Monthly Archives: February 2009

Never Forget The Lessons Of Yesterday For The Sake Of Tomorrow

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By Vincent Guarisco

February 23, 2009

“You can walk away from these stories today, but if you choose to follow them they will become a profound part of you and will deeply affect your life.” ~~Anthony Guarisco, Founder and director, International Alliance of Atomic Veterans (IAAV, with AAV here in the US), to photo-journalist James Lerager. (Note: Anthony was the first of many Atomic Veterans Lerager interviewed)

In a world full of mind-wrenching turmoil, I am a gentle dreamer searching for some soulful serenity. But in reality, my dreams are not always so pleasant when I revisit the arc of history when our pentagon warmongers worked day and night to demonize our own Stars and Stripes when they unleashed nuclear hell-on-earth to establish the most powerful military presence on earth. Indeed, the Hibakusha people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki know this lesson well. Just as surely as all 300,000 Atomic Veterans (including my father) know they are the government’s best-kept-secret when they were quickly deemed “expendable” by Uncle Sam’s nuclear weapons testing programs.

Sadly, the wars of our fathers are the most unforgiving testament of time.  This testament has filled the Pacific ocean to the brim with blood-soaked tears that will haunt our memory for generations to come. In present-day terms, the Armageddon clock may have notched back a tick or two from the days of President Harry Truman to our new modern day President Barack Obama, but we still have many concerns to worry about before the clock has spider webs.  In reality, the clock-hand did palpitate nervously during the Bush years, and the world is a much happier and safer place without him.  But we have a long way to go before we can call it “safe.”

I am a long-standing peace activist who joined the anti-nuclear movement three decades ago to abolish all atomic weapons.  Such weapons have proven unequivocally to cause prolonged, inhumane suffering and death. I entered the activist fray as a young lad back in the late 70′s with my atomic veteran father, Anthony Guarisco who, after his exposure, was battling the government for his VA healthcare, plus working hard to prevent any further annihilation the likes of which he had already seen while serving in the military during WWII.  He was a maverick among men for humanity with a simple dream — that no one should ever have to endure the effects of radiation exposure as he and many others did.

My father was a powerful voice for those in society who seemingly had no voice at all, and he devoted much of his life to this worthy cause. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was an instant heartfelt relief to everyone involved.  And, on September 24, 1996, when President Bill Clinton signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) 25 years of brutal campaigning against nuclear testing came to an end.

Yes, the dream of ending the atomic madness was finally going our way for a change.  Plus, 1996 was the last year a “nuclear reactor” went on-line in the US — the pregnant mother whose afterbirth gave us nuclear weapons production. Indeed, we all hoped this horror show was finally ending, and that we had constricted the nuclear firefly of plant construction, missile production and atomic testing.  However, it was hard to rest easy because we still had enough missiles in our nuclear arsenal to destroy the world several thousand times over. Had it not been for the production of uranium (U-238) which has been ongoing since the days of President Ronald Reagan, we could have licked our wounds and focused most of our attention on weapons disarmament and clean energy to replace nuclear power. But that’s not how the story goes. Thus, we still continue to produce this tough, high-density toxic metal with armor piercing ability, and incorporate it into our military hardware apparatus.

The reality is depleted uranium (DU) munitions are still widely being used on multiple battlefields today. This will breed a whole new generation of atomic veterans. Those of us in the know call it “The Metal of Dishonor” causing many sick veterans to be inflicted with “Gulf War Syndrome.”   I would like to remind everyone of DU’s true meaning to us offspring of atomic soldiers. We call it: “Death Unlimited.”  Remember this well, when DU particles lodge inside your body, the only thing “depleting” is your health — and ultimately, your life.

Astonishingly enough, it is estimated that up to five billion years worth of U-238 (DU) is currently sitting in power plants today and is available for immediate commercial production for building future shielding, bombs, missile warheads and bullets. This is very scary indeed. Especially, in knowing DU has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.  Even the thought of this should ripple goose-bumps across your skin. It did mine.  And that is why I will never give up the fight in my search for serenity.  People should ever have to feel afraid to close their eyes and dream a lovely image filled with peaceful song.

