The New American Evolution

2006-11-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

A True US Patriot

We, the People of the United States of America, finding ourselves repeatedly misled by those charged with the care and governance of our nation, know that partisan politics have resulted in a serious breach of the public trust.

We have suffered attacks against our Constitutional rights and the founding tenets of this Democratic Republic.

We have suffered the infringement of our freedoms.

We have suffered insult to our honor and integrity as proud citizens.

We will no longer suffer in silence this continued assault that has now passed beyond intolerable.

We do hereby now and forever reject the bastardization of this nation's core principles through this proclamation, and define this reminder to our wayward leaders just what it takes to be a True US Patriot:

A True US Patriot realizes if the rights of one are violated, the rights of all are at risk, and objects to any attempt to alter the Constitution in order to specifically undermine the rights and freedoms of others, ensuring that the Constitution will never be amended to endorse discrimination of any kind.

A True US Patriot holds the founding principles of the Declaration of Independence to be self-evident, and defends the Constitutional rights of others even when those rights conflict with personal and religious beliefs; believing that all men are created equal, even in times of war, the basic principles of humanity apply not only to one group of people or nation, but to all.

A True US Patriot supports the checks and balances within the three branches of government and rejects any attempts to circumvent or undermine them.

A True US Patriot exercises the right to openly challenge and hold accountable at all times, even and most particularly in times of war, those who do not honor their oaths of office, who purposely mislead the nation, who abdicate responsibility when those in their employ are caught engaging in criminal and unethical activities, and who fail to serve the nation with integrity.

A True US Patriot recognizes the contributions of the older generation and values the potential of the next, and that in order to promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves, our elders, and our Posterity, we must ensure that the basic rights of those we hold dear to access quality healthcare and education is steadfastly supported, uncompromisingly and without discrimination based on race, color, creed, gender, or orientation.

A True US Patriot believes that human rights are inherent to the human condition and should not be given to non-living entities; the rights of corporations should not equal or exceed the rights of any individual, and the right to fair and equal trade as well as fair and equal pay are a vital part of those expectations.

A True US Patriot recalls that our citizens consist of the tired and the poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the ‘wretched refuse’, and homeless, tempest-tossed people, and welcomes fair and balanced immigration with managed borders to ensure an open policy while maintaining and increasing security for both those who would call this land their home as well as those who already dwell within.

A True US Patriot respects the personal religious choices of others, refrains from imposing their own beliefs upon others, refuses to support war in the name of religion, and offers foreign humanitarian aid unconditionally without tying it to religious dogma.

A True US Patriot knows that due process of law and the protections against illegal search and seizure are core principles upon which our nation is founded, and the respect of an individual's right to privacy and security within their own home is critical to the preservation of our freedom.

A True US Patriot respects the diversity and culture of all nations, recognizing that our continued success lay not in spite of other nations but in alliance with them in a uniform approach toward promoting the global general welfare.

These ten basic tenets characterizing a True US Patriot can perhaps best be summed up in the words of Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune, paraphrased below:
A True US Patriot loves what his country stands for, not necessarily what his country does, and will not shrink from holding America to her ideals¹.

__________________

¹ Eric Zorn, The Chicago Tribune, "Durbin should have stood up for his opinion", June 23, 2005.
__________________

Our 'leaders' have taken to calling each other 'un-American' and 'un-Patriotic' a lot lately. This list of ten characteristics of 'A True US Patriot' was compiled by a group of US Citizens both here and abroad. Let this list serve to help remind those who serve us that these terms were not meant to be bandied about like a club, bludgeoning opponents into submission.

Write or call the toll-free numbers of all your elected officials— from your local town/city council members to the President of the United States— and tell them about A True US Patriot. Let them know about this blog. Tell them that True US Patriots created this list, together. Ask your newspaper why it hasn't published an article on this subject. Let your friends and neighbors know about it.

Pass it around!
It's time for our elected representatives to be reminded - this is our country, our nation, and they serve both it, and us.

It's time to tell the media that it must live up to the role of champion of the truth, and ask the tough questions.

Thank you.

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

Source: True Patriot

Democracy at Risk

2006-09-14T08:08:00.000-04:00

This has to be the MOST important issue currently facing the future of American Democracy.

Summary:

Princeton Scientists write program to steal votes. In less than ONE MINUTE, someone can compromise a voting machine with NO TRACE.

