When does karma assert itself?

The New York Times reported today that all 16 American intelligence agencies say Iran ended its nuclear weapons program in 2003. That's almost five years ago...

On August 17, 2004, John Bolton, then Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security said during a speech at the Hudson Institute, "Iran is pursuing two separate paths to nuclear weapons, one that would use highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and one that would use plutonium."

A report here, from McClatchy Newspapers on November 4, 2007, says that President Bush and Vice-President Cheney speak of Iran's nuclear weapons program as fact:

"I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," he said Oct. 17 at a news conference.
"Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions," Cheney warned on Oct 23. "We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

I was watching CNN this morning and there were various reports about the above cited New York Times article and the fact that all United States spy agencies agree that Iran has not tried to make nuclear weapons since 2003. Amazingly, none of these news stories I saw even mentioned the fact that Bush and Cheney have very recently said just the opposite. Where is the accountability and the outrage at being lied to yet again?

How can these "journalists" devote an amazing amount of time to Hillary Clinton's cackle on various TV news magazines, but not question the Executive Branch's assertions of Iranian nuclear capability when it flies in the face of a National Intelligence Estimate? Should this not be another nail in the coffin of the Bush Administrations' credibility?

Where we're heading

Everyone should be really paying attention to this, because these kinds of fights are going to start happening more frequently as we continue doing nothing about changing our planet's atmosphere. The biggest problems aren't going to come from dwindling water supplies as much as the fighting humans will do over the most important ingredient for life. According to a 2004 Pentagon analysis: "Future wars will be fought over the issue of survival rather than religion, ideology or national honor."

What's going down in Georgia right now definitely highlights the situation of what we will all be dealing with all too soon:

"Atlanta politicians, the newspaper said, "can't bring themselves to tell their greedy constituents complaining about the low flows in their toilets this week that perhaps if they didn't have six bathrooms, it might ease the situation a bit. That watering your lawn isn't as important as watering crops. Or that their greedy overbuilding has taxed their supplies of natural resources beyond their capabilities.""


It's not just Atlanta politicians - it's politicians and average citizens everywhere. There's this capitalistic mantra that worms its way into everyday consciousness: grow, Grow GROW - with anyone who tries to argue against it branded as un-American or anti-business.

Simply put - we live on a planet with finite resources: meaning that one day they will run out (like water is starting to do). Yet we have business models with unlimited growth as the book of divine inspiration. How many Starbucks does San Francisco really need? There's 81 listed on their website!

If you look at growth statistics since the 1950s, the average American house size has more than doubled; it now stands at 2,349 square feet. This is from a recent NPR report here in which they also talk about how we've become so greedy for goin' large that we're "atomizing the American family."

I mean - when are we going to start seeing recycling and sustainability as not just a concept for allowing the pursuit of happiness but something as foundational to the survival of our species. . . when we've chopped down the last tree to make a subdivision or produce that non-recycled paper cup? when we have to start having oxygen bars inside every Starbucks? How can you keep growing when your resources are going to run out? Is there anything more suicidal?

When are the citizens of this most enterprising country going to rise above Madison Avenue, Wall Street and their political backers and start to think for themselves? This tunnel-vision of growing by any and all means necessary for the adolescent goal of making more and more money is ridiculous - especially when it comes at the expense of our health, well-being, and future existence -- as evidenced by the Georgia drought.

All Knowing Eyes or Big Brother?

With Keith Olbermann probably being the most left-leaning news program on cable television, I still find him at the political center with maybe a leftist touch here and there. Aside from his jokes and inserted personal comments during interviews, he’s only reporting the obvious inconsistencies and hypocrisies of our political “leaders.”

However, has anyone else had the same creepy feeling about the intro graphic for Countdown? I can’t help but see it as the Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings which Wikipedia says "…is referred to as having the capability to "see all", although that must be meant as a term of fear…” and the Combine tower from the popular computer game Half Life 2 in which an alien military force has taken over.

The Countdown graphic has an “all seeing, searching” eye set high-up in a spiny tower with dark clouds above and sun rising to the right. Close-ups of the tower show numerous video screens, pipes, tubing, Olbermann’s face, and numbers.

It looks menacing, kind of scary, and brings to mind oppressive thoughts of Big Brother much more so than those of journalist integrity or freedom.

To be free or not to be free

So much hot air comes out of not only President Bush, but the Democratic and Republican members of Congress as well. Who needs oil? Just stick a few of these hypocrites in the trunk of your car bla-bla-blabbing away and zoom! off you go.

Hot air? Hypocrites? I'm speaking in reference to this never-ending stream of talk about freedom and liberty and democracy. How we're bringing it to the Middle East; how we have so much of it; how we're the standard-bearer of it all. How so full of shit it all is.

Recently, there was Burma. I talked about it and our pathetic reaction here, here, and here. This week, we've had Pakistan instantly lose what little democracy they had. And why? Of course the leader who staged a coup to get into power, General Pervez Musharraf, said that it's "because the courts were hampering his efforts against extremist groups, such as by ordering the release of suspects held without charge." That's here.

However, the timing of his abolishment of freedom and liberty came at quite an ironic time. General Musharraf "suspended the constitution on Saturday ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether his recent re-election as president was legal. He ousted seven independent-minded Supreme Court judges, put a stranglehold on independent media and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush dissent."

What he did was to order the arrest of freedom, liberty, and democracy because the court system was about to rule on whether he could remain president! If his argument about protecting the country and "democracy" from extremist groups was really true, then why would you shut down newspapers, television stations, and arrest hundreds of lawyers? While that bothers me immensely, it's to be expected from a egotistical thug who gained power in a coup. What is not to be expected is the supposed "greatest nation on earth" to stand idly by in a corner sucking its thumb asking for the General to please not do that. At least American hypocrisy is great.

"Pressed on whether the US backed the anti-Musharraf demonstrators, as it had recent anti-government protests in Myanmar [Burma], Perino replied: "Let me put it this way: We certainly support the right to free speech, and freedom of expression and freedom to assemble."" So, the Bush Administration supports people assembling, expressing, and talking about how their democratic rights were taken away, but says nothing about those rights actually being taken away! How nice.

It is interesting to note that Deutsche Welle reported the other day that "since 2001, Musharraf has received nearly $11 billion from Washington and $150 million continue to flow in each month. Of this, only 10 percent goes to economic and social projects. The rest goes to the soldiers."

