fighting for the confidentiality of hospital and clinic records.
And we are fighting for the right of every child to be a loved and wanted child.
This is a crucial year.
And the march today is a beginning.
We must register our sisters...and we must vote.
Because when women vote, we win.
Tomorrow, we will go home and get to work.
Because we are fighting for our lives.
And we will not be stopped.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
I am so annoyed and horrified at this man and his cronies. He can't even define HUMAN DIGNITY! As he stated at his press conference last week, he can't define human dignity and therefore needs to have Congress change the current interpretation of the Geneva convention, article 3, so that he can TORTURE people!
How he can argue with McCain, a man who was tortured at the Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam is beyond me. Watch this old movie, Return with Honor (1998) a documentary on the Vietnam POW's, where they discuss torture, and you will see without a doubt that torture does not get credible information. The POW's outline what they did when tortured, which was making up information just to get the torture to stop.
I want my country back, the one that respected humanity, and was not scared and cowed by a president, a country that was proud to set an example of their values. Torture is not a Christian value, or a value of any other religion.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Gov. Ann Richards dies
From CNN:
I first met Gov. Richards in Washington D.C. at the March for Women's Lives. Here she is pictured with Sarah Weddington. Gov. Richards gave a rousing speech to those of us assembled and ready to march on the mall.
I understand that she was a doting Grandma, and as you can see here, her grand-daughter marched at her side. Gov. Richard led the Texas delegation, marching beside an enormous Texas flag, her pride in her fellow Texans very evident.
I feel very priveleged that I was able to meet Gov. Richards, and I will surely miss her, but I know that her spirit lives on in all of us who were able to be there and share those moments in Washington D.C. with a woman who was so committed to working for our right to choose.
Thank you Ann, for being there for all of us. Peace be with you and your family, progressivegrannie.
The silver-haired, silver-tongued Richards said she entered politics to help others -- especially women and minorities who were often ignored by Texas' male-dominated establishment. (Watch how Richards took the national stage -- 4:04)
"I did not want my tombstone to read, 'She kept a really clean house.' I think I'd like them to remember me by saying, 'She opened government to everyone,' " Richards said shortly before leaving office in January 1995.
I first met Gov. Richards in Washington D.C. at the March for Women's Lives. Here she is pictured with Sarah Weddington. Gov. Richards gave a rousing speech to those of us assembled and ready to march on the mall. 
I understand that she was a doting Grandma, and as you can see here, her grand-daughter marched at her side. Gov. Richard led the Texas delegation, marching beside an enormous Texas flag, her pride in her fellow Texans very evident. 
I feel very priveleged that I was able to meet Gov. Richards, and I will surely miss her, but I know that her spirit lives on in all of us who were able to be there and share those moments in Washington D.C. with a woman who was so committed to working for our right to choose.
Thank you Ann, for being there for all of us. Peace be with you and your family, progressivegrannie.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
As we spiral toward a police state...
September 11, 2006
by Greg Palast
It's true. It's weird. It's nuts. The Department of Homeland Security, after a five-year hunt for Osama, has finally brought charges against … Greg Palast. I kid you not. Send your cakes with files to the Air America wing at Guantanamo.
Though not just yet. Fatherland Security has informed me that television producer Matt Pascarella and I have been charged with unauthorized filming of a "critical national security structure" in Louisiana.
On August 22, for LinkTV and Democracy Now! we videotaped the thousands of Katrina evacuees still held behind a barbed wire in a trailer park encampment a hundred miles from New Orleans. It's been a year since the hurricane and 73,000 POW's (Prisoners of W) are still in this aluminum ghetto in the middle of nowhere. One resident, Pamela Lewis said, “It is a prison set-up" -- except there are no home furloughs for these inmates because they no longer have homes.
To give a sense of the full flavor and smell of the place, we wanted to show that this human parking lot, with kids and elderly, is nearly adjacent to the Exxon Oil refinery, the nation's second largest, a chemical-belching behemoth.
So we filmed it. Without Big Brother's authorization. Uh, oh. Apparently, the broadcast of these stinking smokestacks tipped off Osama that, if his assassins pose as poor Black folk, they can get a cramped Airstream right next to a "critical infrastructure" asset.
So now Matt and I have a "criminal complaint" lodged against us with the feds.
The positive side for me as a journalist is that I get to see our terror-busters in action. I should note that it took the Maxwell Smarts at Homeland Security a full two weeks to hunt us down.
Frankly, we were a bit scared that, given the charges, we wouldn't be allowed on a plane into New York last night. But what scared us more is that we were allowed on the plane.
Once I was traced, I had a bit of an other-worldly conversation with my would-be captors. Detective Frank Pananepinto of Homeland Security told us, "This is a 'Critical Infrastructure' … and they get nervous about unauthorized filming of their property.
Well, me too, Detective. In fact, I'm very nervous that this potential chemical blast-site can be mapped in extreme detail at this Google Map location
What also makes me nervous is that the Bush Terror Terriers have kindly indicated on the Internet that this unprotected critical infrastructure can be targeted -- I mean located -- at 30º 29' 11" N Latitude and 91º 11' 39" W Longitude.
After I assured Detective Pananepinto, "I can swear to you that I'm not part of Al Qaeda," he confirmed that, "Louisiana is still part of the United States," subject to the first amendment and he was therefore required to divulge my accuser.
Not surprisingly, it was Exxon Corporation, one of a handful of companies not in love with my investigations. [See "A Well-Designed Disaster: the Untold Story of the Exxon Valdez."]
So I rang America's top petroleum pusher-men and asked their media relations honcho in Houston, Marc Boudreaux, a simple question. "Do you want us to go to jail or not? Is it Exxon's position that reporters should go to jail?" Because, all my dumb-ass jokes aside, that is what's at stake. And Exxon knew we were journalists because we showed our press credential to the Exxon guards at the refinery entrance.
