http://www.bushtruthcommission.com/
Tell everyone – we need to know the truth.
Bush Truth
Reply
Category Archives: Politics
They Still Don’t Get It
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
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
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!
cforms contact form by delicious:days
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…
Party Crashers
Party Store Crashed By Actual Party
Laughing Squid 2/9/09 5:31 PM Scott Beale Pranks Video Comments
via Neatorama
This is a blog post from Laughing Squid.
The Truth About Your Income Tax
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…
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
(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.
Tons of Bricks Lighter
By Vincent Guarisco
January 23, 2009
“When authoritarian forces seize control of a government, they typically move first against the public’s access to information, under the theory that a confused populace can be more easily manipulated. They take aim at the radio stations, TV and newspapers. In the case of George W. Bush in 2001, he also took aim at historical records, giving himself and his family indefinite control over documents covering the 12 years of his father’s terms as President and Vice President. It was, therefore, significant that one of Barack Obama’s first acts as President was to revoke the Bush Family’s power over that history and to replace it with an easier set of regulations for accessing the records.” ~Robert Parry 1/22/09 (Consortium News) Continue reading
News Flash: Rush Limbaugh still a huge jerk
“So I shamelessly say, no, I want him to fail.”
–Rush Limbaugh, on President Obama
sad
Not always funny, but sometimes incredibly apropo
Pluggers.
I’m sure there’s a lot of folks thinking about ‘Plan B’ right about now.
20:20 hindsight isn’t very pleasant when you’re watching the steamroller drive away.
Wiggle Room
Max Cannon is a genius.
This week’s strip comes right out of the collective unconcious.
Oral History
A Must Read
If you only read one article this weekend (ya right like that’s going to happen eh 
) this oral history of the Bush years, in Vanity Fair, is an absolute must. It’s 14 pages long though so grab a cup of joe, take your laptop to a comfy chair and settle in for a very good read as you “listen” to real insiders toss the Bush cabal under the bus, over and over again.
Go read the selected quotes at Doug Alder at Doug’s Dynamic Drivel and you’ll for sure want to read the rest.
They’re losing their minds
The Rude Pundit’s observations on Obama’s first four days in office will make you either:
- Laugh out loud and clap your hands in glee
- Fall to the floor and begin snorting blood from your nose
I chose ’1′
Grassroots Inaugural Ball
Had a blast at the Grassroots Inaugural Ball – here’s my photos and Dave Schemel’s – enjoy!
We Win
The Long Night is finally over.
God Bless America.
Waddaya Gonna Do
by Mary Pitt
Waddya gonna do when you’ve gone about as far as you can go? You want to open a window and yell, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!” But, where you live there is nobody to hear you. Go ahead, yell your fool head off but there are none to hear and, if anybody does, they don’t care.
The View from the Bottom
by Mary Pitt
The greatest problem as the new President and the Congress attempt ro enact remedies to the very real problems of the poor, the disabled, and the laboring class, (not the much-broader “working class”), is that they do not know or understand exactly what it is that they are trying to “fix”. With the exception of the President, none of them have ever wanted for food, clothing, or medical care, (and even he, Thank God, had grandparents of substance who were able to be of assistance.) Continue reading
Andrew Wyeth RIP
1549 Top Ten
From DJCline.com
1. “It’s a bird strike? I didn’t even know they had a union!”
go read the rest at DJCline.com
Bush Factoids
The Dynamic Driviller has this little snip from Harpers.
Nice compilation of factoids with commentary: Continue reading
Tungsten Bombs
From The Agonist
‘Tungsten bombs’ leave Israel’s victims with mystery wounds
Israel was facing demands for war crimes investigations as it declared a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza last night after a 22-day assault in which more than 1,200 Palestinians, a third of them children, were killed and 13 Israelis died. Continue reading
All Hail New York
I Am TRex has a great post about American Airlines Flight 1549 with some perspective from The Dark Years. Go read it.
Dinner with Dubya
Fascinating peek inside the White House at the Worst President in History. Read it at Vanity Fair.
Consequence
Rachel Maddow hosts Bishop Eugene Robinson. Listen the intro and watch for the word ‘consequence’ – truly funny. Olberman-esque.
The Necessary Remedy
by Mary Pitt
With an economy that is sadly in the tank, a stock market that cannot get its feet back under it, with record and growing unemployment, and with working class and poor people suffering with too little income and too many expenses, the economists and politicians are quarreling over what will be required to heal the ills of our nation. Continue reading
Pirate lies
From the Huffington Post
You Are Being Lied to About Pirates
Johann Hari
Columnist, London Independent
Who imagined that in 2009, the world’s governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy – backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the US to China – is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth. But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as “one of the great menace of our times” have an extraordinary story to tell — and some justice on their side. Continue reading
Pandelirium
The Dynamic Driveler is at it again.
Go watch it at his house, I’ve seen it. yeesh.
National Service
The Agonist – “What Your Government Can Do, But Won’t“
Excellent.
