Reminder: International A.N.S.W.E.R. March on Washington and San Francisco
OCTOBER 25, 2003
Bring the troops home now
End the occupation of Iraq
Money for jobs, education & healthcare - Not war
International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & Racism) is organizing marches on Washington, D.C. and San Francisco for Saturday, October 25, 2003 to protest U.S. Wars around the world. Read more about the march, including the call to action and logistical information, on their website.
Internet muse.
Daring, bold, never sold.
My daily weblog of politics, humor, philosophy...and a constant and nagging reminder of the existence of universal love....
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
International A.N.S.W.E.R. March on Washington Oct 25th
The 100 greatest novels of all time
"....as the BBC prepares to reveal [Great Britain's] best loved books, The Observer has compiled its own list of essential fiction from the past 300 years..."
How many of these books have you read?
* I hope Anonymoses will appreciate #7*
*This blog particularly appreciates #52*
Two Nations.. Under God(?)...Indivisible(?)
Two Nations- Under God(?)...Indivisible(?)
The Supreme Court will hear the case of "under God".
They added the Pledge of Allegiance to the docket for its new term on Tuesday, agreeing to consider whether public schools violate the Constitution by requiring teachers to lead their classes in pledging allegiance to the flag of "one nation under God."
I find the whole thing quite silly.
If we want to have a realistic court decision on the Pledge, let's talk about issues which are more tangible and pressing than Deity recogition.
Today, it is more apparent than ever that we are two nations under God.
America is totally polarized. You read it in the papers...you see it on your television screens..you see it in electoral results and public polls. There it is...right under your noses.
Choose your polar labels..Conservative/Liberal; Republican/Democrat; Washington Times reader/Washington Post reader; FOX news fan/ABC Nightline fan; Red State/Blue State; Rush Limbaugh listener/NPR supporter; Christian Right/Progressive; Pro-War/Anti-War...you get the gist of it, don't you?
If Justice Scalia would recuse himself from the "under God" case, who should recuse themselves if the "two nations under God" case should come along?
Every justice save Sandra Day O'Connor would have to step aside, I would think.
After the Selection 2000 case, Justice Sandra is the only Supreme Court justice who may not be hypnotized and infected by polarization.
Or how about letting Justice Sandra recuse herself and let "two nations" come to a 4-to-4 tie...the imagined "two nations" appeals court ruling would automatically be affirmed and the truth would be affirmed.
We are no longer one nation under God....
*if we are indeed under God....rest assured, the Supremes will let us know whether or not we are under God soon.*
We are two nations...the "indivisible" being reserved for another day in court.
Saletan: The Unstoppable Howard Dean
William Saletan: As hard as they've tried, confounded 2004 Democratic candidates can't find a way to deter the unstoppable Howard Dean
They just can't get it right
"....You can imagine how angry I am, as a swing voter, to find out these horrible things about Dean. My hands are trembling so violently, I can barely write his name on the check...."
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
By Paul Bedard
Wilson adds ammo to hit war credibility gap
"Just as former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's story that Bushies blew his CIA wife's cover to get back at his criticism of the war in Iraq was getting old, he has stumbled on new ammo to hit the administration's credibility. Wilson tells us he plans to circulate the text of a briefing by analyst Sam Gardiner that suggests the White House and Pentagon made up or distorted over 50 war stories. You know some tall tales, like the Pvt. Jessica Lynch story. But there's more, says Gardiner, a war gamer who has taught at the National War College. Like how defense officials said the first Iraqi unit marines encountered, the 51st Mechanized Infantry Division, had surrendered four days before it actually did. And he says Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers gave bad or deliberately incomplete info on several topics. Sure, propaganda has always been used in war to deceive and demoralize the enemy. But these guys went way overboard, Gardiner says. "Never before have so many stories been created to sell a war," he insists. "And they probably didn't need it."
Poll: More would vote Democratic in 2004
Latest poll numbers show voters would rather elect the unknown
than face another four years with a man
who cannot lead successfully
From Washington Post-ABC News poll released today:
46 percent said they would reelect Bush if the election were held today, while 47 percent would vote for the yet-to-be chosen Democratic nominee.
They'd rather have this...
than this
People are really beginning to see that our nation is in danger of becoming a military state.
It seems that the rest of this world believes they will be little more than Bush campaign-contributors by caving in to his prideful, stubborn, untrustworthy demands. The EU is hesitant to help Iraq if it means helping Bush get reelected. Our nation, our troops, and the people of Iraq are gravely damaged in the process.
