Dave Dubya's Freedom Rants

The News

2009-07-16T11:39:00.005-04:00

What’s wrong with the news? Ask the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, O Reilly, Drudge, Beck, Coulter, Malkin, Weiner Savage, and the rest of the hordes of Right Wingers whose voices flood corporate American media and they will all tell you. The media is liberal.

Amusingly, since the Obama Administration came to power, our favorite oxy-moron Rush has been referring to the mainstream media as “state run media”. I wonder why he never divulged this dirty little secret during the Right Wing’s campaign to ratchet up support for the neo-con’s war on Iraq. He could have been close to the truth, for once.

Of course, the very existence of this mob of propagandists renders their assertion of liberal media absurd. Their job is to indoctrinate the majority of Americans into voting against their economic interests by supporting the Republican Party. They would take up the Right’s favorite wedge issues like religion, abortion, gays and guns, and add to those the famous Cheney fear mongering to great effect. They have been enormously successful. Enough Americans were emotionally manipulated into surrendering much of their freedom for the illusion of safety promised by the Right.

George W. Bush was re-elected well after any curious American would have discovered the lies, desecration of the Bill of Rights, and war crimes committed by the Bush/Cheney cartel. An informed American citizen would need to look beyond mainstream media.

Corporate American media as well as most of the rest of corporate America had much to gain from Republican power in Washington DC. American media would profit by having a merger-friendly Republican Administration, Congress, and FCC.

Although the Clinton Administration was deep enough in the pockets of Big Money to generously repeal the Glass-Steagall act, Wall Street and Big Business yearned for the deregulation and negligible oversight a Republican government would provide.

Apart from the unionized manufacturing sector, (The CEO’s are doing fine, thank you.) they got everything they wanted. They looted our treasury, bankrupted our economy and mired us into wars we cannot afford.

Finally enough Americans were finally shaken from the spell of the radical Right and voted Democrats into office. And as we are painfully discovering, the situation has not greatly improved. While the Republican Party has dangerously moved to the far Right, the Democratic Party has drifted to at best, a center/right position. Both parties are significantly under corporate influence and free from public direction through any remaining vestiges of democracy.

There are three primary reasons for this.

First, the system of political campaign finance is infiltrated by moneyed interests. Corporate lobbyists and politicians have an interactive revolving door relationship. They have become partners in governing our nation. To the citizen observer this appears as simple bribery sanctioned by the Supreme Court as protected free speech.

Second, there is the endowment of personhood to corporations. In our legal system a corporation has all the rights of a person. The problem is they have none of the accountability. A corporation can steal and kill, but unlike a person facing justice, it cannot be imprisoned or executed.

The third factor in our government’s estrangement from the people is the corporatization of media. The news organizations used to have the responsibility to the people as a watchdog over the government. This is no longer the case. The nexus of corporate media and corporate government is an entity that is hostile to both the public interest and the principles of democracy.

We have a serious need for someone to watch the former watchdogs. The good folks at Media Matters for America and Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) are taking up the cause for us. I urge you all to become familiar with these two organizations.

To help get you acquainted, I thought I’d set you up with FAIR’s clear-eyed overview of the government filtered, corporate censored information control system, known as the American news industry. This is what citizens, and especially voters, need to understand about that business. Thank you, FAIR, for assessing for us:

What's Wrong With the News?

Independent, aggressive and critical media are essential to an informed democracy. But mainstream media are increasingly cozy with the economic and political powers they should be watchdogging. Mergers in the news industry have accelerated, further limiting the spectrum of viewpoints that have access to mass media. With U.S. media outlets overwhelmingly owned by for-profit conglomerates and supported by corporate advertisers, independent journalism is compromised.

Ultimately, FAIR believes that structural reform is needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting, and promote strong, non-profit alternative sources of information.

Corporate Ownership

Almost all media that reach a large audience in the United States are owned by for-profit corporations--institutions that by law are obligated to put the profits of their investors ahead of all other considerations. The goal of maximizing profits is often in conflict with the practice of responsible journalism.

Not only are most major media owned by corporations, these companies are becoming larger and fewer in number as the biggest ones absorb their rivals. This concentration of ownership tends to reduce the diversity of media voices and puts great power in the hands of a few companies. As news outlets fall into the hands of large conglomerates with holdings in many industries, conflicts of interest inevitably interfere with newsgathering.

FAIR believes that independent media are essential to a democratic society, and that aggressive antitrust action must be taken to break up monopolistic media conglomerates. At the same time, non-corporate, alternative media outlets need to be promoted by both the government and the non-profit sector.

Advertiser Influence

Most of the income of for-profit media outlets comes not from their audiences, but from commercial advertisers who are interested in selling products to that audience. Although people sometimes defend commercial media by arguing that the market gives people what they want, the fact is that the most important transaction in the media marketplace--the only transaction, in the case of broadcast television and radio--does not involve media companies selling content to audiences, but rather media companies selling audiences to sponsors.

This gives corporate sponsors a disproportionate influence over what people get to see or read. Most obviously, they don't want to support media that regularly criticizes their products or discusses corporate wrongdoing. More generally, they would rather support media that puts audiences in a passive, non-critical state of mind-making them easier to sell things to. Advertisers typically find affluent audiences more attractive than poorer ones, and pay a premium for young, white, male consumers-factors that end up skewing the range of content offered to the public.

It is becoming harder and harder to escape from the propagandistic effects of advertising. Many students are now forced to watch commercials in school on Channel One. Even supposedly "noncommercial" outlets like PBS and NPR run ads-euphemistically known as "underwriter announcements." FAIR believes that commercial advertising should be taxed, with the proceeds earmarked to fund truly noncommercial media.

Official Agendas

Despite the claims that the press has an adversarial relationship with the government, in truth U.S. media generally follow Washington's official line. This is particularly obvious in wartime and in foreign policy coverage, but even with domestic controversies, the spectrum of debate usually falls in the relatively narrow range between the leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties.

The owners and managers of dominant media outlets generally share the background, worldview and income bracket of political elites. Top news executives and celebrity reporters frequently socialize with government officials. The most powerful media companies routinely make large contributions to both major political parties, while receiving millions of dollars in return in the form of payments for running political ads.

In this incestuous culture, "news" is defined chiefly as the actions and statements of people in power. Reporters, dependent on "access" and leaks provided by official sources, are too often unwilling to risk alienating these sources with truly critical coverage. Nor are corporate media outlets interested in angering the elected and bureaucratic officials who have the power to regulate their businesses.

Telecom Policy

The United States' original communications policy is the 1st Amendment. Freedom of the press was guaranteed in the Constitution because an exchange of information and an unfettered debate were considered essential components of a democratic society.

Today, however, government policy is designed less to facilitate a democratic discussion than to protect the investments of media corporations. Regulations tend to promote the formation of huge media conglomerates and discourage new, competing voices.

PR Industry

The drive to maximize profits compels corporate news outlets to produce more and more news with fewer and fewer reporters. With less time to do each story, journalists are increasingly pressured to rely on the public relations industry to do much of their work for them: Reporters can rewrite press releases rather than do their own independent research, and TV stations can broadcast promotional videos that are designed to look like news footage. This symbiotic relationship between news outlets and the industries they cover, however, is a bad deal for the public.

Pressure Groups

While institutional pressures are enough to keep most journalists from straying from the conventional wisdom, pressure groups stand ready to punish the exceptional reporter who challenges the official agenda.

FAIR believes that grassroots activism around media issues is legitimate and indeed essential. When does an activist group become a pressure group? A pressure group is more concerned with suppressing viewpoints that it disagrees with than ensuring that a wide range of perspectives is available. Since pressure groups are often funded by companies or industries whose interests they promote, these groups often push ideologies that are already well-represented in media debates.

Narrow Range of Debate

Given that most media outlets are owned by for-profit corporations and are funded by corporate advertising, it is not surprising that they seldom provide a full range of debate. The right edge of discussion is usually represented by a committed supporter of right-wing causes, someone who calls for significantly changing the status quo in a conservative direction. The left edge, by contrast, is often represented by an establishment-oriented centrist who supports maintaining the status quo; very rarely is a critic of corporate power who identifies with progressive causes and movements with the same passion as their conservative counterparts allowed to take part in mass media debates.

Censorship

Since governments almost always have an interest in controlling the free flow of information, official censorship is something that must be constantly guarded against. In our society, however, large corporations are a more common source of censorship than governments: Media outlets killing stories because they undermine corporate interests; advertisers using their financial clout to squelch negative reports; powerful businesses using the threat of expensive lawsuits to discourage legitimate investigations. The most frequent form of censorship is self-censorship: Journalists deciding not to pursue certain stories that they know will be unpopular with the boss.

Sensationalism

Profit-driven news organizations are under great pressure to boost ratings by sensationalizing the news: focusing attention on lurid, highly emotional stories, often featuring a bizarre cast of characters and a gripping plot but devoid of significance to most people's lives. From Tonya Harding to O.J. Simpson to Elian Gonzalez, major news outlets have become more and more dependent on these kind of tabloid soap operas to keep profits high.

Random Observations On Corporate Government

2009-06-17T16:29:00.007-04:00

The US Government is a corporatocracy. It has become a government of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations.

Corporations are endowed with all the rights and none of the responsibilities of personhood.

The Supreme Court sanctioned corporate money donated to political campaigns as “free speech”.
Both major parties are thus primarily in the service of corporate interests.

Congress rewards their donors with billions of dollars in corporate welfare.

Congress supported Bush’s warrantless NSA surveillance of US citizens, and immunity for telecoms for aiding illegal surveillance by voting for Bush’s FISA Amendment.

Congress was upset to learn Jane Harmon's e-mail was intercepted, and demanded their members be exempted from surveillance.

A Democratic led Congress authorized money to continue Bush’s wars.

Soldiers’ lives are sacrificed by electrocution for KBR/Halliburton profits and no-bid contracts.

Blackwater/Xe mercenaries murdered Iraqis without facing justice.

Blackwater/Xe mercenaries are becoming private corporate armies and police.

Obama supported Bush’s warrantless NSA surveillance of US citizens, and immunity for telecoms for aiding illegal surveillance by voting for Bush’s FISA Amendment

Obama invoked State Secrets privilege against lawsuits challenging warrantless surveillance.

Obama reversed his stance and censored photos of detainee abuse at the urging of military officers.

Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan.

The Obama Administration avoids confronting Bush/Cheney war crimes and torture by “looking forward”.

The radical Right still accuses Obama of being a liberal socialist.

Corporate media still transmit unquestioned government propaganda.

Investigative journalism in corporate media is disappearing.

The alleged “liberal” New York Times printed Bush Administration WMD lies without question.

The alleged “liberal” New York Times withheld reporting the Bush warrantless surveillance program at the behest of the Bush Administration.

Right wing Fox News still deceives the gullible into thinking that they are fair and balanced.

The network most accused of liberalism is NBC, owned by military contractor corporation GE.

In the frenzied run-up to the Iraq War MSNBC dumped Phil Donahue, and replaced him with radical Right winger and hate radio mouthpiece Michael (Wiener) Savage.

The radical Right still accuses the corporate media of being liberal.

Eisenhower’s warning about the military industrial complex’s influence in government is still ignored by Washington DC.

These days, the military industrial media complex may be the more accurate description.

The US is less a democracy and more a national security state.

In the halls of government money talks and the Golden Rule prevails.
Those with the gold make the rules.

The financial industry, which designed their own de-regulation, over-leveraged shady loans, and wrote our bankruptcy laws have facilitated the downfall of our economy.

The profit-driven medical/insurance/pharmaceutical complex is working to deny health care rights to American people.

Both progressive and conservative interests in our Constitutional directives to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty” will be undermined by corporate agendas.

Even when progressives are elected (both of them) the US Government remains primarily an institutionalized right wing engine of empire and an agent of Big Money.

When the president does it that means it is not illegal.

Rush Week

2009-05-05T23:10:00.004-04:00

It’s time again to have a look at what the Reich Wing indoctrination program is feeding the flock of ditto head sheeple. This past week Republican Boss Limbaugh has poured forth a reeking batch of verbal manure to fertilize his followers’ growing hatred, anger, and fear. That’s all that’s left growing in their field of ideas. When your corrupt crop of fetid and failed ideology morally bankrupts the country’s values, leaves the nation in its worst economy in memory, and saddles us with two disastrous quagmires of military aggression, the strategy, or as Rush puts it, “strategery” is clear.

Attack Democrats and liberals with every possible lie and outrageous accusation in the hope they can still somehow demonize the opposition. If only they could repeat their glory days of the Clinton impeachment. Without presidential philandering or the power of a Ken Starr Chamber, it won’t be easy.

But that won’t deter the mighty mouth of the great Oxy-Moron. Rush is on his crusade to purify the “Republicant” Party and gather the most gullible, extreme, and radical right wingers into the shrinking party’s tent.

As we recall from those heady days of the Great Fox Tea Party outrage, Rush was alerting his minions to the big bad Department of Homeland Security bulletin warning of right wing extremists.

April 14: “So what you have here, you have a report from Janet Napolitano and Barack Obama Department of Homeland Security portraying standard, ordinary, everyday conservatives as posing a bigger threat to this country than Al Qaeda terrorists or genuine enemies of this country like Kim Jong-Il.”

April 15: “Does Obama know about the DHS report? Is Obama -- it is Obama's DHS report. The DHS report calling every mainstream conservative a right-wing extremist is who Barack Obama is.”

