April 20, 2005
George and the Teddy Bear
I've stayed away from posting anything political lately. Partly this is because I don't feel the need to vent because I'm actually working on a political campaign for a Green Party candidate for Indiana Secretary of State. I'm also planning on helping to reinvigorate the Monroe County Greens. So, this pointed, directed action is helping me to take news in stride because I'm doing things to promote civil liberties, peace, justice and environmentalism. Plus, let's face it the right-wing radicals are just digging their own graves and at this point, it's getting downright laughable.
But the Bolton news is just a complete shocker to me. I think that I'm not the only one who was blind-sided by Senator Voinovich's crisis of conscience. As far as I could understand it, thanks to Democracy Now!, it was going to be up to Sen. Lugar (R-IN) to keep postponing a vote so that more information about Bolton could come to light making it impossible for even the most ardent Bushie to support that man. Voinovich is a very savvy politician, so there must be a larger agenda here--perhaps the first sign that the moderates (they look like liberals) in the party are going to attempt a coup? Is it the shot heard round the Party?
Cursor.org points out that Voinovich is already under attack by the right-wing radical group "Move America Forward". I checked out their website and this picture on their homepage is what prompted this post.
I laughed so hard that I almost peed my pants. Seriously, do they think that dressing up a teddy bear in an American flag constitutes an honest visual representation of America? How on earth can anyone take this group seriously when they have that image on their website? Their money will buy them plenty of time on Ohio airwaves to get the message across that they're gunning for one of Ohio's favorite sons. Yeah, that's smart. Go into your enemy's territory and vilify him.
Chins up progressives. There's a lot more to laugh at now than just The Daily Show.
UPDATE: You can view the committee meeting on C-Span's website. Voinovich starts talking around 1:16. RealPlayer will allow you to go to that spot and watch from there instead of having to sit through and hour of very boring senator jargon. It's not quite as described elsewhere, but very interesting. I'm still trying to figure out what Lugar was up to when he was pushing for a vote that he had to have known would deadlock the committee and sink the nomination. It took Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to request a delay in voting in order for Lugar to agree. Either Lugar was trying to kill it outright while appearing to back the nominee by declaring many times that he was going to vote for him or he was trying to kill it because he knows or suspects that once investigations reveal the full extent of Bolton's misconduct he'll end up being prosecuted.
February 09, 2005
Complete Hypocrisy from the Right Wing
Published on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 by ABC News
Cable Companies Provide Porn While Funding Politicians
Critics Say Politicians Morally Obligated to Refuse Donations
by Jake Tapper and Avery Miller
"It's a very lucrative source of funds," said Dennis McAlpine, a media and entertainment industry analyst. "The cable companies and the satellite companies are programming agnostics in the sense that they don't care what the programming is. It's what the viewers want to see."
Viewers can watch such sexually explicit movies in the Hilton and Marriott hotel chains on video services like LodgeNet or on "On Command," which is owned by Liberty Media, formerly a part of AT&T; at home via DirecTV, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp; or via virtually every cable company, including Cox, Time Warner and Comcast.
....
January 29, 2005
A Good Birthday Present for Me
Boxer / Obama 2008 Bumper Sticker
January 27, 2005
Maureen Dowd
My favorite columnist, Maureen Dowd, has written some very vitriolic pieces lately, including today's column. It's great to see. Our administration is so incredibly corrupt in so many ways yet the press is not doing its job of telling us that. Maureen and Jon Stewart bravely tell it like it is, but these two voices are drowned out by the cacophony of right-wing Bushities disguised as (or labelled as) "mainstream, liberal press" journalists. Soviet Russia was Pravda and Pravda was Soviet Russia. See any connections between them and us? Perhaps we miss them so much that we are becoming them. The Cold War is alive and well and the Soviets are winning!! Even Marx must be befuddled.
November 20, 2004
Schrenko Wins Dubious Award
Linda Schrenko has won BuzzFlash's GOP Hypocrite of the Week! Remember that you read about her here first (hee hee).
November 17, 2004
More Theft from a GOP Leader
Well, it's everywhere I turn today! I want to know how this has gone unnoticed for so long.
Paying for Santorums' school costs questioned
The senator lives in Va. His children attend a cyber school paid for by his Pa. school district.
By Jennifer C. Yates
Associated Press
Posted on Sat, Nov. 13, 2004
Penn Hills has spent $100,000 educating Santorum's children at an Internet-based school since 2001-02, said Erin Vecchio, a school board member who requested the review. She is also head of the local Democratic committee.
