I Stand in Solidarity With the Sago Miners' Families

I Stand in Solidarity With the Sago Miners' Families

"Please do not leave any stone unturned. Twelve men, good family men, lost their lives, and we deserve answers to our questions."

- Peggy Cohen, daughter of Sago miner Fred Ware.

Relatives of the Sago Mine victims, joined with the United Mine Workers of America, have called for more accountability from the federal agency that regulates thousands of U.S. mines.
There is a belief held by all of them that the coal mine owners are trying to blame the miners and they believe it's a horribly unfair thing to do... considering the lingering doubt about how the accident was said to have occurred, the failure of the safety equipment, and the length of time it took to rescue the miners. Lone survivor Randal McCloy has sent a heartfelt letter to the Sago families that said that three weeks before the blast, he and fellow miner Junior Toler (who died after leading a "Sinners' Prayer" with the other dying miners) found a pocket of methane gas. After reporting it to supervisors, they discovered it had been plugged with glue normally used to secure roof bolts and layers of rock.

"Rest assured myself - as well as my family and these other families - will not allow you to leave a stone unturned or let the truth go unheard."

- Samantha Lewis, wife of miner David Lewis.

According to the New York Times [Apr 28],

Helen M. Winans, of Phillipi, W.Va., whose son Marshall died in the Sago Mine, the frustration remained raw. [..] "The mining company isn't totally to blame," Ms. Winans said. "The mine inspectors don't do a good job." [..] Ms. Winans said she was pessimistic about improvement in mine safety anytime soon. "You can pass all the laws you want to pass," she said, "but if you don't enforce them, they aren't worth the paper they're printed on."

Jerry Groves

"We assure you, Mr. Politicians, that we're not going to let this rest. We know in our hearts that this can be corrected. It needs to be done immediately, it needs to be done now. And it's on you. If another accident happens without safety changes, you are responsible."

- John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was among the Sago mine victims

The text of Randal McCloy's letter has been printed in the Guardian and the Washington Post. One sentence near the end of the letter particularly struck me. With a decidedly haunted tone, Randal McCloy wrote:

"I cannot explain why I was spared while the others perished."

I'm sure he's probably wondering if God had intentions for him to help save other miners from potential disaster. Although we all know that accidents are inevitable in the mining business, making sure this kind of thing does not so easily happen to other miners in the future might be his role in the Master plan. It seems that the families of the dead in West Virginia are speaking out for the safety of others in memory of the loved ones that were lost. I can personally relate to this way of thinking because my own Grandfather died as a result of too many years and too little worker protections in the coal mines. In spirit, I am with these families in their sadness and in their quest for the truth.

"This explosion, I believe, was preventable. And I don't call this an accident. I call this a disaster."

- Debbie Hamner, wife of Sago miner George Hamner.

Citizen Bob Lawler of Vacaville, California wrote a beautiful letter to his local newspaper that spoke of Junior Toler leading his fellow miners in prayer as they peacefully surrendured all to their Lord. He believed they sat and prayed "not to argue with God or accuse Him, not to demand an explanation or strike a deal, but to surrender to Him." I believe that is true myself. There are times when every Christian must "let go and let God." Randal McCloy was willing to surrender, but God showed him that it was not his time to lay down life's burdens. I believe it's love, compassion and a sense of justice for his fellow community members that will drive Randal McCloy and the United Mine Workers of America to make the mining company accountable for the conditions in that mine and the quality and efficiency of the safety equipment that was being used.

There have been 26 mining deaths this year, twice the pace of last year in a booming industry. The lone survivor's report told of the despairing men reciting a "sinner's prayer" and penning farewell notes. Do bureaucrats need to hear more before doing their jobs and protecting miners' lives?

- [From today's NY Times editorial]

No one knows which breath will be their last. And while we're here, we can care for our fellow man and woman - our friends and neighbors - enough to see them safe while working in their jobs so they can continue to provide for their families and make positive contributions to our communities. If that kind of "agape love" isn't aligned with our Christian faith, then what good are we? Restoring dignity and a rightful place for vulnerable people is a common theme in Jesus' ministry on Earth.

"Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts … let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream"

Amos 5:15, 24

*Family quotes were taken from this link.