Rush loves nothing more than throwing gas on the burning rage inside the uninformed ignorant Reich Wing mind. Reasonable mainstream conservatives know these are nothing but flat out lies.
Let me share with you some samples from his shows last week.

On Tuesday Rush was explaining Obama’s visit to the FBI.

April 28: OBAMA: [audio clip]: "Living our values means that we must hold ourselves to higher standards than our enemies. We face a long struggle against a determined adversary. We know that Al Qaeda is not constrained by a constitution or by allegiance to anything other than a hateful ideology and a determination to kill as many innocents as possible.

But what makes the United States of America so special is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and our ideals, not just when it's easy, but when it's hard."

LIMBAUGH: So, what he's basically again saying, "Look, I kinda envy Al Qaeda. They're not constrained by a constitution like I am. But don't worry, I'm working on getting rid of that constitution or changing it, so that it's not such a burden on me."

I mean, guys like Obama look at the Constitution as a burden. He looks at Al Qaeda as sort of wistfully: "Gee, these guys aren't constrained by a constitution."

Wow. So Rush is basically saying Obama is the kind of president who disdains the Constitution so much he would start a war based on lies, launch a warrantless illegal surveillance program on American citizens, indefinitely detain people without charges or right to counsel, and eliminate Habeas Corpus from that very Constitution he swore to protect and defend.

Geez oh Pete! That would make Obama the worst president EVER!

Or that would be the worst case of psycho talk projection I’ve heard in a long time. One would be tempted to see this as Obama Derangement Syndrome at its peak, but it is more than that. Rush knows what he’s saying. This kind of “Big Lie” propaganda would have made Reichsfuhrer Himmler proud.

Moving on through the week we find Rush nurturing empathy in his listeners for the banksters.

May 1st: The third possibility to explain why the big banks rolled over is: They're just scared to death because the Obama administration Treasury Department has their future in its hands. So, of the three possibilities, from the goodness of their hearts, they got secret slush money under the table from TARP, or they're scared to death because the Treasury Department holds the future right in their hands.

I vote option three. I vote that the big banks rolled over 'cause they're scared to death, 'cause wherever I go, I don't care who I interact with. They're scared to death of this administration. There is genuine fear of the government from average Americans buying up guns and ammunition like they never have before, to people on Wall Street, the big businesses -- there is abject fear.

Notice how he ties in the poor victimized banks with the poor victimized average Americans. In one minute of air time Rush whines they’re “scared to death” four times, along with spewing “genuine fear” and “abject fear”.

May 4: There is no question that there is fear all over this country of this administration. There's fear in American business. There's fear in average citizens. There's fear in every aspect that does business one way or the other with the United States government now. I mean, the fear that the average American has always had for the IRS has now been transferred to everybody having fear of whatever branch of government they deal with -- in this case, Geithner and Treasury and President Obama.

This is pure, unadulterated, and calculated evil. What else can you call such manipulative, sociopathic and dishonest fear mongering?

It was laughable when Rush slammed Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz for daring to accuse him on C-SPAN of stirring up anger and hatred.Rush called her "stupid," "blitheringly ignorant" and a "ditz", then proclaimed, "There's no hate on this program"

Yeah, and no lies either.

May 5: “People on the left, the Democrat Party and the media obviously, some people on our side, writing so many columns, so many editorials, so many op-eds, hell-bent on trying to diminish the influence of conservatism in the Republican Party. Why? If we're dead, as they say we are, why are they continuing to try to kill us? I mean of course in a political sense. It's 'cause we're not dead. It's because we still threaten them, and we threaten them precisely because they are a collection of lies and deceit and phony ideas and ours are ideas of substance that, properly articulated, connect with a majority of the American people. So they're going after anybody on the right who can articulate these things and setting out to try to destroy them. Me, Sarah Palin, you name it, whoever it is, they're trying to destroy the people who could and can articulate the beliefs and the principles that the left actually fears.

Imagine that. We are out to destroy Rush and Sarah for articulating principles. Yup, that’s what us librools like to do, all right. We want to destroy those who disagree with us, especially if they have principles...like Rush. And what could we possibly do to diminish Sarah’s brilliance, articulating her deep knowledge of science, Supreme Court rulings and “ideas of substance”?

Rush even included Joe the non-licensed plumber as one who articulates those conservative values and principles. Joe said he won’t let “those queers” near his kids.

Then Rush gave me my birthday gift today. He re-anointed Sarah as the leader of the Republican Party.

"Sarah Palin could build the party, and all these moderates and independents think that she's going to be a drag on building the party. Why? Because, true, she will not attract liberals. She won't attract moderates. Thank God! We don't want 'em in our party."

Yessiree. Sarah’s shining beacon of righteous enlightenment will illuminate the building of the Republican Party into the fringe cult of Bush loving wackos they deserve, and have always wanted, to be.

Please, Rush, do you promise?

Like I Was Saying...

2009-04-30T22:49:00.006-04:00

Like I was saying about the tea bagger party on April 15th:

“The entire episode would be utterly and hysterically funny if it were not for the strong likelihood that some of the attendees are the same unstable sort as Richard Poplawski. He was the sociopathic conservative without a conscience who murdered three cops in Pittsburgh. Poplawski’s racist head was filled with crap like Beck’s poisonous lies about Obama coming to take his guns away from him.”

Sure enough, one of them, in Oklahoma City at that, popped up with his crazy ugly anger and got arrested. Daniel Knight Hayden, or to those in Twitter World Citizen Quasar, was on a mission. He tweeted his vision for all his fellow Reich Wing gun nuts, conspiracy nuts, and general all around paranoid Obama Derangement Syndrome sufferers.

The messages sent in the few days running up to his idea of a glorious D-Day went like this:

“Secret Homeland Security Threat Assessment Labels Gun Owners Potential Terrorists

Danish Scientist on TV: Nano-thermite Behind Collapse of WTC Buildings on 9/11, Not Planes

I made 15 copies of "The Obama Deception" which I will hand out. ALSO made 100 flyers...We shall SEE what happens

Maybe it's time to die. Let's see if I can video record the Highway Patrol at the entrance to the Oklahoma State Capitol...

I WISH I had someone to watch my back with MY camera... And post it on the internet. Since i live on this sorry fucking state,that is as good a place as ANY to die and start a WAR. WEshallsee

Locked AND loaded for the Oklahoma State Capitol. Let's see what happens”

His big day was coming and he was desperate for attention

“START THE KILLING NOW! I am willing to be the FIRST DEATH!

After I am killed on the Capitol Steps, like a REAL man, the rest of you will REMEMBER ME!!!

Send the cops around. I will cut their heads off the heads and throw the[m] on the State Capitol steps.”

I hope the judge was right when he sent Citizen Quasar to a halfway house. Let’s hope this guy can be medicated back to reality. I just don’t happen to think they have strong enough anti-psychotic drugs to treat ODS.

And like I was saying in my post Monday about how we learn:

"Yes, that’s how we learn. And that’s how future presidents learn. They learn to break any law that gets in their way of exercising whatever abuse of power they wish.Remember what we learned from Nixon? “When the president does it that means it is not illegal.”

And sure enough, on the very day I posted that, Iraq war monger Condi Nixon, er... Rice, told students at Stanford these little gems:

“The president instructed us that nothing we would do would be outside of our obligations, legal obligations under the Convention Against Torture."

"The United States was told, we were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture, and so by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture.”

There you go. By definition, if the president does it, it’s not illegal, or did not violate any law. The president IS the law. Since the decider decided it, then it must be legal.

Even the dreaded “Communist dictator” Hugo Chavez never so blatantly asserted such a clear crossing of the line to tyranny.

And wasn’t it the perfectly predictable republican projection from Karl Rove when he said investigation of Bush war crimes is what you’d expect from “mirrored sunglass wearing banana republic dictators”

The lessons are once again clearly visible to us. The delusional Reich Wingers see their fellow Americans as enemies. And they embrace totalitarianism for the cause of their megalomaniacal authoritarian cult.

As recent GOP defector Arlen Specter said, “...the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right.”

I think moderates, liberals, and anyone else who pays attention are learning that.

Unfortunately we will be seeing more and more evidence of rampant Obama Derangement Syndrome. Let’s hope the flu never reaches that level of pandemic contagion, or we are all in trouble.

How We Learn

2009-04-27T20:43:00.002-04:00

Last Monday President Obama went to visit the CIA. He needed to buddy up to the agency and let them know he was still on their side.

"What makes the United States special, and what makes you special, is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and ideals even when it's hard -- not just when it's easy," he said, "Don't be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we've made some mistakes. That's how we learn.”

Oh, yes, the United States is special. You’re special. I’m special. The torturers are special. Yes, we are ALL special! We violate our nation’s values, ideals, (and laws) call them mistakes instead of crimes, and now look forward to moving on. Let’s look forward to our bright shiny future where America has failed to hold anyone accountable for violating the Geneva Convention and committing criminal acts that we prosecuted people for in the past.

Yes, that’s how we learn. And that’s how future presidents learn. They learn to break any law that gets in their way of exercising whatever abuse of power they wish.

Remember what we learned from Nixon? “When the president does it that means it is not illegal.”

Now we are learning something from Obama. If the president allows it to go unpunished that means it’s not a crime.

Don’t you just love learning how to be good Americans from politicians?

He also told them no agent would be charged for face slapping, forced nudity, sleep deprivation, wall slamming, stress positioning, wall shackling, or confining detainees in small boxes with insects. Nor would they be held liable for waterboarding detainees on an average of six times a day. Why not? Well, because they were “just following orders”, of course. Not only did Obama assure them the famous Nazi Nuremberg Defense was good enough to be their get-out-of-jail-free card, he softened the whole deal with a nicer term. Nobody was tortured. No, nothing so savage and brutal, it was merely a few “mistakes” that were made.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the idea of not prosecuting underlings in order to get the information to hold their superiors accountable. I just don’t see how anybody will face justice here without pressuring the agents into revealing the chain of orders for torture.

Oddly, some of the advocates of looking forward actually used the word torture.

Recently House Minority Leader John Boehner, accidently I’m sure, uttered a bit of truth slippage. “Last week, they released these memos outlining torture techniques—that was clearly a political decision.”

On Sunday corporate media insider David Broder wrote in the Washington Post, “The memos on torture represented a deliberate, and internally well-debated, policy decision, made in the proper places -- the White House, the intelligence agencies and the Justice Department -- by the proper officials.”

How about that? If torture is approved by deliberate, and internally well-debated, policy decision, made in the proper places, then it’s all fine and legal. All you need are a few hand picked, sycophantic, cold blooded lawyers to make your brutality legitimate.

Of course this is mere child’s play after you successfully deceived the country into a politically motivated illegal war of aggression that may well last another six years.

Broder continued, “One administration later, a different group of individuals occupying the same offices has -- thankfully -- made the opposite decision. Do they now go back and investigate or indict their predecessors?

That way, inevitably, lies endless political warfare. It would set the precedent for turning all future policy disagreements into political or criminal vendettas. That way lies untold bitterness -- and injustice.

Suppose that Obama backs down and Holder or someone else starts hauling Bush administration lawyers and operatives into hearings and courtrooms.
Suppose the investigators decide that the country does not want to see the former president and vice president in the dock. Then underlings pay the price while big shots go free. But at some point, if he is at all a man of honor, George W. Bush would feel bound to say: That was my policy. I was the president. If you want to indict anyone for it, indict me.

Is that where we want to go? I don't think so. Obama can prevent it by sticking to his guns.”

Aren’t you relieved to learn all this is only about policy disagreements? And if we’ve learned nothing else during the past eight years, we can be sure George W. Bush certainly IS a man of honor.

But there’s another voice out there. Someone with personal experience in the interrogations wrote a piece in the April 23rd edition of the New York Times.

Ali Soufan was an F.B.I. supervisory special agent from 1997 to 2005.

He wrote: “For seven years I have remained silent about the false claims magnifying the effectiveness of the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding. I have spoken only in closed government hearings, as these matters were classified. But the release last week of four Justice Department memos on interrogations allows me to shed light on the story, and on some of the lessons to be learned.

One of the most striking parts of the memos is the false premises on which they are based. The first, dated August 2002, grants authorization to use harsh interrogation techniques on a high-ranking terrorist, Abu Zubaydah, on the grounds that previous methods hadn’t been working. The next three memos cite the successes of those methods as a justification for their continued use.

It is inaccurate, however, to say that Abu Zubaydah had been uncooperative. Along with another F.B.I. agent, and with several C.I.A. officers present, I questioned him from March to June 2002, before the harsh techniques were introduced later in August. Under traditional interrogation methods, he provided us with important actionable intelligence.

We discovered, for example, that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Abu Zubaydah also told us about Jose Padilla, the so-called dirty bomber. This experience fit what I had found throughout my counterterrorism career: traditional interrogation techniques are successful in identifying operatives, uncovering plots and saving lives.

There was no actionable intelligence gained from using enhanced interrogation techniques on Abu Zubaydah that wasn’t, or couldn’t have been, gained from regular tactics. In addition, I saw that using these alternative methods on other terrorists backfired on more than a few occasions — all of which are still classified. The short sightedness behind the use of these techniques ignored the unreliability of the methods, the nature of the threat, the mentality and modus operandi of the terrorists, and due process.

Defenders of these techniques have claimed that they got Abu Zubaydah to give up information leading to the capture of Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a top aide to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and Mr. Padilla. This is false.”