The Exxon man was coy: "Well, we'll see what we can find out…. Obviously it's important to national security that we have supplies from that refinery in the event of an emergency."
Really? According to the documents our team uncovered from the offices of Exxon's lawyer, Mr. James Baker, the oil industry is more than happy to see a limit on worldwide crude production. Indeed, the current squeeze has jacked the price of oil from $24 a barrel to $64 and refined products have jumped yet higher -- resulting in a record-busting profit for Exxon of nearly $1 billion per week.
So this silly "criminal complaint" has nothing to do with stopping Al Qaeda or keeping the oil flowing. It has everything to do with obstructing news reports in a way that no one would have dared attempt before the September 11 attack.
Dectective Pananepinto, in justifying our impending bust, said, "If you remember, a lot of people were killed on 9/11."
Yes, Detective, I remember that very well: my office was in the World Trade Center. Lucky for me, I was out of town that day. It was not a lucky day for 3,000 others.
Yes, I remember "a lot" of people were killed. So I have this suggestion, Detective -- and you can pass it on to Mr. Bush: Go and find the people who killed them.
It's been five years and the Bush regime has not done that. Instead, the War on Terror is reduced to taking off our shoes in airports, hoping we can bomb Muslims into loving America and chasing journalists around the bayou. Meanwhile, King Abdullah, the Gambino of oil, whose princelings funded the murderers, gets a free ride in the President's golf cart at the Crawford ranch.
I guess I shouldn't complain. After all, Matt and I look pretty good in orange.
*******
A personal request to readers. Many have written to ask what can be done to protect Matt and me from becoming unwilling guests of the State.
First, this ain't no foolin' around: Matt and I are facing these nutty charges. So spread the info. We believe that getting the word out is the best defense.
Second, call Homeland Security and turn us in. They seem to have trouble finding us. If you get a reward, you may choose to donate it to the Palast Investigative Fund, a 501(c)(3) educational foundation which supports our work and pays our legal fees.
Third, ask your local library to order our book, Armed Madhouse: Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf? Homeland Security now reserves the right to read over your shoulder at the library; therefore, the more our agents are forced to read this subversive material, the more likely we can convince them to come in out of the cold. All kidding aside, we do ask you to request your library order the book: not everyone can afford to purchase this hardbound edition.
Our thanks to Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! and the folks at LinkTV for broadcasting our report from New Orleans and the Exxon refinery. And to Gil Noble, host of the ABC Television's Like It Is, our Courage in Journalism award for broadcasting our report on his network's New York affiliate. Catch Gil on WABC every Sunday at noon.
In response to a deluge of requests for a copy of the New Orleans documentary, we are preparing a DVD which you may order at http://www.gregpalast.com/premiums.htm You may change your email address or unsubscribe from the newsletter member page. (If you don't have a password for the member page, you can have one sent to you.)
And progressivegrannie suggests that if you have not yet read Armed Madhouse, please do. It is worth every minute.
by Greg Palast
It's true. It's weird. It's nuts. The Department of Homeland Security, after a five-year hunt for Osama, has finally brought charges against … Greg Palast. I kid you not. Send your cakes with files to the Air America wing at Guantanamo.
Though not just yet. Fatherland Security has informed me that television producer Matt Pascarella and I have been charged with unauthorized filming of a "critical national security structure" in Louisiana.
On August 22, for LinkTV and Democracy Now! we videotaped the thousands of Katrina evacuees still held behind a barbed wire in a trailer park encampment a hundred miles from New Orleans. It's been a year since the hurricane and 73,000 POW's (Prisoners of W) are still in this aluminum ghetto in the middle of nowhere. One resident, Pamela Lewis said, “It is a prison set-up" -- except there are no home furloughs for these inmates because they no longer have homes.
To give a sense of the full flavor and smell of the place, we wanted to show that this human parking lot, with kids and elderly, is nearly adjacent to the Exxon Oil refinery, the nation's second largest, a chemical-belching behemoth.
So we filmed it. Without Big Brother's authorization. Uh, oh. Apparently, the broadcast of these stinking smokestacks tipped off Osama that, if his assassins pose as poor Black folk, they can get a cramped Airstream right next to a "critical infrastructure" asset.
So now Matt and I have a "criminal complaint" lodged against us with the feds.
The positive side for me as a journalist is that I get to see our terror-busters in action. I should note that it took the Maxwell Smarts at Homeland Security a full two weeks to hunt us down.
Frankly, we were a bit scared that, given the charges, we wouldn't be allowed on a plane into New York last night. But what scared us more is that we were allowed on the plane.
Once I was traced, I had a bit of an other-worldly conversation with my would-be captors. Detective Frank Pananepinto of Homeland Security told us, "This is a 'Critical Infrastructure' … and they get nervous about unauthorized filming of their property.
Well, me too, Detective. In fact, I'm very nervous that this potential chemical blast-site can be mapped in extreme detail at this Google Map location
What also makes me nervous is that the Bush Terror Terriers have kindly indicated on the Internet that this unprotected critical infrastructure can be targeted -- I mean located -- at 30º 29' 11" N Latitude and 91º 11' 39" W Longitude.
After I assured Detective Pananepinto, "I can swear to you that I'm not part of Al Qaeda," he confirmed that, "Louisiana is still part of the United States," subject to the first amendment and he was therefore required to divulge my accuser.
Not surprisingly, it was Exxon Corporation, one of a handful of companies not in love with my investigations. [See "A Well-Designed Disaster: the Untold Story of the Exxon Valdez."]
So I rang America's top petroleum pusher-men and asked their media relations honcho in Houston, Marc Boudreaux, a simple question. "Do you want us to go to jail or not? Is it Exxon's position that reporters should go to jail?" Because, all my dumb-ass jokes aside, that is what's at stake. And Exxon knew we were journalists because we showed our press credential to the Exxon guards at the refinery entrance.