"I'm concerned, because [he is] taking away from my kid. That $100,000... could be going to my kids, a computer or something," said Vecchio, who has three children enrolled in Penn Hills schools. "I'm sick of this man saying that he lives in Penn Hills when he doesn't."
Santorum's spokeswoman, Christine Shott, said she did not know whether the senator and his wife, who have six children, had ever stayed in the two-bedroom house they own in Penn Hills.
The Santorums bought the house for $87,800 in 1997, and it was assessed for $106,000 last year, records show.
The couple's home in Leesburg, Va., was assessed at $757,000 this year, tax records show.
Under Pennsylvania's 2002 cyber-school law, the district in which a student lives must pay the cost of tuition for students enrolled in cyber charter schools. Virginia has no such provision.
Vecchio asked the school superintendent to conduct a formal review at a board meeting this week.
"As we would do in any case, for any citizen, if there is a question of residency, the staff is looking into it," Penn Hills School Superintendent Patricia Gennari told the Associated Press.
Shott said the senator, now in his second term, was a resident of Penn Hills and paid taxes on the property. She said she did not know and could not comment on whether the family ever stayed at the home or rented it out.
Shott said Santorum was not available yesterday to comment.
It is not unusual for U.S. senators to have homes in or near Washington. But, at age 46, Santorum is not your typical senator. He is the fifth-youngest member in a chamber where the average age is 64 and most of his colleagues do not have to worry about where to send their children to school.
As part of his duties as a senator and head of the Republican Conference, Santorum travels often; his children often accompany him, something made possible by their taking classes through the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, Shott said. She added that Santorum had visited each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties every year since he went to the Senate in 1994.
The Penn Hills Progress, a weekly newspaper, first reported last month that the district was paying for the Santorum children to take classes through the cyber school.
Schrenkogate Latest
Oh, yes, there's more of course. So much for that good 'ole "personal responsibilty" that the GOP touts as the cornerstone of their party members' values.
Schrenko Cited Heavy Debts
2003 bankruptcy filing came after alleged theft
By JAMES SALZER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/16/04
Court records show Schrenko, the former state school superintendent, and her then-husband, Frank, filed for bankruptcy Oct. 27, 2003, listing little in the way of assets except their Grovetown home. Frank and Linda Schrenko have since divorced, and she now lives in nearby Martinez, an Augusta suburb.
In total, the couple listed $232,644 in liabilities and $172,615 in assets, of which their home accounted for $150,000. Schrenko, who was a longtime teacher and served as state superintendent from 1995 to 2003, listed a state pension of about $48,000 a year.
Schrenko, who in 1994 became the first woman elected to partisan statewide office, was released on $40,000 bail Monday after surrendering to federal authorities. She was indicted last week on charges she conspired with her former chief deputy, Merle Temple of Evans, and Alpharetta computer consultant A. Stephan Botes to steal money purportedly designated to help Georgia's two state schools for the deaf and the governor's honor's program.
About $250,000 was diverted to Schrenko's failed campaign for governor in 2002, according to federal authorities.
Federal authorities say Schrenko filed false campaign disclosure reports to cover up the scheme. Campaign finance records indicate she repaid a $250,000 campaign loan to Regions Bank about three weeks after authorities say more than $500,000 in federal education funds were signed over to companies controlled by Botes.
The indictment also says Temple spent $9,300 of the money to pay for Schrenko's cosmetic surgery.
Her lawyer, Pete Theodocion of Augusta, said Schrenko suffers from physical problems from an auto accident, and her bankruptcy shows several debts to doctors and hospitals. Among them is a $10,000 to a "Dr. Cooper." Her daughter, Katherine Cooper, is a dentist whose practice is located at the address listed on the filing.
Another $30,000 is owed in loans from Household Finance in Augusta and SunTrust Bank.
The biggest debts were on credit cards, according to the bankruptcy records. American Express is listed as being owed $6,727. BB&T was owed another $47,622 in credit card debt; BP Amoco $1,429; Discover $274; Macy's $1,087; MBNA $391; and SunTrust $10,703, according to the filing.
Collection agencies are listed as trying to recoup more than $20,000, with some of the debt being owed to retail companies, including Sears.
I Think She Paid Too Much for that Face
What? Corruption and greed permeate the GOP down to the state level? I thought that they were the party with moral values! Oh, but she does look lovely with her "fake" fur and facelift!!
