WHAT'S IN THAT KOOL-AID?

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2008-12-30T21:13:00.000-08:00

As is typical, this Christmas, there wasn't really anything I needed or wanted badly in the way of presents.

I don't like collecting stuff. I dislike indiscriminate consumerism, and I think that 95% of what's out there is garbage and not worth spending a dollar on--whether it is mine, or anybody else's.

What greater gauge of wealth than to not envy or covet (more than a little-- we're human after all), and to be actually grateful for what you've got? Man, that's rich!

It also means that I, and maybe you, are in a position to help support the hardworking people, organizations and public radio stations that we rely upon.

commondreams.org is in need of your support, and well deserving of it.

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Bush Shirks Severity of Insult

2008-12-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

That's a new tongue-twister, isn't it? Try saying "Bush Shirks Severity of Insult" three times, fast...

Okay, so most have already seen the video of the Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at Bush during a press conference:

But to my personal brand of humor, the winning punchline does not belong to Bush, "All I can report is a size 10."

No. It belongs to my dad:
"He ducks like a man who's had things thrown at his head before."

Yes. Yes, he does...

18:25 Minutes

2008-11-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

I don't have a television, so I'm subject to my friends'--and whatever ends up streaming on the ol' interweb. Given that proclivity, I thought I'd link to Obama's recent interview on 60 Minutes:

The section with Michelle was less interesting, so I selected the shorter interview segment above out of respect for your time, dear viewer. I had no such veto powers, unfortunately, regarding the embedded Viagra commercials within the above clip. To be sure, the President-elect quietly freaked--in that noble political way--when he saw who was sponsoring the airtime. As would I.

Poor taste, CBS. That kind of sponsorship made sense during the last 8 years. But now it is time to get more...intelligent, respectful. You know--more mental...

less entitled/uneducated guttural.

Pardon Me!?

2008-11-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

This is a good petition to sign to help deter Bush from pardoning himself and his Administration from their illegal abuses of power during the their tenure in the White House.

After all, we wouldn't want them to just get away with murder, would we?

Shoot! What'd I Miss?

2008-11-06T22:20:00.001-08:00

This must be what I get for not having a television.
I somehow missed this Bush State of the Union address below:

Taxi to the Dark Side

2008-11-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, "anonymous" posted a comment to my blog entry about closing Guantanamo.

I responded to the comment with a comment. But having just finished watching Taxi to the Dark Side, I felt compelled to provide a few more reasons newly known to me about why we should close these detention camps--where incentives to turn people in as terrorists (even when they are not) are combined with the expectation to produce intelligence at any cost. Throw in the permissible use of harsh interrogation techniques (which, when combined, constitute torture) and a presidential self-pardon for war crimes, and what do you get?

Dead/destroyed innocent lives, ruined American soldiers who were set up to take the fall.

What else did I learn?

Only 7% of detainees were picked up by U.S. or Allied Forces.
90% were picked up/turned in by Pakistanis or Afghan warlords in exchange for bounties and cash payments. As it turns out, the film's primary subject, an Afghan civilian who died in U.S. custody, his death declared by U.S. coroner to be a "homicide," was just an innocent taxi driver who was pulled over and turned in by an actual terrorist, who the U.S. learned later had been turning in innocent civilians to cover his own tracks. Add in Bush's elimination of habeus corpus, and you have a recipe for innocent civilians being incarcerated, subject to torture, and without knowledge of why they are being held and having no access to a trial.
Oh yeah...and only 8% of detainees turn out to have any actual connections to Al Qaeda.
Having lots of people in custody is an excellent pr stunt that gives the appearance that the U.S. is actually winning the war on terror. (Except we are really just creating reasons for more Arabs to mistrust, and in some cases, hate the U.S.)

So my dear anonymous, this is why we must close Guantanamo, and any other such prison where such atrocities and injustices are perpetuated. They are fundamentally un-American, and they are also against international law.

Bush may have pardoned himself and his people from U.S. law, but they should be tried by the international community and locked up. At some point, we all, individually, have to become the bigger person. So incarcerate, but you know...stop short of torturing them. Like I said, I'm working on becoming a bigger person. ;-)

War Crimes: America's Unfinished Business

You Know How I Feel

2008-11-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

I'm Feeling Good

Yes, We Can!

2008-11-04T21:55:00.001-08:00

Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States of America. This is...unprecedented to say the least.

There is so much difficult work to do ahead, and it will require sacrifice on the part of every single one of us. But I believe the rewards will be forthcoming, and worth it.

Yes. I am--finally!--feeling optimistic that we stand poised to tackle the incredibly great immediate and impending challenges that we face. I believe that we are hard working people who aspire to what is right, and good.

I believe that today we have chosen a President-elect who truly has the country's best interest at heart. A man who will lead by, and for, the people--not just the special interests.