Please Take action:

1. Go to the YouTube video I posted
2. Write a comment (it will go towards counting for "the most discussed video")
3. Rate it with 5 stars (it will go towards counting for "the most highly rated video")
4. Link it to your blog if you can (it will go towards counting for "the most linked video")
5. Add it to your "favorites" if you have an account (it will go towards counting for "top favorite videos"

Video

TNAE Music

2006-09-10T17:31:00.000-04:00

My favorite B.B. King.

More protest songs

2006-08-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

Really nice Flash video of "Lives in the Balance" by Jackson Browne.

DINOs Ditch the Dems

2006-08-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

OK,

On this page, will be a list of Democrats and their positions on Joe Lieberman's independent run for US Senate, against the DULY ELECTED candidate Ned Lamont (52% to 48%).

By Position:

Support Ned

Harry Reid
Hillary Clinton
Joe Biden
Evan Bayh
John Edwards (first to call and congratulate)
Russ Feingold
Charles Schumer
Emmanuel Rahm
Chris Dodd
Wyden (OR)

Support Joe

Ken Salazar - CO

Said support Joe before primary, no confirmation:

Daniel Inouye, HI

Undeclared:

The rest...

Updates to come.

Well, at least they are consistent.

2006-08-04T09:45:00.000-04:00

UPDATE:

The Bankruptcy bill "supporters"

The following voted against the following amendment:

To protect servicemembers and veterans from means testing in bankruptcy, to disallow certain claims by lenders charging usurious interest rates to servicemembers, and to allow servicemembers to exempt property based on the law of the State of their premilitary residence.

Baucus (D-MT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bond (R-MO)
Byrd (D-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Johnson (D-SD)
Nelson (D-NE)

Those that voted to pass it

Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Byrd (D-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Conrad (D-ND)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Stabenow (D-MI)

Remember these names when their next primary comes up.

DINO list update...

The following democrats voted for cloture on the "min wage + inheritance tax relief" poison pill bill, which no doubt would have passed on the floor.

The bill, which would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 (still below inflation adjusted $5.15 where it has been for 10 years), also included...

The hybrid bill would exempt the first $5 million of an individual's estate from inheritance taxes, and the first $10 million of a couple's estate, by the year 2015.

Estates worth as much as $25 million would be taxed at capital gains rates, which are currently set at 15 percent but are scheduled to increase to 20 percent.

Inheritance tax rates on larger estates would drop to 30 percent.

A clever little trick by the Republicans in the house. They can say they tried to raise minimum wages but the "Dems" wouldn't let them.

Anyway, here are the consistently Republican supporting Democrats.

Byrd (D-W. Va.), Lincoln (D-Ark.), Nelson (D-Fla.), Nelson (D-Neb.)

Nelson of Nebraska and Byrd of West Virginia are really starting to piss me off with their enabling of all things Republican.

At least Salazar (CO) "broke ranks" and actually voted as a democrat this time.

Dr. Seuss and Life Lessons

2006-08-03T23:00:00.000-04:00

The Lorax.

When the once-ler came to a place, it was a lovely place, filled with Truffula Trees of great beauty. So entranced was the Once-ler that he cut a tree down and knitted a Thneed - "an odd-looking but versatile garment that he insisted "everyone needs."

Eventually, the Once-ler cut down all the trees, leaving only a dark, smoggy, world where nothing grew.

Lesson: Take care of the environment, renewable sources, etc.

The Sneetches:

In a world far away, full of glorious beaches, lived wonderful creatures, known as the Sneetches.

One group of them had stars on their bellies "stars upon thars" and another group did not. The sneetches with stars on their bellies would not associate with those without stars, believing they were inferior.

A 'fix-it-up chap named Sylvester McMonkey McBean' told the Sneetches without stars upon thars to never fear, that he had a 'star-on' machine and that they could go through for the measly sum of $3.00 each.

Now that everyone had a star, the original star bellied sneetches were angry. But Mr McBean said that he could remove their star for the paltry sum of $10.00

The sneetches continue to run through both machine until no one knows who is who or who had a star. Of course, now they are out of money and Mr. McBean leaves them alone.

Moral: People are the same inside, regardless of how they look outside (Man, we need this one now for sure)

The Zax

A story about a South going Zax who meets up with a North going Zax, and both get caught up in their "trax".

"I'm a North going Zax and I always go North, not an inch to the East not an inch to the West. Now out of my way"

"Well...

Of course the world didn't stand still. The world grew.

