Christmas Greeting from Mike Huckabee

To my opponents, go kill yourselves.

With love, Bill.



These so-called Christians and their so-called brotherly love. They are killing the world, literally.

Oh, you might want to read the DIGG comments. :>)

Wrap up Chrismas Smartly

How sad Christmas, reduced to a yearly shopping spree in which we are expected to participate to support the sagging economy. Seems a lot of folks indulge in it with passion and fury. Good. Citibank needs the credit card interest you'll generate. They had to borrow a tidy sum from the Arab world lately at credit card rates. : >)

I think our consumption, however, is rather obscene. I'll spare you the rant. Instead, consider sending a can of worms. Not to your friends but to a farmer in one of 26 countries served by Oxfam America. You can also send a sheep, plant 50 trees, or plant a garden. Your friend gets a card telling of your deed, those in need get useful tools.

Take a look. All it takes is a few clicks to get all your shopping done.

Help a Veteran Call Home, 'W' Won't

It's really a sad state of affairs when the Bush administration won't even grant our nation's hospitalized veterans a few dollars in long-distance fees so they can call their loved ones back home over the holidays.

Go fight the good fight for God and Oil, but don't get injured 'cause we grant no favors. Apparently those mega billions in war appropriations didn't include free calls home from your hospital bed.

Why isn't Halliburton subject to the same level of bean counting? : >)

Salute Our Veterans; Help Them Call Home Over the Holidays

Write Karl Rove

I know the thought makes you sick, but hear me out. DCCC.org is reporting that Uncle Karl is trying to blame Congress for starting the disaster in Iraq. Yeah, that's hardly surprising. It's always someone else's fault - the typical MO of the Bush bunch.

Well, suck it up. DCCC made it very easy to write to Mr. Dirty Tricks himself. If I can do it, you certainly can.

Here's my opus:

Hi.

Lately I hear you are crediting Congress with starting the disastrous war in Iraq. Oh, you're blaming Congress? The war's a mistake?

It doesn't surprise me you and your eminently presumptuous crowd believe you don't make mistakes. I only hope you offer this as a defense in your war crimes trial, a time of judgement long overdue.

You'll thank us from jail.

Start now, write your own missive.

Here's the beef from DCCC.org:

We're compiling a holiday present for Rove to remember -- all your letters chock full of the truth. Help us hit Rove hard with a heavy dose of reality.

Karl Rove has been going around town, blaming Congress for starting the failed war in Iraq. That's right -- he is actually trying to make people forget that President Bush started this disastrous war in a ludicrous attempt to rewrite the history books. But this Sunday, Chairman Van Hollen will call him on it.

Help us set the record straight. Send a letter to Karl Rove himself.

While it's on your mind, write a letter to the editor.

When you're finished, post them to my comment section.

Thanks. :>)

The Shock Doctrine - Naomi Klein

Do you want it straight up? Then sit down, maybe have a drink.

Watch this…



Hello? Yes, get off the floor. Take some deep breaths. Let this sink in.

The Shock Doctrine has hit bestseller lists in 7 countries: The United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden!

Buy it now!
Read excerpts from the book
See the National Book Critics Circle Best Recommended List

For my Los Angeles friends:

Don’t Miss an Evening in Los Angeles with Naomi & Robert Greenwald, Director of Outfoxed and Iraq for Sale!

Thursday, December 6, 7:30 pm
Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, 300 N. Clark Drive
Tickets are $20 and open to the public. See more information about the Los Angeles event

This post was culled from Naomi Klein's website where you will find more videos on The Shock Doctrine, among many other writings.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

It's getting harder and harder to keep my sanity these days, what with reading about Dick Cheney's sadistic passion for shooting tame animals, so I thought I'd offer the ultimate antidote to insanity, Andy Warhol.

For the truly inspired among you, click on the video clip below, "Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol", a work by Jonas Mekas, a genius filmmaker and wonderful human being. For those who were around back in the day, enjoy the '60s redux. Jonas ably captures the spirit of creativity's bursting chaos. It's well worth your time to look through Jonas' entire anthology.




OK, now. Back to the present reality. Please take note.

Help the whales, help the ocean, help yourself.

Stop Japan's Whaling Fleet From Killing Humpbacks!

Next month, the Japanese Government plans to send its whaling fleet into the protected waters of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary around Antarctica. And this year, Japan is threatening to add humpback whales to its target list!