But, then again, how can this insignificant peon know better than our wise and fearless media and political leadership?

I understand Obama is reluctant to open the huge can of worms. It’s a political powder keg. Maybe the Justice Department will initiate an investigation, but I won’t hold my breath waiting for it.

As William Butler Yeats wrote, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

Now, haven’t we all learned a lot from these mistakes? I don’t know about you, but I sure am feeling a lot prouder, and smarter, for being an American.

Post Tea Chat

2009-04-21T10:54:00.002-04:00

I have always been interested in hearing from people with differing perspectives. We have a conservative visitor who seems to believe in civil discourse and has provided us with some post tea time conversation. I think our discussion would make a nice post and I’d like to thank Dan for sharing his views with us.
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Dave,

I find your claim incredulous. Am I supposed to believe “an old-fashioned American citizen who believes in our traditional values of freedom, truth, and justice”, would steadily chip away the podium on which he ‘supposedly’ stands?

I have to give you credit in regards to your subtle (sometimes not) attempts to marginalize the Tea Parties. You stripped a page from Napolitano’s script when she so timely warned us of “radical right-wing extremist” (and Obama claimed to know nothing of the Tea Parties). I find it laughable as well as hypocritical, that hard-core liberals who have made a history of protest can in good conscience cast stones at those protesting. Perhaps just beyond the realm of your comprehension lie those protesting their concerns about trillions of dollars and debt for future generations as well as expressing their frustration as they watch the government bail out large corporate entities. (Only a fool can believe that taxes will not go through the roof once the ‘recovery’ takes place). Many are also fair tax proponents, of course that would be a problem for those forty-fifty percent that don’t currently contribute federal tax dollars, but still receive refunds.

I’ve stayed too long…now back to reality. I trust never-never land will rest in your capable hands.
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Dan,

Thanks for your input. Your podium metaphor isn't quite clear to me.

You said, I "stripped a page from Napolitano’s script when she so timely warned us of “radical right-wing extremist”. No, I didn't.

And besides, I would credit someone for any page I would strip them of. BTW, nice post you got over there.;-)

In fact, violent right wing radicalism has been around for a long time.

US News and World Report: 2005:

"In the 10 years since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people, roughly 60 right-wing terrorist plots have been uncovered in the United States, according to an upcoming report by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project. The plots, all foiled by law enforcement, reportedly included violent plans by antigovernment militia groups, racist skinhead organizations, and Ku Klux Klan members to use various types of chemical bombs and other weapons."

And we all know of the recent right wing politically motivated killings of Tennessee Unitarians and Pittsburgh cops.

Face it, Dan. Right wingers are more violent than libs and moderates. It's in their authoritarian nature.

You may be surprised to learn liberals detest the bank bailouts, too.

American corporatism has always been the offspring of Republicans and right leaning, big business Dems.

Remember when the righties called us traitors for protesting Bush's lying us into a war that has cost us the first trillion dollars of the Bush debt?

Where was the outrage from the conservatives when Bush started the TARP corporate welfare program?

And just who are the ones casting stones anyway, those accusing Fox/corporate lobby sponsored shills as dancing puppets of their corporatist masters, or those accusing demonstrators of treason?

Don't get me wrong, I believe you love your country, but you appear to love conservatism more.
---
Dave,

I have to admit I’ve bookmarked your site; the entertainment value is priceless.

The podium reference was rather tongue-in-cheek. You claim to support traditional values. As a side note, the Wikipedia entry for right-wing mentions “an adherence and obedience to traditional values”.

I was not suggesting you had plagiarized Mrs. Napolitano’s work, only that you used the same tired scare tactics. All veterans must be ‘right wing’ and since they know how to use weapons, we add one and one and come up with four. (the extra two came from the logical assumption that right wing=angry and deranged). Only by using such poisonous terms as “Reich wing” will the conservative right ever include such hate groups as the skin-heads and KKK. On the lines of hating, I don’t suppose you caught Janeane Garofalo’s interview (a fine representation of a hate-filled lib)

Tarp funds were certainly not a unanimous choice on either side, but it is worth noting the bill carried through the house with a nearly two to one margin Dem/Rep 172/91.

No matter your position on the Iraq war only the ‘Bush-haters” have turned it into a lie. I’m assuming by the “Bush lie” you mean W.M.D.’s (“boo…hiss…dirty words”). It was a very popular lie as it seems Joe Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, Hilary Clinton, Al Gore, John Edwards, Ted Kennedy, and Madeline Albright also told the very same lie back then. Hindsight will always be 20/20 and a short memory serves it well.

It is no secret President Obama believes in a heavily involved government: socialized health care (one look at the mismanagement of the V.A. program should send us running) and the refusal to accept repayment of tarp money (is the president erring on the side of caution or do I smell a big, fat pot of socialism brewing?)

I do love my country, just as our founders intended it to be, with a small, limited role for government.
---
Dan,

It’s nice to know you find entertainment value in my anti-authoritarian satire.

Didn’t you know liberals have traditional values, as well as anti-authoritarian values? Along with justice and truth, one of my favorite values is “blessed are the peacemakers”. Is that traditional enough?

You say I used the same tired scare tactics. Do you mean stuff like “mushroom clouds”, “Saddam’s aerial drones that will drop chemicals and anthrax on us”, “nukular aluminum tubes” , “Saddam’s connections to al-Qaeda”, “We know where the WMD’s are”, and “they hate us for our freedom” kind of scare tactics? The Bush cartel spewed lies by the hundreds, and they punished anyone who contradicted them. Ask Joe Wilson and his covert (confirmed by the Director) intelligence operative wife who was treasonously exposed by Rove, Cheney and his thug sidekick Libby. And unlike some Dems who may have thought Saddam had the weapons, but wanted inspectors to do their job, the Bush lies were intended to frighten and anger Americans into supporting his war of aggression directed at a nation that did not harbor al-Qaeda and posed no threat to the US.

Bush’s invasion of Iraq had less to do with protecting US citizens than with consolidating political power and winning re-election, along with transferring, or redistributing, enormous wealth to his and Cheney’s war profiteering friends. He has pretty much admitted his “war president and political capital” idea in his book before he became president. Maybe it even had something to do with oil. It sure looked like the perfect plan to funnel our tax dollars directly into the pockets of mercenaries and other connected business interests. There’s that trickle up economy for you.

This reminds me, what do conservatives think of Eisenhower’s concern over the influence of the military industrial complex? I have always been curious about that. Taxes on the rich were higher during his time than they were under Clinton, you know. Was Ike a Socialist?

I’m glad you’re sensitive to the use of poisonous terms. We heard a lot of them lately. Traitors, America haters, Appeasers of terrorists, Socialist, secret Muslim, Obama pallin’ around with a terrorist, far left wackos, “real Americans” as opposed to moderates and liberals. The list goes on. I have explained my term Reich Wingers to be authoritarian fanatics, hateful, ignorant, violent, racist, bigots, book burning, commie-obsessed holdovers, and other intolerant types. Most conservative folks are not Reich Wingers.

What did I ever say against the vets? And are you advocating shutting down the V.A.?

You need to re-calibrate your negative emotion gauge if you are equating Janeane Garofalos’s anger with the rage and hatred from skin heads and Klansmen.

There are many of us who are neither Obama maniacs nor sufferers of Obama Derangement Syndrome. Yes, Obama is a Democrat who believes government can solve some problems. I also see him as a company man working with corporatist interests. I have objected to any authoritarian stand he takes, such as FISA, rendition, no rights for detainees, etc.

I love my country, but I fear our rogue government when it ignores the rule of law and the Bill of Rights.

Conservatives seem to like to have it both ways. Big Government can’t do anything right, yet “small government” must wield the world’s mega military machine effectively and wisely. Government must not interfere with the corporate agenda no matter the impact on the public and environment. Small government must be able to send paramilitary armored assault teams of cops to kick in the doors of peaceful protesters and forcibly detain credentialed journalists. Remember the tactics at the GOP Convention?

There’s no role for government to regulate Big Business, but we need government to dictate the behavior of responsible consenting adults in their homes. They have no objection to warrantless NSA and CIA surveillance of US citizens. It is as if the Second Amendment was as far as they read into the Bill of Rights. Waterboarding is torture when someone else does it, (We’ve prosecuted against it) but not when we do it. And the Right accuses the Left of “moral relativism”.

There is a long list of contradictory disconnects at play here. Here is one of my favorites. Two thirds of US corporations pay no income taxes. Yet through lobbying and campaign donations they buy representation in the government. There you have it. Big Business has representation WITHOUT taxation! The rest of us get the shaft, buddy. Workers’ rights to collective bargaining are being crushed. Is it any wonder the middle class is shrinking and the poor are multiplying? This is not democracy, it is corporatism and it leads to fascism.

Some of us want to have government work for the public interest, as in education, health care, infrastructure, police, fire, courts, and municipal services.

On the other hand the right wants no regulation, and no legal oversight. Government is to facilitate the interests of Big Money or get out of the way. It is their golden rule: those with the gold make the rules.

If the government works for the public, then call it socialism if you must. Just understand that when the tea baggers shriek “socialism” and “communism” over a 3 percent tax restoration for the rich it makes them look like selfish greedy idiots.

Remember “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars”?

Tea Time

2009-04-15T21:09:00.002-04:00

The day for the big right wing American protest has come at last. The “tea parties” promoted by Fox Propaganda and corporate lobbyists for the past weeks have finally been staged around the nation. Staged, of course, would be the operative word here, and usually in socialist tax supported public parks.

These protests were very unlike the anti-war protests glaringly not covered by Fox and most corporate media. While the demonstrations largely ignored by media were motivated from a sense of justice, compassion and truth, these folks were aroused by their hatred of Obama, resentment over losing a fair election, and plain old selfish greed.

Outraged Americans turned out by the dozens at various localities. The group fronted by Gruppenfuhrer Glenn Beck was gathered in front of the Alamo.

Now, before you get too excited about my little SS tag on Beck, let me tell you about the gathering of tea baggers featured on Ed Schultz’s show the other day. A man was declaring that the American people were being brainwashed by the Obama Commies through the new digital conversion boxes on their TV sets. After this frightened and ignorant fellow screamed about the kids being brainwashed by Commie professors at college as well, a fellow Reich Wing woman was heard off camera yelling, “Burn the books!”

Gee, where have we heard that kind of talk before?

Except for the TV part, this scene was played out by masses of “good Germans” in the 1930’s.

Gruppenfuhrer Beck’s irate idiots were the lucky ones to be entertained by Ted Nugent performing a rather white teenage high school version of Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner.

And speaking of white didn’t those crowds look as white as a Klan rally minus the robes? These were the same ilk, no doubt, who shouted, “Kill him!” and “Terrorist!” at Sarah Palin rallies.

So there they were, a bunch of Fox-brainwashed fools, most of them who have NOT had their taxes raised by Obama, shouting and protesting about paying taxes. I don’t suppose their simple little minds could explain how we are to pay for their beloved wars without taxes.

But, why would that matter? These mobs, composed of buffoons who most likely just had their taxes LOWERED by Obama, were out to vent their anger against...Obama.

Remember crazy old Krauthammer and his cute little name for liberals’ outrage at Bush’s lies, war, torture, and destruction of civil liberties? He called it “Bush Derangement Syndrome”.

What we now have is a remarkable case of mass “Obama Derangement Syndrome”. Now we see who’s really deranged.

The entire episode would be utterly and hysterically funny if it were not for the strong likelihood that some of the attendees are the same unstable sort as Richard Poplawski. He was the sociopathic conservative without a conscience who murdered three cops in Pittsburgh. Poplawski’s racist head was filled with crap like Beck’s poisonous lies about Obama coming to take his guns away from him.

I enjoy a good laugh at arrogant fools as much as the next guy, but there’s a sick gnawing sense of dread lurking in my gut.

How many more Reich Wing domestic terrorists were groomed for their evil mission today?

Divorce Agreement

2009-03-16T16:16:00.005-04:00

A liberal minded friend sent me another one of those right-wing forwards. It was a cute little “divorce agreement” that would indicate the radical conservatives of the minority are not fond of living within anything resembling a democracy anymore.

After reading the message allegedly written by a law student, one excited reader gushed, “THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY WELL PUT AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT'S BY A YOUNG PERSON, A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I'LL VOTE FOR HIM. PASS IT ON!”

My friend needed some help. “My poor misled relatives are in need of a cure. You got one?”

I’m no law student, but I do know each side is entitled to counsel and representation in a divorce. I’m afraid the only cure for radical right-wing indoctrination is a curious and open mind. Unfortunately we cannot force healthy emotional and intellectual growth upon the unwilling party.

I usually prefer not to impose into family issues, but I was asked. Here is the “divorce agreement” along with some fair and equitable terms I have added.

***
Divorce agreement:

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's, (You mean since Reich Winger Joe McCarthy screamed that everybody he didn’t like was a communist? Hey, that sounds familiar. And we'll ignore Nixon's Enemies List) but the whole of this latest election process (You mean when the guy with the most votes won.)has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right (Obama won. Most Americans voted for him and want him to succeed. Republicans are not just against Democrats; they are against democracy.) so let's just end it on friendly terms. (So we can still be friends.) We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass. (We tried that in the Civil War, but if you insist, we’ll take the Northern states and West Coast.) That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. (Great. So we don’t have to redistribute our tax money while two thirds of all the corporations pay none.)You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. (OK. We’ll take justice and civil liberties for the common folk.)Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. (And we’ll arm those who swear to protect and defend the Constitution.) You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them). (Now if you can’t be nice, you shouldn’t sit at the adults’ table.)