Schrenko Surrenders
In handcuffs, former state school chief pleads innocent to stealing $614,000
By BILL RANKIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/15/04
Linda Schrenko, the fashion-conscious former Georgia school superintendent, smiled for the television cameras while wearing a dramatic camel-colored coat with fur-looking collar and cuffs when she showed up Monday morning to surrender to authorities.
Two hours later, Schrenko appeared somber as she was led before a judge in handcuffs to face charges of stealing $614,000 in federal education funds, much of it allegedly diverted to her failed campaign for governor — and $9,300 for a face-lift.
Schrenko pleaded innocent and was released on $40,000 bond. She was also ordered to submit to drug tests after she disclosed that she takes a variety of prescription medications for neck and back pain from an auto accident more than a decade ago.
Schrenko declined to comment on the charges as she made her way through a pack of reporters and cameramen in the federal courthouse parking lot. Inside, she was fingerprinted, photographed and required to wait in a small holding cell before making her initial court appearance.
Schrenko, 54, is charged in an 18-count federal indictment, along with her former chief deputy, Merle Temple Jr., 56, of Evans, and Alpharetta computer consultant A. Stephan Botes, 47.
Temple and Botes also pleaded innocent Monday. Temple, who also was led into court in handcuffs, was released on $40,000 bond. Botes was arrested earlier this month and released on bond last week.
In 1994, Schrenko, a former teacher, became the first woman to win statewide elected office in Georgia and the first Republican to run the state's education agency. She was re-elected in 1998 and was considered a leading candidate for governor in 2002.
The federal indictment accuses Schrenko, Temple and Botes of working a scheme to steal federal education funds and secretly funnel about half the money to Schrenko's race for governor, which she lost in the Republican primary. The government accuses Schrenko of using $9,300 of the money to pay for cosmetic surgery.
Schrenko's attorney, Pete Theodocion of Augusta, said after the hearing Monday that he regrets so much attention has been paid to "a face-lift," which Schrenko had around the time of the 2002 elections.
As for Schrenko's wardrobe for her court appearance, Theodocion said the cloth coat probably cost no more than $150 and that his client "didn't come here wearing gold or diamonds and is not a person who's rolling around in money." The collar and cuffs were not fur, he said.
"We're planning on going to trial and counting on her being found not guilty," the lawyer said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Feldman asked Schrenko to describe her level of education. She replied that she had completed a six-year postgraduate program and had obtained a "leadership certificate," which allows her to be a school administrator.
Upon hearing that, the judge said there should be no question about Schrenko's ability to read, write and understand the English language, a common question defendants are asked to make sure they understand the charges against them.
"Hope not," replied Schrenko, who championed phonics-based reading programs as state school superintendent.
Feldman ordered Schrenko to submit to drug tests after he was handed a list of the prescription medications she is taking. "You're taking some strong medication, as you well know," the judge said.
He also ordered Schrenko to turn over a firearm she owns to her daughter, who lives in Evans.
As the hearing adjourned, a deputy marshal walked up to Schrenko, put the handcuffs back on her and took her to the marshal's office, where she was later released.
Schrenko, who lives in the Augusta suburb of Martinez, was driven to Monday's court hearing by a family friend. Theodocion said Schrenko lost her driver's license after twice losing consciousness while driving earlier this year. No one was injured in the incidents, the lawyer said, adding they were caused by a blood condition that requires prescription medication.
It's the Language, Stupid!
Two weeks ago I watched a very good Frontline episode called "The Persuaders". Go ahead, click on the link, I'll be here when you get back. Now notice that the good people at PBS online have been kind enough to not only let us see the show for free in its entirety but also hone in on specific sections of particular interest. The one I'd like to point out is #5 Give Us What We Want. It is a segment on a guy named Frank Luntz. Go ahead, watch the segment, it's only 13 minutes long.
Welcome back! I don't know what is scarier, Luntz reclining in that faux black leather recliner couch section to watch "pop culture" or he in ecstasy over how to dupe people (and get paid handsomely for it I imagine). Now read the article War Of Words by Brian Morton of the Baltimore City Paper.
As a break from all that text, let's look at a nifty graphic that the NY Times put together after the conventions.