Oh, and don't let the folks who recently conspired to spy on you off the hook.

Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee: No Amnesty for AT&T and Verizon
In recent weeks, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee caved to the White House and cut a deal to grant retroactive immunity to telecom giants who colluded in Bush's illegal program to spy on Americans.

The bill -- a so-called "fix" to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act -- is now being debated by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Fortunately, most of the Democrats on the committee appear ready to strike the amnesty language from the bill. But we still need to make sure they stand strong as pressure increases around this critical vote.

Fax your senator to oppose amnesty for lawbreaking telcos in the FISA reform bill.

Veterans for Peace March Against War

Here are some details from Nate, one of the veterans arrested on Veterans Day:

Getting arrested along with 92 year old Paul Brailsford (who managed to get the plastic cuffs off in the police wagon!!), 80 something year old Sev Bruyn, 76 year old Tony Flaherty was a privilege that I have trouble expressing. Seeing these guys in cuffs was just such an inspiration.

Watch this two minute video of the Veterans for Peace action of Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007, in Boston. See my previous blog post for more details.

Veterans Arrested at Veterans' Day Event

I applaud the Veterans for Peace, who were arrested for protesting their exclusion from an American Legion sponsored Veterans' Day event in Boston, Sunday. The commander of the American Legion in Suffolk County had them arrested for a silent protest at their Veterans' Day ceremony.

The group was made to bring up the rear of the annual parade - for which hundreds of patriots lined Boylston and Tremont streets - and were even placed behind the street sweepers.

“They do not want to adhere to our rules of conduct,” James Lawler, commander of the American Legion in Suffolk County, told the Herald, suggesting the protesters’ time would be better spent in Washington, D.C., fighting for benefits and better VA hospitals." Full Story, Boston Herald.

I understand Mr. Lawler's concerns, but these are extraordinary times. The rules of conduct certainly were not followed in the build-up to this war. More and more people need to make the status quo very uncomfortable to keep the carnage and consequence of this war front and center. What else works?

Let's not forget on this Veterans' Day the unusual number of suicides by returning Iraqi veterans, another needless toll of the disaster in Iraq.

More and more veterans are speaking out, breaking a code of silence and denial the military encourages. Yet, maybe it is only the military that can prevent a disastrous war with Iran. A most unusual situation, don't you think?

One thing I know will get the attention of policy makers is a holiday shopping boycott by we civilians. Why not join me? :>)

The Impeachment of Dick Cheney, Not

Huffington Post, Nov. 7, 2007:

…one year ago yesterday, we elected the Democrats in overwhelming numbers to amplify our screaming voices to a decibel loud enough to penetrate the unchecked corridors of power in Washington -- we hired this party to speak for us and to use this expressed authority to end the war and to hold this historically unpopular executive regime accountable.

To date and with the exception of some admirable investigations by a few standout lawmakers, the Democrats have done nothing to make good on their mandate from you and me.

It was yesterday, on the one year anniversary of the collapse of Karl Rove's thousand-year Reich, when the Democrats subjected themselves to both public embarrassment and public disgrace, and each within a few hours of the other.

Read the story and weep. This is a sad, sad day for America. The Democrats could not stand up for democracy. It generally began to unfold in '30s Germany like this.

Dick has no formal opposition now. Your mandate has officially been neutered by the people you elected to execute it. Bombs away, baby. Bombs away. Your democracy is dead, and you stood by watching, didn't you?

Keep Up Your Calls to Congress!!

I called my rep, Michael Capuano, today. It took all of two minutes. Here's the story so far.

Very important !! All your reps need to hear from you. Tell them to support H.Res. 333, "Articles of Impeachment Against VP Cheney" and oppose efforts to table the resolution! Really !!

Find your Congress people here. Put the numbers in your cell phone directory. Get used to calling your reps and Senators.

Call the members of the Judiciary Committee !

And call the Sub-Committee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Committee !

You're financing this circus. Start shouting! You want IMPEACHMENT ON THE TABLE ! !

Act Today! Impeach Cheney!

Support the Impeach Cheney resolution. Call your representative today!

Here is the phone number for the Capitol switchboard: 1-800-828-0498

Alternate numbers to contact your member of Congress:
1-800-862-5530
1-800-833-6354

The call is toll free and will take less than 2 min. of your time. If you don't know who your member of Congress is, simply give the Capitol switchboard operator your zip code and they will tell you. They will then connect the call directly to your Rep.'s office. (What could be easier?)