Brutal but FUNNY
OMFG. Laughed out loud several times. Classic. Not to be forgotten.
A New Wind Blowing
by Mary Pitt
The whole country is agog with the news of the Madoff Ponzi scheme and the billions he scammed from big investors, but nobody appears to realize that it is only the tip of a huge iceberg. There are other so-called legitimate institutions afloat in the private sector that are profiting from similar scams with the heartfelt approval of the raging capitalists in government as well as private individuals. Continue reading
Fearing the Frightful Filibuster
by Mary Pitt
The Republicans are already indicating their intent to use the same tactics that they used in the past two years in the minority to block many of the programs that are vital to the plans of President-elect Obama. They cling to the “sixty-vote cloture” rule as if it were the Holy Grail and intend to exercise it at every turn in the deliberations of the upcoming Congressional session.
Let them! Continue reading
Laws not Men
Democratic Pressure on Obama to Restore the Rule of Law
By ADAM COHEN
Published: November 14, 2008
In a Senate hearing room in September, weeks before Barack Obama won the election, a series of law professors, lawyers and civil libertarians outlined one of the biggest challenges that will be facing the next president: bringing the United States government back under the rule of law.
Over the past eight years, they testified, American legal traditions have been degraded in areas ranging from domestic spying to government secrecy. The damage that has been done by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others is so grave that just assessing it will be an enormous task. Repairing it will be even more enormous.
Veterans Day
firedoglake points to a Prairie Sun Rising story from 2007
Had a really poignant drive into town. Turned on the Fargo radio for weather and road reports. Right at the freeze mark and rainy dismal white-knuckle driving all the way back.
Then the radio mentioned a motorcade for the [------] soldier’s remains which were arriving in Fargo and asked people to come out to honor him.
Just west of Hawley we started seeing pickups and SUVs at the ends of driveways. Flags flying in front yards. By Dilworth, the fire dept trucks were all out along the road. As we drove into Moorhead, the police escort led the way for their group.
My God, I had tears running down my cheeks. Flashing our lights seemed such a small gesture. All those fatheads on the Sunday shows and cable news with their strolls and photo-ops and posturing.
And it’s all about this. One 28-year-old kid coming home for the last time.
—
This is the damage the Bush Administration has done to our country – thousands of white-hot spikes into the heart of a nation. Don’t wonder why the GOP lost so bad, wonder instead that it took so long to happen.
Provocateurs
This is terrible. The first comment (by sufimarie) points out something horrendous… and shows no hope of any decency.
Some people wonder why the Democrats won this election so decisively. To me it’s abundantly obvious when symptoms like these surface. Self-destructive behaviors are a sign of a system out of balance. Here’s hoping the current trend continues and rationality returns.
So, so wrong (as usual)
Lifted directly from firedoglake: (FDL ROCKS)
Hugh Hewitt, Townhall:
So, despite the rapture of college students and the registration of the homeless in Ohio, the common sense of Americans will override curiosity about Barack Obama and infatuation with his celebrity, and trust John McCain to pilot the country for the next four years…America is a great and good nation, and it will not turn itself over to a party in the grip of its hardest left cadres, its most corrupt machine and its least experienced nominee ever.
Statesman speaking
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
—
Ye gods, it is so refreshing to have a president that speaks well. What an acceptance speech.
‘Unyielding hope’
I love that.
Yes we can, and as I’ve already seen on the web, yes we did. Oh yes, we did.
Where Is Justice?
by Mary Pitt
As a small voice from the back of the room, I have one question regarding the discovery of the illiquidity of all the huge corporate conglomerates who have taken over the finances of this ostensibly democratic nation. When is somebody going to jail?
Continue reading
Support Collective Bargaining for Longmont’s Police and Fire
I completely and wholeheartedly agree with collective bargaining for our Police and Fire employees – these people have made their workplace ‘harms way’ to make our homes and our city safe. We cannot deny them the basic right to have a voice in their compensation. The following is reproduced from the website http://www.longmontpolice.com/
Bad Business
by Mary Pitt
(on behalf of all the poor and near-poor who “litter our streets”)
So Wall Street is in a panic! So the trillion-dollar corporations are in danger of going broke! So the big-time investors are in danger of losing their silk shirts! So what?
McCain in a Nutshell
John McCain In A ‘Nutshell’– Philanderer, War Pimp, Bush Policy Clone, and Neocon Liar…
(Without his shell, McCain is simply a nut that needs to be cracked, picked apart and exposed)
By Vincent L. Guarisco
Back in April 2007, I wrote a zinger about the foolish maverick John McCain after he returned from his triumphant walkabout on the brutal streets of Baghdad. Johnny Boy headed straight for the public airways, where he smirkingly gushed that the streets of Iraq are now ‘safe.’ The foolish war pimp tried to sell the lie that everything was cozy and secure, even as he strutted around wearing his bulletproof vest, surrounded by a heavily armed military entourage buzzing in air and on the ground all around him. Indeed, according to McCain, Baghdad was safe then, and it’s even safer today.