Sago Coal Miners Tribute at Youtube

Dear Mr. President - Pink & Indigo Girls (Video)

Dear Mr. President - Pink & Indigo Girls (Video)



Credit: Sunhead Projects (You Tube)

Susan's House by The Eels

Susan's House by The Eels
I've loved this song for a long time. Thought I'd share the video with you.

Our Town by Iris DeMent

Our Town by Iris DeMent

Colbert Makes Bush See Red

"You shouldn't oughta done that, Colbert. Now I'm moo-ey caliente de-banjo de my collar."


"..........in Spanish lingo that means pissed."

Signed,
THE DECIDER

Ring of Fire

Ring of Fire





I fell into a burning Ring of Fire.
*sponsored by the fine folks at Circus Diosa

Stephen Colbert Video-WH Correspondents Dinner

Stephen Colbert Video-WH Correspondents Dinner

Here is Stephen Colbert's fantastic "schtick" at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. (From YouTube/farmhand) Enjoy!

_______ONE_________________TWO______



______________THREE____________



Colbert, Still Digesting His Correspondents' Dinner Reception [Washington Post]

What some reported as a tepid reception to his patter was actually "very respectful silence,"Colbert joked on his show last night.

Everyone Has an Opinion on Colbert's Speech - People Write Letters to Editor and Publisher

"When telling a president the truth offends the White House press corps, we are is serious trouble."

HUH?!
New York Times omits Colbert at correspondents' dinner [Raw Story]

The New York Times' article Monday on the White House correspondent's dinner failed to include any mention of Stephen Colbert, the deadpan host of Comedy Central's Colbert report, RAW STORY has found. In fact, the paper didn't mention the comic's appearance at the dinner at all.

GUFFAW!Steve Doofy Doocy

Fox News Slams Colbert: ‘Inappropriate,’ ‘Over the Line,’ ‘Not Very Funny’ [Think Progress]

John Edwards Delivers Keynote Speech to Brussels Forum

John Edwards Delivers Keynote Speech to Brussels Forum

On Sunday, Senator Edwards was keynote speaker at the first Brussels Forum . The theme was "Trans-Atlantic Challenges in a Global Era." He spoke to political, business and opinion leaders from Europe and North America about the international community's need for new tools to fight nuclear proliferation along with finding cooperative ways to help end conflicts and create stability. Speaking strongly about a common effort needed to control proliferation, with the United States and Europe taking the lead, Senator Edwards brought to my mind a a speech given by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1937 when many American citizens, believing in isolationism, held tightly to the Neutrality Act that was on the law books at the time. (Designed to ensure that, after WWI, the U.S. would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts.)

President Roosevelt was a prescient leader. Back in 1937, he knew the dangers we would someday face. He also understood the precious value of the rule of law. Read the following portion of his speech and think about where America stands on the issues today:

Excerpt of remarks from the "Quarantine speech"
by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Chicago, Illinois
October 5, 1937



To paraphrase a recent author, "perhaps we foresee a time when men, exultant in the technique of homicide, will rage so hotly over the world that every precious thing will be in danger, every book, every picture, every harmony, every treasure garnered through two millenniums, the small, the delicate, the defenseless - all will be lost or wrecked or utterly destroyed."

If those things come to pass in other parts of the world, let no one imagine that America will escape, that America may expect mercy, that this Western hemisphere will not be attacked and that it will continue tranquilly and peacefully to carry on the ethics and the arts of civilization.

No, if those days come, "there will be no safety by arms, no help from authority, no answer in science. The storm will rage until every flower of culture is trampled and all human beings are leveled in a vast chaos." If those days are not to come to pass - if we are to have a world in which we can breathe freely and live in amity without fear - then the peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort to uphold laws and principles on which alone peace can rest secure.

The peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those violations of treaties and those ignorings of human instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality.

Those who cherish their freedom and recognize and respect the equal right of their neighbors to be free and live in peace, must work together for the triumph of law and moral principles in order that peace, justice, and confidence may prevail throughout the world. There must be a return to a belief in the pledged word, in the value of a signed treaty. There must be recognition of the fact that national morality is as vital as private morality.

If America doesn't lead, who will?