In a couple of years, the new highway came through

And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax

And left them there, standing un-budge in their tracks."

Moral: "stay the course" may not be the best strategy.

The Butter Battle Book

It all starts with a man taking his grandson to see the wall that separates the Yooks (US) and the Zooks (USSR). A battle that started over which side of the bread should be buttered.

Each side keeps making larger and larger weapons until the "smallest and deadliest" is finally developed (A nuke). The story ends with both sides threatening to blow the other up and neither side willing to back down.

Moral: Arms races are unwinnable.

Green Eggs and Ham Moral: Try something before you say you don't like it.

Yertle the Turtle

He is "king of all he sees" so he makes his Turtles build a tower of turtles so he goes higher and higher.

Eventually, the turtle at the bottom says:

"I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights."

When Yertle refuses to listen to him, he demands that the pile go higher and higher, until it finally topples, with a burp by the turtle at the bottom. And the story ends:

"And the turtles, of course... all the turtles are free, As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be."

Moral: Everyone (not just the wealthy) deserve rights.

Well, please add to this, I think Geisel was a genius, and I know he drew quite a few political cartoons in his day as well.

More P,P, & M protest songs

2006-08-03T16:16:00.000-04:00

Some more...

The Times they are a Changing.

Music

2006-08-03T16:14:00.000-04:00

Peter, Paul and Mary singing Blowing in the Wind.

Republicans "Outfox" the people

2006-08-02T07:42:00.000-04:00

I am sickened by this video.

It clearly shows that the Republicans have nothing but disdain for the democratic process:

WAMP: The other side says all the time, you run this place. You’ve got majorities in the House and Senate. And I want to remind them that we do. And if we didn’t want to do this, we wouldn’t do it. You know why we are doing it this way? Because this is the better way to do it because the small businesspeople and the family farmers need certainty in terms of this estate tax. We eliminated it but it comes back. It is an onerous tax. It’s an unfair tax. When you raise wages, it is a fixed cost in business, You have to compensate that with smart business investments through tax polcy. Our tax policy has been good for America. Our economic policy is good for America.

This minimum wage increase is a savvy way to put it all together and make this medicine for America go down smooth and keep our economy strong. Because this will force some fixed costs up in small business, and you can’t just throw it on them without some people losing their jobs, and this is a fair and responsible way to do it. I know why you’re so mad and why you say things you don’t really mean. It’s because you have seen us really outfox you on this issue tonight. That’s what we are doing today is bringing a very crafty, smart, good for America, good for the economy package and still allow the minimum wage to go up.

Please, get this video out to everyone you can. We need to take our government back from these people.

They are actually PROUD of the fact that they were able to piss on poor people by "outfoxing" the DEMS.

SMALL BRAIN + BIG EGO = Conservatives without Conscience

TNAE music club

2006-07-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

Stealing a page from Crooks and Liars.

Gonna post some music I find comforting.

Slouching towards Feudalism

2006-07-31T08:17:00.000-04:00

In the Republican race to create a landed class that pays no taxes, the House voted on Friday (late night, of course), to reduce the estate taxes.

Of course, this was not just a "straight bill" it was added to a Democratic attempt to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 where it has been for 10 years, to $7.25 over three years.

So, the poor get a bone, and the rich get a windfall. Sounds like Business As Usual for the Republicans.

Rep Rangel calls it what it is a highjacking of the poor to benefit the wealthy (AGAIN).

A rise in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 doesn't even keep up with inflation. Fuckers.

Let's see how the media covers it... To Be Updated.

What Would You Do With $300,000,000,000?

2006-07-27T15:47:00.000-04:00

Estimates from costofwar.com put the cost of the Iraq war at close to $300 Billion Dollars. This got me to thinking about all of the other things we could use this money for. So, I did a little digging and this is what I came up with.

Across the world thousands have been displaced or left homeless due to the inordinate amount of natural disasters of late. Hundreds of thousands are estimated to be homeless/displaced from the recent quake in Indonesia. These are the same people who are still trying to pick up the pieces after the tsunami in 2004 which killed over 100,000 and left countless without food, clean water or shelter.

Right here in our own country thousands faced similar peril last year when Katrina hit. There already existed hundreds of thousands of homeless and hungry in the United States. We do not have to go beyond our borders to seek those who need assistance. You can find them in every city of every state in the country. Feedthechildren.org estimates there are millions of children in the US that go to bed hungry EVERY NIGHT. It really shouldn't be that way. The same organization offers a program that will feed a child for $7 a month. That buys 50 pounds of food and delivers it to a hungry kid. So, for 84 bucks a year one child never has to go hungry. With $300,000,0000,000 we could ensure that 3,571,428,571 children got fed for an entire year.