Background & What to Say: Congressman Dennis Kucnich (D-OH), introduced ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY in April 2007. The bill, H.Res. 333, now has 22 co-sponsors. (Here's a chart of all members of Congress, where they stand on impeachment.)

Tomorrow (Tues. Nov. 6th), Rep. Kucinich will introduce a privileged resolution on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to force an up or down vote impeachment of the vice president. That is WHY you must contact them TODAY (or early tomorrow morning at the latest)! Likely, another member of congress will move to table (kill) Kucinich's resolution for a vote (in order to prevent the articles of impeachment from being voted on). Tell your representative that you want them to Vote NO on tabling the resolution & YES on impeachment. (House members who vote YES to table will no longer be able to claim that their reason for not moving to impeach was because "We don't have enough votes on impeachment", since many others will be voting NO on tabling at the same time. (For more info on House parliamentary procecedure and how it's all likely to play out on Tuesday see: http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/dennis-bringing-issue-to-floor.html)

Former Reagan Official Says Impeach Now or Lose Constitutional Democracy (July 16, 2007)

Read all about it at here, and ACT !!!

Hey, Middle Class, Stand Up for Yourselves!

Don't wimp out. This is your country, too.

Biofuels, a "crime against humanity"?

I would agree. The corn-to-ethanol craze is a huge waste of money, energy, and land resources in the US.

"The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger." -- BBC News

In the match up between the world's poor and the industrialized world's need for fuel, it's clear who will win.

Thankfully there's a voice for sanity coming from the UN.

Cheney and Obama are Cousins?

According to Lynne Cheney's research, they are. However, Obama spokesman, Bill Burton, responds, "Every family has a black sheep". More here.

And, Archbishop George H. Niederauer has apologized for giving Communion to 2 Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. He says he delivered the Eucharist to two gay men dressed in nuns' habits by mistake. Read more about the Sisters here. Click in the window below to see the communion ceremony.

And, San Francisco chronicler, Mark Morford, weighs in on the EMF danger.

Wi-Fi, the death of us all You are going to die. Wireless gizmos are devouring your brain, right now. Very sorry

Thanks for reading the what amounts to "sane" news today.

Take 5 Minutes to Protect Your Privacy

Can you pick up the phone?

Congress is moving swiftly to "fix" the Protect America Act of 2007. The House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees have endorsed the Conyers-Reyes RESTORE Act (H.R. 3773) the acronym stands for "Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed and Effective."

Although this legislation is far better than the Protect America Act which the Administration wants to make permanent and expand, the ACLU wishes it were more "responsible" in terms of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment requires individual warrants before a search. But the RESTORE Act includes blanket warrants, which aren't really warrants at all, but a blank check allowing the government to vacuum up our international telephone calls and emails.

Please contact your representative.

Immediately and tell him or her:

• There must be individual warrants included in any bill Congress passes. Such warrants are essential to bring the surveillance of Americans in line with the Constitution.
• Under NO circumstances should Congress give amnesty to the phone companies for their role in warrantless eavesdropping. These companies violated the law. Congress should insist on accountability.
• Congress should insist on true court oversight. If it is serious about keeping checks and balances intact, it must allow the judiciary to play a significant role in overseeing the surveillance of Americans.
• Congress should not continue to legislate in the dark. Insist that the White House and Department of Justice turn over documents related to the warrantless eavesdropping program which were supposed to be given to the Senate Judiciary Committee last July.

In brief: put individual warrants into the RESTORE Act and keep immunity for the telecom giants out. And find out the facts about what the government has been doing secrecy kills democracy.

Thanks to:

Nancy Murray
Director of Education
ACLU of Massachusetts

Why Not Impeachment?

Is impeachment still "off the table"? Do we accept we can do nothing? The Dems waffled on the war, on impeachment, so who's going to impeach?

"Why Not Impeachment?" is the title of a new argument by Robert Parry. Reading it makes me hopeful there are people with backbone left in the press. The gist of it is that Rumsfeld wasn't "fired" for incompetence, he was ousted because he went soft on the war. You heard me right. He wanted a rapid draw down of troops. The memo stating this is published. The Dems ignore it. You read the story. Don't ignore it.