The Exxon man was coy: "Well, we'll see what we can find out…. Obviously it's important to national security that we have supplies from that refinery in the event of an emergency."
Really? According to the documents our team uncovered from the offices of Exxon's lawyer, Mr. James Baker, the oil industry is more than happy to see a limit on worldwide crude production. Indeed, the current squeeze has jacked the price of oil from $24 a barrel to $64 and refined products have jumped yet higher -- resulting in a record-busting profit for Exxon of nearly $1 billion per week.
So this silly "criminal complaint" has nothing to do with stopping Al Qaeda or keeping the oil flowing. It has everything to do with obstructing news reports in a way that no one would have dared attempt before the September 11 attack.
Dectective Pananepinto, in justifying our impending bust, said, "If you remember, a lot of people were killed on 9/11."
Yes, Detective, I remember that very well: my office was in the World Trade Center. Lucky for me, I was out of town that day. It was not a lucky day for 3,000 others.
Yes, I remember "a lot" of people were killed. So I have this suggestion, Detective -- and you can pass it on to Mr. Bush: Go and find the people who killed them.
It's been five years and the Bush regime has not done that. Instead, the War on Terror is reduced to taking off our shoes in airports, hoping we can bomb Muslims into loving America and chasing journalists around the bayou. Meanwhile, King Abdullah, the Gambino of oil, whose princelings funded the murderers, gets a free ride in the President's golf cart at the Crawford ranch.
I guess I shouldn't complain. After all, Matt and I look pretty good in orange.
*******
A personal request to readers. Many have written to ask what can be done to protect Matt and me from becoming unwilling guests of the State.
First, this ain't no foolin' around: Matt and I are facing these nutty charges. So spread the info. We believe that getting the word out is the best defense.
Second, call Homeland Security and turn us in. They seem to have trouble finding us. If you get a reward, you may choose to donate it to the Palast Investigative Fund, a 501(c)(3) educational foundation which supports our work and pays our legal fees.
Third, ask your local library to order our book, Armed Madhouse: Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf? Homeland Security now reserves the right to read over your shoulder at the library; therefore, the more our agents are forced to read this subversive material, the more likely we can convince them to come in out of the cold. All kidding aside, we do ask you to request your library order the book: not everyone can afford to purchase this hardbound edition.
Our thanks to Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! and the folks at LinkTV for broadcasting our report from New Orleans and the Exxon refinery. And to Gil Noble, host of the ABC Television's Like It Is, our Courage in Journalism award for broadcasting our report on his network's New York affiliate. Catch Gil on WABC every Sunday at noon.
In response to a deluge of requests for a copy of the New Orleans documentary, we are preparing a DVD which you may order at http://www.gregpalast.com/premiums.htm You may change your email address or unsubscribe from the newsletter member page. (If you don't have a password for the member page, you can have one sent to you.)
And progressivegrannie suggests that if you have not yet read Armed Madhouse, please do. It is worth every minute.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
* CAMP DEMOCRACY September 5 - 21, Washington D.C. *
* CAMP DEMOCRACY September 5 - 21, Washington D.C. *: "Home » blogs » davidswanson's blog
Banned in Washington-Where’s the Free Speech?
Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2006-09-08 22:18.
By Ann Wright
So much for free speech in the nation’s capital and capitol. On July, 11, 2006 I was arrested for offering a citizen’s voice in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing against the nomination of one of the Bush administration’s architects of torture, William Haynes, former Department of Defense General Counsel (chief civilian lawyer) for a life-time appointment to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Yesterday, September 7, I appeared in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of “Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct on the United States Capitol Grounds on July 11, 2006.” During that appearance, I was ordered by the court to “Stay Away” from the US Capitol, all Senate and House Office Buildings and committee hearing rooms and the streets surrounding the Capitol area.
The court papers state that I must abide by this order until my case is disposed of and that “any violation of this condition (order) could result in your prosecution for Contempt of Court, the revocation of your release and/or your detention pending final disposition of this case.” I was released on my personal recognizance but instructed in writing that “a warrant for your arrest will be issued immediately upon any violation of a condition of this release. And shall subject you to revocation of the release; an order of detention and prosecution for contempt of court (a fine of not more than $1000 or imprisonment not more than 6 months or both.)
For those of you who do not know Ann Wright, she is a very gentle and kind woman, committed to peace in this world. I am outraged that this verdict has been handed down. Freedom of speech is dead in this country!
Banned in Washington-Where’s the Free Speech?
Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2006-09-08 22:18.
By Ann Wright
So much for free speech in the nation’s capital and capitol. On July, 11, 2006 I was arrested for offering a citizen’s voice in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing against the nomination of one of the Bush administration’s architects of torture, William Haynes, former Department of Defense General Counsel (chief civilian lawyer) for a life-time appointment to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Yesterday, September 7, I appeared in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of “Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct on the United States Capitol Grounds on July 11, 2006.” During that appearance, I was ordered by the court to “Stay Away” from the US Capitol, all Senate and House Office Buildings and committee hearing rooms and the streets surrounding the Capitol area.
The court papers state that I must abide by this order until my case is disposed of and that “any violation of this condition (order) could result in your prosecution for Contempt of Court, the revocation of your release and/or your detention pending final disposition of this case.” I was released on my personal recognizance but instructed in writing that “a warrant for your arrest will be issued immediately upon any violation of a condition of this release. And shall subject you to revocation of the release; an order of detention and prosecution for contempt of court (a fine of not more than $1000 or imprisonment not more than 6 months or both.)
For those of you who do not know Ann Wright, she is a very gentle and kind woman, committed to peace in this world. I am outraged that this verdict has been handed down. Freedom of speech is dead in this country!