We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. (What you mean is corporatism, where these companies help write the Republicans’ laws to help themselves to more of the people’s money. And I bet this won’t be the only time you side with greed.) You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. (You mean those people made homeless by Republican corporations that moved their jobs overseas? And you mean the aliens illegally hired by some of those same Republican corporations?)

We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. (Greedy Wall Street CEO’s are your kind of people. Smart rednecks know those CEO’s are Republicans.) We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood. (As long as you take Jerry Falwell, Jim Baker, Pat Robertson, Ted Haggard, and Fox “News” with you.)

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. (You were threatened by Iraq?) You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. (And everyone else with a conscience?)When our allies or our way of life are under assault, (Our way of life includes the Fourth Amendment, which was assaulted way more by Bush than the terrorists.) we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values. (And we’ll keep the Bill of Rights, democracy, tolerance, and equality.) You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U. N. but we will no longer be paying the bill. (Speaking of paying the bill, there will be no more red state socialism to bail your asses out. Let me explain so you understand. Most Republican states, those states that voted for Bush, receive more federal money than they pay in taxes.)

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find. (Ya’ll better leave those Northern state union-made vehicles with us, and keep your Southern state non-union Asian type cars.)

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. (You’ll have all the jobless families bankrupted by health care costs.) We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. (So you believe in profit over people. Which is why we say health care is integral to the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.)

We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World. (We’ll also keep all the music ever recorded by drug users and drunks. That includes Hank Williams, Elvis, and Johnny Cash. And you can dance to military march music at your party rallies.)

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. (Where have you been the last three decades? The rich got trickled up tax cuts, while the middle class has been trickling down the drain.) Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag. (You seem to have trouble remembering the last 8 years. History comes in books, documentaries and even movies. Remember, you don’t like that stuff. And Palin couldn’t remember any Supreme Court Case she disagreed with other than Roe v Wade. There’s Limbaugh’s anointed leader for you.)

Would you agree to this? (As revised.) If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years. (Oh, right, just like Wall Street needs us to bail them out.)

Sincerely,

John J. Wall, Law Student and an American

P. S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda with you. (You must be a very OLD law student to remember Babs and Jane.)

***
I hate to see an ugly divorce. I would still be happy to suggest an offer of reconciliation.

We would prefer this dispute be resolved through liberal education in lieu of conservative indoctrination. Should any member of the conservative party ever conclude that cooperation, honest communication, and compromise have a rightful place in our national discourse, they are more than welcome to rejoin and participate in the process of liberal democracy.

United we stand.

Uncle Dave's Counsel

2009-03-09T11:52:00.004-04:00

I need to start attending these Conservative Political Action Conference gatherings. It’s a veritable buffet of right wing idiocy just waiting to be chewed up. I’m still learning about what went on at the CPAC during the last week of February.

I was aware of the featured speakers like Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Rush Limbaugh, but it was just today I read about Jonathan Krohn.

Jonathan is the bright young wunderkind of the conservative movement.

He was not yet 14 when he asked the CPAC organizers for an opportunity to speak at their conference. He has already written a book “Define Conservatism” outlining his conservative “core values”. Isn’t that precious? Or is it precocious? Maybe it’s both.

You may wonder what his parents were like, for him to embrace the right wing at such a young age.

It seems Mom is conservative, but says, “Politics bore me”. Dad is a talk radio listener. So, it’s not entirely young Jon’s fault he’s been sucked into the Dark Side. It’s kind of sad seeing a smart kid raised by uninformed parents.

Heck, I don’t blame the kid. I was once a budding little right winger. I rebelled against my jazz musician father. I liked to hunt and fish and had no time to listen to jazz. When I was Jonathan’s age I loved reading WWI and WWII history and wanted to be pilot in the Marines. I was ready for glory.

Then I got sick with rheumatic fever and learned my vision was not good enough to be a military pilot.

Something else dissuaded my military ambitions. My older brother was sent to Vietnam in 1966. I saw the worry in my mother’s face every day he was over there.

I began to ask myself some serious questions. For what cause or reason could my brother possibly be killed in that little country so far away? The more I learned, the less I liked about that war.

Soon my interests developed elsewhere. Since I was not going to be a soldier, philosophy, music and literature began to occupy my time. I picked up a guitar and listened to the Beatles and the other anti-authoritarian voices of that era’s music. And I learned to love jazz.

But I digress. I just wanted to point out there’s hope for this intelligent young lad. Maybe he doesn’t have anyone close enough to talk to him about the other side. Perhaps he needs a kindly old Uncle Dave to sit with him for a while to help clear a few things up.

The first thing I’d do is praise little Jon for his speech at CPAC. I’d tell him of my speech to the American Legion. They kindly sponsored my trip to Boy’s State to learn about government. We could talk about how good it feels to be applauded by a bunch of conservative folks.

After that bit of bonding I would discuss the contents of his speech and his book.

He told the crowd he defined conservatism on “four categories of principle”.

They are respect for the Constitution, respect for life, less government, and personal responsibility.

He explained, “In the conservative viewpoint we believe that it’s principle based. It is the people first, the people’s rights based upon principled views. It is an ideology of protecting the people and the people’s rights.”

I would say to him, “Good for you. I like to see a principled young man who is concerned with protecting people and their rights. That’s what we liberals love about our Bill of Rights.”

Liberals also love democracy. Did you know conservatives don’t care so much about that? Here’s what American conservative movement leader Paul Weyrich said. "I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

Then I would tell him about how the leaders of American conservatism were the most destructive force ever unleashed upon our Constitution. I would tell him about Habeas Corpus being one of America’s greatest legal principles, and how conservatism worked to eliminate it.

I would entertain him with stories about how conservative laws called The Patriot Act, The Military Commissions Act, and the FISA amendment represent the complete opposite of respect for the Constitution.

I would inform him of the Warner Defense Authorization Act and recent Bush Department of Justice memos giving the president dictatorial military powers over American citizens.

I would ask him how the conservatives’ embrace of the death penalty and wars without provocation is respect for life. Would opposition to health care access for 50 million Americans also be considered respect for life? It would seem conservative respect for life is focused primarily on the fetus. Where’s the respect for life after birth?

I would explain to him that for conservatives, less government means less regulation for Big Business, but more intrusion on personal life decisions.

I would ask him if he could show me any examples of personal responsibility from the Bush Administration’s lies, war, torture, politicizing of the Justice Department, and violations of the Fourth Amendment.

Then I’d ask him if he knew that liberals actually believe those principles, rather than using them to merely screen their true motives of greed and power over the majority of the American people.

I would ask Jon if he can see the politicians who espouse conservatism are the ones who are most enmeshed with corporatism. I’d point out to him that conservatism ALWAYS supports the interests of big money over the public’s needs. Every conservative initiative is directed at promoting corporate agendas to the detriment of people’s rights.

Conservatism, in effect, will always step on the little guy to make it easier for the big shots. Remember “promote the general Welfare” is the part of the Constitution’s preamble that conservatism disdains.

Finally I’d tell him about the conversation I had with my nephew last August. He’s an ambitious young businessman and he told me “all regulation is bad”.

The next month the financial world collapsed because the conservatives had stripped away all regulation.

I haven’t heard any more such talk from my nephew since.

Apology And Agreement

2009-03-08T17:40:00.004-04:00

Last week I wrote about Rush Limbaugh’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Although there are some other topics I need to address, I can’t go on in good faith until I correct my errors.

I didn’t start actually taking notes until a couple minutes into his speech. I told you I was an amateur reporter, and it shows. The truth is, I misquoted Rush. And for that I must apologize.

Yes, I now join the esteemed company of Republicans who went crawling back to Rush to apologize for their transgressions against the Big Boss of the GOP. I guess I know how it feels now for Michael Steele, Phil Ginrey, Mark Sanford and all the others.

If I am going to pick on Rush, it should be for what he said, not for what I thought he said.

I wrote that Rush liked to make liberals “defend Stalin”. Maybe my hearing is going, along with my short term memory. Days later I got a copy of the transcript of Rush’s speech and learned the true context.

He was joking about his security. He said, “In fact, I would like to introduce to you my security chief, a man who runs all of my security. His name is Joseph Stalin. I am safe from any liberal attack, in public, because they would be afraid of offending Stalin.”

My aging ears heard something like defending, rather than offending. So let’s set the record straight. We liberals are “afraid of offending Stalin”, not that we defend him.

I also wrote he said, “Stop thinking you’re a minority”. What he really said was, “But the main thing to do here is stop thinking that we are a minority.”

“Same difference", you say? I just want to be accurate.

And now it’s time for some even more painful honesty. I agree with something Rush said in the first minutes of his speech.

He said, “We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. “

Now, now, I know he botched it when he said that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was written in the Constitution. Just because the CPAC folks were about to give him a Defender of the Constitution Award, doesn’t mean poor Rush has to KNOW anything about the Constitution.

Besides, he was about to make a broader point, the one he and I share. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, wherever those notions come from, are in trouble.

“We conservatives think all three are under assault.”

Right on, Rush! I’m with you there, buddy. I must be a conservative too! Woo hoo! So, why did you support and defend Bush and Cheney while they ravaged our Constitution? Oh I forgot. You’re only an entertainer.

Since I have the transcript of the speech, I feel I must make amends to Rush and plug a couple more of his enlightening statements.

His very next sentence was, “We don't want to tell anybody how to live.”

Oh, really? That’s news to me. I guess they only want to tell people how NOT to live. Big difference, eh?

I’ll tell you one more, just to give you the flavor of the event. In defense of his wanting Obama to fail, he rallied the crowd with this lie.

“Did the Democrats want the war on Iraq to fail?”

“Yes!” The conservatives roared with one great voice.

“They certainly did,” Rush affirmed. Never mind many Democrats not only voted to let Bush start the war, they voted to fund it for years.

Lucky for Rush they don’t tax lies.

What To Do?

2009-03-01T20:39:00.000-05:00

The liberal media are at it again. The Corporate News Network CNN liberally gave Rush Limbaugh an hour and a half of air time Saturday. They must really miss Glenn Beck.

I dutifully listened to the whole thing so most of you didn’t have to.

From the content of Limbaugh’s speech we see the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC was quite the little hate-fest.

But Rush said they didn’t hate anybody. Yes, he said that, but the lies and contradictions spoke volumes to the contrary. Rush also put on a spectacular display of the old tried and true right wing art of projection.

Amateur reporter that I am, I took some notes during Rush’s often declared “first address to the nation”. That’s what he called it after pointing out that his speech was on Fox and C-SPAN. Poor CNN didn’t even get acknowledged.

First address to the nation. And he used this phrase repeatedly. That little joke was about the funniest thing he said all night. So funny, in fact, that many of the attendees laughed at the little quip all ten times, or so, he said it.

Conservatives. They really are a simple lot. No wonder they’re so gullible they buy into anything their idols tell them. The crowd could not contain their adulation for their hero. They would frequently leap to their feet and shout their cheers. They would chant “USA, USA” with raised fists. It was like watching an American remake of “Triumph of the Will”.

Let’s take a look at some of those remarks from the old Oxy-moron.

He loved referring to Obama as the “messiah”. And he also kept to his tactic of using the word “fear” as close as possible to the name Obama. I reported this to you back in November immediately after the election. He loves this practice so much I bet he uses it every day.

First comes the set up. He tells his listeners the president is, "one of the most gifted politicians, one of the most gifted men I have ever witnessed. He has extraordinary talent."

Could this be the same kind of “talent on loan from God” that Rush possesses?

I’m afraid not. Now hear this, all you bleeding heart liberals. Poor Rush is heartbroken.

We learn, "It just breaks my heart that he has not used that extraordinary talent and gift to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best that they can be. He's doing just the opposite."

Have you been noticing that too? Who could be so stupid to think Obama could inspire anybody? Rush tells us the opposite is true. “Obama wants people in fear.”

Thanks, Rush. Is there anything else? I was not to be disappointed.

Did you know Obama and the “Democrat Party” are “all about control”, and want to impose “authoritarian government power”? Wow! This calls for a good civil libertarian like Dick Cheney to come save us from those nasty authoritarians.

Once again we see the old psychological defense mechanism of projection. This is where they accuse others of the wrongful or undesirable behavior they themselves act out.

Here’s some more of the democrats’ diabolical plan. They “foment and create anger” in order to “destroy peoples’ futures”.

Why can’t those democrats be nice like the republicans and start up a couple endless wars?

Maybe they should question people’s patriotism, or scare voters by saying the terrorists will kill them if they don’t make the right choice.

What with those liberals and their treacherous and treasonous Democrat Party, it is nothing short of saintly of Rush to refuse to hate such evil. Even after he told his audience of the horrible punishment dealt to the poor victimized rich class. When Rush says “punish”, he means having to pay taxes. Those darn liberals want to steal your money and give it to those who don’t want to work.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t Bush start a program called TARP that takes a trillion of our tax dollars to give to crooked bankers? Not to worry. The financial meltdown was caused by the democrats. And we learn from Rush that the whole TARP thing is unconstitutional; well at least after Obama became president.

And besides, who do those democrats think they are, taking your money? Rush said, “They don’t have the right to take money that is not theirs.”