Who cares about SCHIP and giving poor children health care with that money - or fixing the hundreds of bridges that are structurally deficient in this country. "Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told Congress on Wednesday that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is an "indispensable" ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism and that "partnership with Pakistan and its people is the only option."" What has he done that has made him so "indispensable?" (Besides suspend their constitution twice, the initiation of a police state and the ending of democracy this week?) Where's Osama again?

Hypocrisy. Lies. Distortions. Saddam was our friend. We invaded Iraq to bring "democracy" to a population that was not in the streets protesting for it, yet we totally ignore two countries with citizens actually in the streets protesting and being arrested calling for democracy...

Answer to the previous quiz

Q. Who said that "These people are very unskilled in arms...with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished?"


A.

B.

C. Christopher Columbus

D.


It's quite a shame that we celebrate this marauder who raped, pillaged, and enslaved innocent peoples.

These are the days of our lives

According to a top news article here, 2007 has been the deadliest year for U.S. troops.

In light of that; they're old enough now to ask how dad died. I also hope that they're asking (and being told) exactly why their fathers (and mothers) are no longer alive. Here's a hint: it wasn't weapons of mass destruction (like Bush said), or bringing democracy to Iraq (after no WMD's were found), or going after al-Qaeda in Iraq (after democracy didn't work), or - well, al-Qaeda wasn't in Iraq until we invaded that country so - get the pattern?





Just in case you don't get the pattern, retired Army Gen. John Abizaid said that our war in the Middle East could last 50 years. "...but we shouldn't assume for even a minute that in the next 25 to 50 years the American military might be able to come home..." It's all part of a much bigger plan that has been obvious for quite awhile now. From the stated goals of the Project for a New American Century to presidential candidate Mitt Romney when he says, "For me what America should do is strengthen our military, strengthen our economy and strengthen our family structure so that we always remain the most powerful nation on earth. A world without America as the leader is a very frightening place."

How arrogant is that!? What would a German citizen or English, or Indian, or take your pick of other citizenry, think of that? That's like a kid on the playground saying he's not going to let anyone else run things - it's his way or you get pounded. Surely our founding fathers didn't have empire in mind when they created the grandest experiment in democracy saying that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."






A good part of the problem is our media. Not only that it's highly concentrated by mega-corporations, but that the people asking and discussing important questions are incompetent at best. The always on target Eric Alterman discusses that here.

Our newspapers, magazines and television programs do a horrible job of telling us what we need to know about candidates. How does Clinton's health plan differ from Obama's? Moreover, what exactly is Clinton's health plan? Oh, I hear plenty about how the Republicans are against it, how she's the front runner, how she cackles; but what are the ins and outs - the particulars - of her health care plan? Why isn't this discussed? About half-way down this article by Eric Boehlert talking about the press' reaction to a Stephen Colbert presidential run, you come across this:

"Look at the latest research findings from the campaign trail: "Just 12% of stories examined were presented in a way that explained how citizens might be affected by the election," according to Editor & Publisher magazine. "And just one percent of stories examined the candidates' record or past public performance.""

A functioning democracy must have an engaged and informed citizenry. If we're not getting pertinent information from the media, what kind of democracy are we living in?

Sorry State of Affairs

The Democrats were elected to end the war. They have not and will not. This is part of the problem with a two-party system. I am not ideologically aligned with the Republicans and I'm maybe half-way aligned with the Democrats. I don't respect either party - so who am I to vote for? Many people share this sentiment, including Greens, Libertarians, and Constitutional party members. Back to the war and Democrats: they say they do not have enough votes to stop the war - and I have yet to know about one instance where a reporter has called them on their bullshit. Not one reporter... save Paul Krugman here:

"But the truth is, Democrats have all the votes they need to stop the war — if they are willing to use the power given them by the Constitution to block the supplemental funding bill unless it includes a deadline for bringing the troops home. As Norm Ornstein told me: “Whatever the White House sends to the House is constitutionally merely a suggestion.” The prerogative to bring a funding bill to the floor rests entirely with the majority — which, in case Democrats have forgotten, is theirs. As for the Senate, Democrats there would only have to find 41 votes to block the supplemental funding bill."





I can't say this enough: if you have not read 1984 by George Orwell - GO READ IT!! It will help highlight the ways in which our liberties and freedoms (that we take for granted) are being "legally" taken away from us.

Why do I bring this up? Because the Bush Administration is trying very hard to get the American people supportive (through terrorizing us) of a war with Iran. The same methods used to scare (terrorize) its own citizens into a war with Iraq are being used again. Bush and Co. say that Iran could develop a nuclear bomb in a few short years. However, "the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Sunday he had no evidence Iran was working actively to build nuclear weapons and expressed concern that escalating rhetoric from the U.S. could bring disaster." You can read the full article concerning Mohamed ElBaradei, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency here.






This is a very good example of profound slavishness to the Bush Administration's hatred of regulation, fairness, and objectivity. "Ms. Nord, the top official for consumer product safety, opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistleblowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws."





If we do not take action on this like, yesterday, life as we have come to know it is going to be radically altered - probably forever. And it won't be pretty.

"Humans are changing the Earth's climate so fast and devouring resources so voraciously that the survival of the world's ecosystems and of humanity itself is at stake, a new UN report says. The 570-page Global Environment Outlook, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), paints a dire picture of planet-wide death and degradation. With more than six billion people, Earth's population is now so big that "the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available," the report warned, adding that the global population is expected to peak at between 8 and 9.7 billion by 2050."

It's laughable to the point of insanity that our country is hyper-focused on immigration, gay marriage, and abortion rather than the fact that we are destroying that which gives us nourishment and life.





The United States has military troops in about 135 countries around the world. If that's not the tentacles of empire, I don't know what is. How many countries have troops in our country? How many foreign militaries have bases in our country? That's why I must applaud Ecuador for being fair and balanced in this regard.

It's All About The Benjamins

According to the National Priorities Project, taxpayers in the state of Hawaii (where I currently reside), " will pay $1.5 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

495,930 People with Health Care OR

2,455,230 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR

36,168 Public Safety Officers OR

28,333 Music and Arts Teachers OR

399,014 Scholarships for University Students OR

112 New Elementary Schools OR

4,617 Affordable Housing Units OR

497,457 Children with Health Care OR

197,000 Head Start Places for Children OR

28,333 Elementary School Teachers OR

21,354 Port Container Inspectors

Some more interesting facts and figures, this time from Adbusters magazine:

The Real Threat to Americans
(est. number of deaths 2001-2005)

-- 3,000 Terrorism

-- 96,000 Homicide

--- 102,000 Drunk Driving

---- 180,000 Suicide

----- 228,000 Second Hand Smoke

-------------- 436, 890 Diabetes

--------------------------2,311,134 Cancer*

---------------------------------2,652,000 Smoking Related

-----------------------------------------------------3,119,142 Heart Disease*


* Excluding smoking related deaths





Pop quiz time: What do $500,000 for a "Virtual Herbarium" in New York, $100,000 to celebrate Lake Champlain's quadricentennial, and $50,000 for an ice center in Utah, all have in common?