New Song from Camp Democracy
* CAMP DEMOCRACY September 5 - 21, Washington D.C. *: "Home » forums » Camp Democracy
New Song 'Impeach'
Submitted by TomSongs on Sat, 2006-09-09 03:44.Camp Democracy
Download/Listen:
Impeach
Impeach
The framers of our constitution
Fresh on the heels of revolution
Well they must have seen the writing on the wall
They secured for us an open door
In article two and section four
To commence a presidential overhaul
Now we’ve run this play a few times before
With presidents and judges and governors
And now we see our country’s in distress
With thousands dyin’ while bushco’s lyin’
Illegal torture illegal spyin’
This is so much bigger
Than the stain on an intern’s dress
I M P E A C H
Seven little letters gonna get us straight
I M P E A C H
How much more are we gonna take
I M P E A C H
Time to clean the white house out
So make yourself a resolution
Protect and defend our constitution
It’s the patriotic and the democratic way
Let’s impeach old george and all his cronies
Load up all his jesters and his one trick ponies
Put em all in a FEMA trailer
Gulf coast USA
I M P E A C H
Seven little letters gonna set you straight
I M P E A C H
How much more are we gonna take
I M P E A C H
Time to clean the white house out
Copyright 2006 Tomsongs
www.tomsongs.org
New Song 'Impeach'
Submitted by TomSongs on Sat, 2006-09-09 03:44.Camp Democracy
Download/Listen:
Impeach
Impeach
The framers of our constitution
Fresh on the heels of revolution
Well they must have seen the writing on the wall
They secured for us an open door
In article two and section four
To commence a presidential overhaul
Now we’ve run this play a few times before
With presidents and judges and governors
And now we see our country’s in distress
With thousands dyin’ while bushco’s lyin’
Illegal torture illegal spyin’
This is so much bigger
Than the stain on an intern’s dress
I M P E A C H
Seven little letters gonna get us straight
I M P E A C H
How much more are we gonna take
I M P E A C H
Time to clean the white house out
So make yourself a resolution
Protect and defend our constitution
It’s the patriotic and the democratic way
Let’s impeach old george and all his cronies
Load up all his jesters and his one trick ponies
Put em all in a FEMA trailer
Gulf coast USA
I M P E A C H
Seven little letters gonna set you straight
I M P E A C H
How much more are we gonna take
I M P E A C H
Time to clean the white house out
Copyright 2006 Tomsongs
www.tomsongs.org
New Song from Camp Democracy
* CAMP DEMOCRACY September 5 - 21, Washington D.C. *: "Home » forums » Camp Democracy
New Song 'Impeach'
Submitted by TomSongs on Sat, 2006-09-09 03:44.Camp Democracy
Download/Listen:
No comments:
New Song 'Impeach'
Submitted by TomSongs on Sat, 2006-09-09 03:44.Camp Democracy
Download/Listen:
No comments:
Loose Change 2nd Edition
What really happened on 9/11? Think about it. I know I have, and I am not ready to believe the "official version." No, I am not a conspiracy theorist, just putting the facts together. Think about all the lies we have been told, no extra rendition overseas...oh wait, the Prez admits that yes, we did do that; Iraq connected to 9/11, oh wait, the Prez says, not really, and on and on it goes. Open your minds and pay attention.
Then, re-read Animal Farm by Orwell, and think some more. Then pick up 1984 and read some more. Hmmmmm, right?
Friday, September 08, 2006
The Blog | Chris Weigant: Guest Column: Rules Democrats Should Use To Take Back Congress | The Huffington Post
The Blog | Chris Weigant: Guest Column: Rules Democrats Should Use To Take Back Congress | The Huffington Post: "RULE THREE
When the other side hands you a bone, do not bury the bone! USE IT! The best way to negatively affect the perception of the other side is to use their own bone against them!
'I voted for it before I voted against it' was a bone Karl Rove shook in our face the entire campaign. It perfectly defined Kerry as a 'flip-flopper'. When Bush said, 'I don't think much about Bin Laden,' Kerry should have said, 'Bin Laden murdered three thousand Americans and you promised you'd kill him! Why didn't you, you flip-flopping coward?'
Hint!
Cheer up. You missed your chance, but there'll be more. Rudy blamed the grunts for missing that weapons cache. Ask the Mayor why he's not supporting the troops!
These are some great rules, somebody please pay attention !
When the other side hands you a bone, do not bury the bone! USE IT! The best way to negatively affect the perception of the other side is to use their own bone against them!
'I voted for it before I voted against it' was a bone Karl Rove shook in our face the entire campaign. It perfectly defined Kerry as a 'flip-flopper'. When Bush said, 'I don't think much about Bin Laden,' Kerry should have said, 'Bin Laden murdered three thousand Americans and you promised you'd kill him! Why didn't you, you flip-flopping coward?'
Hint!
Cheer up. You missed your chance, but there'll be more. Rudy blamed the grunts for missing that weapons cache. Ask the Mayor why he's not supporting the troops!
These are some great rules, somebody please pay attention !
The Blog | Max Blumenthal: Discover the Secret Right-Wing Network Behind ABC's 9/11 Deception | The Huffington Post
The Blog | Max Blumenthal: Discover the Secret Right-Wing Network Behind ABC's 9/11 Deception | The Huffington Post: "Discover the Secret Right-Wing Network Behind ABC's 9/11 Deception
READ MORE: 9/11, Google, 2006, New York Times, Disney
Less than 72 hours before ABC's 'The Path to 9/11' is scheduled to air, the network is suddenly under siege. On Tuesday, ABC was forced to concede that 'The Path to 9/11' is 'a dramatization, not a documentary.' The film deceptively invents scenes to depict former President Bill Clinton's handling of the Al Qaeda threat.
Now, ABC claims to be is editing those false sequences to satisfy critics so the show can go on -- even if it still remains a gross distortion of history. And as it does so, ABC advances the illusion that the deceptive nature of 'The Path to 9/11' is an honest mistake committed by a hardworking but admittedly fumbling team of well-intentioned Hollywood professionals who wanted nothing less than to entertain America. But this is another Big Lie.