Palin Simply Does Not Matter
by Mary Pitt
This comment may seem to come from far left field but, when you stop to consider it, the perfect sense of it will become apparent. First, Senator John McCain was all set to prove his “bipartisanship” by naming his colleague and good buddy, Senator Joe Lieberman, as his running mate. His Republican advisors vetoed that idea and told him he needed to choose someone to to bring around the religious right who had, to that time, been lukewarm about the prospect of voting for the secular McCain and would not be impressed by the addition of a Jew and a Democrat.
Now, McCain was not overly impressed by Governor Mike Huckaby and the other possibilities might have expected to be asked to actually do something in the McCain administration if they won. I am a contemporary of John McCain, (actually a few years older), and I am familiar with his history throughout his adult life. He is a man who, while being happy to appear to be agreeable to a bipartisan approach to getting what he wants, is also willing to “go it alone” despite any opposition and has actually been quite successful at it. In fact, anybody who was anticipated a “partnership” adminstration in the manner of Bush/Cheney or even Clinton/Gore is to be greatly surprised.. In the macho world of the military, there is only one “Top Dog”.
When interviewed prior to being named for the slot, Governor Palin questioned what the duties of a vice-President might be. Well she might. The Constitutional duties of the holder of that seat are to, “preside over the Senate and inquire about the President’s health daily”, she is likely to find that this is precisely the extent of her duties under a President McCain. If McCain wants someone to do the job of Dick Cheney in a new administration, he will name someone like Joe Lieberman to a new post which he has the authority to create after the changes in “Executive Privilege” as interpreted by George W. Bush, and the veep will fade into the background as they so often have. I wouldn’t go so far as to accuse the good Senator of being a male chauvinist but he has not been known for expressions of his “female sensitivities”.
Goevernor Palin should realize that she is trying to play in the Big Leagues now and being named as the vice-Presidential candidate is not winning Miss America. She is as much “a decorator accent” as Britney’s dog. It doesn’t matter what she thinks nor what she says beyond attracting the religious nuts to vote for the “big guy” and the best she can hope for as the result of her efforts will be a good paycheck, a fine temporary home in the Naval Observatory, and a lifetime pension. All of which will be good for now but, twenty yeas from now, she will be approached in the street with the question, “Didn’t you used to be somebody?”
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”.
Acceptance Speech, Aug 28, 2008, Barrack Obama
Thanks to Christy Hardin Smith at Firedoglake
———
Thank you so much. [Lots of applause.] Thank you everybody.
To Chairman Dean and my great friend, Dick Durbin, and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation. With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination to run for the presidency of the United States.
Wake up America
From AlterNet
Dennis Kucinich Rocks DNC: ‘Wake Up America!’
Posted by Rep. Dennis Kucinich at 9:17 PM on August 26, 2008.
It’s Election Day, 2008. We Democrats are giving America a wake up call. Wake up America. In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neo-con artists seized the economy, and have added four trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt.
Great
The Ed McMahon Example
by Mary Pitt
This morning, August 18th, the news was blaring from CNN and MSNBC: Donald Trump Bails Out Ed McMahon! The story that followed told us that poor ole Ed had fallen ill, was having a hard time financially and was in danger of losing his home. Now, I do not lack for sympathy for this poor man who had such an illustrious and munificent career and who can, even now, be seen on commercial television hawking insurance for oldsters so that they will not be devastated by one of the lingering illnesses that we oldster are prone to develop.
Now THIS is a podcast
George Kinney on Electric Politics. Superb! His intro hits it squarely on the head. He describes Republicans as ‘the Militantly Stupid’.
Bob’s Back
One of my favorite political bloggers, Bob Geiger is back from hiatus.
I can’t wait. He takes the Congressional Record and makes it read like a Tom Clancy novel (laced with sex and intrigue so… actually… even BETTER).
Go Bob. GO.
The 7th Anniversary of 9/11 and the Cycle of War
By Vincent L. Guarisco 16 August, 2008 Countercurrents.org
‘Why would all 110 stories drop straight down to the ground in about 10 seconds, pulverizing the contents into dust and ash – twice. Why would all 47 stories of WTC 7 fall straight down to the ground in about seven seconds the same day? It was not struck by any aircraft or engulfed in any fire. An independent investigation is justified for all three collapses including the surviving steel samples and the composition of the dust.’ ~Ronald H. Brookman, structural engineer, with a masters degree in Engineering from UC Davis
Police State – Show Us Your Papers OR ELSE
Well, it’s happened again – police arrested a man because he refused to show an ID.
This insanity has GOT TO STOP.
The police are clearly scared out of their minds that people will suddenly start asserting their rights and are pushing this hard.
Read the whole article, it’s chilling.
This is the first step on the slippery slope folks. We simply must NOT allow it to become commonplace.