It always amazes me how the world can continue surviving under the threat of such unsettling madness, I have the right to say this because I have already seen the effects on those who walked the plutonium path of guttering death. I still have flashbacks when I remember what happened to many of my dearest friends and loved ones whose lives were tormented in unimaginable ways.

Such was the case for my father’s friend, John Smitherman.  Like my father, John was a Navy seaman who fought in WWII, one of many unlucky humans to be exposed to radiation at “Operation Crossroads” in 1946.  But he suffered much worse than most. After being exposed, he later developed lymphedema which caused his limbs to painfully swell two to three times their normal size, resembling elephantitus. Eventually, after having both legs amputated, and with his left hand largely swelled, he died in 1983 after the cancer attacked his colon, liver, stomach, lungs, and spleen.

Had his cancer not changed course by attacking his vital organs, John would have become “a living-nub” before dying. He is featured in Oliver Stone’s “Radio Bikini,” which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary in 1987.  Even though his limbs were painfully swelled with cancer, he gladly allowed himself to be wheeled around from one podium to the next tirelessly working with the National Association of Atomic Veterans (NAAV) as a living example of how radiation exposure can hideously tear a man apart bit by bit. Disregarding his own suffering, he tirelessly continued his work as the cancer ate away at him.  Indeed, he bravely fought the nuclear weapons industry with all his might, allowing himself to be exploited with every ounce of life he had left to give.

Aside from my own father, Smitherman is the bravest and kindest man I ever had the privilege of knowing. He was shamefully denied service-connected disability from an uncaring government and Veterans Administration seven times.  How sweet.  God rest his soul.  May he peacefully rest under God’s gracious wing where denial, pain and suffering and “nuclear weapons” will never be included in his vocabulary again.

Over the years, I have thought of John and my father on many a sleepless night.  I make use of this time by pounding aching fingers across this old keyboard to write articles, letters to editors, or  letters to my representatives to remind them of the many patriots who have paid a very heavy price for the decisions they make.  If I am passionate in my writing, it is because — if we are to have a tomorrow — yesterday’s truth must not be forgotten.  I open doors, but others must enter to fulfill our collective dream of peace.  I have watched many honorable men and women perish as a result of those who inhumanely considered them to be nothing more than test animals and, therefore, “expendable.”  Thus, in memory of those who fell victim to this onslaught of misery, it shall remain my catalyst to inspire all those I can to be one collective vigilant voice without end. Hopefully, with enough involvement, maybe it will finally be enough to deliver us to a much better, brighter and friendlier place for which to rest our aching heads, and heal our weary souls.

Never succumb to the powers that be.  Americans are a powerful force when we combine our efforts under one banner. When I first arrived here at this outermost edge of the anti-nuclear peace movement with my parents so many years ago, we became a mighty collective force that shook the Presidential pillars, and we dried many inkwells for a number of rubber-stamping lawmakers and legislators. We brought them to their knees with truth that even they could not deny. And it paid off, one small victory at a time. It can be done.  Let’s rekindle that old activist spark, let us teach the younger generation to carry the torch of tomorrow. Get involved. Spread the word. We must close this Godforsaken nuclear nuthatch once and for all before more radiated Kool-Aid is doled out or before we destroy not only ourselves but the hopes of those not yet born.

Indeed, change is in the air. We must now hound this new Obama administration and all members of both houses of Congress to come to our way of thinking.  We must not fail. We must engage the “obstructionists” and battle them in our own home theaters. We must enlighten those individuals with narrow vision, rejuvenate healthy minds who have been told lies without end, and we must again dry the inkwells of those individuals who not give it a second thought to snap the peaceful olive branch of hope like a useless twig to be destroyed. Because they are the scoundrels of human arrogance. And because…we serve a higher purpose in life.