I doubt you guessed it (something like this should be on the nightly news, shouldn't it?) - but the answer is: These are Congressional pet projects which were given money over children's health care! That's right ladies and gentlemen, our elected leaders really do represent us. Don't polls show 56% of Americans want an ice center in Utah?





More on lies and money: this story, in which the White House redacted six full pages of research on climate change only goes to show you: the Bush Administration cannot be trusted! It's been long known, through their own words and actions, that Bush and his oil and gas buddies would lose profits if they had to take action on global climate change. That is why the auto industry so heavily lobbies Congress to not make car emission standards higher - they'll lose profits! Who cares if we're killing life and helping make species extinct, who cares if the seas will rise flooding major cities or fires will tear across densely populated areas? What matters most is the bottom line: profits. Profits über alles!

If the Bush Administration will go to blatant lengths to hide this information from you (information that may very soon save our lives - or at least help us prepare for disaster) what else are they hiding from us?

The Lies We Love

One of the biggest things I have learned about my country, and what so many seem to shrug off by saying, "that's just the way it is," is that what matters most - above health and human wellness, above happiness, above morality and care for out neighbors -- is profit.

The fogginess surrounding my thoughts of a country that has not only held up the enlightened ideals forged over two hundred years ago by men of heart and soul, but carried them forward into ever new and promising visions of "certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," is only growing more dark and dim.

What is the reason NASA has chosen not to release a study to the public about airline and air traffic safety (which shows twice as many bird-strikes and near mid-air collisions)? "A senior NASA official, associate administrator Thomas S. Luedtke, said revealing the findings could damage the public's confidence in airlines and affect airline profits." (Emphasis is mine).

In other words - people may demand something be done! In the meantime, they just might take the train. If something must be fixed, that's going to cost money. And if less people fly, that's less money the airlines (and corporations like Boeing) make. Our safety doesn't matter as much as profits, so NASA won't tell us the truth in order to protect bottom lines. Countries that put their citizens (the true holders of governmental power) first are great countries. At least it's something we used to be.




Remember, President Bush vetoed the S-chip bill that would have given health insurance to poor children. He said that $35 million was too much money to spend on something like this. Thankfully, today he came to his senses and asked Congress for $46 billion - with a B - for war. "To date, Congress has already provided more than $455 billion for the Iraq war, with stepped-up military operations running about $10 billion a month."

In saying why he vetoed S-chip, "Mr. Bush argue[d] that the expansion is too costly..."

Kudos to Rep. David Obey (D-OH), here.





We're all in really big trouble. Everything we use runs on oil: our cars; the machines that make our cars; the trucks and ships that get our cars and good to the stores; the machines that make the machines that make the ships and trucks; the combines and harvest our food, the plants that process our food - everything. Our entire life-support system is based on oil.




As if undermining out life support system wasn't enough; we're REALLY stabbing ourselves in the back with this: "...an alarming new study finds that warming signals are stronger, and happening sooner than expected, due to increased human emissions of carbon dioxide and an Earth less able to absorb them."





P.S. Glenn Beck is an idiot.

Living in an Alternate Universe

That's how I feel lately. Like I'm living in an alternate universe. Everything I was brought up to believe in has been used and exploited, at the expense of people's lives and freedoms, so that a few powerful, rich white men can maintain their exploitative dominance.

For instance, while growing up I was imbued with a sense that pollution was not just wrong, but immoral and that we as a society were actively cleaning up our lakes, rivers, and air to right our wrongs. As a kid and into my young adulthood, it gave me a sense of pride in the U.S. and made me want to give back to society. To paraphrase from my fraternity's guidebook of brotherhood activities, "the situation in which I find myself must make sense to me if I am to be a contributing member to my country and to transmit the country, not only not less, but greater than it was transmitted to me."

What a detriment to us all - especially children and those not yet born - that President Bush doesn't have the same moral compass. And we wonder why our children (and adults) are so apathetic and Bowling Alone. "The Bush administration signaled...that is has no intention of taking enforcement actions against [power plant pollution] for the same kind of Clean Air Act violations in the future." The full story is here.



I've been thinking that Bush and company like where the Iraq war is at. Even though the war is a horrible, disgusting mess, there's really not much more that can go wrong. The fact that mistakes keep being made; simple ones, easily fixable ones - and yet nothing happens aside from blunder after blunder after blunder, I've concluded that this all must be part of the plan. Because, in reality, the guys who started this war have only enjoyed immense amounts of power and profits. (At the start of the war in March 2003, oil was at $35 a barrel - today it is over $88 a barrel).

• Debate on troop withdraws is on hold. (Democratic front-runners say they won't pull out troops)
  
• $592 billion dollar, 104 acre U.S. embassy in Iraq. (Why so big and permanent if we're not staying?)
  
• Gen. John Abizaid (Ret.), the former CENTCOM Commander, said about the Iraq war: "Of course it's about oil, we can't really deny that."
  

Which brings me to this:

"Iraq is 'unwinnable', a 'quagmire', a 'fiasco': so goes the received opinion. But there is good reason to think that, from the Bush-Cheney perspective, it is none of these things. Indeed, the US may be 'stuck' precisely where Bush et al want it to be, which is why there is no 'exit strategy'. Iraq has 115 billion barrels of known oil reserves. That is more than five times the total in the United States. How will the US maintain hegemony over Iraqi oil? By establishing permanent military bases in Iraq. Five self-sufficient 'super-bases' are in various stages of completion."

Must Read Articles---------------------------------------

1. Qwest CEO Not Alone in Alleging NSA Started Domestic Phone Record Program 7 Months Before 9/11


2. More on what happens to people who demonstrate for democracy in Burma. Too bad the U.S. doesn't care.

3. I like my food natural. No chemicals, pesticides, or insecticides and definitely not genetically modified. Looks like I won't be drinking anything Anheuser Busch makes.

"Rice used by Anheuser-Busch Cos. to brew Budweiser beer is tainted with an experimental, genetically engineered rice strain, according to an analysis released yesterday by the environmental organization Greenpeace."

What is Democracy?