In other words, Rumsfeld’s ouster didn’t signal Bush’s new flexibility on ending the war, as the Democrats hoped, but a repudiation of Rumsfeld for going wobbly on Iraq.

Even when the Rumsfeld memo surfaced in early December, the Democrats ignored it, sticking to their wishful script that the Rumsfeld-Gates switch marked a recognition by Bush that it was time to begin extricating U.S. forces from Iraq.

Those rose-colored glasses got smudged badly when Bush instead announced in January that he was ordering an escalation, sending more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.

But instead of responding with their own escalation – and putting impeachment back “on the table” – the Democrats opted for a strategy of wooing moderate Republicans to mild-mannered legislative protests.

Why not ask your Senator why impeachment is not "back on the table"?

Columbus and Che, Honored this Day

Columbus is honored this day for discovering huge material wealth for his superpower, Spain. Che Guevara was captured and later executed 40 years ago today in Bolivia, and is celebrated a hero, almost a Christ-like figure of hope and deliverance to millions. Both used violence to achieve their ends. One is reviled; the other, celebrated in all the "other" Americas. Columbus wanted wealth and fame for himself, gold and empire for his Queen; Che wanted a better life for the poor and oppressed he felt kinship with.

We don't know what would have happened in Latin America had Che lived - his friend Fidel is not an unblemished example - but we do know what the Columbus legacy meant for the Americas. The PBS series, Conquistadors, offers a fair and balanced view of that tragic history. Compared to Columbus, Fidel is a saint.

In the mid-20th century, guerrilla warfare was the tactic of change. Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Ronald Reagan were all supporters of armed insurgency. Ho and Fidel succeeded, Reagan and Che failed. Ho's Vietnam is now embraced by the US; Cuba, still an enemy. Reagan was like the Columbus saga, the agent of a superpower who sent armed insurgents to a foreign land (Nicaragua) for interests of empire. (Let's not forget the Nixon and Kissinger coup that successfully overthrew the democratically elected government of Chile in the '70s for the interests of the US corporate empire. Can you say, ITT?)

IMHO, Ron is largely reviled around the world, as are Nixon and Kissinger. Che is largely celebrated. And, although Che was captured and executed by the militarist government of Bolivia 40 years ago, his spirit is embraced by the Bolivian government today.

Listen to CIA man, Felix Rodriguez, talk about his part in the capture and execution of Che. Read more about he and Che here. Watch those who fought alongside him talk about him today.

And do a Google video search for "Che" and see how much he is remembered in the Spanish speaking Americas today. Below is a music video found in that search that has been viewed over 200,000 times.



One lesson for today's young would be, if you want to be remembered a hero, be more like Che, and a lot less like Columbus, or Reagan, or Kissinger, or Nixon. You get the drift. :>)

It's Time to Grant 'W' Permanent Spy Powers

Doesn't that just chill your blood? That's what's going to happen, though.

"Protect America" Act is about to be made permanent. Get ready to share your phone calls, emails, etc. permanently with your kindly Republican Big Brother. (You know him, the one who says interrogation is not torture, unwarranted listening is not spying, the Constitution is just a bunch of words.)

Won't that be fun, kids? And don't forget to tell your local FBI agent what your parents are up to. "Protect America" means opening wide. Your government is obscenely curious. I know I sound like a libertarian here, but I've been around long enough to know that the government tends to spy on it's perceived political enemies rather than the real bad guys. It just works that way if there is no oversight.

So everyone, here's how to join the government spying fun in your neighborhood.

What's to fear? Really. Our beneficent telecom industry has been working nicely with Big Brother these past months. The Director of National Intelligence said so in August - the telecom companies have played a key role in NSA eavesdropping. And, of course, we don't need to know these troublesome details. If it weren't for Congressman Ed Markey demanding to know how much big telecom cooperated in domestic spying, you wouldn't have known squat. (Thank him, will you?)

The big news is, you still won't know how much telecom and agents of the cabal have cooperated. The FCC declined to investigate.

OMG, if the coup isn't real, I don't know what is.

Do Liberty a very small favor. Write your Senators and Congresspeople and tell them what a bad idea it would be to continue the "Protect America" Act without fixing it. This is URGENT. Key votes are coming up this week.