Our mission is clear and not necessarily in this order: fix the economy, give us a comprehensive single-pay health care program, nationalize the banking industry, regulate Wall Street, stop our ongoing wars in Asia and the Middle East, refuse to build a stupid missile shield to restart the cold war with Russia, offer a fair and even-handed approach in the Israel-Palestine conflict with equal land rights restored to the original charter and an equal amount of aid money (if offered) given to both Israel and Palestine.  Don’t screw-up the New Deal, No more throwing vets to the waste-bin of time like old worn-out shoes once their services are no longer needed. No more secret, covert actions running amuck, get rid of our Nukes and address the needs and wants of the American people so that even the most vulnerable among us can take part in our continued pursuit of happiness…

Will President Barack Obama will rise to the occasion? Only time will tell. If not, he will quickly be added to a very long list of previous war-mongers before him who did not serve the will of the people and could very well be remembered as just another official assassin of peace who helped to foster our eventual annihilation. The moment is here and the choice is his. For now, I will remain optimistic that he will achieve greatness.  May the wings of change forever inspire all of us to do our part to guide his leadership. God bless and good will to all…

Author’s Bio: Vince is a freelance writer from Arizona, a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime founding member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans. The 21st century, once so full of shining promise, now threatens to force countless millions of us at home and abroad into a dark abyss of languishing poverty and silent servitude; a lowly prodigy of painful struggle and suffering that could stream for generations to come. I’m wishing for a miracle, before it is too late, the masses will figure it out and will stand as one and roar. So, pass the word — it’s past time to take back what is ours — the American Dream where the pursuit of happiness, the ability to live in a free and peaceful nation is a reality. We bought it, and we paid for it. It’s time to take it back. For replies, send to: vincespainting1@hotmail.com


They Still Don’t Get It

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by Mary Pitt

Just three weeks after Barack Obama was sworn in, we are barraged with complaints because he has not yet wiped out all the vestiges of the Bush administration from the environs of Washington, D.C. We are daily confronted by newspaper items, editorials, and blogs telling us of his shortcomings and failure to correct all the bad Department of Justice decisions, all the illicit Executive Orders, the no-bid contractors, to withdraw all the troops from Iraq, and to restore our country to a state of peace. And yet, the polls show an unprecedented approval by the people!

This is, above all, a man who is measured and prudent in his thinking and has established his priorities for action. He has chosen first to put right our economic state, no insignificant or simple task. Believing in our tri-partate system of government, he allowed the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives to write the necessary legislation, to offer it for a vote, and send it to the Senate where it was amended, passed, and sent to Conference. It moved through the process in record time and is within his recommendations as to the amount of money involved.

This is the way it should be done, people! Are we all so accustomed to the Bush system of change that we expect the President to issue an order and both parties match in lockstep to issue a blank check as they did in his request for authority to “handle” the aftermath of September 11, 2001? Now, that really worked, didn’t it?

In the meantime, behind the scenes, there is a small army of people working feverishly; going through records and subpoena-ing those that are lacking, compiling data, incovering facts, and putting information into presentation form that will be given his attention in the order of his pre-determined order of priorities. Buried in those piles of papers are things of which we, the people, have known nothing and we can expect to find several surprises there which President Obama will deal with as they arrive.

Meanwhile, the newly-appointed Secretary of State and the various Ambassadors are travelling all over the world, renewing acquaintances with foreign leaders and establishing bases for official talks to try to correct some iof the ills of the rest of the world. Shifts have been made in the accents on the tasks of our troops around the world and in the personnel involved in directing them. There is much yet to be done there and it will be done in due time.

So, what are all the complaints about? Some of the Cabinet choices had to be withdrawn before being confirmed. Has that never happened before? The Vice-President has a bit of a mouth problem, not much of a surprise and at least, he is not running a sub rosa spy program from his basement! Health care and Social Security problems have not yet been solved. Again, not a surprise inasmuch as several administrations have failed in that effort and the President determined that the economy, (the number one concern of the voters), was the most important thing to do first.