Bush and his cronies can start to burn the damning evidence of their corrupt Administration.
Despite the great lost of lives due to greed and criminal "ignorance" (as I believe they were), the damage of this Administration is nothing that we, collectively, cannot overcome.

So let's DO IT, together...
Let's go get our country back.

Barack the Vote!

2008-11-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

If logic alone isn't proving to be a successful method of persuading your friends and family to make the "right" decisions on election day, try humor:

Sarah Silverman Wants Jews (or anyone else) to bribe their Floridian elders to vote for Obama:

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Heather Gold wants Californians to vote NO on Prop 8.

The Great Hack from The Great Hack on Vimeo.

And really...don't we all?

VP Debate Flow Chart

2008-10-03T11:13:00.001-07:00

Have trouble following Palin during last night's VP Debate? You're not alone.

That's why Daily Kos has this debate flow chart to help you make sense of it all.

Wishin' and a-Hopin'

2008-09-25T18:56:00.001-07:00

Ladies and Germs, we have a special treat for you tonight:
Sarah Palin!

If you like seein' people get the wind knocked out of them, you are goin' to love watching Sarah Palin going up during her interview with Katie Couric:

I'd like to introduce Sarah to the letter "g" and the important role that it frequently plays in properly ending verbs in the English language.

That aside, the woman appears incapable of making any sense.

Not so dissimilar to another pretty beauty queen:

Sarah Palin V. Miss Teen South Carolina...Now THAT'S a debate I'd like to watch!

Eve Ensler on Sarah Palin

2008-09-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is a passionate op-ed from Eve Ensler on Sarah Palin. I particularly identified with this:

...everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I don't know anyone who has been kidded into thinking that Sarah Palin's selection is indicative of Feminism's triumphs. That is not to say that those people aren't out there, so it's good to be--and make--clear:

Sarah Palin's selection is indicative of her connections to a region with remaining oil resources and her connections to big oil companies. It's indicative of her willingness to do the wrong thing for the sake of a slick short-sighted buck.

I Did It for Sarah Palin!

2008-09-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

For those who didn't see it, this is a very fun skit from Saturday Night Live with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler doing Palin/Hillary.

Lack of qualifications and ethics aside (we're clearly no strangers to incompetent and corrupt leadership), is America ready for a pageant pretty President? Because let's face it, McCain's game is not going to get any better in the twilight years of his life (which he is, not insignificantly, in).

Speaking of Palin, below is a great idea that I got in an email from a friend this morning:

Instead of (in addition to?) us all sending around more emails about how horrible she is, let's all make a donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name.

Here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has been made in her honor. Click here to donate $10 to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's honor. You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card.

Which can be sent to the McCain/Palin campaign headquarters at:

John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215

What a great idea! I don't know who started it (could've been Planned Parenthood, for all I know), but it doesn't matter. I did it, and I'm happy as a clam that in my own small part, I get to simultaneously sock it to Palin and support a great organization.

Drill, Baby, Drill?

2008-09-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Americans are divided. I feel it: They frustrate me. It's hard for me to understand where they are coming from, and what they are thinking. It's tempting to dichotomize.

Us/Them
Republicans/Democrats
Conservatives/Liberals

Items like the video below are little taps on the mallet, incrementally widening the difference between them and me, or us. I never voted for Bush, but I recall his promises: a political moderate who would work with both sides to reach consensus. He was anti-big government.

I am dumbfounded that people who I know well--people who voted for Bush and then eventually arrived at the conclusion that he is morally incompetent and has led the U.S. profoundly astray--are onboard with the McCain/Palin ticket.

This is hard for me to be okay with. Particularly because it makes me wonder:

If a person realizes that their past votes have resulted in terrible elected officials and/or bad policy, wouldn't that give any reasonable person pause to more carefully consider their choices in the future?

But then you see clips like this:

and it reminds you how many people in this country do not think for themselves. Rather, they adopt the agendas and mantras of their affiliations, and regurgitate the prescribed message. Even when they are obviously idiotic ones, like:

Drill, Baby, Drill!

Sure, the audience was probably comprised of oil industry professionals. But if that's who the Republicans are going to pack in their house, should we really let them keep the keys to ours?

"Essentially"? Or "Literally"?

2008-09-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

So the Fed decides to spend U.S. taxpayer money to bail out AIG. I say if AIG is poised to go under, why not let them!? I'll drink to that. Besides, it's not like the Fed would extend the same courtesy to private citizens, or small business owners. No. When they go down, that's chalked up to a failing business model. Personal failure. But what about institutionalized failure?

Better luck next time!?

Something happens once you (and your shareholders) cross that magical big boy threshold: you become...untouchable.

"We're essentially continuing a system where profits are privatized and...losses socialized," says an NYU academic.

Until what point are we going to keep standing for this particular sort of crap?