Call Senator Reid (202 224 3542) and House Speaker Pelosi (202 225 4965). Tell them the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) must be fixed, not expanded. Warrantless domestic spying must be ended.

Get involved. Be creative. Get tough. The freedoms you lose will be your own. This is your time to stand up and deliver.

A Great Unconference for Sanity and Social Networking

It's been hard to update lately since there are so many unsanity events. From Justice Whoop-dee-damn-doo Thomas' strange diatribe of Anita Hill and others (is this what repressed anger does to recovered memory?) to the finding that Inca children were fattened up for sacrifice before being left on the mountaintop to die of exposure to George "Compassionate Conservative" Bush vetoing the Children's Health bill so as to please the ultra nasty rich right and the health insurance industry while embarrassing key Republican backers of the bill who worked out compromises with Dems to avoid the veto. There's so much to choose from I became overwhelmed. I will do better, promise.

The good news is that you can look forward to meeting up with the bright and healthy folks of the new web at the Podcamp Boston 2 "unconference" later this month in Boston . You really should try to make it. This is the cutting edge for web media and networking. If Boston is too far, contact the Podcamp 2 people and say you want a Podcamp where you live! Otherwise, I'll see you there!

Click To Play

The Coup is Real

It's real if you allow it. Freedom does NOT protect itself.

Dan Rather Stands by his Story

Follow the story of Dan Rather's lawsuit. It's important. Implicit in it is how much corporate media is in bed with the Bush cabal. I fear it may get buried, as did the true story of W backing out of his military service in Vietnam, the story for which Dan Rather was fired trying to bring to light. The truth may yet emerge. Let's see. If it doesn't, you know there has really been a coup, and we're just gerbils on the treadmill.

Become a Pool Boy, Start a Revolution

What a sacrifice our Prez makes! He whores for US! No wonder he keeps getting re-elected (not).

Too bad not every American is so grateful.

"If every American had to pool-boy for these people for a day, you'd have a revolution on your hands."

You say you want a revolution? The ex-pool boy to the elder Bush has the answer.

Do it!

I suggest this because no one so much as burped at Alan Greenspan's comment that the war in Iraq is "largely about oil". Well heck, that's no surprise, but why isn't that front page breaking news in the US media? Or is it too tragic to admit publicly the WMD/Democracy/Freedom issue was utter bull (yawn).

We all knew the truth and couldn't stop the insanity. The media can assume shame for that. We know our disastrous and short-sighted policies toward the Mideast for the last century have been about oil…and racism toward the heathen Arabs…and support for dictatorships like the Saudi royal family, to whom the Bushs' are wed.

Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country. —George W. Bush

No wonder they hate us.

Suppose this were your daily life? Take a moment, at least, to sign another petition asking Congress to recognize that there are likely over a million Iraqi deaths due to the US invasion.

Get angry and do something inventive.

9/11

On this, the sixth anniversary of the attack on our country, there are still unanswered questions, and some questions so ridiculous they don't need answering. (If you still believe "controlled demolition", etc., go here and enjoy. But think about it. How do you gain access to the bowels of a building that size to plant many floors of explosives and keep all the security and maintenance people who saw you quiet?) We may never have answers to the valid questions. The best summation of the outstanding puzzlers to the attack are best summed up by Robert Fisk, the eminent correspondent of the Independent UK.

Robert Fisk: Even I question the 'truth' about 9/11

Journalistically, there were many odd things about 9/11. Initial reports of reporters that they heard "explosions" in the towers – which could well have been the beams cracking – are easy to dismiss. Less so the report that the body of a female air crew member was found in a Manhattan street with her hands bound. OK, so let's claim that was just hearsay reporting at the time, just as the CIA's list of Arab suicide-hijackers, which included three men who were – and still are – very much alive and living in the Middle East, was an initial intelligence error.

But what about the weird letter allegedly written by Mohamed Atta, the Egyptian hijacker-murderer with the spooky face, whose "Islamic" advice to his gruesome comrades – released by the CIA – mystified every Muslim friend I know in the Middle East? Atta mentioned his family – which no Muslim, however ill-taught, would be likely to include in such a prayer. He reminds his comrades-in-murder to say the first Muslim prayer of the day and then goes on to quote from it. But no Muslim would need such a reminder – let alone expect the text of the "Fajr" prayer to be included in Atta's letter.

We do need a much more thorough investigation, as well as real answers to the subsequent anthrax attack on selected Democrats.