The largest and loudest complaint is that President Obama has been unresponsive to the demands for investigation of the previous adminitration for their many instances of illegal actions and violations of the Constitution. His answers have not been sufficiently decisive for those who feel that this should be done as soon as possible. Suspicions are voiced that the President is “in cahoots” with the “Bush criminals”! Yet we have no knowledge of the tasks that have been assigned to the Department of Justice other than the fact that we have been told that, if and when the necessary information reaches his desk, he will be ready to respond.

And yet, when the Congress began to lag in the passage of the economic stimulus bill, he turned to the people. Not just to any people and not just to Democratic strongholds where he would be assured of support but the states where he lost to his Republican opponent. The audience was not vetted and there was no “protest zone”. It was come-one-come-all and the cheers were as supportive as those on his campaign trail. It may not have caused the bill to pass but it certainly did not hurt the effort when Congress was exposed on the evening news to the faces of their own suffering constituents as they voiced their pleas for relief.

This is a different kind of President. He is probably the most intelligent and, so far, appears to be the most thoughtful and mentally-organized person to hold the office in a very long time. He can carry the weight of all the troubles of the world on his shoulders and yet be able to “put it away” and enjoy a fast game of basketball, take the kids to the beach, and treat his wife to a romantic dinner for Valentine’s Day, and then come back to work refreshed and ready for action. He may not be Super Man but he comes close.

The point that the complainers still just don’t get is that Barack Obama was not elected to the presidency simply because we wanted to get rid of the Bushes by changing the person in the White House. The “revolution” was not only against George Bush; it was against the “business as usual” of the Washington culture. We sat through eight years of watching the Democrats in Congress roll over and act in a “spirit of bipartisanship” while Bush and Company raped our nation and destroyed much of the world. Retribution can wait. First, the welfare of the people must be restored and the working class put back on their feet so that our neglected infrastructure can be restored and we can, once again, be a proud nation and a leader of the free world.

Let us give the man time, stop carping and nit-picking, and give him a decent amount of time to show progress. It is a Herculean job that cannot be done overnight. It’s the least we can do, considering what he is trying to do for us.

The author is a very “with-it” old lady who aspires to bring a bit of truth, justice, and common sense to a nation that has lost touch with its humanity in the search for “societal perfection”.

2fer Maybe More

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Wow. The crash of flight 3407 sure helped with the revisionist efforts to delete or distort the history of the Bush Years.

Beverly Eckert, a 9/11 widow who had stated publicly that ‘my silence cannot be bought’ was killed as was Alison Des Forges who tried to warn the world of the impending genocide in Rwanda – another huge embarrassment for Bush and Co.

I’ve been winking at the conspiracy theorists on this one, but two women with ties to spectacular blunders of the last administration…? The rest of the passenger list could prove even more interesting.

The Constitution – As You See It

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In your own words, describe what the Constitution of the United States means to you personally. Please limit your entries to no more than one thousand words, although well-written submissions will be considered. Humor and satire are also acceptable.

You may also comment on other great founding documents, please provide web references.

Bring it on!

The Constitution Means:
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Submitted by Bing Van Gorden

“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”
James Madison, Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, his emphasis with the capital letters

The Constitution lays out the framework for a proportionally representative government with co-equal branches. It establishes a government of by and for the people, a republican democracy. It forbids them from tyrannical and compels it to ensure the liberties protected in the Amendments to the Constitution including the Bill of Rights.

The 1st Amendment prohibits Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise of. What many, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Adams all agreed meant that there was a wall of separation between the two. Freedom of speech and the press and the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances are also protected. It stands to reason that if Congress can’t prohibit these things it must also protect them from being infringed upon.