Recently my sage husband (still strange to call Paul that, er, not the sage part, the husband part) pointed out that we need a counter to the phrase "politically correct" which has been sent to the dustbin as an absurd, liberal term. At its heart, it contains a recognition that language does effect perception. Politically correct terms like "African-American" or "postal carrier" are trying to expose bias and are not meant to obscure meaning. What the GOP is doing is covert and Orwellian and it's not getting pointed out. We need a term that can be easily affixed to terms and phrases like "climate change" (read: global warming) and "death tax" (read: estate tax) to flag them as spin. I would like to nominate "luntzian" or "luntzspeak" or "luntzspin" although they do ironically canonize that jackass. Any other ideas?
To finish the tour of this topic for today, I encourage you to read the following articles. If you don't get to all of them today, bookmark the permalink for this entry. They really are all very worthwhile reading.
Opposing Luntz' Talking Points :: this weblog entry from Hunting the Muse. It is very valuable because it contains a download link for the recent Luntz talking points memo (in PDF form). If you want to see it for yourself, this is invaluable. I downloaded a copy, so if the link no longer works, email me at leftfield(at)elizabethfuller.com and I'll send you a copy.
The Republican Noise Machine :: in which David Brock, the reformed conservative noise-maker, discusses with Mother Jones' Bradford Plumer how the Right has sabotaged journalism, democracy, and truth.
Using Deceptive Language :: from a favorite weblog of mine in which Luntz is discussed. Interestingly enough, the most recent entry is on the Frontline show that aired last night about the evil Walmart Corp.
Insinuation and Other Pitfalls in Political Ads and News :: contains a section "Who's Language Is This?" in which the author discusses the case of Willie Horton and how it was framed by the GOP and H.W. Bush to attack Michael Dukakis.
November 15, 2004
DailyKos Thread: Montana Miracle
The Montana miracle
This is a thread from DailyKos that I find interesting. I've been thinking a lot lately about how hunters could be a very important breed of environmentalist. Perhaps if they see themselves as conservationalists and the Democratic Party speaks in those terms, the two can merge in more places than just Montana.
November 14, 2004
Masters of War
High school students pose threat to President with Dylan lyrics
Katharine Mieszkowski on Salon.com
12 November 2004
The members of "Coalition of the Willing," a band of students from Boulder High School, plan to sing Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" at the school talent show tonight. But when rumors surfaced on local talk radio that the band had changed the lyrics of the song during a rehearsal to threaten to kill the President, the feds were called in, according to multiple local and national news reports.
The lyrics of the anti-war anthem include: You might say that I'm young / You might say I'm unlearned / But there's one thing I know / Though I'm younger than you / Even Jesus would never / Forgive what you do
And the song ends:
And I hope that you die / And your death'll come soon / I will follow your casket / In the pale afternoon / And I'll watch while you're lowered / Down to your deathbed / And I'll stand o'er your grave / 'Til I'm sure that you're dead.
The students maintain they just rehearsed the song as its written. The Secret Service reportedly stayed at the school about 20 minutes on Thursday, and took a copy of the song's lyrics with them when they left, satisfied that President Bush was not in danger from them.
Paging Bob Dylan! He should offer to give a free concert at the school to thank the "Coalition of the Willing." The students could play back-up. In any case, the clever members of the band will have good fodder for their college application essays.
Listen to this incredibly relevent song.
Masters of War
Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly
Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain
You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud
You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins
How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul
And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead
--Bob Dylan
September 07, 2004
Common Dreams Headlines
US Death Toll Nears 1,000; Dozens Killed as Sadr City Erupts Again
Peace Activist Held as 'Danger to Israel'
Global Beach: Naomi Klein, Tim Robbins Star at the Alternative to the Venice Film Fest
Terror Case Collapse Blow to Bush
Scientist: Extreme Weather Will Kill Millions
Bush: OB-GYNs Kept from 'Practicing Their Love'
New Movie at 10 Weeks
Moveon.org is hosting a new movie at their 10 Weeks website. Enjoy.
Maureen Dowd's Latest Column
Amnesia in the Garden by Maureen Dowd, NY Times, 5 Sept '04
Snippet:
W. took a page from Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Total Recall," a futuristic movie about inserting fully formed memories into the minds of unsuspecting victims.
The president and vice president ignored all the expert evidence now compiled indicating no link between 9/11 and Saddam, and no Saddam threat to U.S. security. After talking about "the fanatics who killed some 3,000 of our fellow Americans," Dick Cheney boasted: "In Iraq, we dealt with a gathering threat, and removed the regime of Saddam Hussein."