Don't hold your breath.

The REAL Rudy

Filmmaker Robert Greenwald has a lot to say about Rudy. He made a four part series on how Rudy failed us on 9/11. You can see Part 1 below. When you're done viewing, interact with his website and learn more.

From Robert Greenwald:

"It's just not possible."

That was the sentence we heard over and over from families who had firefighter sons, brothers, husbands and fathers killed on 9/11, from experts on emergency response, and from investigative journalists. It was just not possible that Rudy could so distort what happened on 9/11 and his role on that terrible day.

These experts, these grieving and furious family members, were united only by the fact that this story had to be told. Republicans, Independents, and Democrats could agree on just one thing: the cold hard facts about Rudy's terrible handling of 9/11 and the aftermath.

And so we went to work. We researched, we read, we interviewed. Jason locked himself in a quiet room, working late into the night. Christopher flew across the country at a moment's notice to interview. Lissette went over and over the footage. Leda kept juggling schedules so we could get the film done. Jimmy worked the phones to try and raise some funds.

And here it is... The REAL Rudy: Command Center. The first of a devastating four-part series.

Labor Day 2007 - 125 Long, Eventful Years

Nearly 6000 Americans were killed last year - on the job. Yes. As bad as that figure is, it would be a lot worse if there was no labor movement.

Here's what AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said about our workplace today:

Our workplaces should be getting safer, not more dangerous. Yet six years of Bush Administration neglect and failure of workplace health and safety have put millions of workers at increased danger. It's clear that a change in direction and leadership is needed to protect workers on the job and to improve their lives.

While some groups of workers saw improvements, in 2005 job deaths increased among Latinos, Blacks, children, immigrants and agriculture workers. Sadly, but not surprisingly, these numbers confirm that under the Bush Administration, workers at the bottom of the economic ladder are paying a very heavy price.

Looking back in our history, do you honestly think a benevolent industry leader proposed the 5 day work week? Did you know people were killed by police in an effort to prevent it? How about child labor laws: do you think legislators generously created those laws to correct the brutal treatment of children in our factories? It was through the perseverance of the labor movement that forced that legislation on Congress.

So many of the things that are decent and fair in today's workplace were the product of strikes, demonstrations, beatings, and murder by the forces of law and order, as our industrial and legislative leaders stood by. If they did not obstruct, they did little of nothing to improve the lives of the people working for them. Next time you go to work, think about the sacrifice of many generations of the labor movement that allowed you a safe, somewhat fair, workplace with (somewhat) decent hours and wages.

There's still a ways to go for fairness in the workplace, and the offer of hope for a living wage and a decent middle class life. You certainly know that. Just remember those who got you where you are today.

Happy Labor Day, 2007.

Extra credit:

Don't be fooled by the latest foolery of the boy President. Read this, briefly excerpted below.

Seven Years in Hell

On Body Counts, Dead Zones, and an Empire of Stupidity

By Tom Engelhardt

(referring to the President's recent VFW speech)

"In its own strange way, Bush's speech was an admission of defeat. Somehow, Vietnam, the American nightmare, had finally bested the man who spent his youth avoiding it and his presidency evading it. The President had finally mounted the tiger you are always advised not to ride and had officially entered the dead zone, where the bodies pile high and victory never appears, taking the rest of the country with him."

Blogged with Flock

Stand Up for Peace

The MoveOn.org Stand Up for Peace vigil in Boston this past Tuesday attracted an impressive array of committed individuals. This event, coordinated with hundreds across the country, solemnly commemorated the fallen soldiers of Bush's obscene war for oil and empire for the New American Century, the neocon project to force puppet democracies upon hostile governments through military conquest and/or intimidation. Basically, the policy is best summed up with this: "We have the world's greatest military, let's use it!" As always, it's our money they're borrowing for this colossal blunder, and our blood they are sacrificing. The MoveOn volunteers read the names of those who gave their lives with genuine dignity and respect, creating a moving moment of solemnity amid the flash and fragile posturing of our commercial culture. We only wish our Congress people were with us to honor them in person and cast their votes to end this mad war.

Click here to see a few more images.