If we look at the world being led by the Bush administration today, we see a 21st-Century turning of the tables on the word "isolation". Neo-isolationism is not a viable political alternative, especially when we are presented with the completely false choice of "Which will it be - isolationism or preemptive war?" It seems that our nation's current state of isolation is not of its own accord. Because of the absence of American leadership in international cooperative efforts, our nation is being isolated by the international community.

America was isolated while the world moved on the climate treaty. (Before weaker partnerships and environmental protections were formed by the July 2005 Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate). America has become isolated on the issues of international women's health and on the ICC. America is being isolated from some of its closest allies as the EU backs a proposal for new UN Human Rights Council. Most unfortunate for America, she has become isolated from her allies because of the unilateralism of the Bush administration. We cannot remain an isolated country if we believe in a just world where nations can come together in common purpose to meet great challenges and to accomplish great things for future generations for every person on the planet.

Since our nation's involvement in WWII, we have become aware of the real dangers to national security that we face overseas. We no longer believe that we can make only unilateral decisions and expect that peace will thrive around the world as a result of those unilateral choices. Our economic interests are tied to the international community. Cooperation through international organizations, the exercising of diplomacy, the promotion of free trade, and treaty-making (along with treaty-keeping) are all necessary in order to make peaceful progress and to increase freedom and democracy for the benefit of the American people and all the world's people.

The Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war has caused our nation to be set on a new and dangerous path of unilateralism that has caused us to become isolated from the rest of the international community in ways that the people who've been responsible for shaping U.S. foreign policy within the Bush administration may have never foreseen. They have rejected multilateralism, shunned foreign alliances, international institutions, treaties, and other international agreements. Military power alone was threatened when diplomacy was sorely required. We now know that unnecessary war was waged. America's reputation in the world has been tarnished and there are few nations who currently wish to emulate our brand of foreign policy. We need to get back to the roots of our nation's core founding values and to return from the dangerous precipice of unilateralism and pre-emptive war to international cooperation and respect for the rule of law.

There have been fears that the NPT (Nuclear Proliferation Treaty) would be literally destroyed because President Bush declared that he'd work with India to change both US and international law to permit trade in US civilian nuclear technology with India while, at the same time, he is attempting to deny Iran (an NPT signatory) civilian nuclear technology. In his speech to the Brussels Forum, Senator Edwards suggests that instead of accepting the inherent weaknesses of the global non-proliferation regime, it can be looked at as an opportunity for the international community to fix what is broken. He told the Forum attendees that he believes a new global nuclear compact should be created to reinforce the NPT and close the loophole that allows civilian nuclear programs to go military. He wants the U.S. and Europe to take the lead to promote a global ban on the production of material for nuclear weapons and to establish global standards to safeguard the material so that nuclear weapons never reach the hands of terrorists.

President Roosevelt said there could be no stability or peace either within nations or between nations except under laws and moral standards adhered to by all. In his 1937 speech he said:

"International anarchy destroys every foundation for peace. It jeopardizes either the immediate or the future security of every nation, large or small. It is, therefore, a matter of vital interest and concern to the people of the United States that the sanctity of international treaties and the maintenance of international morality be restored."

Today, more than ever, Senator Edwards understands that America should be engaged and work with others to help solve this world's many problems. As he said on Sunday, "spreading democracy is not about knocking regimes down; it's about building democratic institutions and communities that will protect basic freedoms." We need to achieve those goals together.

**Transcript of Senator Edwards' Brussels Forum speech


*Cross-posted at One America Committee (guest-blogger feature)

New Book By Anonymoses

New Book By Anonymoses


Anonymoses (aka Dave Beckwith) has written a book called "The Great Chain of Conversation" which will is now available for sale at Lulu.com.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

Colbert Shines at WH Correspondents' Dinner

Colbert Shines at WH Correspondents' Dinner

Lib_dem at One America has a great summary of Stephen Colbert's remarks at last night's White House Correspondents' Dinner. One sampling of Colbert's brilliant satire:

"See who we've got here tonight. General Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff. General Peter Pace. They still support Rumsfeld. You guys aren't retired yet, right? Right, they still support Rumsfeld. Look, by the way, I've got a theory about how to handle these retired Generals causing all this trouble: don't let them retire. C'mon, we've got a stop loss program, let's use it on these guys. If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit shows, you can stand on a bank of computers and order men into battle. C'mon."