In fact, 'The Path to 9/11' is produced and promoted by a well-honed propaganda operation consisting of a network of little-known right-wingers working from within Hollywood to counter its supposedly liberal bias. This is the network within the ABC network. Its godfather is far right activist David Horowitz, who has worked for more than a decade to establish a right-wing presence in Hollywood and to discredit mainstream film and TV production. On this project, he is working with a secretive evangelical religious right group founded by The Path to 9/11's director David Cunningham that proclaims its goal to 'transform Hollywood' in line with its messianic vision. "
READ MORE: 9/11, Google, 2006, New York Times, Disney
Less than 72 hours before ABC's 'The Path to 9/11' is scheduled to air, the network is suddenly under siege. On Tuesday, ABC was forced to concede that 'The Path to 9/11' is 'a dramatization, not a documentary.' The film deceptively invents scenes to depict former President Bill Clinton's handling of the Al Qaeda threat.
Now, ABC claims to be is editing those false sequences to satisfy critics so the show can go on -- even if it still remains a gross distortion of history. And as it does so, ABC advances the illusion that the deceptive nature of 'The Path to 9/11' is an honest mistake committed by a hardworking but admittedly fumbling team of well-intentioned Hollywood professionals who wanted nothing less than to entertain America. But this is another Big Lie.
In fact, 'The Path to 9/11' is produced and promoted by a well-honed propaganda operation consisting of a network of little-known right-wingers working from within Hollywood to counter its supposedly liberal bias. This is the network within the ABC network. Its godfather is far right activist David Horowitz, who has worked for more than a decade to establish a right-wing presence in Hollywood and to discredit mainstream film and TV production. On this project, he is working with a secretive evangelical religious right group founded by The Path to 9/11's director David Cunningham that proclaims its goal to 'transform Hollywood' in line with its messianic vision. "
The Blog | Rick Perlstein: Historians' Open Letter to ABC | The Huffington Post
The Blog | Rick Perlstein: Historians' Open Letter to ABC | The Huffington Post: "Historians' Open Letter to ABC
READ MORE: 9/11
A group of leading American historians today sent the following letter to Mr. Robert Iger of ABC. Stressing the significance of the 'traumatic' events of 9/11, the signers of this letter are calling on Mr. Iger to stand up for responsible media treatments of such important historical moments and withdraw the program from circulation.
The growing list of signatories will be updated at openlettertoabc.blogspot.com.
The text of the letter follows.
Dear Robert Iger:
We write as professional historians, who are deeply concerned by the continuing reports about ABC's scheduled broadcast of 'The Path to 9/11.' These reports document that this drama contains numerous flagrant falsehoods about critical events in recent American history. The key participants and eyewitnesses to these events state that the script distorts and even fabricates evidence into order to mislead viewers about the responsibility of numerous American officials for allegedly ignoring the terrorist threat before 2000."
Read the entire letter.
READ MORE: 9/11
A group of leading American historians today sent the following letter to Mr. Robert Iger of ABC. Stressing the significance of the 'traumatic' events of 9/11, the signers of this letter are calling on Mr. Iger to stand up for responsible media treatments of such important historical moments and withdraw the program from circulation.
The growing list of signatories will be updated at openlettertoabc.blogspot.com.
The text of the letter follows.
Dear Robert Iger:
We write as professional historians, who are deeply concerned by the continuing reports about ABC's scheduled broadcast of 'The Path to 9/11.' These reports document that this drama contains numerous flagrant falsehoods about critical events in recent American history. The key participants and eyewitnesses to these events state that the script distorts and even fabricates evidence into order to mislead viewers about the responsibility of numerous American officials for allegedly ignoring the terrorist threat before 2000."
Read the entire letter.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Bloggermann: 'Have you no sense of decency, sir?' - Bloggermann - MSNBC.com
Bush wants to retroactively re-write war crime protections to help himself and the Bush crime family, and then he gives a speech dredging up Nazis. Excuse me, Mr. President, our government and your administration fits the classic definition of fascism:
Fascism is defined by five characteristics of governance:
• nationalist aggression
• fusing of the state with corporate interests
• single party rule
• the suppression of civil liberties
• and pervasive propaganda.
Olberman is quite eloquent here:
Bloggermann: 'Have you no sense of decency, sir?' - Bloggermann - MSNBC.com: "'Have you no sense of decency, sir?'
It is to our deep national shame—and ultimately it will be to the President’s deep personal regret—that he has followed his Secretary of Defense down the path of trying to tie those loyal Americans who disagree with his policies—or even question their effectiveness or execution—to the Nazis of the past, and the al Qaeda of the present.
Today, in the same subtle terms in which Mr. Bush and his colleagues muddied the clear line separating Iraq and 9/11 -- without ever actually saying so—the President quoted a purported Osama Bin Laden letter that spoke of launching, “a media campaign to create a wedge between the American people and their government.”
Make no mistake here—the intent of that is to get us to confuse the psychotic scheming of an international terrorist, with that familiar bogeyman of the right, the “media.”
The President and the Vice President and others have often attacked freedom of speech, and freedom of dissent, and freedom of the press.
Now, Mr. Bush has signaled that his unparalleled and unprincipled attack on reporting has a new and venomous side angle:
The attempt to link, by the simple expediency of one word—“media”—the honest, patriotic, and indeed vital questions and questioning from American reporters, with the evil of Al-Qaeda propaganda.
That linkage is more than just indefensible. It is un-American.
Mr. Bush and his colleagues have led us before to such waters.
We will not drink again.
And the President’s re-writing and sanitizing of history, so it fits the expediencies of domestic politics, is just as false, and just as scurrilous."
Fascism is defined by five characteristics of governance:
• nationalist aggression
• fusing of the state with corporate interests
• single party rule
• the suppression of civil liberties
• and pervasive propaganda.
Olberman is quite eloquent here:
Bloggermann: 'Have you no sense of decency, sir?' - Bloggermann - MSNBC.com: "'Have you no sense of decency, sir?'