The 2nd Amendment, regarding a “well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State,” prohibited any infringements on the right of the people to bear arms. Of course this was before a standing military was considered an option and militias were viewed as our only defense from invasion. Right wing groups like the National Rifle Association focus more on the “shall not be infringed” part of the Amendment. The left’s ACLU reads the whole thing, like I do. I think gun ownership should be a right, but the 2nd Amendment doesn’t guarantee it. It’s outdated just as Amendment 3 regarding the involuntary quartering of soldiers in any one’s home.

The 4th Amendment couldn’t be clearer. “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things seized.” Sadly opponents of Roe v. Wade and other issues that involve what several Supreme Courts have termed a “right to privacy” don’t comprehend the concept. Neither did the last President, who allowed sneak and peak searches and wire taps without warrants and lied to the American people about the “Constitutional protections being followed.” Some on the right argue, well if you’ve nothing to hide why should you care if the government is snooping around you, while those of us on the left argue it’s none of your damn business. One of us has the Constitution on our side.

Further Amendments lay out rights of the accused to ensure fair and speedy trials. The Writ of Habeas Corpus is already protected in the body of the Constitution except in the case of invasion or rebellion. During the Civil War and the 2nd World War exceptions were made by acts of Congress. (Lincoln tried by executive order and was rebuked by Supreme Court. Congress had to do it, and did) It’s a big deal. It means no person can be held without a chance to question their imprisonment. It’s a concept as old as the Magna Carta. The last President found it to be optional. His AG, Alberto Gonzales once told a Senatorial committee that the Constitution did not grant habeas corpus protection, it merely prevented Congress from taking it away. Senator Arlen Spector pointed out that if Congress was forbidden from denying it, it implies the right to it exists.

Other Amendments recognized the equal rights of woman and minorities, ended slavery and prohibited the states from denying these liberties. The right likes to argue about State’s being able to decide but Amendment 10 clearly states that is not the case. The State’s must abide by the Constitution. Groups like the Federalist Society and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia cling to a belief that the Constitution is not a living document. This defies reality. If it were not living, it would be un-amendable. Obviously through our history we abandoned the prevailing philosophy to begin to recognize, by law and it’s enforcement through government action spurned on by massive popular protests by citizens.

The Constitution protects me from religious zealotry and persecution. It protects the rights of those the simple majority would deny. It provides a framework that ensures fair and equal treatment. It prevents the petty bigotries people harbor from becoming law. It is not a democratic document. It is the gun that arms the sheep who sits at the table between wolves. It is rooted in law and legal precedent. And the current Republican Party including their echo chamber on radio and tv hate it. They have shown nothing but contempt for it. They have consistently fought against the interests of labor and consumers on behalf of their corporate masters. (Democrats have their share as well) They empowered the last president with authority beyond the Constitutional boundaries and impeded any attempt to look into any breech of public trust it have may have been involved in.

The Constitution does not protect profit, does not endorse or establish a religion (in fact prohibits it’s participation), impose a moral code or ignore the rule of law. It does not mandate that potential economic gain trumps Constitutionally protected individual liberties. It protects the liberties of we the people. It supplies a government that is supposed to represent us, not corporations. The Constitution is what makes this country the envy of the world. And it’s been ignored. The “great experiment” that is the United States of America has failed if we continue to do so. Republicans, take your party back from the right wing ideologues who abhor the Constitution. Want motivation? Read, http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/ and learn what our founding fathers were thinking and why those chose each word so carefully and more importantly how important this document really is. Hundreds of years from now historians will marvel at it’s lasting wisdom and effectiveness. But ! only if we the people remain “eternally vigilant” as Jefferson warned.

Satire (I’m assuming)

By: Joe Republican (obviously faked address)

I get so emotional when I think of our founding document, the Declaration of Interdependece (also known as the Constitution,) I just feel so proud to be an American. Because we’ve strayed so far from the founding father’s original intent and really need to go back to it. I mean I know prayer in schools is in there and some stuff about how great God is and it’s just unfortunate those loony lefties keep insisting it’s a sexular document. Why are they so perverted?