The video of Mr. Colbert's remarks can be seen here: Part One and Part Two

Tar Heel Tavern #62 - The Best of North Carolina

Tar Heel Tavern #62 - The Best of North Carolina


The Bull City Bully Pulpit hosts Tar Heel Tavern #62.

Beinart on Joe Klein

Beinart on Joe Klein

Peter Beinart reviews Joe Klein's new book. According to Mr. Beinart, Joe Klein is looking for something to enjoy as we look toward the 2008 Presidential campaign. (And who could blame him for wanting to leave the gloom and doom behind?) Klein's pretty tough on Democrats, and Beinart says it's for "good reason" - - political consultants are "at their most debilitating when the politicians they serve lack the courage of their convictions."

Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004 lacked the self-confidence to fire the consultants who kept them from saying what they really believed [..] Klein rightly flays Gore and Kerry for not being true to themselves..

Beinart mentions "the revolt against the consultants" and says that Joe Klein will likely get his wish for a more lively political campaign in 2008, when politics will become "more blunt, more free-wheeling, more fun."

Speaking from my own experience, I have been blogging at former Senator and VP candidate John Edward's One America Committee blog, and I've paid close attention to Senator Edwards' activity out there in grassroots America. I've watched him focus on the 21st-century fight against Poverty and I see that he's inspiring others to do the same. I read about his leadership on a recent trip to New Orleans where he and college students spent their Spring break assisting in the post-Katrina clean-up and rebuilding. I've listened to his impassioned speeches at colleges, in town halls, at union gatherings. Tomorrow night he will speak in Brussels to the most influential American and European political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address pressing challenges currently facing both sides of the Atlantic. [Brussels Forum: Transatlantic Challenges in a Global Era]

Mr. Beinart closes by saying

Whether authenticity leads to victory, however, is less certain. Democrats may be learning to speak from the heart. But in a party that has been confused about its core beliefs for almost four decades, no one can be entirely sure how that will sound.

I understand Beinart's fear and I believe we both have the same hope that the American public, after so many years of Republican talking points that sound fantastic but wound up having no meat - (not even filler), will open their ears to a Democrat whose ideas don't just sound like more empty hamburger buns. They want the whole sandwich and they won't vote for anything less. I think Joe Klein will not only become interested while watching John Edwards as 2008 approaches...he may start turning some cartwheels and singing "Hallelujah". Edwards isn't "learning how" to speak from the heart...he's doing it right now... with gusto!

I Am But A Visitor to This Place

UNC Chapel Hill in May

I Am But A Visitor to This Place

I sit here in Syracuse N.Y., but in my mind I'm goin' to Carolina. How fond I have become of the South in the Springtime. The North Carolina flowers bloom long before the snow melts away in the Northeast.

I recall the pastoral scenes from small towns along Route 85, the Blue Ridge wind singing ancient songs as it tickles my ear, the jewel-like Charlotte skyline at night, the charm of its tree-lined streets and sweet-smelling magnolia blossoms. I carry it with me throughout all my days. Every place has its own soul...it's own story. I've come away enchanted by the soul of these North Carolina places. I am haunted by great mystery, and North Carolina has more than its share of ghosts and inexplicable happenings.

One passed-down set of North Carolinian stories that has captured my imagination comes

from the days not so long ago when flesh and blood fell from the sky like rain. It happened in Sampson and Chatham counties. The first "flesh fall" recorded in North Carolina occurred on 15 February 1850 on the farm of Thomas Clarkson, thirteen miles southwest of the county seat of Clinton. The strange event was written about in the North Carolinian, a newspaper published in Fayetteville. In an account of that first incident, it was written:

"On the 15th Feb'y, 1850, there fell within 100 yards of the residence of Thos. M. Clarkson in Sampson county, a shower of Flesh and Blood, about 250 or 300 yards in length [...] Neill Campbell, Esq. living close by, was on the spot shortly after it fell, and pronounced it as above. One of his children was about 150 yards from the shower and came running to the rest saying he smelt something like blood. During the time it was falling there was a cloud overhead, having a red appearance like a wind cloud. There was no rain." [link]