If it takes a new leader to make things safe for all concerned and to set us back on a road to international reconciliation and cooperation, we'll need new leadership in Washington.
Pollyanna Dubya Bush
"The person who is in charge is me..They're just wrong about our strategy..We've had a strategy from the beginning.... Since the liberation of Iraq, thousands of new bidnesses have been launched...373 American troops exchanged for all them bidnesses..I'd say we're doing pretty good if I gotta say so myself....Pay no attention to those suicide bombers driving into those buildins...pay no attention to the four U.S. soldiers who sacrificed their lives this past weekend...look...look over here...Iraqis are building roads, for Pete's sake.....HEY!...stop looking at Donny...Condi's here with the good news...like me....me and Condi know what's going on over there, and it ain't like you liberal commie-type media bullies are saying....looks like ol' Pollyanna Dubya's gonna hafta set the record straight hisself..."
Monday, October 13, 2003
David Corn-"How I broke the CIA-leak story, and why nobody noticed"
From the L.A. Weekly
David Corn: The Novak Affair
How I broke the CIA-leak story, and why nobody noticed
Read David Corn's scrutiny of today's typical Republican damage-control dissembling.
Excerpt:
"....The issue is not who’s screaming about the leak but who did it. Yet if Portman and the Republicans can succeed in presenting the controversy as another one of those same-old bitter face-offs between D’s and R’s — creating a moral equivalency between the leakers and the complainants — they win. Their aim is to exploit the public’s (justifiable) cynicism toward Washington and to battle to an it’s-all-politics draw. This is a good strategy — as long as no indictments materialize..."
Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson- from "Informed Comment" website
This is a great tongue-in-cheek must-read by Juan Cole, Professor of History at the University of Michigan.
While you're there, read the rest of his "Informed Comment" site.
In this blog's humble opinion, it is the cream of the blogcrop.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
by Bart Whiteman
From the Chattanoogan News
This blog thanks Mr. Whiteman for what we consider to be a generous contribution to the mental health of those of us out here who are beginning to think either we are certifiable.. or the rest of the nation has gone mad.
"...Cheney warned us all about the big, bad, boogie day of doom that awaits us all if we don’t toe the line. He tried very hard to frighten as many people as he could with his portrayal of the horrors that are in store if we don’t let these administration cowboys continue to round up and dispose of the terrorist herd at will.
Oh, and anyone who disagrees with him is a wimp.
Well, Dick, I noticed you delivered your bold message at the Heritage Foundation, the well-endowed incubator of conservative thought. Who’s the wimp here? If that ain’t preaching to the choir, I don’t know what is...."
Cheney came out of the bat cave on Friday and Americans saw his shadow
"....It’s pretty clear that nothing short of electoral defeat or impeachment will stop the war from the administration’s perspective, and since Congress is in the hands of the Republicans, they’ll just go keep going along for the merry ride..."
"...The major media have soft-pedaled and glorified the whole thing because they are along for the corporate ride..They have leveraged the war for better ratings and better advertising revenues. They have invested in your party. They have supplied champagne to celebrate whenever there is something to celebrate. There may be a few lunatics left out there questioning the whole operation, and the Iraqi people may be suffering through your trial by p.r., but they don’t really matter, do they?.."
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Dick Cheney knows....trust him..
Trust him?
"....There is no glorious anti-war rhetoric. The American public has submitted. You don’t need to justify the unjustifiable. You already did it. You started your war, and no one said ‘boo.’ You divided the world into the good (us) and the evil (them). Your action is the justification. The results are the justification. If you get your way, then what does it matter what anyone else thinks? Stop trying the sell the war. Wage the war. Shut down the p.r. machine. It’s not working. No one believes you any more, at least not your words, which change with every shift of the breeze. Go about your business.
Go back to shadow land..."
Blake Lethem and Howard Dean-NY Post Attacks
Totalitarian-style Editorial in NY Post-
Post imputes Howard Dean for the legal fallout of the free actions of Blake Lethem
"....Well, thanks to all the publicity, Howard Dean's favorite "artist" may be facing some richly deserved jail time...."
In a free and open America, this will never stand.
The NY Post's criticism of Howard Dean for giving an artist space to express himself in a legal manner is completely out of touch with our precious American values of free expression.
This is a clear GOP warning shot crossing the Democrats' bow....support the freedom of controversial art and you will not only risk political injury, but the artist you support will be imprisoned.
Is this Cuba..or America?