It is to our deep national shame—and ultimately it will be to the President’s deep personal regret—that he has followed his Secretary of Defense down the path of trying to tie those loyal Americans who disagree with his policies—or even question their effectiveness or execution—to the Nazis of the past, and the al Qaeda of the present.
Today, in the same subtle terms in which Mr. Bush and his colleagues muddied the clear line separating Iraq and 9/11 -- without ever actually saying so—the President quoted a purported Osama Bin Laden letter that spoke of launching, “a media campaign to create a wedge between the American people and their government.”
Make no mistake here—the intent of that is to get us to confuse the psychotic scheming of an international terrorist, with that familiar bogeyman of the right, the “media.”
The President and the Vice President and others have often attacked freedom of speech, and freedom of dissent, and freedom of the press.
Now, Mr. Bush has signaled that his unparalleled and unprincipled attack on reporting has a new and venomous side angle:
The attempt to link, by the simple expediency of one word—“media”—the honest, patriotic, and indeed vital questions and questioning from American reporters, with the evil of Al-Qaeda propaganda.
That linkage is more than just indefensible. It is un-American.
Mr. Bush and his colleagues have led us before to such waters.
We will not drink again.
And the President’s re-writing and sanitizing of history, so it fits the expediencies of domestic politics, is just as false, and just as scurrilous."
The Blog | Rep. Jim McDermott: Be Afraid | The Huffington Post
The Blog | Rep. Jim McDermott: Be Afraid | The Huffington Post: "Rep. Jim McDermott
09.06.2006
Be Afraid
The Congress of the United States has reconvened in Washington, D.C., but don't expect Congress to legislate on behalf of the American people.
The Republican Party will spend the next 30 days trying to make you afraid. It is the Republican midterm election strategy.
For the rest of September, until the moment Republican leaders gavel the Congress into adjournment, Republican speakers will rise and implore the American people to be afraid.
Republicans will call it security, and every time they do, just remember they are speaking in code. Republicans really mean insecurity.
During September, Republicans will wield the gavel, but they will not make America safer.
We will not consider, much less pass, legislation to better protect our ports. We know what needs to be done, but Republicans are hard on rhetoric and soft on action.
Republicans are going to use their insecure code word so often that I hope Lou Dobbs, Jon Stewart, and others keep track, and remind people daily of how often Republicans are willing to talk, and how little they are willing to act."
As for progressivegrannie...I am waiting for the October surprise. It will come, I am sure. And, I won't like it. Remember, Bush and Co. have met the 5 criteria for fascism already.
09.06.2006
Be Afraid
The Congress of the United States has reconvened in Washington, D.C., but don't expect Congress to legislate on behalf of the American people.
The Republican Party will spend the next 30 days trying to make you afraid. It is the Republican midterm election strategy.
For the rest of September, until the moment Republican leaders gavel the Congress into adjournment, Republican speakers will rise and implore the American people to be afraid.
Republicans will call it security, and every time they do, just remember they are speaking in code. Republicans really mean insecurity.
During September, Republicans will wield the gavel, but they will not make America safer.
We will not consider, much less pass, legislation to better protect our ports. We know what needs to be done, but Republicans are hard on rhetoric and soft on action.
Republicans are going to use their insecure code word so often that I hope Lou Dobbs, Jon Stewart, and others keep track, and remind people daily of how often Republicans are willing to talk, and how little they are willing to act."
As for progressivegrannie...I am waiting for the October surprise. It will come, I am sure. And, I won't like it. Remember, Bush and Co. have met the 5 criteria for fascism already.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Lie By Lie
Lie By Lie Spend some time reading this factual account of the lies that led us to Iraq. Then read this 1998 letter to President Clinton that urged the invasion of Iraq. Note the signers in particular in this excerpt below. How many are currently in the Bush Administration? Yep, the cabal got together to do this dirty deed.
"We urge you to articulate this aim, and to turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power. This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater. We believe the U.S. has the authority under existing UN resolutions to take the necessary steps, including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf. In any case, American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council.
We urge you to act decisively. If you act now to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. or its allies, you will be acting in the most fundamental national security interests of the country. If we accept a course of weakness and drift, we put our interests and our future at risk."
Sincerely,
Elliott Abrams Richard L. Armitage William J. Bennett
Jeffrey Bergner John Bolton Paula Dobriansky
Francis Fukuyama Robert Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad
William Kristol Richard Perle Peter W. Rodman
Donald Rumsfeld William Schneider, Jr. Vin Weber
Paul Wolfowitz R. James Woolsey Robert B. Zoellick
"We urge you to articulate this aim, and to turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power. This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater. We believe the U.S. has the authority under existing UN resolutions to take the necessary steps, including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf. In any case, American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council.
We urge you to act decisively. If you act now to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. or its allies, you will be acting in the most fundamental national security interests of the country. If we accept a course of weakness and drift, we put our interests and our future at risk."
Sincerely,
Elliott Abrams Richard L. Armitage William J. Bennett
Jeffrey Bergner John Bolton Paula Dobriansky
Francis Fukuyama Robert Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad
William Kristol Richard Perle Peter W. Rodman
Donald Rumsfeld William Schneider, Jr. Vin Weber
Paul Wolfowitz R. James Woolsey Robert B. Zoellick
Lie By Lie
Lie By Lie Spend some time reading this factual account of the lies that led us to Iraq. Then read this 1998 letter to President Clinton that urged the invasion of Iraq. Note the signers in particular in this excerpt below. How many are currently in the Bush Administration? Yep, the cabal got together to do this dirty deed.
"We urge you to articulate this aim, and to turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power. This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater. We believe the U.S. has the authority under existing UN resolutions to take the necessary steps, including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf. In any case, American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council.
We urge you to act decisively. If you act now to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. or its allies, you will be acting in the most fundamental national security interests of the country. If we accept a course of weakness and drift, we put our interests and our future at risk."