The second flesh fall recorded in North Carolina occurred on February 25, 1884. Mrs. Kit Lasater, wife of a black tenant farmer who lived on the farm of Silas Beckworth in New Hope Township in Chatham County was standing in a freshly plowed field near a barn a short distance from her family's one room cabin when blood fell from a clear sky upon the ground, bushes and fence all around her. This strange event was chronicled in the local newspaper, the Chatham Record. Of the event, the paper reported:

"Many of the neighbors, after hearing of her statement, visited the spot and they all say that the ground--embracing an area of about 60 feet in circumference--was covered with splotches of something like blood: and an examination of the trees in this place showed blood on the branches. We are informed that a reputable physician of the neighborhood visited the spot and said it was blood." [link]

Chatham County has other legends, such as the one that began shortly after the first settlers came to Chatham County when they discovered a strange site, which soon became known as the Devil's Tramping Ground. An infertile circular patch of ground was thought to be Beelzebub's own footprints...the nocturnal retreat of the hellish Prince of Darkness which was shunned and avoided by the Chatham countyfolk.


Another legends surrounds lost treasure. A large amount of gold and silver was said to have been cached during the Civil War by the owner of the Williamson Plantation near Bynum on the Haw River. He was killed during the war without ever having revealed the location of the alleged cache.


I visited this little corner of the world of mystery last May. There's a lake covering the land where an entire community once stood. I sat in a very old cemetary that sits just off the side of the highway amid a small plot of leaning headstones in a field of wildflowers and weeds. Bugs buzzing 'round my head. The sound of an occasional car passing by. I found the headstone of a Silas Beckwith. Hmmm...Silas Beckwith...Silas Beckworth? Could they have been one and the same? I closed my eyes and tried to imagine blood and flesh falling down from a pink cloud in an otherwise blue North Carolina sky. Today you'd have your scientists running DNA tests and telling you exactly where that blood and flesh came from. You can't fool anyone these days. Mysteries are solved in the blink of an eye or the swish of a test tube. But what if it happened today and it stymied even the most advanced teams in the scientific community?

"I am but a visitor in the land of living things. The skin we wear is but a temporary robe.... That which we may receive in this place must be left here.. things cannot be taken with us, but all of our riches that we have accumulated in memories and knowledge shall go with us forever...."

- from Robert Morning Sky's 10 commandments of the Star Warriors

PNAC and Bush Admin Gave "Experience" a Bad Name

PNAC and Bush Admin Gave "Experience" a Bad Name

Stephen Colbert is a satirical American treasure. His interview of Bill Kristol the other night on Comedy Central's Colbert Report opened up the bleeding wound that was just beginning to scar over. Mr. Kristol gets a "special dressing" for that embarrassing wound every Sunday on Fox News...another chance each week to explain away the mountainous error of his (and the PNAC's) Utopian pre-Iraq war fantasies. Mr. Kristol isn't some neocon monster. He's a very intelligent man who got a little too drunk on his own power. He and a lot of other "experienced" men and women who were "in good" with the other "experienced" men and women in Bush administration got their big chance to use some of that "experience" to create ideas that brought our nation to the threshhold of a war that was never necessary. Where "experience" might have whispered "Be careful" in their ear, they ignored the voice. Their vision was too close. They held the power in their hands. "Experience" was set aside as they embarked on a never-before attempted endeavor. Pre-emptive war. Pax Americana.

The "experience" of war-seasoned Generals was ignored.
The "experience" of chickenhawk wonks prevailed.
These "experienced" people have made a f&$king mess of things for our nation.

The next time I hear ANYONE complaining about a Russ Feingold, a Mark Warner, a Hillary Clinton, or a John Edwards with the complaint that he (or she) has no foreign policy "experience", I think I will remind them that EXPERIENCE DIDN'T WIN US ANY BROWNIE POINTS in Bush's war on terror.

Bill Kristol is still a powerful guy..and a smart fellow. After Iraq, however, we see that he has not won by the power of his (or the PNAC's) ideas. As a matter of fact, we see that those ideas are quite dangerous. Perhaps they are more dangerous than the threat of terror itself.