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, democracy is:

"a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections"

So the majority rules. But more importantly it is the people, you and me, who hold the supreme power. Why is it then, that the majority of the people want us out of Iraq and the Democratically-led Congress continues to do nothing about it? According to an ABC/Washington Post poll here, 54% of Americans believe that we should withdraw our forces "even if that means civil order is not restored there." This same poll shows that since January 2007, a majority of Americans want our forces withdrawn.

Democrats were elected to end this war. They have not. They attempted once and have since maintained that they do not have enough votes to override a presidential veto. However, there are three other options. 1. Continue to send the bill to the president over and over, or 2. Filibuster, or 3. follow the Constitution's power-of-the-purse clause and stop funding the war. Just like impeachment, none of these options are on the table.

Not only do they continue to do nothing about it, but since they're now the party in power in Congress, they don't care. Talking about anti-war protesters on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that it was ""a waste of time" for them to target Democrats. ""

Why? It's what the majority - the supreme rulers - want; so why is it a "waste of time?" You were elected to do what the majority want and you're not doing it! Why not?

Because ending the Iraq war was only a way for these greedy, power hungry people to get elected. Now that they are safely being paid by us (including full dental, vision, and health care as well as retirement benefits), they no longer need us. Until the next election rolls around, that is. Which brings me to my main point: We need to do away with our monopolistic two-party system.

As it is now, if I do not like Republican policies, I have to vote for a Democrat. But what if I don't like their policies either? (For example, this.) Then what am I supposed to do? The Republicans and the Democrats are not stopping this war that the majority (the supreme rulers) wants stopped. Aside from a few key issues such as abortion and the death penalty, Dems and Repubs are two sides of the same greedy and corrupt coin.

You know what true democracy is? A place for all voices and viewpoints in Congress. I'm talking about third-parties. When I vote for president, the ballot has selections for not only Dems and Repubs, but also Green, Libertarian, Constitutional, and Natural-Law parties. Depending on the state, there may be even more choices. So, why aren't these presidential candidates invited to the presidential debates aired on publicly owned airways? Could it be that they would bring up issues the two major parties do not want to deal with or ideas which may benefit the common person at the expense of huge corporate profits? And why are there severe obstacles for third parties to overcome that the Republicans and Democrats don't face?

Third-parties face such obstacles as ballot-access laws which require them to gather thousands of signatures just to appear on the ballot; something the Republicans and Democrats do not have to do. In addition, the presidential debates are run by a commission made up of....that's right, Democrats and Republicans. When is the last time you saw all the people on your presidential ballot at a debate together? And we call ourselves a democracy?



Then again, we continue to celebrate a man who raped, enslaved, and killed thousands and thousands of people. We close our banks and federal offices for Christopher Columbus. If we can't be honest to our children and ourselves about 1492, can we finally admit that we do not really live in a democracy?

Perpetuating Dysfunction

While reading and ruminating on a story about the 20-year old deputy in Wisconsin who shot 6 people here, many thoughts and feelings were coursing through my body and mind.

The big question everyone always asks in these situations is: Why? Why did this happen; why did he choose this as his option for dealing with whatever set him off (being rebuffed by a girlfriend)? Here's what I've got:

Are we given enough options and education and training to make correct decisions about dealing with our tempers and anger? No one can argue that we get plenty of instruction - overkill it could be argued - in math and science and reading courses in school. And that's good as it prepares us for our careers. However, what prepares us for social, relationship, and child-rearing life? Our parents? LOL - c'mon.

While I'm positive there are wonderful parents out there, there are many dysfunctional and bad parents. Because who taught them? Their dysfunctional parents. And who taught those dysfunctional parents? Their parents, etc., etc.... Do you see the pattern here?

How many hours (days, months, years) of TV do we subject our kids to? And there's not much good on TV, so what are they watching? Jack Bauer slap, beat, punch, and torture people when he doesn't get his way. The majority of television shows and video games (24; CSI; Gladiator; Saw 1, 2, and 3; Halo 1, 2, and 3; Battlefield 1942; Battlefield 2; Day of Defeat; Brothers in Arms; Medal of Honor; Doom) are centered around mean, vindictive, barbarous, vengeful and painful behavior, if not outright killing. And I've only named a very few but very lucrative selection here. (Halo 2 made $125 million on its first day of release).

Children copy adults. We buy them shaving kits and easy-bake ovens so they can pretend to be like us. They push baby strollers with baby dolls and play house and play war. (Oh how cute - are kids are pretending to kill each other. . . shouldn't this trouble us?)

Since I have been alive the U.S. has sent troops into and killed people in Grenada, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Bosnia, Lebanon, Honduras, Bolivia, Afghanistan, and Iraq among others.

That's how adults deal with problems. When talking doesn't "work" anymore, you go kill people. Who's to say, however wrong it was, that the 20-year old deputy, in his mind, didn't exhaust all "diplomatic" options and do what he saw on TV, on video games, and on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC? Shock and Awe, right? The Iraq war live and in color.

Over 600,000 dead civilians in Iraq. General Tommy Franks: "We don't do body counts." Collateral damage. Here, here, and do not go here unless you are ready for the true picture of war.

What we put into our society is exactly what we get out of it. Learn this, and we will grow up. When adults act as they expect their children to act, then peace will come and killing will become more infrequent; greed will not rule but vested interests arguing for the safety, security, and prosperity for ALL the Earth's people will be a priority.





Fox's drama "24" shows that torture works, and works well. We kill people to show that killing people is wrong. We violently attacked a country that did nothing to us, are preparing to bomb another country that has done nothing to us and our government doesn't talk with those it perceives as enemies. Yet we're amazed by a shooting?

When adults stop acting like children, our children will start acting like adults.

Give me your tired, your poor...

Just don't expect that we'll give a shit about them. We here in the United States are all about individuality. If you can't get into college or get a good job or if you can't afford health insurance, even if you're a child, it's your fault and your own damn problem. We cater here in the U.S. to those who make something of themselves and get rich. That's what we value. That's what's important. And quite frankly, that's what makes me sick. Aside from the fact that we have the most powerful and destructive military in the world and can bomb and kill whoever we want; what makes us so great again?

There's ALWAYS money for war, bombers, jets, guns, tanks, bullets, and missiles. "The war is costing $720 million a day or $500,000 a minute" here. And that's ok. But an extra $30 billion to give health insurance to children because it could "be a move toward socialized medicine" is just insane. The potential of giving everyone health care is worse than war. How sick have we become?