My favorite line, is “there’s is nothing to fear but more fear..” I think I’m close on that one but it just shows you how in touch with the lord they all were. They knew to fear the lord and that the lord gives us our rights, not government’s. Although I’ve never tried to exercise my god granted rights in a country like Somalia, which I think is in Europe.

Jesse James did a great job writing it too. The Irish navy were bombarding his bungalow all night and he wrote it on a giant flag they put up in the morning to show those Irish, that are flag was still there! His wife, Betsy Ross warned the the townspeople before the barrage began by putting a lamp in the window of her cottage. It was part of the undergrounded railroad. Finally Sherman marched to Atlanta which is now in Georgia and the Irish went back to Great Britain and began calling themselves British as I recall.

I mean I am just so grateful that a white kid like me can get into my daddy’s college despite my poor GPA in high school. I have no interests but my future is set and that’s the American dream, right? So anyways, This is what the constitution means to me, America can do no wrong as long as god is on our side which of course he is.

thank you,
Joe Republican


Well… that was… special…


FAA Network Hacked

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From Slashdot:

coondoggie writes “The Federal Aviation Administration has joined the growing list of government agencies that have had their supposedly safe systems hacked. The agency this week notified about 45,000 employees that one of its servers was hacked into and employee personal identity information was stolen. The FAA was quick to say the server that was accessed was not connected to the operation of the air traffic control system or any other FAA operational system. It did say two of the 48 files on the breached computer server contained personal information about more than 45,000 FAA employees and retirees who were on the FAA’s rolls as of the first week of February 2006.”

From the comments on the article, it appears that it might well have been a development server that had SSNs of real employees on it.

Brilliant.

The Truth About Your Income Tax

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by Mary Pitt

As the spouse of a working man, often in remote areas and long before you woould find an H&R Block firm within easy driving distance, the job of filing the annual income tax forms fell to me. As the rules changed, it was necessary to study the instructions every year to remain current and legal. While that may seem difficult to many, a bit of initial concentration should get one through it. I did it with a bit less than a high school diploma at that time.

As the result of this responsibilty, I became aware of the evolution over the years and can see the pattern of the changes that occurred with the many “reforms” instituted during the Republican administrations. It has always been an article of faith within the party that taxes were a nuisance that should be visited only on the private wage earners and every effort at “reform” will demonstrate their efforts to shift the burdens to the working class. This was accomplished on the pretext of “simplifying” the reporting forms. In fact, it is now so “simplified” that you do not even know how much your tax really is or the means by which it has been increased.

While I make no claim to be any kind of an expert and am speaking only from personal experience, I will attempt to delineate some of these changes that have been made in order to deprive the working class of exemptions and deductions and how their loss impose the greater tax burden upon them while lessening that borne by businesses and the wealthy.

Exemptions:

In 1949, when I was first assigned this task, a family was allowed a personal exemption of $600 per year for the support of each child. Compare that figure with the allowance this year and then compare that figure to the deflated dollar and it will be obvious that this deduction has been radically cut.

Taxes to Other Entities:

Until recent times, the amount of income taxes paid to the State in which you lived was an allowable deduction as was the sales and local tax, based upon a chart which was tied to your total earnings. You were allowed to deduct state gasoline taxes based upon the mileage readings of your automibiles. This alone, is a large factor in any family budget.

Interest payments:

Another large tax deduction that has been lost to the interest of “reform” is the one that allowed people to deduct payments for interest paid. This included interest on your home, your car, credit cards, and store charges for major purchases such as furniture. You could either include statements from your creditors or use the chart on the sliding scale. This deduction, except in special circumstances, is now denied to the working class while businesses are still allowed to deduct it as a “cost of doing business.”

Medical Expenses:

All medical expenses, including prescription medications and medical insurance premiums were allowed in excess of 3% of gross income. You could also deduct any medical equipmant, appliances and supplies that were prescribed by a physician and any payments for disability received from privately- or employer-paid insurance were exempt from taxation. If your medical insurance was paid entirely by your employer, no accounting at all was necessary.