Saturday, October 11, 2003
U.S. is Supporting a Terrorist's Organization
Pat Robertson has made nuclear threats and promoted terror against the U.S. State Department.
U.S. citizens are being forced to support his organization with faith-based funds.
Is this Saudi Arabia or the free United States?
What is the government going to do about Pat Robertson's terrorist threats?
Friday, October 10, 2003
Cheney's at it again at the Heritage Foundation--
Cheney says....
I'm watching VP Dick Cheney speak as I type these words.
Twist, twist, twist..
Fib, fib, fib....
In his speech this morning to the Heritage Foundation shamelessly promoting funds for the Iraq war,
Cheney told them...
"Remember what we saw on the morning of 9-11...."
"Remember Beirut..."
*he never mentions PanAm 103*
"Khobar Towers...."
"USS Cole..."
Cheney goes on to say there was a tendency to consider past acts of terror as individual criminal acts..he speaks of Ramzi Yousef....his criminal punishment...how some thought "case closed" once he was convicted.
(**Actually, Yousef won't be back..unless he outlives his 240-year sentence**)
Cheney says the threat was not recognized for what it was..a sustained campaign...
Cheney says for us, the war started 9-11....for them(**whoever them is**), it's been going on a long time.
Cheney says it continues today..
Riyadh(**where actual arrests have ben made and civilized justice is being done today**), Najaf(August 2003), Baghdad(**current*)....
***(notice how he pulls in POSTWAR Iraq...how many "terrorist" attacks do you recall in Iraq before the war began????!)****
Cheney is tying a long line of hatred for America by myriad nations, groups, individuals...
and claiming the culmination of it all was IRAQ.
I'm sorry, that is pure, unadulterated bullshit.
Cheney considers lobotomizing all Americans in case his lies don't go over terribly well....
He cites the Bush docritine..any government harboring terrorists will be held to account.
In that case, we are harboring them in Iraq today since we are the occupying force.
Let's hold US to account!
It's funny, by the way, these "terrorists" weren't there before the pre-emptive strike.
Hussein, as nasty as he was, would not have stood for this..he would have put these terrorists in
torture chambers...perhaps he would have gassed them!
That is the great conundrum, and the source of the Bush Administration lies.
Our war has CAUSED terrorist problems that were never there beforehand.
Cheney says Saddam Hussein had an established relationship to AlQeada--and this has NEVER been proven.
Let's ask Assistant Under Secretary Douglas Feith to show us the proof...he is the one at the helm of the top-secret department who went
terror-connection-shopping..cherry picking...to find enough slim rumor to create enough magnfied innuendo to scare the American people into believing a war was necessary at any cost.
Doug knows.....so why can't he prove it to us?
Now Cheney's defending David Kay's report which turned up with no WMD threat which would have constituted an imminent threat to any American before this pre-emptive war.
Bottom line, Cheney has nothing new.
Only old lies, boldly told, with a captive (fully supportive) audience applauding like zombies.
I'd love, just once, for Cheney and Bush to stand before a group of REAL Americans and speak....
with no one in the audience being held behind police barriers lest they should boo so loudly that the T audience might see how the Media presents pretty lies to them day in / day out.
Cheney mentions that GW Bush says our enemies are waiting to attack us with the most dangerous weapons possible.
In that case, we'd best forget the GRAVE error made in Iraq and move 'em out to North Korea pronto...lest Cheney is to be too clearly seen for the hypocrite he is.
Cheney says we fight in Iraq now so we don't have to fight in our own cities someday.
Iraq would fight us? With what? Old metal shit a redneck Iraqi scientist once buried under the rose bush?
I guess Cheney thinks it's important that we used Iraq as a stomping ground...
..but really--how moral does that sound to you?
The people of Iraq don't deserve the terror of war, either.
DO THEY?!
Bottom line....Iraq was NOT an imminent threat.
Bottom line...The Bush administration is liable for a great sin.
Whatever was happening in Iraq, it was NEVER sufficient reason to go into that nation without international support.
Americans were lied to and will now pay ever so dearly for the great caper..the great blunder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE OTHER SPEECH...THE OTHER "HOT ONE"....
Don't miss Buzzflash's Claims vs. Facts regarding Bush's New Hampshire Speech to Air National Guard Reservists
Democratic Debate / Katrina Swett / General Clark
Democratic Debate
I was surprised to see Howard Dean confronting General Clark in last night's debate in Arizona.