So how are they going to pay for the republicans’ wars? And never mind what that liberal hippie Jesus said with that, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” claptrap.

“Liberals!” The very thought of them is enough to make a Reich Winger’s blood boil. Who’d even want to talk to them? Ah, but Rush says he welcomes debating with liberals. Yes, sir. He said he likes to make them “defend Stalin”.

So you may ask, what is a good conservative to do when the Democrat Party has the Oval Office and majorities in both the House and Senate? What can you do when Obama has over a sixty-five percent approval rating? What sage advice did Rush impart to his masses?

Rush spoke these profound words, “Stop thinking you’re a minority.”

Stop thinking, and keep listening to Rush. How easy can it get?

Conservative Quandary

2009-02-28T19:39:00.002-05:00

This is from an article in Friday’s Washington Post.

Court Rejects Obama Bid to Stop Wiretapping Suit

The Obama administration has lost its argument that a potential threat to national security should stop a lawsuit challenging the government's warrantless wiretapping program.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday rejected the Justice Department's request for an emergency stay in a case involving a defunct Islamic charity.

Yet government lawyers signaled they would continue fighting to keep the information secret, setting up a new showdown between the courts and the White House over national security.
The Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, claimed national security would be compromised if a lawsuit brought by the Oregon chapter of the charity, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, was allowed to proceed.

Now, civil libertarians hope the case will become the first chance for a court to rule on whether the warrantless wiretapping program was legal or not. It cited the so-called state secrets privilege as a defense against the lawsuit.

"All we wanted was our day in court and it looks like we're finally going to get our day in court," said Al-Haramain's lawyer, Steven Goldberg. "This case is all about challenging an assertion of power by the executive branch which is extraordinary."

But hours after the appeals court made its decision, government lawyers filed new papers insisting they still did not have to turn over any sensitive information.

"The government respectfully requests that the court refrain from further actions to provide plaintiffs with access to classified information," said the filing, suggesting the Obama administration may appeal the matter again to keep the information secret and block the case from going forward.

The decision by the three-judge appeals panel is a setback for the new Obama administration as it adopts some of the same positions on national security and secrecy as the Bush administration.
Yet even as that review continues, the administration has invoked the privilege in several different cases, including the Al-Haramain matter.

The case began when the Bush administration accidentally turned over documents to Al-Haramain attorneys. Lawyers for the defunct charity said the papers showed illegal wiretapping by the National Security Agency.

The documents were returned to the government, which quickly locked them away, claiming they were state secrets that could threaten national security if released.

Lawyers for Al-Haramain argued that they needed the documents to prove the wiretapping.
A number of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, tried to sue the government over warrantless wiretapping but were denied standing because they could not show they were targeted.

Ann Brick, a lawyer for the ACLU of Northern California, said the court has now crafted a way to review the issue in which "national security isn't put at risk, but the rule of law can still be observed."

Well, well. What have we here? The “liberal” Obama Administration is challenged by the “activist” federal appeals court in the ongoing struggle between Fourth Amendment supporters and the Executive Branch of the US Government.

Like many of you, I’d be fascinated to learn what the conservative view is on this. Who are they for on this one? Will they defend the former “most liberal senator”, or do they support the “activist judges”?

I can’t wait to hear from them. So far all I hear are chirping crickets...

Maybe that’s because they've all been busy wetting their linen while jumping up and down and chanting to Rush Limbaugh as he spewed his bile, hot air, lies, contradictions and projection at the CPAC convention.

But that’s another post.

My Little Dream

2009-02-15T19:59:00.007-05:00

IF the US didn't have a hopelessly corrupt rogue government, I'd suggest these simple remedies to restore our country's honor, values and economy.

What needs to be done is a bi-partisan effort. I think the American people would go for it, if we just told them the facts for once. It would be worth it for the MSM to tell the truth for a change, if only to have a full blown media circus covering the comeuppance of those who deserve it. It's past time for impeachments and indictments. The Karmic wheel has got to turn on the slimy scoundrels before it turns even more on the rest of us.

First we need to fire and prosecute all the greedy thieving Wall Street swindlers who bankrupted our country. The taxpayers may as well have bought the banks, so we may also as well nationalize them. Obviously nobody could manage them any worse than those silk suited reptiles did.

Then we need to make examples of the politicians who screwed everything up.

The Republicans can impeach Pelosi, Hoyer, Harmon, Nelson, Reid, and Rockefeller for aiding and abetting torture and illegal wiretaps. I bet they'd like that.

Let's even allow that to proceed first, in the spirit of bipartisanship. After that gets under way, we'll have Obama's Department of Justice live up to its name and indict Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Gonzales, etc. for torture, war crimes, and illegal surveillance.

That's my little dream of justice for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Reich Wing American

2009-02-12T21:53:00.003-05:00

I have often used certain words or phrases that are not found in corporate media. Many of you do so as well, and I’m not speaking of obscenities. There is accepted meaning and usage of words that have yet to appear in a dictionary.

One example we use out here in the free speech zone is the word “corporatism”. We all know what it is. It is the nexus of Big Money and government. Anyone paying a lick of attention these days is well aware that our government has been co-opted into a government of, by, and for the corporations.

There are also dozens of descriptive and/or derogatory words used by political bloggers and activists to label the persons of the opposite political persuasion. Here’s a shout out to all you wing-nuts and lefty wackos out there. For some reason or another, liberal and conservative don’t seem to convey the intended impact anymore.

I have no problem with little old church ladies, or reserved, incurious, old gentlemen who like to think of themselves as conservatives. Especially if they look at others who are different or foreign and simply shrug, “It takes all kinds, but that’s not for me.” We all have relatives like that.

However, there are some others who also identify themselves as conservatives, and they are not a bit like our meek unassuming relatives. They are so far to the right they would be in the SS and Gestapo if they were in Nazi Germany. I’m not talking about Republicans, although these angry bigots, sociopaths, and racists would never vote for a Democrat. These are the idiots who like to say they love America, but would be willing to kill fellow citizens who disagree with them.

They are arrogant and fanatical true believers in their own self-righteousness. They disdain the very notion of equality because, in their mind, they are truly superior to others. I have been using my own term for these hateful, ignorant, intolerant authoritarians. I call them Reich Wingers.

We’ve seen them all over. They are the Klansmen who lynched black men and their supporters.

They are the cops clubbing union members in a picket line, or spraying tear gas into the faces of peaceful protesters.

They are the bullies who would, without provocation, beat or murder gay men who just happen to be in the area.

They are the thugs who would harass and assault Hippies for simply minding their own business.

You get the idea

Yes, and I would also add to that list any corporatist authoritarians who would lie and deceive a nation into a war for their own re-election, power and profit.

Speaking of Bush and Cheney, remember their little “legacy tour” between Election Day and Inauguration Day? They were frantically attempting to get in the last word about what a glorious success their leadership had been.

My favorite part was the repetition of their favorite lie; that they kept us safe. Right. We’re not counting, of course, the attacks of September 11th. Remember the corporate TV networks showing them crowing about there being no further terrorist attacks on the “homeland”?

Maybe we’re not supposed to remember the anthrax murders and accompanying terror. Or is it a rule that only Islamic extremists are qualified to be terrorists? Or, maybe it has something to do with the fact that the intended targets of the anthrax were Democrats and media figures. It seems it’s not terrorism if it’s directed at liberals.

“That’s crazy talk,” I can hear some of you saying. Well, let’s have a look at another case.

Last Monday Jim David Adkisson was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder he committed in a church in Tennessee. He also wounded six others at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville.

Why did he do it? Was he a schizophrenic hearing voices in his head telling him to kill witches and demons?

No, he gunned down innocent people because he thought they were liberals.

He is not insane, at least by legal definition. And the voices he was influenced by were those of fellow conservative hate mongers. Police found books and material in his home by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and Bill O’Reilly.

We have a clear picture of how and what these Reich Wing nuts think. Adkisson released a sort of suicide note he’d written before his rampage. After complaining about not getting a good job, he explained his violent hateful act as a political expression. We see him refer to the book about 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America by Bernard Goldberg. Here are some excerpts from his “manifesto”.

“Lately I’ve been feeling helpless in our war on terrorism. But I realized I could engage the terrorists’ allies here in America. The best allies they’ve got. The Democrats! The democrats have done everything they can do to tie our hands in this War on Terror. They’re all a bunch of traitors. They want America to loose this war for reasons I can not understand. It makes me soooo mad!”

Why is that, you may wonder. He tells us:

“The worst problem America faces today is Liberalism...Liberals have attacked every major institution that made America great. From the Boy Scouts to the Military, from education to Religion. The major news outlets have become the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party. Liberals are evil, they embrace the tenets of Karl Marx, they’re Marxist, socialist, communists.”

Wherever would an American get such enlightenment? Or would that just be Reich Wing “entertainment”? Hitler would have loved this guy.

He devoted one page to his venomous diatribe against the “Ultra-Liberal” Unitarians.

Just to be clear, he gives us three points on the page titled, “Know This If Nothing Else”.

"1. This was a hate Crime:
I hate the damn left-wing liberals. There is a vast left-wing conspiracy in this country and these liberals are working together to attack every decent and honorable institution in the nation, trying to turn this country into a communist state. Shame on them.

2. This was a Political Protest:
I’m protesting the liberal Supreme Court Justices for giving the terrorists at GITMO constitutional rights. I’m protesting the major news outlets ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, for being the propaganda wing of the Democrat Party. It’s criminal what they’re getting away with. They’re traitors! They must be stopped. I’m protesting the DNC for running such a radical leftist candidate. Osama Hussein Obama, yo mama. No experience, no brains, a joke. Dangerous to America. Hell he looks like Curious George!

3. This was a Symbolic Killing:
Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in the Senate and House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg’s book. I’d like to kill everyone in the main stream media. But I know these people were inaccesible to me. I couldn’t get to the generals and high ranking officers in the Marxist movement so I went after the foot soldiers, the chickenshit liberals that vote in these traitorous people. Someone had to get the ball rolling. I volunteered. I hope others do the same. It’s the only way we can rid America of this cancerous pestilence!"

He thoughtfully wraps things up in the last page, “In Conclusion”.

“No one gets out of this world alive so I’ve chosen to skip the bad years of poverty. I know my life is going downhill fast from here. The future looks bleak. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I’m absolutely fed up.

So I thought I’d do something good for the country. Kill Democrats til the cops kill me...Liberals are a pest like termites. Millions of them. Each little bite contributes to the downfall of this great nation. The only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is kill them in the streets. Kill them where they gather. I’d like to encourage other like minded people to do what I’ve done.”

At least he won’t be skipping those last bad years of poverty, in prison. And to top it off he’s unrepentant. Fellow inmate Matthew David Chamberlain said Adkisson insisted that the motive behind the attack was purely ideological.

“He said if he got out (of prison), he’d do it again,” Chamberlain said.

So, there you have it. In his mind he’s a good Christian American patriot.

Adkisson is certainly they type I would label a Reich Winger. And he’s something more, too. We all know what this hateful sociopath is. So why do you suppose the corporate media will not call Adkisson a domestic terrorist?

Capitalism Conundrum

2009-02-07T17:28:00.003-05:00

Daisy asked me to comment at her post on Gordon Gekko Capitalism. (Thanks so much for your kind invitation, Daisy.) Instead of my usual smart-ass comment, I left something that could be an extension of my previous Freedom Rants post.

What's wrong with Capitalism? What's right about it? Is it better than Socialism or Communism?

This area of socio-economics has so many shades of gray amid the shadows and glare; we can hardly have a balanced view of it.

To begin with, the meanings of the words, Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism may have morphed so much by this day and age that they are impossible to debate without an agreement on the definition of such terms.

There are many governments and societies that likely have elements of all three systems. Those Chinese sure are getting the hang of Capitalism, aren’t they?

That's confusing enough. The real problem is the system now in place has dwarfed all of them. And I can't even find the word "corporatism" in the dictionary.

This will sound simplistic, but the foundation needed for any fair and just system is democracy. We may have had a little bit of that at one time or another in the US, but not anymore. The anti-democratic forces have gained power.

Communism, as developed by the Soviets, Chinese, etc., is not the only nemesis of democracy. Unregulated Capitalism, or corporatism, is now showing us what can go wrong.

Capitalism can mean anything from the kid's lemonade stand on the corner to hedge fund managing. It seems like the very act of defining it also limits it.

What has become clear, though, is democracy in the US has been usurped by corporatism. Corporatism may be the most lethal enemy of democracy yet. Its tentacles are so entwined into our government; I can't even see how to extricate them within our current system. A good start may be public financed elections and reversal of media conglomeration.

The only hope I see is to somehow educate the masses into realizing the need to reclaim democracy. We need a government of, by, and for the people, and that would include, by definition, more Socialism.

You know, if we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we would also have the right to the health care needed to achieve it.

Anyway, it’s not all about anti-capitalism. It’s more about promoting a more democratic Socialism along with regulated Capitalism.

Just Imagine

2009-02-05T18:02:00.004-05:00

It's past time to scream at the ill-informed American public that Socialism is their best hope.

Republican conservatism, henceforth called Corporatism, does nothing to put food on hungry jobless Americans' tables. It does nothing to provide health care to those without insurance.

Since all I have as a national platform is my little blog, (and I thank you, my dear loyal readers. All twelve of you) I will have to share my Lottery Fantasy Social Movement Platform here at Freedom Rants.