Sincerely,
Elliott Abrams Richard L. Armitage William J. Bennett
Jeffrey Bergner John Bolton Paula Dobriansky
Francis Fukuyama Robert Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad
William Kristol Richard Perle Peter W. Rodman
Donald Rumsfeld William Schneider, Jr. Vin Weber
Paul Wolfowitz R. James Woolsey Robert B. Zoellick
"We urge you to articulate this aim, and to turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power. This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater. We believe the U.S. has the authority under existing UN resolutions to take the necessary steps, including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf. In any case, American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council.
We urge you to act decisively. If you act now to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. or its allies, you will be acting in the most fundamental national security interests of the country. If we accept a course of weakness and drift, we put our interests and our future at risk."
Sincerely,
Elliott Abrams Richard L. Armitage William J. Bennett
Jeffrey Bergner John Bolton Paula Dobriansky
Francis Fukuyama Robert Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad
William Kristol Richard Perle Peter W. Rodman
Donald Rumsfeld William Schneider, Jr. Vin Weber
Paul Wolfowitz R. James Woolsey Robert B. Zoellick
Monday, September 04, 2006
Crikey! A loss to us all, Steve Irwin dies
Steve Irwin, the adventurous Australian explorer who helped put Animal Planet on the TV map with his boisterous cry of “crikey!”, has died from a stingray attack.
A press release issued Monday by Animal Planet said that while filming a special in the Great Barrier Reef, Irwin swam over a stingray and received a barb in the chest. There was a doctor on board Irwin's boat, but he was unable to revive Irwin, who died before a rescue helicopter reached the scene.
According to the AP, the accident happened Monday.
At our house we have a very, very sad 8 yr old boy, who will miss Steve very much. So, we spent some time sending a note of condolence to the Irwin family, and remembering Steve. We had many happy hours watching Steve's antics with animals, and we learned a lot as well.
We will miss you Steve!
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Labor Day, Kendall Country Parade
Proudly working together, the Kendall County Area Democratic Women and John Courage. (Two of my grandchildren included)!
Class warfare
TODAY'S PIG IS TOMORROW'S BACON (a Labor Day recipe)
By Greg Palast
September, 3 2006
Some years from now, in an economic refugee relocation "Enterprise Zone," your kids will ask you, "What did you do in the Class War, Daddy?"
The trick of class war is not to let the victims know they're under attack. That's how, little by little, the owners of the planet take away what little we have.
This week, Dupont, the chemical giant, slashed employee pension benefits by two-thirds. Furthermore, new Dupont workers won't get a guaranteed pension at all -- and no health care after retirement. It's part of Dupont's new "Die Young" program, I hear. Dupont is not in financial straits. Rather, the slash attack on its workers' pensions was aimed at adding a crucial three cents a share to company earnings, from $3.11 per share to $3.14.
So Happy Labor Day.
And this week, the government made it official: For the first time since the Labor Department began measuring how the American pie is sliced, those in the top fifth of the wealth scale are now gobbling up over half (50.4%) of our nation's annual income.
So Happy Labor Day.
We don't even get to lick the plates. While 15.9% of us don't have health insurance (a record, Mr. President!), even those of us who have it, don't have it: we're spending 36% more per family out of pocket on medical costs since the new regime took power in Washington. If you've actually tried to collect from your insurance company, you know what I mean.
So Happy Labor Day.
But if you think I have nothing nice to say about George W. Bush, let me report that the USA now has more millionaires than ever -- 7.4 million! And over the past decade, the number of billionaires has more than tripled, 341 of them!
If that doesn't make you feel like you're missing out, this should: You, Mr. Median, are earning, after inflation, a little less than you earned when Richard Nixon reigned. Median household income -- and most of us are "median" -- is down. Way down.
Since the Bush Putsch in 2000, median income has fallen 5.9%.
Mr. Bush and friends are offering us an "ownership" society. But he didn't mention who already owns it. The richest fifth of America owns 83% of all shares in the stock market. But that's a bit misleading because most of that, 53% of all the stock, is owned by just one percent of American households.
And what does the Wealthy One Percent want? Answer: more wealth. Where will they get it? As with a tube of toothpaste, they're squeezing it from the bottom. Median paychecks have gone down by 5.9% during the current regime, but Americans in the bottom fifth have seen their incomes sliced by 20%.
At the other end, CEO pay at the Fortune 500 has bloated by 51% during the first four years of the Bush regime to an average of $8.1 million per annum.
So who's winning? It's a crude indicator, but let's take a peek at the Class War body count.
When Reagan took power in 1980, the One Percent possessed 33% of America's wealth as measured by capital income. By 2006, the One Percent has swallowed over half of all America's assets, from sea to shining sea. One hundred fifty million Americans altogether own less than 3% of all private assets.
Yes, American middle-class house values are up, but we're blowing that gain to stay alive. Edward Wolff, the New York University expert on income, explained to me that, "The middle class is mortgaging itself to death." As a result of mortgaging our new equity, 60% of all households have seen a decline in net worth.
Is America getting poorer? No, just its people, We the Median. In fact, we are producing an astonishing amount of new wealth in the USA. We are a lean, mean production machine. Output per worker in BushAmerica zoomed by 15% over four years through 2004. Problem is, although worker productivity keeps rising, the producers are getting less and less of it.
The gap between what we produce and what we get is widening like an alligator's jaw. The more you work, the less you get. It used to be that as the economic pie got bigger, everyone's slice got bigger too. No more.
The One Percent have swallowed your share before you can get your fork in.
The loot Dupont sucked from its employees' retirement funds will be put to good use. It will more than cover the cost of the company directors' decision to hike the pension set aside for CEO Charles Holliday to $2.1 million a year. And that's fair, I suppose: Holliday's a winning general in the class war. And shouldn't the winners of war get the spoils?