Global Village

Blogs fall into two categories: those who repackage commercial media with an overlay of commentary, and those that speak directly and locally. I'm going to tell you about the latter. I fall into the first category because our culture is almost completely monetized and prepared with advertising dollars in mind. I try to direct you to comment and opinion that penetrates the commercial, corporate fog. There is another source of news and culture that usually doesn't reach us, mostly due to language and technological hurdles. The technological hurdles are fairly well addressed these days, now the language barriers are, too.

Global Voices is a blogging channel discovering feeds from local sources around the world who want to connect to the Western audience. They do the discovery and translation, you do the reading. This is the true global village. Dig in and support them, why don't you!

---

Note to bloggers: Get involved with Global Voices. Find out how from their For Bloggers link.

Bonaparte and Bush, Great Expectations

It was the highest-tech military of its moment and its invasion of the Arab land was overwhelming. Enemy forces were smashed, the oppressive ruling regime overthrown, the enemy capital occupied, and the country declared liberated… then the first acts of insurgency began…

George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003? No, Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt in June 1798. There are times when the resonances of history are positively eerie. This happens to be one of them

…Napoleon wrote a letter to one of his generals, well into the occupation, forbidding the beating of insurgents to extract information: "It has been recognized at all times that this manner of interrogating human beings, of putting them under torture, produces nothing good."

Quoted from:
Tomgram: Juan Cole, The Republic Militant at War, Then and Now

The neocons of the past century floated visions of rosy, sanitized, hi-tech invasions that would outsource democracy and freedom to welcoming masses, paid for by their own treasuries. Now they desert W en masse, realizing their dreams were floated by their own passed gas. The Party is in free fall, and it's solely up to Dick and George, oh and David, to salvage some dignity. Remember WWII! Remember Korea! Remember Vietnam! How about "Remember Napoleon"?

Raus! al-Maliki

Raus! Get out! Veterans of WWII would remember the phrase.

Bush basically said the same to Nouri al-Maliki for talking with Syria and Iran. We mustn't have our puppets courting the Axis of Evil, after all. Just like "Bring It ON", W, our Mr. Tough Guy, spoke impulsively, revealing his hand. So now, al-Maliki is a "good guy", as long as he doesn't do bad again by disobeying our wishes. That's democracy, Bush style.

One of the best writers to sort all the players, past and present, is Robert Fisk, writer for the Independent UK. He's been there, not just for brief tours, but for the duration. And his grasp of the history is lucid.

The Iraqis Don't Deserve Us, So We Betray Them
(August 23, 2007)

First, the Americans loved Ahmed Chalabi, the man who fabricated for Washington the"'weapons of mass destruction" (with a hefty bank fraud charge on his back). Then, they loved Ayad Allawi, a Vietnam-style spook who admitted working for 26 intelligence organizations, including the CIA and MI6. Then came Ibrahim al-Jaafari, symbol of electoral law, whom the Americans loved, supported, loved again and destroyed. Couldn't get his act together. It was up to the Iraqis, of course, but the Americans wanted him out. And the seat of the Iraqi government -- a never-never land in the humidity of Baghdad's green zone -- lay next to the largest US embassy in the world. So goodbye, Ibrahim.

Saddam Hussein: A Dictator Created Then Destroyed By America
(December 30, 2006)

Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course not. Because that would also expose our culpability.

You can see the trend line from reading more in these stories. We are the puppet master, and we will not be leaving, let the Devil take the hindmost.

…that is, until he takes our hindmost.

For extra credit read this interesting book, written in 1999, just before the bubble burst:

D E V I L T A K E T H E H I N D M O S T
A History of financial speculation from the Roman Empire to the present brims with bad tidings.
BY EDWARD CHANCELLOR

"I daily hear such reports of advantages to be gaind by one project or other in the Stocks, that my Spirit is Up with double Zeal, in the desire of our trying to enrich ourselves."

: >)

Wars-R-Us, It Didn't Happen Overnight

I thought you'd want to read an essay by Norman Solomon posted on www.mediachannel.org.

Let's Face It: The Warfare State is Part of Us

A few excerpts:

Born 50 years before George W. Bush became president, I have always lived in a warfare state. Each man in the Oval Office has presided over an arsenal of weapons designed to destroy human life en masse. In recent decades, our self-proclaimed protectors have been able — and willing — to destroy all of humanity.

… One day in 1969, a biologist named George Wald, who had won a Nobel Prize, visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — the biggest military contractor in academia — and gave a speech. “Our government has become preoccupied with death,” he said, “with the business of killing and being killed.”