If you want to apply the same logic internationally it costs $8/month. That's 3,125,000,000 kids WORLDWIDE not going hungry for a year.

The website babycenter.com has a page where you can estimate the cost of raising a child from birth to age 18. If I were to give birth this year, in the area I live in, it would cost me approximately $226,000 to raise my kid until he/she was ready to go to college. That works out to roughly $12,555 per year. Translation? 23,887,252 children could receive housing, clothing, healthcare, food and education for a full year. That also means for the bargain price of $293,800,000,000 we could raise 1.3 MILLION kids for 18 YEARS.

I also estimated we could provide healthcare for 300,000,000 kids for a year. Keep in mind the population for the entire United States is almost that very same figure.

Another thing to ponder is the horrid state of the educational systems in the United States and how teachers are not compensated properly for all they do. These are the people we entrust the minds of our children to and yet, according to AFT.org (American Federation of Teachers), the average starting salary (in my state of NC) is a measly $27,272. I'm sure with $300 billion we could surely give them a raise. Or perhaps hire another 10,880,603 teachers to help out the ones we already have?

Another plague that our society is facing is cancer. I believe that the money we've spent on Iraq could be quite useful in finding a cure or even treatment. Cancer.org's webpage says the average cost of a mammogram runs between $50-150. Imagine how grateful those 200,000,0000 women would be to receive a much needed preventative tool?

And thanks to the US Census Bureau I have figured out that we could just have given $1000 bucks to each person in the US or $45 to every person in the world.

Of course, these monetary figures do not account for the cost of human life or the cost of our country's credibility. Those numbers are far higher I'm sure. Of course that is, if they could be measured.

Government of the 7, by the 7, and for the 7

2006-07-27T07:47:00.000-04:00

Two bills, HR 3282 (Government Efficiency Act (in newspeak) and HR 5766 are currently being hurried to the floor of the House for a vote.

3282 is the far more insidious, as it would allow the president to appoint a 'sunset commission' of 7 members to "review" government agencies.

If 5766 also passes, then agencies would have ONE YEAR to respond to a report or they would be disbanded. NO MATTER WHAT.

Here is a one page Comparison of Bills.

A further attempt by congress to help the president gut the constitution and make themselves obsolete.

Note: This gives the president (through a commission) to undo ANY ACT OF CONGRESS THAT ESTABLISHED AN AGENCY.

There is a good good discussion of this at DailyKOS.

Some much needed humor

2006-07-26T12:11:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of my Mom.

They walk among us, and REPRODUCE!

Some guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: "Free to good home. You want it, you take it". For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it. He eventually decided that people were too un-trusting of this deal. It looked to good to be true, so he changed the sign to read: "Fridge for sale $50". The next day someone stole it.

While looking at a house, my brother asked the real estate agent which direction was north because, he explained, he didn't want the sun waking him up every morning. She asked, "Does the sun rise in the North?" When my brother explained that the sun rises in the East, and has for sometime, she shook her head and said, "Oh, I don't keep up with that stuff."

I used to work in technical support for a 24/7 call center. One day I got a call from an individual who asked what hours the call center was open. I told him, "The number you dialed is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." He responded, "Is that Eastern or Pacific time?" Wanting to end the call quickly, I said, "Uh, Pacific" . . . . . .

My colleague and I were eating our lunch in our cafeteria, when we overheard one of the administrative assistants talking about the sunburn she got on her weekend drive to the shore. She drove down in a convertible, but "didn't think she'd get sunburned because the car was moving"

My sister has a lifesaving tool in her car it's designed to cut through a seat belt if she gets trapped. She keeps it in the trunk.

My friends and I were on a beer run and noticed that the cases were discounted 10%. Since it was a big party, we bought 2 cases. The cashier multiplied 2 times 10% and gave us a 20% discount.

I was hanging out with a friend when we saw a woman with a nose ring attached to an earring by a chain. My friend said, "Wouldn't the chain rip out every time she turned her head?" I explained that a person's nose and ear remain the same distance apart no matter which way the head is turned

I couldn't find my luggage at the airport baggage area. So I went to the lost luggage office and told the woman there that my bags never showed up. She smiled and told me not to worry because she was a trained professional and I was in good hands. "Now," she asked me, "has your plane arrived yet?