Though the convention mythologized Mr. Bush's bullhorn moment at ground zero, there was no mention of Osama, the fiend W. vowed to catch that day. The speakers did not acknowledge the brutal spiral in Afghanistan and Iraq, or the re-emergence of the Taliban, now finding sanctuary with our ally, Pakistan.
September 03, 2004
"F Bomb" Is Apparantly a Family Value
This from the American Progress Action Fund's newsletter:
RIGHT-WING CULTURALLY INSENSITIVE QUOTE OF THE DAY: Roll Call reports, "Guess who's the latest victim of Cheney Potty Mouth Syndrome? Hard as it may be to believe, it's none other than the man formerly known as Mr. Family Values, one-time presidential candidate Gary Bauer." Walking outside Madison Square Garden, a protester yelled at the Christian activist. "Bauer, without skipping a beat, popped off the now commonly procured and deployed F Bomb. 'F--- you,' Bauer said as he kept walking."
Op-Eds Du Jour
I found both Paul Krugman's "Feel the Hate" and Bob Herbert's "Heads in the Sand" opinion pieces in the New York Times today very interesting. Krugman talks about the psychology of fear that has flourished in the Republican Party. Herbert discusses the schism between what the GOP speakers mentioned in their speeches and the reality of the world.
September 02, 2004
Common Dreams Articles
Here are the latest headlines from Common Dreams.
Veterans of Iraq War Join Forces to Protest US Invasion
Halliburton Says Officials Spoke of Nigeria Bribes
Complaints Swirl Over Holding Area for Arrested Protesters
A Father Gets Anti-War Message to the Floor
Iraq War Has Some Republicans Looking to President for Answers
U.S.-Backed Armies Firing Blanks
Traces of Toxic Chemicals Found in Supermarket Food, Study Says
President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief
I do not agree that "flip-flopping" is a necessarily bad trait in a president. In fact, I think that oftentimes positions need to be re-evaluated based on new facts that come to light. The idea that you are a good politician if you remain completely consistent on issues sets up a false dichotomy. But when a president bases his entire message on his rigidity and inability to bend, the hypocrisy of flip-flopping needs to be addressed.
The Center for American Progress has done just that. They have compiled a list of 30 major issues on which Bush has flip-flopped. Issue #29 concerns me greatly and I certainly hope that his "flop" side is the one that he'd stick with if re-appointed president.
Maureen Dowd's Latest Column
Maureen Dowd is back to writing her column. Read her latest.
September 01, 2004
Common Dreams Articles
The following articles are featured on the Common Dreams website today. Just thought I'd share.
Three-Mile Long 'Unemployment Line' Gives Bush the Pink Slip
US Plans to Slash Many Rent Vouchers
Opium Trade Still Entrenched Across Desperate Afghanistan
Spy Probe Scans Neo-Con Israel Ties
FBI Seizes Computer from AIPAC Offices
Protesters in New York Planning to Take On Media Giants
Hundreds of Thousands March Against Bush, War
Human Cost of Iraq War Erodes Support for Bush
Gay GOP Leader Warns of a Cultural War Within Party
Iraq Success 'Catastrophic': Bush
Energy Firms Buy Bush Favors, Critics Say
Antiwar Demonstrators in New York Impress Seasoned Portland Protester
August 31, 2004
The GOP Doesn't Represent America
Michael Moore's latest article which is published in USA Today is topping the list of political (election) blogs right now.
Here's a segment...
August 30, 2004
Guilt Overcomes Texan
Last week the Austin for Kerry and Edwards website posted this video of Ben Barnes, former Lieutenant Governor of Texas explaining how he gave Shrub a free pass during the Viet Nam War (er, I mean police action). Here's an excerpt of what he said:
Fun times in Texas these days!
ACLU "No Spy" Pledge
The good people over at the ACLU are currently running a campaign to have major corporations take a "no-spy pledge". In doing so, corporations promise to not give over customer information to the government. You can read an article about this campaign or just check out the campaign page for yourself. Consider sending a letter to a company that is not on the list. I've emailed Kroger and Marsh grocery stores since they are the only stores that I visit on a regular basis. I assume that my local co-op is not a government spy :) If you do send a letter, please correct the typo in the letter (intruments should be instruments).