I am sure that there are many other exemptions and deductions that may have existed that have quietly disappeared over the years but they do not come to mind at this time, (or perhaps I never had occasion to use them), but these alone would account for a major part of the expenditures of the average family and greatly their restoration would reduce the tax liabilities of the working class.

Where did these privileges of the working class go and why? It’s simple. In effect, these “reforms”, instituted on the pretext of making the tax report more simple, effectively increased the amounts of taxable income and thereby increased to taxes on the average wage earner while preserving the privilege of the ruling class. Even the deductions from our pay checks for Social Security reflect our second-class status. While most of us pay the same percentage of our entire income for this purpose, those who are paid amounts beyond our wildest dreams are allowed to stop contributing. This “cap” is possibly the only tax computation that is adjusted for inflation and that only after near-destruction of the system.

Do not listen to those calamity-criers who are bellowing for a “fair tax” which will further shift the “burden” from the backs of the wealthy, or even to those who tout a “value-added tax” which will radically increase the price of everything that we buy. They tell us, “This would be so easy that you won’t even realize that you are being taxed”, but what they mean is that THEY won’t realize it because THEY will not be paying their fair share! This is their Valhalla and what they have worked toward for all these years, the total exemption of their own class from the burden of paying for our government, their privileges, and any wars into which they wish to send our children.

We have recently accomplished the task of returning to the people the privilege of running our own democracy as The Founders intended but we must not relax. We must hold that responsibility in our calloused fists and wield it wisely. We must get on the backs of our representatives and insist that they keep our welfare and our will constantly in mind if they want to keep their jobs. Any resistance must be met by a wall of voices, using the words of our new President, “WE WON!”

The author is a very “with-it” old lady who aspires to bring a bit of truth, justice, and common sense to a nation that has lost touch with its humanity in the search for “societal perfection.”

Basement Zombie Spews More Hate And Politics of Fear…

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By Vincent L. Guarisco
February 5, 2009

“Fighting fire with fire only gets you ashes”~~Abigail Van Buren

Goodness gracious, please pass me an oxygen mask –quickly — so I can escape the dreaded plume!  Whoa, I need some fresh air to replace the foul stench lingering from Dick Cheney!  Indeed, Take a bow Mr. Dubious Ex-VP, thanks to you (and the little junior genius), 11 million worried Americans are now out of work and struggling to survive.  How sweet and, just recently, while scrambling for our next meal, we got to hear basement Dick gush on the public airwaves that there’s a “high probability” were going to get attacked with biological agents or perhaps a nuclear device in the near future.

Gosh! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Gee, talk about tying your nutsack in a underwear slipknot! I guess it’s appropriate to say that evil absurdities such as this will always remain a constricted, smelly area without sunshine. Especially, after considering all the corruption, inequality, failure and violence that happened during his horrible eight-year tenure. Am I alone when I say I wish we could quickly remove Cheney from the public airwaves like a bad jar of peanut butter?  Indeed, just last week alone, over 626,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits. And, I would add, this trend has no end in sight.  Yet, Mr. Cheney saw fit to seize the moment — yet again — to instill more fear. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I just witnessed a dangerous jar of talking salmonella spewing vicious venom from a poisonous peanut gallery. “Wow” comes to mind…

It’s so amazing how some leaders can achieve such greatness and others not.  In 1962, John F, Kennedy said “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”.  How true. And, with Dick Cheney in mind, Abigail Van Buren appropriately coined another keeper: “Wisdom doesn’t automatically come with old age. Nothing does — except wrinkles. It’s true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place”.

Phooey, all wine-cellars beware — Cheney’s eight year vintage is bitter-tasting spittle at best.