So, when you hear Bill Kristol flapping his gums with a flash of his winning smile on Fox News talking about our need to gear up the wheels of the military draft in preparation for war on Iran and the Sudan, remember how far "experience" got us in Iraq. These people failed us. They failed our troops. They misled us. For all their "experience", they are empty power-drunk heads with missing hearts. A recent poll showed that 94% of Americans now understand that they were lied to. These "experienced" men of power couldn't win a f*$#king heart or mind in Iraq and they aren't doing such a hot job right here at home, either. They've lost the trust of American citizens because their actions (and the results of those actions) have proven that, for all their "experience", they do not deserve trust.

America deserves better than this and we all know it. We need to start electing trustworthy, intuitive, and intelligent leaders with better ideas. "Experience" tells us that we need to put these liars far behind us.


Transcript
Video

A Soldier Writes to President Bush

A Soldier Writes to President Bush

This letter was sent to President Bush by someone I know and admire...an American soldier and patriot whose vision of America I support. Please take a moment to read it.

A Controversy in Europe Is Silenced in U.S.

A Controversy in Europe Is Silenced in U.S.

Who is this man.... and why is he at the center of a controversial news story that is big in Europe, connected to our own ineterests here in America, yet never talked about in our media?

Why don't we talk about the body counts in Iraq? If other societies aren't squeamish about it, why do American cable TV news pundits with their perfect coifs and chiclet smiles never talk about the people who are dying in the country with whom we went to an absolutely unnecessary war? Why is John Sloboda (seen in the photo) being knowingly stingy with the numbers he allows to be put up on the IBC website (Iraq Body Count)?
Why is he so hot under the collar about journalists like John Pilger who confront him on the facts? Read this story (by Gabriele Zamparini) and you will find out.

What would make a man like John Sloboda refuse to answer relevant questions from media watchdog Media Lens? The editors of Media Lens' central claim is that IBC underestimates the number of deaths in Iraq by relying on western media reports.They just aren't independent of Western media...not enough to be considered a reliable source of information. From A BBC Two report:

Media Lens and other critics have also attacked IBC for being run by "amateurs", unlike the professional epidemiologists who ran the sample-based Lancet study....An editorial asks: "How many journalists are aware that IBC is not in fact run by professional epidemiologists?

Aren't the European and American societies already aware (and sick) enough of the lies that make up the debate by those who want to hide and/or cover up the numbers? (See David Fuller's BBC follow-up and Media Lens' final word).

Bottom line, we still don't know exactly how many people have been killed as a result of the Iraq War. The powers that be, along with the assistance of a media that keep the story "fuzzy", don't want you to know. Is John Sloboda a willing accomplice to the "fuzz" or an independent thinker? Decide for yourself.

If you aren't curious to know how many have died...if you do not want to know the truth...then you may keep your head buried in the sand while some of us try to reach the truth for the sake of truth.


*See:

- Do Iraqi Lives Matter? March 2006, Cat's Dream

- Iraqi Civilian Deaths - Time to Know the Truth, March 2006, Cat's Dream

- Dead Reckoning: Counting Iraq's Civilian Dead, May/June 2006, Mother Jones

- Counting the Iraqi Dead; Interview: Tallying the cost of war, and holding power accountable, April 2006, Mother Jones

If We're Addicted to Oil, Where's The Rehab, Already?

If We're Addicted to Oil, Where's The Rehab, Already??

How can you look at your country's people with a straight face, as their leader, and tell them that they'd better "get over their oil addiction" when it's not an addiction, but a necessity? Knowing that we live in the era of globalization where families are not only forced to spread out all over the nation to find job opportunities based on their respective professions, but all over the world - how can George W. Bush pop in at a Gulf Coast gas station and shake someone's gas-pumping hand or put his arm around some poor price-gouged sap and tell them he's going to be able to do a damned thing to help them while hypocritically and unfairly criticizing their alleged "gas-addiction?"

Where's the rehab? There isn't any, you say?
Say! What kind of outreach program is this, anyhow?
Today Bush rejected the idea of a tax on the windfall profits of oil companies.

What has the Bush administration done (and what will they do) to change anything at all? In Biloxi, Miss., Bush renewed his brave call for Congress to give him the authority to "raise" mileage standards for all passenger cars. According to the Washington Post, White House officials said later that they didn't know when or how the president would use that authority! Is Bush all talk and no plan? It seems that way. Tell me where I'm wrong if you disagree. I haven't seen anyone in Congress or the Bush administration juiced up about raising passenger car standards. There has been no action in years. And now the consumer is in deep trouble with these outrageous oil prices.