This is the reference Howard Dean made tonight when challenging Gen Clark on his Iraq stance:
http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/news/politics2002/1010_clark_2002.shtml
I imagine Gov Dean needs to separate himself from Gen Clark as the more consistent "outsider".
If I hear Dick Gephardt attack Howard Dean on Medicare one more useless time, I think I'll puke.
Gov Dean has clarified the issue so many times..to our complete satisfaction.
Rep Gep's looking ridiculous by dragging this out.
Dick Gephardt's line about the nation of Togo sending ONE soldier to represent them in the Iraq "coalition of the willing" was priceless sarcasm.
John Kerry had the line of the night with his deadpan Rush Limbaugh prescription drug reference.
Dennis Kucinich had the most wonderful idea..a Department of Peace. I can't imagine why we have not yet had a leader with the vision to incorporate the central idea of peace into everyday governing.
John Kerry's campaign seems to have great influence over Judy Woodruff.
She interrupted what was meant to be a "town-hall" style 'Q and A' session in order to facilitate a Kerry campaign attack on Howard Dean. This seemed terribly inappropriate to me.
She asked..out of the blue...:
(From Transcript:) WOODRUFF: Governor Dean, before you sit down, I've just been handed a document. I think it came out of the press room that Senator Kerry's staff has been distributing some comments about what was said. Among other things they are saying that you, Governor Dean, tried to kick Vermont seniors off their prescription drug plan. That's relevant to what you were just saying here, so do you want to respond to that?"
The strangest thing was this: While Dean stood to answer his TownHall question, Kerry could be seen behind Dean and Kerry's lips were definitely moving. It was as if Kerry was feeding information to someone...but who? And why?
In *Slate, William Saletan dubiously voted for Kerry as follows:
Least credible alibi:
"Kerry, after Woodruff read aloud a criticism of Dean that "Senator Kerry's staff has been distributing" in the debate press room. "I didn't raise this, and I didn't know they were saying that."
Speaking of Judy Woodruff, she was terrible annoying to both the viewers and (obviously) the politicians
as she interrupted them constantly. I did not care for this tactic, for this was supposed to be a debate and not an interview.
There seemed to be too much CNN pandering to individual campaigns.
Overall, I give CNN a "D" on their performance.
Time given each candidate was not well-meted and the usual blowhards took advantage.
You know who they are. ;)
I was completely underwhelmed by Joe Lieberman's vow to fight Hollywood. Thinking about the recent chokehold on our civil liberties these past two years with the Patriot Act, the last thing I want to hear is a promise for more censorship in this nation.
*You can see William Saletan's analysis at Slate.
Here's a sampling:
1. Clark's credibility problem:
Wes Clark always looks sincere
(**so true**)
2. Stop-Dean Gridlock:
If you're going to gang up on a candidate, get your story straight.
The more Howard Dean gets attacked from the left (by Dick Gephardt on Medicare and Social Security, and by Dennis Kucinich on the Iraq occupation) and from the right (by John Kerry and Joe Lieberman on trade and middle-class tax cuts), the more the attacks blur into a din of contradictory complaints, suggesting that Dean must be somewhere in the comfortable center. Every jab from Kucinich lets Dean show he's no Kucinich. Every jab from Lieberman lets Dean show he's no Lieberman. Dean summed up the effect when, after taking a shot from Gephardt, he said with a smile, "The folks that are running against me have had the greatest time. First they said I was George McGovern and couldn't win, and now they're saying I'm Newt Gingrich and I couldn't win."
Listen to what Dean said in this debate, and you'll get the real story:
Here are the differences between me and the [candidates] from Washington. First, our campaign is changing the political system in this country. Last time, last quarter, we raised more money than any other candidate by three times—200,000 donors, average gift $72. Secondly, I have a record. Everybody is going to talk about health insurance. Every kid under 18 in my state has health insurance. A third of all the seniors have prescription benefits. Working poor people have health insurance. And the third area is the war. ... If you want real change in this country, then I'd like your support.
That's one issue (the war), plus executive experience (legislators can't get their way as a governor can), plus raising money from medium-sized donors. The legitimate rap on Dean isn't that he's too far to the left or right, but that he's parlayed largely procedural differences into an image as the lone candidate who will bring "real change."
Blogging: Chicago Tribune Discovers a New Source of Talent
An unlikely new source of writing talent: Blogs
By Maureen Ryan
Tribune staff reporter
"....."The media is starting to pay attention to blogs."