I always thought if the wealthy elite really loved America, they would pay their taxes and shut up. I am so sick of whiney-assed, greedy, rich jerks crying about not having more money.

So, what would I do if I were one of the super rich?

Just imagine what could be accomplished if someone with a heart had the money Rush Limbaugh has. His latest Contract on America is about 400 million bucks.

I have some ideas that could come in handy to launch Operation American Freedom.

Wouldn’t it be fun to buy up radio stations and broadcast Air America into the Red South and West? We could hire Southerners to talk to their people about Wall Street Republicans treating them as slave labor.

How about funding the campaigns of non-corporatist Democratic opponents of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi? Maybe we could put up some billboards in California and Nevada with pictures of Harry and Nancy next to Bush/Cheney and say, “Let’s impeach the war crimes appeasers".

I would also put billboards on every highway stating these points.

WAKE UP AMERICA! DEMOCRACY: USE IT OR LOSE IT!

1. Corporatism Failed You!

2. With regulated Capitalism, Socialism is the sane alternative.

3. Socialism is NOT Communism.

Then I’d print up a few million bumper stickers with these slogans to pass out free at demonstrations, concerts, and other gatherings.

I think I would also donate money to replace all touch screen voting machines in Democratic –leaning precincts with accurate paper trail ballots.

How about funding some urban youth recreation centers with messages on the walls reading, “Republicans Hate You”, “Don’t Let Them Play You For Chumps”, and “Take Your Future Back”.

I would give NORML and the ACLU a couple million dollars each.

I would buy air time in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan and apologize in the name of our people for the crimes our government committed against them. And I would denounce both Bush and bin-Laden as terrorists.

I could probably think of a few more things to do if I had the money, but by this time I’d likely be taken out by some Reich Winger or government spook.

The George W. Bush Freedom Institute

2009-01-31T14:43:00.004-05:00

Now that everyone is fixated on Obama, I'd like to take a nostalgic look back on a forward looking view of our former president.

Since old habits die hard, we just KNOW he's gotta be spreadin' freedom and democracy.

So, what the heck is our hero up to now that he's no longer the decider? He's not talking to the press very much these days, so I dug up an old post about his retirement plans.

***

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

The George W. Bush Freedom Institute

As Congress returns from vacation to resume its duties of subservient ineptitude, there is nothing like a new book about our Fearless Leader and Decider to cheer us up. You just know there would be a few nuggets of truth revealed that would embarrass the administration. Journalist Robert Draper interviewed Rove, Cheney, Laura Bush, and many senior White House and administration officials. He was even granted six interviews with Bush.

In "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush," Draper writes that Karl Rove told his boss that he knew nothing about CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson. This was after Rove and others leaked her identity. An indignant George even told us he would investigate and “take care” of the leaker. Draper writes, "When Bush learned otherwise, he hit the roof." Amazing. They even lie to each other.

We also learn what Bush is planning on doing after he leaves office. It’s uplifting to know that, besides his wish to "replenish the ol' coffers" by giving paid speeches, he wants to build a “Freedom Institute.” Yup, that should do quite nicely to reflect his glorious legacy. A grateful nation (or shall I say planet?) will be blessed with the George W. Bush Freedom Institute.

I can picture it all now. We approach the magnificent structure, perched like a shining city on a hill. We tingle in anticipation of beholding the many gifts of the eight-year George W. Bush Presidency. Out in front is the beautiful Fountain of Conservative Justices, reminding us that democracy needn’t be all about having more votes than the other guy.

As we first solemnly pass through the Twin Portals of Shock and Awe, we are almost overcome by our own insignificance. Then we move into the foyer where we wipe the mud from our shoes into the Bill of Rights Doormat. We check our coats at the Closet of Conservative Compassion. Be sure to notice the sign saying, “Not responsible for lost or stolen liberties.”

Fittingly, we then climb to greater heights on the Staircase of Stolen Elections. We now enter the Corridors of Unchecked Power.

As we pass through the Photo Op Gallery we see the Mission Accomplished Flight Suit Display. Gosh, it still swells us with the power of pride.

Take a hard turn to the right and we peer down the long Hall of Surveillance, ending with the Wall of Secrecy.

Moving on, we find the Permanent War Pavilion, with its two seemingly endless wings. Enter the Operation Enduring Freedom Wing or the Operation Iraqi Freedom Wing. Either way, you’ll find nothing but the fruits of freedom. Don’t get lost or mired on the way, we need to advance past the Office of Unaccountability to the largest room in the building. We gasp in astonishment as we gaze at the cavernous Library of Lies.

I’m sure by now we have gained quite an appetite, so we head over to the Cooked Intelligence Café for a taste of whatever they want to feed us.

Our tour now takes us past the Scooter Libby Monument to Obstructed Justice, and down into the lower levels.

Be careful not to fall into the Al Gonzales Memory Hole as we approach the Cheney Bunker of Undisclosed Locations. Unfortunately we are locked out of this exhibit.As we venture deeper into the darkest recesses, we see that the Saddam Hussein Torture Chamber is closed, too.

And since we’ve just eaten, maybe we will forego the Dungeon Diorama of Alternative Interrogation Techniques. Oh, well. It’s better left a secret. We don’t want to embolden the enemy, do we?

Not to worry, the Abu Ghraib and Gitmo Welcome Centers are still accepting visitors. And if you’re curious, the Texas Execution Chamber is always busy.

As we prepare to leave the George W. Bush Freedom Institute, some of you may want to stop and browse at the Millionaire Donors’ Tax Free Gift Shop. Maybe you can pick up a couple souvenirs for your friends. Don’t worry if you don’t see any price tags on the gift items. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T17:25:00.006-05:00

This Inauguration Day is the closest thing to an international holiday I’ve ever seen. Once again the world cheers with us instead of against us.

It is difficult not to feel hopeful today. I have said I distrust the Democrats as much as I despise the Republicans, so it’s a relief for me to return to my former skeptical self.

The fear and loathing have once again subsided to a tolerable level because...

HE’S GONE!

At long last Bush is gone from the White House. His iron fist will no longer clench the levers of power in our government. If only we could see the ruinous effects of his misrule disappear like his last helicopter flight over the Washington DC horizon. I admit to feeling the urge to sing along with the massive crowd as they sent the arrogant decider off with rousing choruses of “Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye”.

Yes he’s gone, but as Shakespeare wrote, “the evil that men do lives after them.” If, and I’ve seen no bigger if, he is a good man, then his good intentions did more to pave our nation’s road to hell than a million enemies could have done in a hundred years.

We have entered the final American era of hope. If we can’t get it right this time, I fear it will be too late to ever shackle the inner beast of extremism in American government. The radical right wingers and their Neocon cabal have had their chance to prove themselves as the utter failures we predicted they would be.

I hope the corporate media will finally stop giving them the credibility to further pontificate their failed ideology.

We all hope Obama can stop the destruction that continues from the Bush Doctrine. We hope Obama can reverse the cruel policies of Bush/Cheney.

I hope I live to see justice return to the Department of Justice. I hope to never again hear how only Right Thinking Americans can get a job there.

I hope perpetrators of war crimes like torture, rendition, and violations of Habeas Corpus are punished.

I hope that those who committed treasonous acts of deception to provoke war are brought to justice.

I hope to never again hear the corporate media give voice to the Reich Wing ideologues spouting their hateful crap about “real Americans”.

I hope the gutless Democratic Party has a new leader who will do the right thing, instead of their usual capitulation to the radical right’s agenda.

I hope to see truly patriotic Republicans respect the Constitution enough to cooperate with the new administration’s efforts at investigating past crimes by the Bush Administration.

I hope Americans can unite for truth and justice.

I hope the Bill of Rights will be taught in every school.

I hope Fox News goes bankrupt.

I hope Obama has the sense to not escalate the war in Afghanistan.

I hope Obama keeps his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.I hope he really means what he said in today’s Inaugural Address:

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's knowledge will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”

And I hope these words are not as empty as those about someone being a “compassionate conservative”:

“Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.

But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.”

Wow! When’s the last time you heard a president even mention the common good? Next came the other words I have been longing to hear from a president:

“As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And above all I hope Mr. Obama’s efforts will match his rhetoric in these lofty words:

“And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.

With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.”

And finally, I couldn’t help thinking this message could have been appropriate for both the Islamist terrorist extremists and the authoritarian extremists here in the US:

“And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, ‘Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you’.”

The bottom line for me is I thought this was a great day for the United States of America. And with it being a Tuesday and all, I did what the country finally figuratively got around to.

I took out the garbage.

Notes On 2008

2008-12-31T17:39:00.005-05:00

What a long strange year it’s been!

Was it only a year ago the liberal New York Times hired Bill (the-always-wrong-Neocon) Kristol? They always did like doing their share of shilling for Bush/Cheney. Ask Judith Miller about WMD’s. Or ask them about how wonderful the Israeli government treats Palestinians, or about how evil Iran is. And while you're at it, ask why it took them a year to report Bush’s illegal NSA surveillance program.

Remember last January when the Mukasey Justice Department decided to investigate the destruction of the CIA’s interrogation tapes, otherwise known as the famous “torture tapes”? Americans can rest assured that the evidence of crimes was successfully swept away as if the torture never happened. And besides, it was so important to protect the identities of the interrogators. After all, they were “just following orders”; proving the Nuremburg defense is valid as long as it’s in the interests of the US government and the Bush Administration. Like their “investigation” into the legality of waterboarding, justice was successfully obstructed.

There was a little known victory for freedom early this year. Simple civil disobedience and merely reading the wrong words could have been labeled as radicalization and terrorism under Democratic Representative Jane Harmon’s Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act.

Along with its failure to impeach Bush Administration criminals, the House of Representatives will never atone for this shame and dishonor to our Bill of Rights. The “Thought Police Bill” overwhelmingly passed through the House by a 404 to 6 vote, and was sent to the Senate. Thanks to a flood of complaints from everyone from the ACLU to the John Birch Society this fascist amendment to the Patriot Act was allowed to wither and die.

Then Big Brother comes up with these demonstrations of one step forward, two, or three, or more steps back: First of all, with the National Applications Office, Big Brother wants to watch us from the sky.

From The Raw Story:

DHS satellite spy program going forward despite objections
10/02/2008

'Ridiculous' to think program doesn't violate Posse Comitatus, ACLU lobbyist tells Raw
The Department of Homeland Security has been given the money it needs to begin turning international spy satellites within the country's borders, despite lingering fears about the program's lack of focus and the potential for it to infringe upon Americans' civil liberties. After more than a year of delay, Congress quietly authorized DHS to begin sharing data gathered by military satellites with civilian and law enforcement agencies. A $634 billion spending bill signed into law earlier this week provides funds for DHS to establish the satellite surveillance program, known as the National Applications Office, without addressing the myriad concerns about NAO privacy and civil liberties protections that had been delaying its implementation.

And then there’s the unsettling issue of biometric surveillance.

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia (CNN) -- The FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people's physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists.

But it's an issue that raises major privacy concerns -- what one civil liberties expert says should concern all Americans.

The bureau is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create the database that will compile an array of biometric information -- from palm prints to eye scans.

Kimberly Del Greco, the FBI's Biometric Services section chief, said adding to the database is "important to protect the borders to keep the terrorists out, protect our citizens, our neighbors, our children so they can have good jobs, and have a safe country to live in."
But it's unnerving to privacy experts.

"It's the beginning of the surveillance society where you can be tracked anywhere, any time and all your movements, and eventually all your activities will be tracked and noted and correlated," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Technology and Liberty Project. ...

Remember what we learned from a patriotic retired technician at AT&T?

"Wiretap Whistle-Blower's Account
04.07.06 wired.com

Former AT&T technician Mark Klein has come forward to support the EFF's lawsuit against AT&T for its alleged complicity in the NSA's electronic surveillance. Wired News publishes Klein's public statement.

Statement From Mark Klein

My background:

For 22 and 1/2 years I worked as an AT&T technician, first in New York and then in California.

What I observed first-hand:

In 2002, when I was working in an AT&T office in San Francisco, the site manager told me to expect a visit from a National Security Agency agent, who was to interview a management-level technician for a special job. The agent came, and by chance I met him and directed him to the appropriate people.

In January 2003, I, along with others, toured the AT&T central office on Folsom Street in San Francisco -- actually three floors of an SBC building. There I saw a new room being built adjacent to the 4ESS switch room where the public's phone calls are routed. I learned that the person whom the NSA interviewed for the secret job was the person working to install equipment in this room. The regular technician work force was not allowed in the room.

In October 2003, the company transferred me to the San Francisco building to oversee the Worldnet Internet room, which included large routers, racks of modems for customers' dial-in services, and other equipment. I was responsible for troubleshooting problems on the fiber optic circuits and installing new circuits.

While doing my job, I learned that fiber optic cables from the secret room were tapping into the Worldnet circuits by splitting off a portion of the light signal. I saw this in a design document available to me, entitled "Study Group 3, LGX/Splitter Wiring, San Francisco" dated Dec. 10, 2002. I also saw design documents dated Jan. 13, 2004 and Jan. 24, 2003, which instructed technicians on connecting some of the already in-service circuits to the "splitter" cabinet, which diverts some of the light signal to the secret room. The circuits listed were the Peering Links, which connect Worldnet with other networks and hence the whole country, as well as the rest of the world...