The reality of globalization, peak oil, and war is coming home to roost and the GOP cannot explain away the great American giveaway with meaningful policy to counter the effects of these rising oil prices. They're being pushed into a corner and now they are trying to look like bold environmentalists when they are little more than robbers and rapists hiding behind years of perveted policy. Blaming the consumer for their habits is cheap and it won't bring about the solutions required by great minds. (There are no great minds in the GOP today, I am convinced.)

Do you say to a cocaine addict, "You need to get off coke"...and then offer $100 apiece to a large group of people to convince them to start brand new poppy fields in order to harvest more coke for the addict's nose?

Think ANWR. The GOP's idea to issue $100 "tax rebates" is no solution, It's an offer to entice Americans to give the GOP political authority to rape the ANWR. To pump out more of the stuff we're being told we're "addicted" to while blaming our culture for the government and the market's failure to come up with real solutions.

I say to that: Bullcrap! we're not addicted. We travel to work, to see our families, to go to the dentist and take our kids to football practice. Show us some creative solutions and to the GOP: stop trying to politically pay us off for supporting our "habit"!

You're in power now - take some real responsibility - show us some REAL ideas!

Partick Fitzgerald Update

Patrick Fitzgerald Update

- I just love Steve Benen's blogpost title: It's beginning to look a lot like Fitzmas.

- Swopa cleverly says that "Rove is trying to pull off one more would-be Houdini maneuver to escape Fitz's tightening of the straps on his legal straitjacket."

- Jeralyn at Talk Left is on the story with an update. According to Raw Story, MSNBC's David Schuster will report today that Rove's lawyers have been told there will be no announcements for at least ten days. Jeralyn has a great collection of news and blogposts at her site.

- Steve Soto has more to say about David Schuster's reporting:

Shuster of MSNBC reported today that despite the sunny appearance from Rove after his grand jury testimony yesterday, he described the experience as “hell”, and he now thinks it is possible that he will be indicted.

Weekly Standard: Replace Rumsfeld with McCain

Weekly Standard: Replace Rumsfeld with McCain

Employing the logic that Senator John McCain's fate is already tied to Iraq, Ari Richter of the Weekly Standard raises the idea of McCain replacing Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. I tend to agree with this logic. Bush owes John McCain the chance - especially after all the dirty rotten crap Bush pulled on McCain in the 2000 presidential election race. And McCain certainly would garner more respect and cooperation from our Military, who seem to be teetering on the edge of full blown revolt. The Generals want someone they can work with and respect. We Democrats already know that Bush won't choose anyone of whom we'd approve to replace Rummy. If I was President, my choice would be Wes Clark or Tony Zinni, but I realize that my vision is much different than Bush's. I wouldn't have sent troops unilaterally into Iraq in the first place and I certainly wouldn't have lied or tolerated misleadings and lies from my administration to the American people about Iraq. Rumsfeld needs to go. We know (and can safely cross party lines to agree on) that much. If McCain gets the job and screws up, America will likely decide he doesn't deserve a shot at the presidency. If he comes out smelling like a rose, so be it. All the better for America. There are still some fantastic Democratic candidates waiting to offer better solutions and a competitive new vision for America.

Immigration: Jim Crow 2006

Immigration: Jim Crow 2006

The Rev. Graylan Hagler, senior pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Catholic Church in the District, said yesterday that members of his predominantly black congregation also plan to join the boycott: "There is a growing solidarity between people of color in this country. ... We join with this struggle and embrace it." [Washington Times]

He also called the criminalization of immigrants the new Jim Crow-ism of 2006.

The lack of dignity and respect for human beings in any new immigration legislation will cause a new civil rights battle in this nation.

CSPAN recorded the event from where these comments took flight. See "Int'l May 1st Coalition on Immigrant Boycott" (4/27/2006)


An informal poll of 2,000 immigrants conducted in 20 cities in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia showed that 97 percent of them would risk losing their jobs to participate in an immigration-themed boycott of school, shopping and work planned for May 1st. [see Washington Times]