As capitalism reaches its dynamic climax, it can be seen that all of those values such as democracy, human and civil rights, and liberty aren't really as important as making money. Of course it's couched in terms of keeping our lifestyles "normal," which means that we have access to all the energy we need; no matter how much we over-consume and pollute.

The Mayanmar/Burma protests highlight this point yet again. Amy Goodman talks about it here. And published in Newsweek, an article by Melinda Liu talks about why the sanctions won't work.

The title says it all: It's the Oil and Gas, Stupid.

"Burma’s economic picture would be depressing enough without the involvement of Big Oil. One of the key reasons why sanctions against the regime are unlikely to work is because the junta's foreign partners hope to maintain business as usual. Foreign firms have been scrambling for a piece of Burma's oil and gas industry since the regime liberalized investment rules in 1988.

"These are not obscure players or small-time plays. Burmese natural gas, worth $2.8 billion, generates one fifth of Thailand’s electricity. China wants to build pipelines and roads through Burma that would allow its oil imports to bypass vulnerable chokepoints in the Malacca Straits, which could be blocked by the U.S. Navy in the event of Sino-U.S. tensions."

And so it goes...

I kept hoping that the world community would do something about Myanmar. Isn't this exactly what we're told, over and over again, that this is what the United States fights for? Isn't this why we have the United Nations and peacekeeping forces? Wasn't the fourth (or fifth or sixth) reason for invading Iraq to bring democracy to a people who really really wanted it?

I don't remember any Iraqi's holding demonstrations in the streets of Baghdad. I don't remember thousands of Imam's peacefully protesting Saddam's government. Yet this past week we've had a military junta killing journalists while having destroyed over 3,000 villages and forcefully relocating people. In addition, today it was reported that "thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle."

Why don't we see a Colin Powell up in front of the UN showing samples of satellite photo's like these? Here is a population literally dying for democracy - and the world's "leaders" only action is to say how bad it is. That's like a teacher standing on the playground watching a bully beat up someone while all they do is say how wrong the bully is acting.

In one of my recent blogs, I was wrong in saying that oil was a reason we weren't doing anything about Myanmar. It's because of oil that we aren't doing anything:

"Diplomats and analysts say Myanmar's resources, including natural gas and oil fields that foreign companies are vying to tap, make many nations reluctant to impose economic sanctions or other measures as punishment for the bloody assault on pro-democracy demonstrators."




MUST READ ARTICLES -------------------------------

1. More "progress" from the Iraqi government.

"Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is orchestrating a campaign of persecution against political rivals "even worse" than Saddam Hussein's reign of terror, his predecessor has claimed."



2. Money. Profits. Definitely more important than morals, values, or human life.

" For the time being, General Dynamics has the best of both worlds: strong demand for jet aircraft, and healthy sales of combat equipment even with a troop reduction in Iraq."



3. We used to be great once. What the hell happened?

""If we were to strike Iran it should be accompanied by an effort at regime change ... The US once had the capability to engineer the clandestine overthrow of governments. I wish we could get it back," he said."



4. Whoops...sorry. We still are great at selling weapons. And number one at locking people up.

"The United States maintained its role as the leading supplier of weapons to the developing world..."



5. I wish we would do something like this here.

"A landmark case upholding the citizen's right to non-polluted air could lead to local governments in Germany being held responsible for the health of their constituents and the cleanliness of their immediate environment."




6. Leaving out history here.


How come we write this: "Iran and the U.S cut off diplomatic relations in 1979 after Iranian militant students seized the U.S. Embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days." ...which is true and accurate, but leave out the fact that we overthrew their democratically elected government in 1953 and that that's a big part of the reason leading up to hostage taking?

Word Definition

According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, the word "condemn" means, "to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation."

According to the United States Constitution, the First Amendment says that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Today, the House of Representatives voted to condemn - to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil - MoveOn.org's Petraeus ad that was in the New York Times. Last week, the Senate voted to condemn - to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil - MoveOn.org's Petraeus ad.

In effect, what we have here is Congress saying that - because they did not like the ad - it is wrong. Since when did freedom of speech become wrong? When did it become so important for Congress to stop work on actually running this country (Iraq war, health care, infrastructure), to find time to condemn freedom of speech?

And not once - not once - was this idea of condemning free speech brought up when the republicans placed an ad in Georgia where Sen. Max Cleland, a veteran who lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam, was placed in a TV ad with Saddam and Osama.

There are numerous ads, both on television and in print, that I have seen and read and in no way, shape, or form like or agree with. Yet I do all I can to ensure that they are able to say what they believe and have a viable avenue to express it.

The actions by the House and the Senate I condemn. This is something one would expect from China or Stalinist Russia; not from the supposed "leader" of the free world. Not from the country who invades other countries to bring "liberty" and "freedom."



But then again, this same country engages in revising history. Compare what the White House website says Bush said yesterday here with what he actually said here. One may say they were just fixing a mispronunciation, but that is still changing the official record of what was said. If you can fix it in print, why not edit it out of the video as well? When does it stop?

I barely know what to say...how can this be allowed to happen? And this isn't the first time. Look here. The official White House press transcript has words purportedly said by the President that were NOT said by the President! Why doesn't the House and Senate condemn this?

Is this not what Winston did in 1984, for Big Brother?

"Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record."

How soon will it be before the White House changes what facts and figures Bush (or any president) said? How long before the president has always been correct and said the right things?



It is actions like this that make me truly proud to be an American. There is hope -- better 6 years late than never.



Here we have devoutly peaceful monks staging protests against a military junta (government by a committee of military leaders). In 1990, the military junta called a general election, which the National League for Democracy won decisively. Being the NLD's candidate, Aung San Suu Kyi under normal circumstances would have assumed the office of Prime Minister. Instead, the results were nullified, and the military refused to hand over power. Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest - and is still there today.

Why isn't President Bush sending into troops to Burma? Here is a total crackdown on peaceful, nonviolent protesters demonstrating for democracy (which was stolen from them); something Bush loves to say he is bringing to the world.

Why, then, are we doing nothing for these people? Sorry noble citizens of Burma, maybe if you weren't so geographically close to China or maybe if you had some oil under your land, we'd actually care about you.



Here are true American patriots. In a time of war, in a time of need, they show us what sacrifice really means.

So Much Work for Patriots

A lot of important things have been brought to my attention in the past few days. So much so that I would have a week's worth of blogging if I talked about every issue. At the end of this blog - and maybe all future blogs - I will have a section titled: Must Read Articles. These are articles I find very important that should be on the nightly news at least once - if not repeatedly. It will also contain articles pertaining to subjects that I have previously written about. You could consider them follow-up articles.