Of course, there are killjoys who cling to that Calvinist-Marxist belief that a system forever fattening the richest cannot continue without end. Professor Michael Zweig, Director of the State University of New York's Center for Study of Working Class Life, put it in culinary terms: "Today's pig is tomorrow's bacon."
******
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, "ARMED MADHOUSE: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War," just released from Penguin/Dutton, from which this is adapted.
And go to www.GregPalast.com for a special Labor Day treat: an excerpt from Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann's new book, "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class -- and What We Can Do About It."
By Greg Palast
September, 3 2006
Some years from now, in an economic refugee relocation "Enterprise Zone," your kids will ask you, "What did you do in the Class War, Daddy?"
The trick of class war is not to let the victims know they're under attack. That's how, little by little, the owners of the planet take away what little we have.
This week, Dupont, the chemical giant, slashed employee pension benefits by two-thirds. Furthermore, new Dupont workers won't get a guaranteed pension at all -- and no health care after retirement. It's part of Dupont's new "Die Young" program, I hear. Dupont is not in financial straits. Rather, the slash attack on its workers' pensions was aimed at adding a crucial three cents a share to company earnings, from $3.11 per share to $3.14.
So Happy Labor Day.
And this week, the government made it official: For the first time since the Labor Department began measuring how the American pie is sliced, those in the top fifth of the wealth scale are now gobbling up over half (50.4%) of our nation's annual income.
So Happy Labor Day.
We don't even get to lick the plates. While 15.9% of us don't have health insurance (a record, Mr. President!), even those of us who have it, don't have it: we're spending 36% more per family out of pocket on medical costs since the new regime took power in Washington. If you've actually tried to collect from your insurance company, you know what I mean.
So Happy Labor Day.
But if you think I have nothing nice to say about George W. Bush, let me report that the USA now has more millionaires than ever -- 7.4 million! And over the past decade, the number of billionaires has more than tripled, 341 of them!
If that doesn't make you feel like you're missing out, this should: You, Mr. Median, are earning, after inflation, a little less than you earned when Richard Nixon reigned. Median household income -- and most of us are "median" -- is down. Way down.
Since the Bush Putsch in 2000, median income has fallen 5.9%.
Mr. Bush and friends are offering us an "ownership" society. But he didn't mention who already owns it. The richest fifth of America owns 83% of all shares in the stock market. But that's a bit misleading because most of that, 53% of all the stock, is owned by just one percent of American households.
And what does the Wealthy One Percent want? Answer: more wealth. Where will they get it? As with a tube of toothpaste, they're squeezing it from the bottom. Median paychecks have gone down by 5.9% during the current regime, but Americans in the bottom fifth have seen their incomes sliced by 20%.
At the other end, CEO pay at the Fortune 500 has bloated by 51% during the first four years of the Bush regime to an average of $8.1 million per annum.
So who's winning? It's a crude indicator, but let's take a peek at the Class War body count.
When Reagan took power in 1980, the One Percent possessed 33% of America's wealth as measured by capital income. By 2006, the One Percent has swallowed over half of all America's assets, from sea to shining sea. One hundred fifty million Americans altogether own less than 3% of all private assets.
Yes, American middle-class house values are up, but we're blowing that gain to stay alive. Edward Wolff, the New York University expert on income, explained to me that, "The middle class is mortgaging itself to death." As a result of mortgaging our new equity, 60% of all households have seen a decline in net worth.
Is America getting poorer? No, just its people, We the Median. In fact, we are producing an astonishing amount of new wealth in the USA. We are a lean, mean production machine. Output per worker in BushAmerica zoomed by 15% over four years through 2004. Problem is, although worker productivity keeps rising, the producers are getting less and less of it.
The gap between what we produce and what we get is widening like an alligator's jaw. The more you work, the less you get. It used to be that as the economic pie got bigger, everyone's slice got bigger too. No more.
The One Percent have swallowed your share before you can get your fork in.
The loot Dupont sucked from its employees' retirement funds will be put to good use. It will more than cover the cost of the company directors' decision to hike the pension set aside for CEO Charles Holliday to $2.1 million a year. And that's fair, I suppose: Holliday's a winning general in the class war. And shouldn't the winners of war get the spoils?
Of course, there are killjoys who cling to that Calvinist-Marxist belief that a system forever fattening the richest cannot continue without end. Professor Michael Zweig, Director of the State University of New York's Center for Study of Working Class Life, put it in culinary terms: "Today's pig is tomorrow's bacon."
******
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, "ARMED MADHOUSE: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War," just released from Penguin/Dutton, from which this is adapted.
And go to www.GregPalast.com for a special Labor Day treat: an excerpt from Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann's new book, "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class -- and What We Can Do About It."
Friday, September 01, 2006
Rumsfeld and Bush are Right About Evoking Nazism � But It�s the Mirror That They Should be Looking At | BuzzFlash
Rumsfeld and Bush are Right About Evoking Nazism � But It�s the Mirror That They Should be Looking At | BuzzFlash: "A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
Many a website, including BuzzFlash, has often quoted none other than Nazi leader Hermann Goering. Here is how an American Army interviewer recounts a conversation with Goering, as the latter awaited trial at Nuremberg:
'Why, of course, the people don't want war,' Goering shrugged. 'Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.'
'There is one difference,' I pointed out. 'In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.'
'Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.'
Rumsfeld and Bush are on the right trail in bringing up Nazism, but it�s because the Goering quote applies to them to a 'T.'"
Many a website, including BuzzFlash, has often quoted none other than Nazi leader Hermann Goering. Here is how an American Army interviewer recounts a conversation with Goering, as the latter awaited trial at Nuremberg:
'Why, of course, the people don't want war,' Goering shrugged. 'Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.'
'There is one difference,' I pointed out. 'In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.'
'Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.'
Rumsfeld and Bush are on the right trail in bringing up Nazism, but it�s because the Goering quote applies to them to a 'T.'"
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