While working at a Pizza Parlor I observed a man ordering a small pizza to go. He appeared to be alone and the cook asked him if he would like it cut into 4 pieces or 6. He thought about it for some time before responding. "Just cut it into 4 pieces; I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat 6 pieces.

They walk among us, and REPRODUCE!

A new bunch of DINOs

2006-07-26T07:58:00.000-04:00

The following Senators have the dubious distinction of voting yes on the "Incest Notification Act" AKA in BushSpeak the "Child Custody Protection Act"

The Senate voted yesterday to make it a crime to take a pregnant minor to another state to obtain an abortion without her parents' knowledge, handing a long-sought victory to the Bush administration and abortion opponents.

Here is a quote from Dick Durbin, who actually GETS IT.

Opponents said the Senate measure could threaten the safety of girls, saying parents might beat their daughters if they find out about plans for an abortion. The proponents' approach "is not to deal with the reality of young people" in troubled families, said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). He cited the case of an Idaho man who impregnated his 13-year-old daughter and then killed her when he learned she had scheduled an abortion.

The Democratic Senators who have sold out their core values of protecting children from abusive parents

Bayh (D-IN) (He can forget my support for president)
Byrd (D-WV) (at least he's consistently a DINO)
Carper (D-DE)
Conrad (D-ND) (also consistently an asshole)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Inouye (D-HI) (Time for this Senator to retire - he's showing signs of dementia - truly)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA) (consistently on the wrong side of issues)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV) (surprising)
Salazar (D-CO) (Who elected this guy?)

Now, I can understand the folks from ND, and SD, Nebraska, and Arkansas and perhaps respect them for voting the way they feel their constituents would want, but Inouye, Kohl, Salazar, and Reid, truly surprised the Heck out of me.

On the (minorly) plus side, here are two of my favorite Republicans who voted no on this abomination.

Chafee (R-RI)
Collins (R-ME)

Also of interest:

Senators voted 51 to 48 to reject an amendment drafted by Democrats that would have steered federal money to programs that educate teenagers about sexual abstinence and contraception.

WHAT????

So - it's no longer OK to go to a grandparent, priest, doctor, etc. to help in a time of trouble (Note: No exception for RAPE victims) but it's NOT OK to educate teenagers about contraception.

American Taliban indeed.

Maliki moves to "BushWorld"

2006-07-24T15:55:00.000-04:00

So, the Iraqi prime minister says "Iraq will not descend into civil war".

Ummmmmm...

But even top Iraqi officials are already privately calling it just that. “If this is not civil war ... then I don’t know what is,” a senior government official told Reuters on Sunday.

Also, see my earlier blog What does civil war look like?

So, now there is one more resident of BushWorld, where up is down, war is peace, bad is good. Hope they are adding room, they will need a lot more space for guys like this and Old Billy Kristol who also thinks things are going "swimmingly".

Can they just rapture themselves already and let us get back to fixing the mess these guys 'left behind' (pun intended)?

Our ADHD nation and its ADHD media

2006-07-24T15:50:00.000-04:00

War in Iraq? What war?

To visit any of the media sites or read the newspaper, Iraq is SOOOOO Yesterday's news.

Forget that almost 6,000 people have died in the last two months. The ADHD media (pandering to its ADHD audiences) is completely and 100% focused on Lebanon (and of course, the Good Morning America redux on Prince Di and Charlie's wedding)

With a few scarce mentions, the ~~war in Iraq~~ War on Terror, has all but been scrubbed from the front page.

Now, I agree that what is going on in Lebanon is a travesty, and not at all a "measured response" as was so eloquently put by Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

However, there is no less of a humanitarian nightmare occurring in Iraq. So, is this the lapdog press trying to keep things that would embarrass fearless leader off the airwaves, or is it just a reminer of our sound-byte society?

Either way, it is dereliction of duty (again) by the press.

How Much Before They Listen?

2006-07-24T14:07:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Al Gore's recent film An Inconvenient Truth, the world finally seems to be taking global warming seriously...at least for now. My worry is that once the "hoopla" dies down from the film, will people continue to see this as a real issue, as a global crisis?

Just leafing through the news today I found two examples that lept of the page at me. First, take the article found here that deals with warming trends of the Pacific Ocean endangering rare bird species. The warmer waters are hurting the production of krill, a tiny shrimp-like crustacean that these birds feed on. Whales also feed on the krill, but they have not been effected. Not yet anyway.