This morning I received an email from George W. Bush. Well, from GOP.com - one of those HTML form letters trying to rally people to vote for them and give money. I get them from the Democrats as well. While reading today's email, this struck me as particularly interesting:

"After the enemy attacked us, I vowed I would rally this nation and use our resources to protect you. And that is exactly what we have done. We have reformed our intelligence services to make sure we can find the enemy before they strike. We have fought to deny them safe haven in Afghanistan and Iraq so they cannot plan and plot again.

"The fight for freedom in Iraq is the fight for the security of the United States of America and we must prevail. If we leave before the job is done, the enemy that attacked us would be emboldened."


The GOP write that "the enemy" attacked us. Who is this "enemy?" If it was al Qaeda, why wouldn't you write that? This is nothing more than a continued blurring of the lines between what really happened and what the Republicans want people to think happened.

More to the point on this is the last sentence saying that we denied them safe haven in Iraq. GOP = Grand Ol' Phibbers? Everyone - all together: al Qaeda was NEVER in Iraq prior to us invading! In fact, our intelligence communities all tell us that our being in Iraq has actually caused al Qaeda to go to Iraq.

And finally, the last sentence is very telling. The fight for freedom in Iraq is now not for WMDs, it is not for the toppling of Saddam, it is not to bring democracy to Iraq, it is not to bring freedom and liberty to the people of that nation. No, the fight for freedom in Iraq is "the fight for the security" of the U.S.

What? Our invading a sovereign nation actually caused people to hate us more and has become a rallying cry for al Qaeda. It's what they wanted. It proved their point that all we do is stick our big, bullying bombs and guns into the politics and business of nations in the Middle East. Ron Paul has said it best:

"Have you ever read about the reasons they attacked us? They attack us because we've been over there- we've been bombing Iraq for 10 years. We've been in the Middle East - I think Reagan was right. We don't understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics. So right now we're building an embassy in Iraq that's bigger than the Vatican. We're building 14 permanent bases. What would we say here if China was doing this in our country or in the Gulf of Mexico? We would be objecting. We need to look at what we do from the perspective of what would happen if somebody else did it to us. "

MUST READ ARTICLES

1.

"The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials."

and

Activist Silenced for Fear of Surveillance

-----Repeat after me: P O L I C E S T A T E. If you don't really know what that means, simply put, it means that you have no privacy and everyone is a suspect for everything. Go read 1984.

2.

"The White House approved a Transportation Department campaign to lobby against California's application for a waiver to combat global warming through auto emissions limits tougher than federal standards, a lawmaker charged Monday."

-----While growing up, I was taught that the government was here to protect us and help make our country a better place to live. Oh my how the tides have turned....


3.

"US soldiers are luring Iraqis to their deaths by scattering military equipment on the ground as "bait", and then shooting those who pick them up, it has been alleged at a court martial."

----- So this is how we get to say that we are killing more "insurgents." Amazing.


4.

"The US Senate is expected to vote as early as Tuesday on a Bosnia-style plan to subdivide Iraq on ethnic lines, touted by backers as the sole hope of forging a federal state out of sectarian strife."

----- Why are WE making their decisions? What happened to the whole "democracy" and "elections" thing? We go in and destroy their country, kill 700,000 civilians, and then vote to break up their country? Amazing.


5.

"Bush: We Can’t Spend $22 Billion On America Because We Need $200 Billion For Iraq War"

----- Reminds me of my favorite bumper sticker: It Will Be A Great Day When Our Schools Get All The Money They Need and The Air Force Has to Hold a Bake Sale To Buy A Bomber. There's ALWAYS money to kill people...amazing...

History the Media Neglects

The drums are getting louder...Bush, Cheney, and their war machine's fear-mongering about the imminent threat from Iran are all over the news. (Why wasn't Iran an imminent threat when Iraq was an imminent threat?).

All of a sudden, Iran is the new Iraq, they want nuclear weapons that Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea, and the U.S. have, and they're supposedly training Iraqi's - a people who are their religious enemies.

They are enriching uranium which can be used for two things: 1. nuclear power and/or 2. nuclear weapons. The funny thing is that Iran has signed the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which allow it to enrich uranium for nuclear power.

In any event, aside from the very astute Ron Paul, I have yet to hear any politician or major media news outlet bring up the history between Iran and the United States. My presumption is that when one does this, it becomes easy to see that we bear a lot of the fault for the Middle East in Crisis.

Excerpts from the main story (1) in this month's edition of Adbusters tells the tale simply:

1953: After an economic blockade and the presence of British warships in the Persian Gulf failed to break Mohammed Mossadegh's will, the British government persuaded the incoming Eisenhower administration to send in the CIA. (Mossadegh was a liberal democrat who believed fervently in national independence - Time magazine's Man of the Year - and was democratically elected as Prime Minister in 1952). A CIA operative named Kermit Roosevelt helped bring about this cautionary note in an official CIA report: "Possibilities of blowback against the United States should always be in the back of the minds of all CIA officers involved in this type of operation."


1954: Anglo-Iranian (Oil) changes its name to British Petroleum and regains its assets, but must share its monopoly with American oil companies. Mohammed Reza Shah is restored to the throne with help from the American-trained SAVAK secret police who torture and disappear even the most timid of dissidents. (Mossadegh had nationalized Iran's oil industry in 1951).


1971: The Shah throws himself a $100-million party at Persepolis to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire...the party must be held behind barbed wire, guarded by men with machine guns as protests erupt at Tehran University.


1979: After enduring a long reign of terror, a broad-based popular revolution overthrows the Shah. Five million Iranians crowd the streets of Tehran to welcome the revolution's symbolic leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on his return from exile in Paris.


November 1979: Fueled by the belief that the U.S. is about to launch another coup after allowing the Shah to take refuge there, militant students seize the American embassy in Tehran, holding 52 hostages for 444 days. Ayatollah Khomeini, who was not involved in the hostage-taking, nevertheless lends his support and uses the distraction to consolidate power. Students piece together hundreds of pages of secret documents outlining the extent of former American control of Iran and its plans to destabilize the new regime.


1980: President Jimmy Carter orders a hostage rescue operation that goes terribly wrong. With Carter's popularity plummeting, Ronald Reagan wins a landslide victory in the presidential election. The hostages are released six minutes after Reagan is sworn in, contributing to allegations that his emissaries secretly negotiated to extend the hostage-taking until after the elections.