Cheney's a Cheat

2008-09-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

Just as you might have suspected, wherever Cheney goes, corruption follows.

Here, Cheney's Halliburton appointee admits to bribery charges in securing Nigerian oil deals.

Sarah Palin Acceptance Speech at the RNC

2008-09-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

Part I:

Feelin' Queasy?

Part II:

If You Want to Throw Up a Little, at Least You're Not Alone

Part III:

Of course the crowd goes wild: anyone objective or otherwise thinking was arrested!

Part IV:

Gotta say, though...she's got a point about Obama authoring two memoires, but no major law during his time as Senator.

BUT...

Obama will reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world?
America needs more energy, and [Obama] is against producing it?
Victory in Iraq is within our sight, and [Obama] wants to forfeit?
Al Queda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and [Obama] is worried that someone won't read them their rights?

Come on, now!

Government is too big and Obama will grow it?

Wait a minute. Who claimed to be "moderate" and against big government...Bush, right? Now we have the Patriot Act and Homeland Security.

Obama will increase the tax burden?

Well, what about profiting off half a trillion tax payer dollars for an illegal and bogus war? It's been eight years of Republicans and our government doesn't seem so small, the American dollar so strong, or our "victory" so "in sight."

Part V:

Country First? I call "BULLSH*T!"

Card Carrying Member!

2008-08-28T19:50:00.001-07:00

Apparently it doesn't matter how you affiliate, or who you affiliate with: you're either in, or you are OUT.

I just L.O.V.E. all the stories cropping up about citizens constitutional rights being squashed due to the Republican/Democratic National Conventions. I guess freedom of speech (and the press) and freedom from unwarranted search and seizure are civil liberties that are justifiably taken away from average people in times of...mere political gatherings?

What are these party people so paranoid about, anyway?

Oh well, at least we've got a freedom cage.

I, for one, find it a little disconcerting when the people on the inside assume that outside people like me (and you?) are going to go crazy with illegal rage and launch some kind of offensive. Maybe if we knew what they knew--what really goes on behind the scenes--we'd see why that was an idea of reasonable merit, too.

And that reminds me of the interview that got me started on this whole blog (which I admit I've been neglecting). This interview talks about how a fascist government (yes, kind of like ours, right now) effectively closes down democracies, and how "hot" things can get at election time:

So let's not get crazy, but rather let's get strategic, get local, get organized and get each others' backs. We've been needing to, and something tells me we're gonna continue to need to.

No Really...Thank Youuuuu

2008-08-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

Now this is one "team building" event that would have been interesting to attend at the DNC!

Fortunately, Glenn Greenwald and Democracy Now! were there to get the scoop. Unfortunately, they were totally shut out of it, and the guests were also uber-secretive about who they were and why they were there and what the hell was going on...anyway...

you didn't except AT&T to waste good champagne on little lefty reporters, did ya?

Poor Little Multimillionaire

2008-08-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

I wonder what it'd be like to have so much that you couldn't even remember how many houses you own, like John McCain did, "I think - I'll have my staff get to you."

Huh? Don't know about you, but personally, I'm never not pretty sure that the answer is ZERO. Oh, and that's zero on the staff, too.

"I define rich in other ways besides income," McCain said. "Some people are wealthy and rich in their lives and their children and their ability to educate them. Others are poor if they're billionaires."

It's true. I don't have much, really--and I have a great life! But it'd feel even greater if McCain wanted to give me one of his houses. Not his primary one, of course...I'll gladly take whichever one is presently slipping his mind.

FCC No!

2008-08-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

The Senate heard the voices of the people--even though the Republican Chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin (the boyish looking chap in the middle between the Democratic Commissioners at left and the Republican Commissioners at right), did his best to silence them. The Senate vetoed the FCC's ruling to give big corporate media the edge over local, independent media outlets. Yay!

But don't cheer just yet: victory is not quite ours. Now it now goes to the House. Will the House follow the Senate's suit? Here's your chance to tell them that you think they should!

Weekly Death Toll

2008-08-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

Last week the number of Iraqi civilians who had died since, and because of, the U.S. invasion was at 1,251,944.

One week later, the toll is at 1,252,595.

That means that 651 Iraqi civilians lost their lives in the last week. That's the lowest reported weekly death toll that I've seen yet.

Yay?

Paris for President?

2008-08-07T19:41:00.001-07:00

Okay, enough pictures of dead Iraq babies. Don't know about you, but I could sure use a chuckle:

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Weekly Death Toll

2008-08-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

Last week the number of Iraqi civilians who had died since, and because of, the U.S. invasion was at 1,245,538.

One week later, the toll is at 1,251,944.

That means that 6,406 Iraqi civilians lost their lives in the last week.

Mum's the Word

2008-07-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

Interesting article from the Guardian UK about the environment-threatening tactics taken by the Bush Administration's version of the "Environmental Protection Agency."