Yes, regardless of Cheney’s feeble scare tactics, our perseverance, courage, diligence and compassion for life will now prevail over his mundane threats. Sorry, Dick, your fear-mongering no longer has the desired effect. The time of hateful redundancy is over. It’s time to look ahead and push forward with this new administration to birth a hopeful tomorrow that will eventually offer promise and prosperity. At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, on January 18, 2009, two days before his inauguration as US President, President Barack Obama said:

“I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure, that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time.”

And so it is…a new wiser era has begun.  In truth — this short piece has probably wasted more digital space than this jerk deserves!  So I will end it with this: Angry old teeth-gritting salts like Dick Cheney are a useless dying breed. Indeed, Cheney’s dishonorable legacy will be always be remembered (with astonishment) as the world’s only known living heart donor. Yes Dick, slither back to your dark, dank zombie basement and we’ll send you a complimentary case of yummy Kroger peanut butter paste for to chew on. Bye, bye, and Amen.

Vincent L. Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead, Arizona, a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime founding member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans. The 21st century, once so full of shining promise, now threatens to force countless millions of us at home and abroad into a dark abyss of languishing poverty and silent servitude; a lowly prodigy of painful struggle and suffering that could stream for generations to come. I’m wishing for a miracle, before it is too late, the masses will figure it out and will stand as one and roar. So, pass the word — it’s past time to take back what is ours — the American Dream where the pursuit of happiness, the ability to live in a free and peaceful nation is a reality. We bought it, and we paid for it. It’s time to take it back. For replies, contact: vincespainting1@hotmail.com

RIAA still slimy

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(From a friend with inside experience in the music publishing business and extensive computer networking background, I trust his opinion implicitly.)

RIAA and BSAS favorite lawyers taking top DOJ posts (from Gizmodo)

I am not sure why the DOJ is packed with a bunch of corporate loving lawyers that like to sue people and business. I do not think these jerks can serve the public best because they have a perceived conflict of interest in preserving what they have been advocating. In the RIAA’s eyes, all people that use peer-2-peer technology, of which one use is file sharing, are criminals to be sued.

They want to shut down the first next generation computer communication model since client-server. I do not advocate pirating music, but I have an issue with an organization that sets up a dragnet and abuses our judicial system for their gain when the legal theories being used are questionable (i.e. making available for distribution argument is equal to illegal distribution).

By the way, you do not upload anything to a P2P network, you share a directory on your local machine. So, by having the software they are targeting and a shared directory that contains music might make you a target if they can illegally access your machine.

Currently, the RIAA is making deals with ISPs to police your connection to the Internet. Do you like spying on your communications by non-governmental entities? Do you believe you should be able to download music from the Internet you already own with a end user copyright? Do you think entities like ISPs should self-deputize in order to fulfill the RIAA’s version of justice? The RIAA wants ISPs to shutoff your broadband pipe if they believe you are pirating music. Where is the due process?

The BSA is a front group for Microsoft among other IT companies like IBM, Sun, HP, etc. Essentially, the BSA tries to encourage people to tattle on people if they are using pirated software or try to influence governmental policy either to enforce copyright or entrench MS in government. I am not an advocate of pirating software, but setting up a gestapo-esque atmosphere raises my hackles.

Have you heard of Sen. Orrin Hatch a BSA cyber champion. He proposed a “kill switch” for your computer if you were pirating software. Even more importantly, though, the BSA is used to fight governments considering moving off of MS technology to open source software like Linux and ODF (Open document format). ODF does not imply a move off of MS technology, but it is in MS’ interest to keep all government business in their format.

Why should government keep taxing people to pay for MS licenses that use a format that restricts non-MS applications access to public documents? The non-MS applications have to use a plug-in that can cost a royalty fee. By the way, MS Office can read/write ODF docs with no added expense for a plug-in. I feel strongly about these issues. Nevertheless, I can see that there is a conflict of interest with these individuals with regards to doing what is best for the public versus what is best for copyright holders. I already wrote the White House to let them know that this is “change I can’t believe in.” I urge you to do the same. Right now.