And not last and not the least, we have to thank Bush and his Democratic Party friends for the new FISA Amendment. In June Obama proved he could be a good corporate guy and allow retroactive immunity for the telecoms who helped the Bush Administration spy on us. Feingold and Dobbs wanted to filibuster the amendment, showing us how only a few of our politicians really care about our Bill of Rights.

And this is only a segment of the US Government’s war on civil liberties. We will stay tuned.

Then there are the other noble wars. In March the number of US troops killed in Iraq reached 4,000 with the deaths of four soldiers in southern Baghdad. That glorious surge was bloody, but we aren’t supposed to think about that part.

And our “victory” in Afghanistan got uglier as well. More soldiers were dying ,and even a greater number of civilians were being killed. I dread to think how Obama will step up this cataclysm.

We also saw further confirmation of the machinations of the Military/Industrial/Media Complex. In April the New York Times reported on the cozy relationship between the media and its military "analysts".

"To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.
The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air."

There's more proof that certain connected folks can gain huge profits from the "good wars" they get from their war mongering.

And remember in August how exciting it was when Johnny McBomb Bomb said we are "all Georgians"? That was before Americans learned that the war was started by his Georgian buddy, and foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann’s lobby business client, President Saakashvili. That would make Georgians all Americans, right?

And who can forget the lessons of September 2008? Americans finally see the rewards of the Republican dogma of deregulation. The economic story is only beginning to unfold. Next year will offer a better perspective on the fall of the Great House of Cards.

Yes, it’s been a fascinating year. What else happened?

Oh, yeah, there was an election.

Another Forward

2008-12-18T12:07:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's time again for another feel-good/liberal-hating/right-wing forward. And you all know how much I love those little misguided, Fox addled, authoritarian brain farts.

Here's today's pea-brain patriot's piffle.

Subject: FW: A Marine!

A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the courses had a professor who was a vowed atheist and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes." The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am God. I'm still waiting."

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, "What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied, "God was too busy today protecting America's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an asshole. So, He sent me."

THIS IS GOOD, KEEP IT GOING.

Amen
***

Then God told me to send this to the other fortunate recipients of the Marine story.

And in other news headlines:

Disturbed Veteran Assaults College Professor: Two More Victims Of Bush's War of Error

After his arrest, the Marine with undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder claimed he heard the voice of God telling him to attack the professor.

The Bush Administration is pressing the VA to reduce the number of PTSD cases by reclassifying the problem as "adjustment disorder", and thus providing the vets with less treatment and benefits.

After a forensic psychiatric examination, the ACLU offered to represent the Marine's case in court, free of charge.

The Marine later apologized to the understanding professor and said, "Thank God someone is there to protect the troops".

Three Years Ago

2008-12-17T22:30:00.005-05:00

"This shocking revelation ought to send a chill down the spine of every American." - Senator Russell Feingold, December 17, 2005

A little flashback to three years ago. "Only" three years ago, when there was still plenty of time for impeachment. (Thanks, Nancy, how can we ever repay you?)

The New York Times was letting it slip out. It turns out they were still in the Bush Administration's pocket. Yes, even then, three years after their sycophantic WMD propaganda scare, the ever so "liberal" New York Times was still suckling at the teat of the Beast by withholding the story for an entire year. How patriotic of our corporate Ministry of Truth.

This time it was about the Bush Cartel's secret warrantless spying on Americans.

We crazy lefties, and other Bill of Rights enthusiasts, were scorned and ridiculed for screaming about these crimes for years.

Remember this story? Outrages and lies highlighted.

***

Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say

By JAMES RISENand ERIC LICHTBLAU

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.

The previously undisclosed decision to permit some eavesdropping inside the country without court approval represents a major shift in American intelligence-gathering practices, particularly for the National Security Agency, whose mission is to spy on communications abroad. As a result, some officials familiar with the continuing operation have questioned whether the surveillance has stretched, if not crossed, constitutional limits on legal searches.

"This is really a sea change," said a former senior official who specializes in national security law. "It's almost a mainstay of this country that the N.S.A. only does foreign searches."

Nearly a dozen current and former officials, who were granted anonymity because of the classified nature of the program, discussed it with reporters for The New York Times because of their concerns about the operation's legality and oversight.

According to those officials and others, reservations about aspects of the program have also been expressed by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the West Virginia Democrat who is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a judge presiding over a secret court that oversees intelligence matters. Some of the questions about the agency's new powers led the administration to temporarily suspend the operation last year and impose more restrictions, the officials said.

The Bush administration views the operation as necessary so that the agency can move quickly to monitor communications that may disclose threats to this country, the officials said. Defenders of the program say it has been a critical tool in helping disrupt terrorist plots and prevent attacks inside the United States.

Administration officials are confident that existing safeguards are sufficient to protect the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, the officials say. In some cases, they said, the Justice Department eventually seeks warrants if it wants to expand the eavesdropping to include communications confined within the United States. The officials said the administration had briefed Congressional leaders about the program and notified the judge in charge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the secret Washington court that deals with national security issues.

The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted.

While many details about the program remain secret, officials familiar with it said the N.S.A. eavesdropped without warrants on up to 500 people in the United States at any given time. The list changes as some names are added and others dropped, so the number monitored in this country may have reached into the thousands over the past three years, several officials said. Overseas, about 5,000 to 7,000 people suspected of terrorist ties are monitored at one time, according to those officials.

Several officials said the eavesdropping program had helped uncover a plot by Iyman Faris, an Ohio trucker and naturalized citizen who pleaded guilty in 2003 to supporting Al Qaeda by planning to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge with blowtorches. Continued...

***

And three years ago we were blessed with this beautiful voice of sanity. I really, really miss this woman.

***

They Wouldn't Lie to Us, Would They?
by Molly Ivins December 17, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas - As one on the liberal side of the chorus of moaners about the decline of civility in politics, I feel a certain responsibility when earnest, spaniel-eyed conservatives like David Brooks peer at us hopefully and say, "Well, yes, there was certainly a lot of misinformation about WMD before the war in Iraq, but ... you don't think they, he, actually lied do you?"

Draw I deep the breath of patience. I factor in the long and awful history of politics and truth, add the immutable nature of pols — fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly — and compare Tonkin Gulf, Watergate and Iran-Contra with the piddly Curveball and Niger uranium. I prepare to respond like a reasonable person — "Of course not actually lie, per se, in the strict sense" — and then I listen to another speech about Iraq by either the president or the vice president and find myself screaming, "Dammit, when will they quit lying?"

Civility is fine. On the other hand, sanity has its claims, as well.

I have been listening with great attention to the series of speeches President Bush has lately given on his newly revealed "Plan for Victory." Of course I was pleased to learn we have a plan for a victory, which consists, it turns out, of announcing: "We cannot and will not leave Iraq until victory is achieved. ... We will settle for nothing less than complete victory."

Unfortunately, the White House claims it produced this once supposedly secret plan in 2003, when it is actually a public-relations paper written less than six months ago, which is pretty much the way things go credibility-wise these days. It has long been clear that this administration thinks it can spin reality to a blue-bellied fare-thee-well, but isn't it a tad late for this?

Of course, it's an awkward time to be a doom-and-gloomer, too. Who wants to remind everyone this isn't working just when all those brave Iraqis just risked their lives to vote again?

Democracy is a grand thing. Unfortunately, a vote has never yet created an operative military brigade.

Bush claimed in his Naval Academy speech that 80 Iraqi army and police battalions are fighting alongside American units, while another 40 are taking the lead in fighting. But last summer, military leaders told Congress that three of the 115 Iraqi battalions are capable of fighting without U.S. help, and in October Gen. George Casey, the American commander in Iraq, lowered that to one.

Of course all Texans are raised on the "Never retreat, never surrender" model, but it does ring just a little hollow when the administration's own plans for a draw-down of troops are dominating the news.

So as not to completely abandon my colleagues still yearning for civility, I point out that Bush and even Cheney are making progress. For one thing, they now acknowledge reconstruction is not going entirely smoothly, a refreshing degree of candor.

Also, Bush now acknowledges we are fighting more than just terrorists. In fact, most of the people we're fighting are themselves Iraqis who don't like us being there. The fact that their government has asked us to leave is still politely passed over. This has already cost us $277 billion, with at least another $100 billion to come.

It does seem a little silly, though, to call for "complete victory" without acknowledging that the war itself is not going well. The number of attacks on American and Iraqi troops per day grows steadily worse. Rep. Jack Murtha, who is very close to the military, says insurgent incidents over the past year have increased from 150 per week to over 700 per week.

Bush's claims on reconstruction are likewise mind-boggling. It's not "fits and starts" — there are rampant overcharges, corruption, lack of oversight — it is a zoo. At least $8 billion the United States provided Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority is unaccounted for, and Halliburton alone has already been accused of $1.4 billion in unreasonable and unsupported charges.

One night in mid-September, George W. stood in New Orleans' Jackson Square, with the floodlit facade of St. Louis Cathedral in the background. He promised help for housing, education and job training: "The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. ... And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives."
Hey, you know, another mission accomplished.
***

Wars, Winners and Losers

2008-12-13T18:13:00.002-05:00

Back in the 90’s a friend and I used to contemplate the War on Drugs. In order to keep our jobs, we would need to submit to random drug testing. We noted how the War on Drugs was always a good excuse by the right wingers to frighten the public into accepting new laws that were designed to undermine their privacy, civil liberties and Constitutional rights.

Any resistance by a liberal or moderate person to the new police state tactics was always met with the old “soft on crime” accusation. Anyone else see a familiar pattern here?

I would point out that the War on Drugs would be a dress rehearsal for the coming War on Terror. A lot of people listening to our conversations would quickly dismiss us as the paranoid lunatic fringe for thinking such foolishness.

This was not to be the last time that I really wished I was wrong.

As history teaches those of us who pay attention, we can see how both the War on Terror and the War on Drugs operate by similar methods with similar results.

Both are over-reaching militarized operations against problems best addressed by other strategies and tactics.

The War on Drugs is militarized law enforcement used as a tool to address what is best described a medical and public health issue. Drug users are generally non-violent citizens. The War on Drugs exacerbates the damage of drugs and destruction of life.

The War on Terror is an over militarized reaction to what can be best dealt with as a law enforcement problem. Terrorists are criminals. The War on Terror exacerbates the death and destruction from terrorists.

But, since we do not have publicly financed elections, Congress and the Executive Branch owe their souls to the big money boys of the corporate military/industrial complex. They wield the metaphorical hammer. And they see every problem as a nail to be fixed by their only tool.

The public’s perception of these problems is formed by the corporate media. The media love to sensationalize crime and terror. They also love their cozy access to political power and corporate advertisers. Truth and fairness always take a back seat to these interests.

This is why the War on Drugs and the War on Terror are, by nature, endless. So why do we fight endless wars we know we cannot win?

Because someone does win. And it’s not the public. We pour our tax dollars into the black holes of secret police and military budgets. And for all the financial cost and loss of civil liberties, we are promised safety and law and order that we will never see.

The winners in the War on Terror are the war profiteers like Halliburton, KBR, and Blackwater. Armament industries and weapon and ammo manufacturers are doing quite well. Other winners are the terrorists themselves. Bin Laden and al-Qaeda gained more recruits and funds after Bush’s invasions than they ever could have before.

The winners in the War on Drugs are the pharmaceutical, tobacco and liquor corporations. You know, the partnership for a drug-free America crowd. The drug testing, surveillance, and corporate prison industries are also quite happy profiting from the misery of others.

Billions of dollars of Drug War loot are being sucked up by corrupt cops and violent drug dealers. They love the War on Drugs.

The losers are the same in both wars. The taxpayers are duped by politicians and the corporate media. We are throwing more and more money at a problem that will never be fixed by the institutions that profit from the status quo.

And the real victims of the two wars are those innocents caught in the crossfire by the opposing sides. All the cruel and senseless bloodshed could be eliminated by ending the cruel and senseless policies.

The story is getting old, but hope is out there.

Americans are beginning to wake up to the Drug War con. So far, thirteen states have voted to allow medicinal marijuana use. This is good news. It shows that we the people still have some power over the political and corporate interests.

The established power brokers will always resist progress, so the people must always continue to press their struggle for justice and fairness.

American democracy depends on the activism and participation of the common folk of this country. This is why the Reich Wingers are always working to suppress the voters in any way they can.

They will probably renew their efforts more than ever because they are already at war with the Obama Administration. We can look forward to increased dirty tactics from the racists, war mongers, Bible thumpers, mercenaries, and corporatists from the far Right.

If the Clinton era was the breeding ground of the Fox/Limbaugh reactionary right wing media, we can expect a similar outpouring of artificially whipped up rage from the same actors to disrupt and derail any initiatives from Democrats.

We need to push for the enlightenment of the public by illuminating the realities of the failed right wing policies. Our counter-propaganda efforts need to be as unrelenting as their false propaganda has been through the years.

The renewed propaganda surge is already here. I once again received one of those conservative viral e-mails. I’ll show you the message and my response.

***

I HAVE TO PASS A URINE TEST FOR MY JOB... SO I AGREE 100%. Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem.

What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their BUTT, doing drugs, while I work. ... . Can you imagine how much money the state and country would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? Pass this along if you agree or simply delete if you don't. Hope you all will pass it along, though. ... Something has to change in this country -- and soon.

------

Urine tests are unjust because the war on drugs is a wrongheaded failure. It is stupid to impose hardship on anyone for victimless crimes. Rush Limbaugh and Cindy McCain didn’t have to lose their privileged positions and income for their drug addiction. Why should the poor and working class be held to harsher standards?