1983: Saddam Hussein, who invaded Iran in 1980 with the quiet encouragement of the U.S., has begun to use poison gas on Iranians on an almost daily basis. According to the Washington Post, "The administration of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush authorized the sale to Iraq of numerous items that had both military and civilian applications, including poisonous chemicals and deadly biological viruses, such as anthrax and bubonic plague."


1983: Donald Rumsfeld visits Saddam Hussein in Baghdad as special envoy of Ronald Reagan to discuss common interests and Iraqi oil shipments. Rumsfeld was previously involved (along with Dick Cheney) in promoting the development of Iran's nuclear program under the Shah.


2005: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, is elected president of Iran. Within days of his election, the country announces it is proceeding with uranium enrichment.


2007: As Iraq descends into chaos with 700,000 Iraqis dead, the U.S. administration issues a troop "surge" in hope of regaining control, and makes the unusual argument that Tehran is arming anti-US insurgents - most of whom are Sunni and traditional enemies of the Shia Iranians. In January the U.S. raids an Iranian consulate in Kurdish Iraq, capturing low-level Iranian diplomatic staff; Iraqi troops working for the U.S. later capture an Iranian diplomat in Baghdad. Soon after, Iran captures 12 British sailors on an intelligence mission in disputed waters. The sailors are released a day after the Iranian diplomat, who claims to have been tortured by the CIA, is returned to Iran.


2007: U.S. fleet carriers gather in the Persian Gulf; Mohammad ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, announces that a military attack on Iran would be "an act of madness," and stresses that nonproliferation efforts are undermined as long as the "big boys" - such as the U.S. and Israel - are permitted to have nuclear weapons. The U.S. president authorizes the CIA to engage in covert operations to destabilize the Iranian regime.

In the media coverage, comparisons to the 1953 CIA regime change in Iran are nowhere to be found.





1. Campbell, Deborah Iran vs. The United States of Amnesia; Adbusters #73, Volume 15 Number 5; 2007.

Where Are We Heading?

Sunday night, my roommate and I were playing some football on our Playstation 2. The game was ESPN 2K5. It's a regular football game - just like Madden - however there are some twists to it. One being that there is a cool halftime report where they talk about key plays made in the first half. The other involves "crib credits." You get crib credits - money essentially - for making touchdowns, sacking the QB, playing for certain amounts of time, and other such activities. What can you use these crib credits for? Only one thing: pimping out your crib!!

That's right. You have no choice but to buy more and more expensive furniture, TV's, DVD players, home theaters, etc. You are given no option to save your "money," no option to invest it or even give some to charity. The entire goal of the game is to get "money" so that you can buy things; buy really expensive and honestly unnecessary things. What kind of message are we sending to our children? We give them no options but only point them in the direction of consuming more and more and more.

There was a time when this nation was above that - wasn't there?


I read an interview today with a woman who has written a book on the luxury industry and how it impacts our society. This part really struck me:

"Yesterday, after a signing, I went to have dinner with friends out in Mill Valley and they showed us the town and the town square, and there was a young boy selling lemonade, and my daughter wanted to get some, so I gave her a quarter and she went to buy it. I went with her, and one of the little girls there was about 8 years old -- about the same age as my daughter -- was standing there with a little Louis Vuitton handbag on her shoulder. I said 'Well, that's a nice handbag," and she turned to me and said, "Thank you, it's Louis Vuitton." Eight years old! That is how they are realigning our social network and our self-worth."

It doesn't matter what you do for a living. It doesn't matter if you are devoting your life to picking up all of the trash I and my neighbors generate; it doesn't matter if you devote your life to researching a cure for cancer (both extremely noble, by the way). No, no, no. This little girl didn't have such lowly ambitions. She's already at the top of her game, respected among her 8-year old peers. She has a Louis Vuitton handbag. THAT is making it American style. That is success, accomplishment, and truly making something of yourself.


Here is it comes. Are you ready? It's being done just the way it was before. Subtle hints of deception along with public pronouncements - more each month - that we're doing all we can, we're trying our best but it's really their fault that our diplomacy is failing. I don't blame the Administration anymore. I blame the media - and unless you protest this, I blame you.

A Great and Wise Man Once Said...

During my 3rd and 4th grade years, I was living in southern New Jersey and a distinct memory I have during that time period is quite poignant for today. Driving around, I would look out the window from my usual seat in the back and stare at huge smoke stacks with endless columns of smoke pouring into the air I was breathing. I couldn't help but notice thick black clouds of exhaust coming out of buses and trucks. As a 9 year old I thought: this can't be right, how can adults let this happen and be OK with destroying the air I'm breathing?

The only answers I can come up with are ignorance and greed.


A great and wise man once said:

The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of the water; how can you buy them from us? Every part of this earth is sacred to my people....

There is no quiet place in the white man's cities; no place to hear the leaves of spring or the rustle of insect wings. But perhaps because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frog around the pond at night?

The Whites too shall pass - perhaps sooner than other tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. When the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses all tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men, and the view to the ripe hills blotted by talking wires. Where is the eagle? Gone. Where is the buffalo? Gone. And what is it to say goodbye to the swift and the hunt, the end of living and the beginning of survival?


Chief Seattle to President Franklin Pierce, 1855

We're becoming the Borg

Part of what makes a democracy a democracy is the ability of citizens to be given facts and figures for all sides of an issues. Especially with the war in Iraq, there is all kinds of howling on the Right that the media is unfair to Bush & Co. and that it's a vast wasteland of Liberal thought. Oh, if only it were true.

Here's a study released today that analyzed Syndicated Op-Ed columnists in papers all across the country. And guess what they found:

• Sixty percent of the nation's daily newspapers print more conservative syndicated columnists every week than progressive syndicated columnists. Only 20 percent run more progressives than conservatives, while the remaining 20 percent are evenly balanced.

• In a given week, nationally syndicated progressive columnists are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of 125 million. Conservative columnists, on the other hand, are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of more than 153 million.2

• The top 10 columnists as ranked by the number of papers in which they are carried include five conservatives, two centrists, and only three progressives.

• The top 10 columnists as ranked by the total circulation of the papers in which they are published also include five conservatives, two centrists, and only three progressives.

• In 38 states, the conservative voice is greater than the progressive voice -- in other words, conservative columns reach more readers in total than progressive columns. In only 12 states is the progressive voice greater than the conservative voice.

• In three out of the four broad regions of the country -- the West, the South, and the Midwest -- conservative syndicated columnists reach more readers than progressive syndicated columnists. Only in the Northeast do progressives reach more readers, and only by a margin of 2 percent.