…The warfare state doesn’t come and go. It can’t be defeated on Election Day. Like it or not, it’s at the core of the United States — and it has infiltrated our very being.

Be sure to read his book, "Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America’s Warfare State". Go to: www.MadeLoveGotWar.com.

And see what you can do to prove him wrong.

Zombie Talking Heads Invade Fox

Really. This is no Orson Welles joke. They're at it again.



You can call Fox advertisers in your area to let them know you don't buy this anymore. While you're at it you can sign the open letter to Fox.

Go here:
Fox Attacks Iran

Nancy Calls for Impeachment

Yes !!! The winning entry from the Democrats.com "Dump Dick" video contest.

How do we persuade Speaker Nancy Pelosi to respond to Jen's excellent video? Share your ideas HERE.

Meanwhile,

Urge your Representatives to Sign the Pledge for Peace Petition

Dear Representative,

Please join the 70 members of Congress who pledged in an open letter delivered to President Bush: "We will only support appropriating funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq during Fiscal Year 2008 and beyond for the protection and safe redeployment of all our troops out of Iraq before you leave office."

The U.S. occupation of Iraq is the primary cause of the violence there. U.S. intelligence agencies have reported in multiple National Intelligence Estimates that the occupation of Iraq is recruiting more terrorists worldwide. Every dollar we spend in Iraq is making America less secure and taking funds away from urgent needs at home and abroad.

Your pledge to vote only for funding bills that end the occupation by January 2009 has the potential to send to the White House a bill that finally accomplishes what the current Congress was elected to do.

Your concomitant pledge to vote against any funding bills that do not end the occupation has the potential to force the president to use existing funds to bring the troops home.

There is nothing rash about commiting to ending this disaster in 17 months. Please contact the Progressive Caucus to join the 70-plus Congress Members taking this pledge.

Sign here:
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/115

For more information visit Progressive Democrats of America.

Thanks!

Nuclear Power is Safe. Ha, ha!

What's that yellow liquid seeping under the doorway? Why it's highly enriched uranium!

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A three-year veil of secrecy in the name of national security was used to keep the public in the dark about the handling of highly enriched uranium at a nuclear fuel processing plant — including a leak that could have caused a deadly, uncontrolled nuclear reaction.

"Tenn. nuclear fuel problems kept secret", Houston Chronicle.

The leak was just one of nine problems since 2005 at privately owned Nuclear Fuel Services, which has most recently been turning the U.S. government's weapons-grade uranium stockpile into commercial reactor fuel. Over nine gallons of highly enriched uranium seeped out of a transfer line onto the floor and was first noticed by a passing employee when the yellowish liquid seeped into the hallway.

"We Put the Unclear in Nuclear", Grist.

It looks like "National Security" is back to its old tricks again. This is an administration that hates competent oversight of anything, needing secrecy to cover up its failings. Katrina, Iraq, the Utah mine disaster? (You do know that Richard Strickler, the Mine Safety and Health Administrator was a Bush recess appointment? Yes, even the Republicans didn't want him. Richie hated all those stupid mine safety regulations, coming from a mining industry family himself. Yep, just like Brownie, he was a Bushie-man, only W had to appoint him during the recess because nobody else wanted him.)

With that kind of a record, how can we possibly trust our President to protect us from a nuclear accident? Time to get busy and push your representative for impeachment. If immorality and criminal behavior don't motivate you, how about gross incompetence? How about a glowing, unapproachable Tennessee - for the next 20,000 years?

Get busy. Please. Dump Dick first. I'll show you the winning entry from the Dump Dick YouTube group in the next post.

Enjoy!

Patient Zero - The Real Flip Flopper!

Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire C-SPAN

Here you go -- the REAL flip flopper! Makes you wonder who gave him the Kool Aid between 1994 and the 2000 election.

The Sum of Financial Fears

If you've been confused by exactly what is happening to your dollar, you need to listen to this very succinct discussion. Only quality people were invited:

·	Greg Ip, economics reporter, The Wall Street Journal
·	Robert Shiller, professor of economics at Yale University and co-founder of "Macro Markets," a specialty investment bank that trades in real estate markets
·	Allen Sinai, chief global economist, strategist, and president of Decision Economics, Inc.

You'll feel good having a better grasp of how it all moves around. Enjoy!