Too many good employees lose jobs, not because of impaired work performance, but because of politically incorrect recreation on the weekend. Punishment solves nothing. If there is a real problem, treatment is the cheaper, more humane solution. All those anti- tax fiscal conservatives should understand the drug war is a huge waste of our tax dollars compared to a sane policy of treatment and rehab.

Substance abuse will never be solved as a Big Government law enforcement problem. It is a health issue and needs to be addressed as such.

Americans are brainwashed to be eager to give up rights to their privacy. The idiots who say “tap my phone, I’ve done nothing wrong” have just given totalitarians the right to dictate everything else over their lame asses.

Who are more dangerous to human life; dry-drunk, lying war mongers, or peaceful hippies minding their own business?

Right Wing Authoritarian personalities will never understand. They are so much better than everyone else, you know. They love seeing brown folks and other “inferior” people suffer. The drug war is their perfect tool to impose their intolerance on others.

There are many sane reasons to de-criminalize cannabis, or other drugs for that matter. If cannabis was used for textile, fuel, medicinal, and other applications, it could be taxed and actually help our economy recover.But, corporate/police state interests are against it. It is the profiteering by narrow interests that keep it illegal. The same kind of narrow interests are tearing our economy apart. You'd think someone would learn. But since the US corporate government is NEVER wrong...

***

We Americans still have the choice. We can take a reality-based look at the issues of drug use and terrorism. We can respond with a reasoned approach, free of the influence of those who would profit from ill-considered policies. We can choose health, life, progress and a better economy.

Or we can give the bloody terrorists, murderous drug cartels, and the cold-blooded nexus of corporate government all the money and power they could ever desire. We can choose to continue down the paths into failure, bankruptcy and the certainty of more loss of life. All we need to do is keep waging our wars on drugs and terror, and stay the course.

Let’s hope the new administration takes a sane look at the policies that do not work and have never worked. Saving our economy and our Bill of Rights is the kind of change we can all believe in.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-26T19:18:00.002-05:00

It’s that miserable time of the year. Right wingers are miserable because Obama will be president. Lefties are miserable over Bush being, for 54 more days, president of our once magnificent country. Never has so much utter failure and sheer disaster been dumped on an incoming president. The excitement of the election has subsided into a relatively moderate mix of anticipation and anxiety.

Thanksgiving is upon us with its own familiar and familial mix of anticipation and anxiety.

Corporate America is desperately hoping there’s enough consumer cash left in our pockets to give them a profitable shopping season. I wouldn’t want to be them right now.

The collapse of the unregulated greed-fueled economy has shifted everyone’s expectations for the coming year. Hopes for a happy and prosperous new year are deflating into a nervous desire for simple survival. We all have a sick stirring of dread in our collective gut about the remaining effects yet to be felt from the ruinous Bush Administration policies of pillage, plunder and scorched earth.

And so now in this setting Americans are expected to celebrate Thanksgiving. The only thankful soul I’ve seen so far, other than the Decider eagerly planning to “refill the old coffers” with his retirement speaking engagements, is the turkey pardoned by Sarah Palin. Yet, why do I think his pardon will not be honored?

Somehow I still have to feel a sense of thankfulness.

For one thing, I’m damn thankful I was not one of those early pilgrim settlers. They went though almost as much hell as they inflicted upon the native tribes. No, I wouldn’t care to trade places with them.

I’m also very thankful I’m not a “liberated” Iraqi. Those poor souls have suffered more than their share.

I guess that makes me thankful to be a citizen of the collapsing empire that has finally come to realize the consequences of unleashed corporatism and its over-extended projection of power.

If you’re the kind of person who can’t stand to be bored, you can be very thankful. We will not be bored witnessing the events of the coming years. I’ve come to understand how much I would be happy to simply be bored. I guess that’s some small insight I could be thankful about.

I am truly thankful for all the great bloggers out there for me to read. I am also thankful for the discerning and kind readers who may enjoy these little rants. We can be thankful we’re all in this together and are able to share our individual perspectives. It is good to know there are many others out there like us.

So let us be thankful for the simple things. We have home and hearth, family and friends, and food and drink.

Let’s enjoy our brief bubble of hope before the next administration takes the helm. At least we can be thankful that after January, we won’t be as disappointed, angry, and frustrated as we’ve been for the past eight years.

And finally, we can be thankful for not having to worry about having too much money anymore.

Our New Conservative Friend

2008-11-09T22:14:00.001-05:00

I saw an interesting survey while watching the Sunday pundits this morning. The USA Today/Gallup poll was gauging the public’s reaction to Barack Obama getting elected president last Tuesday. The poll found that 67% of the American people felt proud that Obama was elected. And 67% felt optimistic as well. Gee, maybe God DID bless America.

But, wait. You realists are probably wondering about the rest of the public.

It reported 30% said they are pessimistic. And 27% even said they were afraid. I think I can relate to someone being pessimistic. Been there, done that.

More troubling though, is how would all those poor souls become afraid? It’s not as if there were prominent Republican types accusing Obama of being some kind of secret, madras-schooled, Muslim radical. There couldn’t have been good, church-goin’, uninformed pageant divas out there saying he was pallin’ around with terrorists or nasty stuff like that, right? It has nothing to do with the fact that on the Thursday after the election, Rush Limbaugh used the words “Obama” and “fear” together about six times in the five minutes I heard him.

I don’t know. I give up. I don’t have a clue why good authoritarian Americans would be afraid.

I DO know that, according to our favorite conservative with a conscience, John Dean, 25% of our population are Right Wing Authoritarians. His book “Conservatives without Conscience” explains how Right Wing Authoritarian personalities are devoted to their leaders, no matter where they lead them. The RWA personalities remain loyal followers, regardless of facts or conditions that would suggest to everyone else that new leadership is required. RWA folks do not believe that all people are equal, and they would even think totalitarian rule would be a good idea. One other interesting point about RWA personalities is they all consider themselves conservatives.

Not all people who consider themselves conservative are RWA, but half of them are. And they are very vocal and active, which is why it is up to moderates and liberals to be constantly vigilant, and not allow them power over the rest of us.

It’s strangely amusing to think of these loud, militaristic bullies and tough guys being fearful. But, since they are told by their leadership to be afraid, then that’s just what they’ll be. They march lockstep all the way, whether to glory, or to trembling, sputtering confusion. How odd.

The Bush Administration is the greatest ascension of Right Wing Authoritarians in American government. We’ve had them around for many years, but this is their pinnacle. We see RWA personalities from Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Gonzales, down to Libby, DeLay, Abramoff, and Blackwater CEO Erik Prince. And yes, we can’t forget John McCain and Sarah Palin.

We learn from John Dean and Bob Altemeyer, Dean’s source on authoritarian personality research, RWA personalities are revealed by their own answers to questionnaires and surveys. They share a number of characteristics. The Right Wing Authoritarian leaders are social dominators and are typically men. They oppose equality, desire power, cheat to win, and take advantage of “suckers”. They are pitiless, vengeful, manipulative, dishonest, mean-spirited, militant, and nationalistic. Their Right Wing Authoritarian followers are men and women, submissive to authority, aggressive on behalf of authority, conventional, highly religious, mean-spirited, intolerant, narrow-minded, hypocritical, moralistic, dogmatic, and highly self-righteous.

I would add that they seem to share the psychological mechanism of projection. They accuse others of the wrongful or undesirable behavior they themselves act out. There are numerous examples, but one of my favorites is Sarah Palin accusing Obama of being a socialistic “re-distributer of wealth”, while forgetting she bragged about taking oil companies’ tax dollars and re-distributing them through checks mailed out to Alaskans.

This all brings me to share a “special comment” with you. I was going to respond in the comment thread, but I feel this individual is entitled to some of the attention he craves.

I’d like to thank our conservative reader for his thoughtful comment.

You insignificant coackroach! How can you speak of stealing an election when you just won! This anger and irreverant stupid thinking is what keeps you detestable liberals in the hole of dispair. How is it possible that only Republicans steal elections? No, no fraud or misappropriations by the Dems, right? Obama was clean as a whistle regardless of his Chicago politicking and all the shady associations. You better understand the facts as they are my little "roach". Do your homework before you speak. Look at he election maps. The majority of the country is red! You may not like it, but conservatives can actually vote across party lines at times and when they really have indifference for their chosen candidate they stay home. Remember this my little pest: 57,000,000,000 that is the number that voted against the O man. It is a very fine line indeed! You Libs own nothing. The Hill in nervous and for good reason. I see red in 2010!

I’ll try not to let the flattery of his opening sentence go to my head. As a humble gentleman of mature years, I understand my insignificance in the big picture. By reminding him of a cockroach, I wonder if I am being complimented as a tenacious survivor of a great human cataclysm; perhaps something on the scale of the Bush Regime’s wanton destruction of human lives and the Earth’s environment.

But enough about me. Let’s return to our conservative reader’s own words and give them their due consideration. He was kind enough to enlighten us with his clear thinking and his probing sense of history and current events.

Let’s assume this is a question. “How can you speak of stealing an election when you just won!”

We’ve had eight years to practice.

“This anger and irreverant stupid thinking is what keeps you detestable liberals in the hole of dispair.”

Funny, for some reason I don’t feel angry right now. How about all the rest of you liberals out there? Do you think he read those irreverent words at the top of the blog? So Mark Twain WAS a detestable liberal, after all. If only Obama COULD bring some kind of hope to the liberals’ hole of despair. My, how our bleeding hearts suffer so pitifully.

How is it possible that only Republicans steal elections? No, no fraud or misappropriations by the Dems, right?

Good questions. How on Earth can this be possible? Republicans would never steal an election. They couldn’t purge voter registration rolls of thousands of eligible voters in Florida before the 2000 election, right? They wouldn’t crush the will of the majority of American voters by stopping the ballot re-count, would they?

Wasn’t it back in 2003 when Wally O’Dell, the CEO of Diebold, said he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year”? It’s not like there was complete Republican control over those electronic voting machines, right? There couldn’t have been any tampering with those easily hacked and altered voting machines. Ohio Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell had no conflict of interest running the election, did he? He knew they didn’t need no stinking paper trail.

SO WHAT if one of the machines counted more votes for Bush than the actual number of voters?

“Obama was clean as a whistle regardless of his Chicago politicking and all the shady associations.”

If you say so.

“You better understand the facts as they are my little "roach". Do your homework before you speak. Look at he election maps. The majority of the country is red!”

Wow! Look at all the red on that map! You got me there, pal. If all those red acres of land had only voted for McCain, things would be different.

“You may not like it, but conservatives can actually vote across party lines at times and when they really have indifference for their chosen candidate they stay home.”

And this is why I dearly love thoughtful intelligent conservatives.

“Remember this my little pest: 57,000,000,000 that is the number that voted against the O man. It is a very fine line indeed!”

Fifty-seven billion, eh? It’s like you have one of those Diebold chips in your head, adding all those extra votes for the Republicans.

“My little pest.” How endearing! I’m beginning to like you, too. I am so happy you stopped by. Really.

“You Libs own nothing. The Hill in nervous and for good reason. I see red in 2010!”

Yeah, we libs own nothing. We’re just a bunch of socialists who share everything, air, water, public lands, parks, even our culture, arts, education, knowledge, experience, ability to think for ourselves, all that stuff you might think is worthless.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re seeing red right now.

Morning In America

2008-11-05T16:00:00.003-05:00

Time to wake up! It’s morning in America! Wipe those bleary teary eyes and look at what we’re up against.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking, “Hey, what do you mean ‘what we’re up against’? Didn’t the Democrats just win the presidency, senate and house?”

That’s right, but just because democrats are in majorities does NOT mean they are in charge. They have corporate string pullers working to get them to dance to their tune, and media jackals are nipping at their knees already.

Just today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, we heard Tom Brokaw squawking on about the US being a “center-right country” and blathering about all the red acreage on the political map. As if the LAND is what’s center-right so we better be too.

I’m sick of the media spouting this crap right after we elect an African-American Democrat for president. What the hell does that say? Does Brokaw think that means we still want the Republicans to dictate the agenda? How is this election an affirmation of this center-right crap?

Give me a break. This is the corporatist propaganda that irks me down to the last fiber of my being. You just KNOW the media and the Republican echo chamber will be harping on about how Obama better not try anything that could be labeled progressive or worse yet, liberal.

It’s going to be up to us to make a lot of noise to break through the media swill. We have got to hold the Democrats’ feet to the fire. We must keep the pressure on them constantly to let them know who put them there and why we did it. They don’t give a bat’s fart about what we want unless we hound them at least as much the fundies and neocons hounded the Republicans into their freedom crushing agenda.

So up and at ‘em! To the barricades if need be. We are still at war for our freedom. The Bush Fascism machine remains standing and won’t come down by the initiative of self centered corporate democrats. Get on the phones and call them. Write them. Send letters, emails, cards, or telegrams. We need to rattle their cages and kick some ass if anything is to be done around here. You and I both know it.

Just because the neocons have been defeated does not mean they are out of business. They will be slithering from underneath their rocks sooner than Obama can take the oath of office. They are enemies to peace, freedom and our very survival. We must not simply defeat them. We must ELIMINATE THEM from our government. They are engineering their next takeover even as we celebrate the election.

So, hooray for Obama! Enjoy the celebrations.

Now let’s get real. We have a lot of work to do.