• In eight of the nine divisions into which the U.S. Census Bureau divides the country, conservative syndicated columnists reach more readers than progressive syndicated columnists in any given week. Only in the Middle Atlantic division do progressive columnists reach more readers each week.

There is NO liberal media. 99% of all newspapers and television stations are owned by only 10 HUGE corporations. What's the #1 goal of a corporation? It's bottom line. Not democracy, not hearing all sides of an issue and obviously not letting all sides have equal air & print time.

Same ol', Same ol'

Am I the only one that hears the end of our society as we know it approaching? In 45 years, almost all polar bears will be gone. Gone. These penguins are going, too. In one week - that's 7 days - a portion of the Arctic Ice shelf the size of Florida has melted away. Gone. If you don't care or understand why the loss of a species is bad, then lets think about ice - when it melts it becomes water. More water in the ocean makes the oceans rise. From the same report by ABC News - it gets worse because, "2007 has already broken the record for the lowest amount of sea ice ever recorded, say scientists, smashing the old record set in 2005."

Honestly, I don't care about universal health care right now. I don't care about Osama bin Laden or the Iraq war. Because what is about to happen; what we are on the verge of crossing into, will make us wish we only had those things to argue about.

What is going to happen to the coastal cities once the ice starts melting faster and faster? Pretty soon, we won't even be measuring the sea ice melting - we'll be measuring how fast the seas are making their way into our cities; our business and our homes.

Remember Katrina? Remember how completely unprepared we were? Remember how we had thousands and thousands of people displaced with no food and no water? Well, what happens when that same situation presents itself in Miami and Tampa and Houston and San Francisco and Seattle and Honolulu and New York City and -- hopefully you get the picture.

Am I the only one who doesn't want to look into our children's eyes and say I'm sorry. That I'm sorry for not doing enough to help others from screwing up your future?

I do not want to have to say that. But I do and I shall.

I'm sorry I couldn't help convince my fellow humans that Hummer H3's really aren't cool - that whoever has the fattest crib, takes up the most space, throws away the most garbage, and buys the most crap every weekend aren't really those people we should be modeling our society on. I'm sorry I couldn't stop Exxon and Chevron and other oil companies from paying millions of dollars to lie to people about global warming.

However...

I am the change I seek in the world. I have passed the word on and been an example for others to see. I have been laughed at and asked if I had a job (yes I did - and while going to graduate school at the same time). I have done - and many others like me have done - all we can. But it looks like it's still not nearly enough. And I'm sorry it wasn't enough.

You Can't Keep Keepin' Us Down

The more I hear Ron Paul talk and the more I see the MSM ignore him, the more I know he's onto something and the more I truly respect him. I don't know if I'd vote for him because some of his Libertarian views are just too far of a stretch for me to take, however, he's smart, articulate, full of integrity and has a firm grasp on the issues -- which is a lot more than I can say for any other Republican candidate and quite a few of the Democratic ones. I'd like to include those from the Green, Libertarian, or other third parties in this discussion, but for some odd reason, we in this country like to limit our freedom of representational choice to two sides of the same coin.

Outstanding Ron Paul at the recent Republican Debate can be seen here with some transcripts and a blog by Eric Garris about it here.



Now this (and this) has been making me smile all day. I truly love good ol' fashioned checks and balances. Let's hear it (finally) for some democracy in the USA!



This just really amazes me. It amazes me not only that the MSM doesn't report on this, but that Congress allows it to happen. If you have this revolving door of people who work for the government, then go work for major corporations, then back to the government - are they really going to represent the people and do what is in our best interest? Or are they going to bend over backwards to please those who gave them these cushy loyalty jobs?



I get a very dark, sinister feeling about this. (Another Eric Garris blog - the original story is here.) Bush has already admitted that his plan is to keep troops in Iraq up to, and hopefully after, he leaves office. Iraq is without question a gigantic illegal and immoral disaster. Maybe some quick strikes on Iran will help bolster the GOP's chances for a favorable outcome in 2008. We wouldn't bomb people just to win elections...would we?




Kudo's to Sony (and Japan) for pushing the limits and boundaries of human ingenuity. This is just awesome! Our imaginations are the only boundaries to our creativity.

That's why not for one second do I buy into this crap that Bush & Co keep polluting our national discourse with regarding CO2 limits and reduction: It'll hurt the economy or Other nations pollute, too! What are we, only the greatest nation when it comes to bombing people? News flash - creating new energy resources through research, development, and productions WILL CREATE NEW JOBS AND HELP THE ECONOMY! Why is no one throwing this back at Bush when he repeats the same tired lies?

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.

If any teacher of mine, or parent or other person in a position of leadership, kept changing their reason for doing something - whether it be where they ate lunch or how Einstein's theory of relativity worked, I'd be highly skeptical of their trustworthiness. You'd be hard pressed to get me to accept much of anything they said after that.

So why is it so hard for the MSM to question our President. They keep parroting everything Bush says regarding his rationale for the war like he's never changed it! Unbelievable. We've had WMD's, democracy for Iraq, democracy for the Middle East, liberty, liberation, human rights, oil, strategic advantage, Libyan disarmament, blah blah blah.

However, with the release yesterday of a new book on Bush by Robert Draper called Dead Certain, it seems that, maybe, we are finally getting some truth out of Bush. At least about why we're staying in Iraq. And that is "To get us in a position where the presidential candidates will be comfortable about sustaining a presence."

So, it's all political, isn't Mr. Bush. It's all so that you and your neo-con friends' political ambitions can be carried out. You're a sick man and I'm very ashamed that the American people tolerate having you represent us -- because in no way do you represent me.


Thanks Keith.



I love my planet. It's amazing how diverse it is (we're still discovering new species) and how wonderfully it all fits together. Truly the most beautiful and awe-inspiring experience of my life is my life on our planet Earth. That's why I'm upset, angry, and really pissed off that the majority of people in our self-proclaimed "greatest nation in the world" are doing absolutely nothing about this. It's like watching a fully-loaded airliner crash in slow motion - only multiply it by 15 million times.



What more can I say about this? The airwaves that CBS, NBC, and ABC use are OURS. They belong to the American people, by law, and are rented to the networks provided they serve community interests. When they don't do that, when they stifle dissent and American public opinion - how is our country any different than Stalinist Russia or Communist China?



The Pentagon supports our troops! Ok....honestly, they don't.



A little light hearted truth: "It's called the American Dream...because you have to be asleep to believe it!"