August 06, 2004
McCain Calls for End of Anti-Kerry Ad
McCain condemns anti-Kerry ads, calls on White House to follow suit (by Ron Fournier, AP Political Writer, 5 August 2004)
By now, you've probably heard about the ads being run by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth which feature Viet Nam vets who claim that Kerry is a liar and isn't a war hero. And while it is not officially supported by the Bush Campaign, it is yet another example of the Bush administration refusing to rise to the level of common decency.
As a former target of this type of underhanded, intentional deceit and a Viet Nam war veteran himself, McCain is taking a stand. He has asked the White House to call for suspension of the ads. The White House has declined the request.
McCain said that's all in the past to him, but he's speaking out against the anti-Kerry ad because "it reopens all the old wounds of the Vietnam War, which I spent the last 35 years trying to heal."
"I deplore this kind of politics," McCain said. "I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crew have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam. I think George Bush served honorably in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War."...
This article covers the same ground with some additional coverage of Kerry calling for more minorities in journalism.
And finally, here's a great article published in Salon today that gives a broader view of the "relationship" between Kerry and his nemesis Jim O'Neill.
An Op/Ed Worth Reading
Failure of Leadership (Bob Herbert, New York Times, 6 August 2004)
A debate emerged almost immediately about whether the intelligence on which those disclosures were based was old or new, or a combination of both. Nevertheless, because of the growing sense of alarm, there was an expansion of the already ubiquitous armed, concrete-fortified sites in New York City and Washington.
The pressure may be getting to Mr. Bush. He came up with a gem of a Freudian slip yesterday. At a signing ceremony for a $417 billion military spending bill, the president said: "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.....
August 05, 2004
Blog On, Man
CIA Asks Bush to Discontinue Blog (The Onion, 4 Aug 2004)
This is currently the most popular topic of webloggers out there according to blogdex.
If you're interested in laughing even more, check out Bush's campaign blog. It's full of tasty morsels like: "In any case, by now a third piece of the record appears clear: the recession President Clinton left behind has turned into prosperity under George W. Bush."
The Iraqis Are Coming!
Iraqis on tour banned from Memphis hall
Somehow I doubt that when the terrorists strike, we'll see them coming (up the front steps to register at the guest information desk, as I imagine this case to be). As is evidenced elsewhere, local officials are the last to know about where terrorist threats are coming from and how to deal with them if they happen. I think that keeping local officials in the dark results in the behaviour demonstrated by the Memphis city council.
August 04, 2004
The Democrats Should Lose The Election??
Pity The Man Who Wins This Election: Given the state of the economy, it would be better for Kerry if he lost by Larry Elliott, Friday July 30, 2004, The Guardian UK
The above is an interesting article, although hardly infallible to scrutiny. I think that he is too focused on purely economic facets of America. Bush is a danger in so many ways beyond economics.
I would adore "seeing Bush cleaning up his own vomit" and having to be held responsible for all his crap while in office. I'd love to see him impeached. But I'd still rather not see him re-appointed in the first place. With no guarantee that either the House or Senate will be controlled by the Dems, I feel that we are far from seeing him impeached or disgraced. If he gets another free pass, he'll just keep on crushing civil liberties, appointing right-wing judges, trampling on pro-environmental policies, robbing the poor to give to the rich, and making our world less safe for everyone. The guy is a menace and needs to be removed.
August 02, 2004
Ron Reagan Speaks His Mind
I am the farthest thing from a Reagan supporter, but I like his son. Check out this article by the dead actor's activist son. I'd post it here in full if not for those pesky copyright laws :)
Read All About It
There's a new book club in this country, chock full of progressive goodness.
July 30, 2004
Wake up folks, we're an Empire!
How on earth do people in this country NOT realize that we're an empire? Our imperialism is demonstrated in so many ways. Here's one: we have nearly 370,000 active military troops stationed around the world.
The list of countries grouped by number of troups:
>10,000
UK
Italy
Afghanistan
Germany
Iraq
Kuwait
Japan
South Korea
2,000 to 10,000
Cuba
Spain
Qatar
Bahrain
1,000 to 2,000
Iceland
Belgium
Portugal
Turkey
Pakistan
Uzbekistan
<1,000
Honduras
Norway
Netherlands
Greece
Kyrgyzstan
United Arab Emirates
Oman
Thailand
Singapore
Australia
Diego Garcia
(source: National Geographic, Foreign Service: Soldiers Waging War and Keeping Peace, May 2004)
Fahrenheit 9/11
Paul and I saw Michael Moore's latest yesterday in Indianapolis. Interestingly enough, the crowd was large for a Thursday mid-day showing and it was full of "Republican looking Hoosiers" as I think of them--older, white, middle class residents of one of the most conservative cities in the country.