Jeff Jarvis, co-founder of Entertainment Weekly
Howard Dean interview-NY Times
By Jodi Wilgoren
NY Times
Published: October 9, 2003
"...they all come from Washington, which I think, this year, is going to be a problem for them."
Gov Dean speaking of some of his Democratic rivals
Thursday, October 09, 2003
A Good-Tempered Man by Charley Reese
Charley Reese
October 8, 2003
"....An honest man with sincere convictions will get angry when he hears lies. Some of our greatest presidents had ferocious tempers. George Washington, Andy Jackson and Harry Truman are three examples.
You don't see other candidates getting angry because they are all phonies..."
"...Whether you agree with him or not, Howard Dean actually believes in his convictions. He is a genuine man.
An honest, genuine man will not suffer fools lightly, nor will he stand around like a dummy with a phony smile on his face while he hears himself lied about..."
The Money Machinery vs. Direct Democracy in Politics-We are not free
The Money Machinery vs. Direct Democracy in Politics:
We are not free...
Re: Tom Paine article
California Hangover
Robert B. Reich
After the California recall, it seems that American democracy only goes as far as the cash will take you.
The vote was nearly inconsequential when you examine the overall process.
What does 'direct democracy' truly mean in today's America?
WHAT?! You have no cash?!
End of the road for you, my friend.
If successful 'direct democracy' is exclusively and effectively tied to money, as Reich suggests, then freedom
is not TRUE freedom. Freedom is corrupted.
Freedom is relative to how much money you have.
Suddenly, it seems slavery is back in vogue.
When you think about it in a most realistic way, the average-to-poor person in this nation is chained to a system in which they will never have a hope of truly being able to be free...
not when the tyranny of money is the only avenue to American power...all other roads dead-ended.
Tyranny builds on tyranny.
Monarchy produced tyranny which sparked the American Revolution.
Will moneyed power-concentration in government do less?
How long will Americans stand for stolen elections and attempted coups in the guise of "elections"?
How long will media be accomplices in the process?
The only way to obtain your freedom in America.
This proves capitalism a flawed method of maintaining true freedom for individuals.
Reich has a good point here.
Things have gone too far.
It's time to take a step back and see what's happening to our country.
Democracy and freedom shouldn't be complicated concepts...
but they are.
They say you can't legislate what they call "freedom".
Eagles live on light...they soar on air.
We must put limits on this corrupted type of "freedom", if we are a nation of/by/for "the people".
Because what they are calling "freedom" is actually "money"...and nothing more.
Look up "freedom" in your favorite book of philosophy.
Keynes said of self-interest:
"Dangerous human proclivities can be canalized into comparatively harmless channels by the existence of opportunity for moneymaking and private wealth, which if they cannot be satisfied in this way, may find their outlet in cruelty, the reckless pursuit of personal power and authority, and other forms of self-aggrandizement. It is better that a man should tyrannize over his bank balance than over his fellow-citizens. . . ."
He is harmless is his miser's chamber...until he decides he wants your freedom as part of his sorry stash.
What happens when those who 'tyrannize over their bank balances' are allowed, through organized interest,
to govern a nation that was born to espouse democracy and the self-evidence of each man being created equal?
We are allowing it, my fellow Americans.
We are allowing freedom to become a perverted concept in our America.
Today's average American is no more than this...a slave to special interest.
One comment: If there was a positive to be seen, it would be the results of the recall.
It sparked many, many voters to get out and speak their mind.
I wonder how many of those voters who said "NO" to the recall realized that they never stood a chance?
Jude
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpts:
".....Progressives of a century ago, such as California’s then Republican governor Hiram Johnson, never dreamed that a single person’s money could buy enough signatures on a petition to force an entire state to go through a recall vote. That would be the reverse of direct democracy."
"...now, any governor is fair game at any time, at least in California. All you need is one very determined and very wealthy person, coupled with a governor whose popularity has sunk for whatever reason and no matter how temporarily.."
"...Gray Davis wasn’t the only loser yesterday. If Californians woke this morning with a headache, it’s not surprising. They made a mockery of what their progressive forebearers intended to achieve.
"..Let’s hope they’ve learned a lesson, and the rest of the country has, too. Direct democracy is a fine idea, as long as it’s accompanied by strict limits on what people can spend on it..."
NOTE:
SEE MY BLOG ENTRY ABOUT THE RECALL FROM 6-29-03
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Second Superpower
The Second Superpower
James F. Moore
Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Harvard Law School
"..the collective wisdom of the second superpower is grounded in the individual wisdom within each of us..."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)