If you haven't seen the film, I cannot urge you strongly enough to go see it for yourselves. If you think that the facts used to create the film are spurious, just check out the fact checker at michealmoore.com to get the back-story.
I thought that I would leave the theater in rage, but instead I just felt like crying. There is something completely demoralizing about seeing dupes and pawns of the rich, selfish, morally bankrupt Republican party.
June 23, 2004
Clinton on Charlie Rose
Tonight's Show
BILL CLINTON
Former President of the United States
Author, "My Life"
Anyone going to read the memoir? I'm curious about it, although since Hillary is still throwing her political weight around I highly doubt that it's a very, um, intriguing kind of book.
June 15, 2004
An Important Ad
FaithfulAmerica is airing an ad in Arab countries which you can view at: http://www.faithfulamerica.org/adclip.htm
The transcript runs as follows:
"A Salaam A’alaykum ["Peace be with you" in Arabic]. As Americans of faith, we express our deep sorrow at abuses committed in Iraqi prisons. We stand in solidarity with all those in Iraq and everywhere who demand justice and human dignity. We condemn the sinful and systemic abuses committed in our name, and pledge to work to right these wrongs."
"This message was endorsed and paid for by thousands of Americans. www.faithfulamerica.org" [Appears on screen at end of ad].
Speakers - Rev. Dr. Don Shriver, Imam Feisal Abdur Rauf, Sister Betty Obal and Rabbi Arthur Waskow.
By signing on to the ad, you can have your voice added to the thousands of Americans who are deeply regretful of and concerned by the abuses of Iraqi prisoners. FaithfulAmerica is planning to state the number of people who have signed onto the ad at the end of it.
June 11, 2004
How's OUR "Democracy" Doing?
OK, so here's an example of the type of article to which I referred in my last entry:
Poor Version of Democracy
The author, E.J. Dionne Jr., is a senior fellow in government studies at the Brookings Institution.
After you're done with the article:
- Read more about the task force behind the original report on which this article is based.
- Go to the source and read the report.
April 27, 2004
Philip II and George II
I'm currently reading Barbara W. Tuchman's The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution.
I was struck by her description of Spain's Philip II and his uncanny resemblance to another "II" that we are all too familiar with in this country.
She writes,
"The ruler, Philip II--that "odious personage", as Motley, classic historian of the revolt, cannot refrain in his Protestant Victorian rectitude from calling him--was himself too narrow and rigid to recognize as rebellion the trouble he was stirring up for himself; Philip could think only in terms of being ordained by God to root out Protestantism, and he rejected any consideration that might suggest an obstacle in the way of this task"
and continues.....
"The sack [in 1576 of Antwerp] was precipitated by a mutiny of Spanish troops who had not received their promised pay for 22 months. Philip II, having transferred the cost of the war into a huge debt owed to the merchants and magnates of Spain, had declared his exchequer in bankruptcy in 1575 and had received a dispensation from the Pope permitting him to revoke all promises or commitments "lest he should be ruined by usury while combating the heretics." With his customary lack of sense, the richest monarch of his time applied the dispensation to non-payment of his army on the theory that, as he was God's instrument for crushing heresy, whatever he did, whether or not was wise, was right. Like most of Philip's policy judgments, it turned against himself."
Because my public high school education didn't exactly teach me much history, I was until now unaware of the parallels between the Dutch provinces' struggle for independence from Spain and the American colonists' struggle against England which happened 200 years later. I was also unaware of how important the Dutch mercantile system was to the Revolution. Washington most likely would not have survived the first winter without Dutch supplies of provisions and ammunition.
Tuchman is a favorite popular author of history books. I only took one history class at The College of Wooster and so have happily avoided the dry and uninteresting (sometimes revisionist) histories to which scholars are beholden. I get to read Gibbon, Tuchman, Boorstin in happy bliss.
I encourage all curious minds to take in any or all of Tuchman's works. The journalist/homemaker was a 2-time Pulitzer Prize winner. I'm sure that it is because of her separation from academia that she wrote such dynamic and engrossing books.
April 20, 2004
3rd Party Candidates
It's good to see that 3rd party candidates are coming from the left and the right. It seems to me that Nader is getting too much press. I say let's hear from those Libertarians!