"The seas are warmer. And the number of krill being produced is lower," said Bradley as he held a Cassin's auklet chick, the only one from a study of 400 nests he expected to survive.

"Normally we would have hundreds," he said.

And then I found this article dealing with the bizarre heat wave sweeping Europe. And let's not forget our own heatwave where temperatures have been in the upper 90's across a good portion of the country for weeks now. Major cities are reporting significant outages (both LA and NY) that have shut down everything from government to computer servers causing major disruptions to "essentials" such as MySpace. In Europe, they are recording temperatures HIGHER than ever recorded before in history.

At the historic Royal Courts of Justice, judges were allowed to remove their traditional wigs for court proceedings. One of Britain's largest trade union federations, the Trades Union Congress, issued a statement urging people to wear shorts to work.

And in a rare move, the two-hour shifts of the royal guards who stand outside Buckingham Palace were reduced to one hour at the beginning of the week in preparation for the heat, said the London headquarters spokesman, Col. David Sievwright.

So with more evidence that shows itself almost every day, why is it so hard to accept that man has played a major role in causing global warming? How many signs have to present themselves before this is a real issue and not just some trendy, election year issue?

Perhaps the fires of Hell are enough of a reason to believe? Or perhaps the coming of locusts?

Raised temperatures may produce more generations a year of some insects, since they have high reproductivity potential, making them likely to adapt and evolve at least an order of magnitude more quickly than the c. 30- 100-year life cycle of forest tree species serving as their hosts. In the semi-arid tropics, changes in rainfall and the location of the savannah zone could alter locust invasion patterns in West and East Africa and the semi-arid zone in the Indian subcontinent, with deleterious effects on vegetation

Is anyone listening?

We are not at War?

2006-07-19T07:44:00.000-04:00

OK - so DiFi did a pretty good job of pinning Gonzales into a corner on circumventing FISA because of "war powers".

However, the US has not declared war on anyone (because we haven't found a state enemy), even though we are essentially fighting a war in two countries as authorized by the AUMF.

Gonzales even ADMITS that we are not at war.

Gonzalez: Well, of course, there has been no declaration of war here, so we can't take advantage of that particular provision. Our judgment is that it does not affect the legality of the TSP program, but let me explain why . . .

F: Whoa, whoa. But if I might just interrupt you, then you're saying clearly that the AUMF [Authorization for the Use of Military Force (in Afghanistan and Iraq, which the administration has used as an authorization/justification for its actions that might otherwise be out of legal bounds)] does not carry the full Constitutional weight of a declaration of war.

...

F: Yeah, well, see I, uh, think that Congress did . . . um . . . prepare for that eventuality, by providing the 15 days, and you're saying, well, it really doesn't apply. Well. . . in essence you're restricting the AUMF, which I think should be restricted, so you are in essence agreeing with my point.

G: Well, I agree with your point that the authorization to use military force is not a declaration of war - that is certainly true.

OK - let's follow this logice:

Some transcripts attribute this to the session, but the clip I have seen does not.

1. "So you're saying that the AUMF does not amount to a declaration of war?"
2 "Obviously they are different."
3. "So if the AUMF is not a declaration of war, the president shouldn't have WAR powers!"

Now, all we have to hope is that someone in the Senate or House picks this ball up and runs with it.

Essentially, the DOJ seems to be claiming that the AUMF is stronger than a full declaration of war. I don't believe that any senator that voted for this would believe that and EACH and EVERY ONE of them should BE ASKED THIS QUESTION:

"Senator, do you support the DOJ's claim that the AUMF provides the executive branch with more power than a declaration of war?"

Will anyone do so? I certainly hope so.

Naturally, the spin meisters are going to have a field day with this one.

Especially, watch the following hedges by Gonzales:

G: Senator, I beg your pardon. I'm going to go back and look at the transcript of your question, and I, I, I probably will want to modify - I want to make sure I'm being as accurate as I can about what we're doing because there may be some things here that may affect my response.

F: I would appreciate that because the way I view it a very conscious effort has been made not to submit certainly content collection to the FISA court.

G: Senator, this is something that you and I should have a . . .

F: Ok.

G: . . . a conversation about.

So - we'll see what's next.

These criminals have been "gotcha'd" many times but always seem to slither away.

AP Spins News for the Neo-Cons and Zionists

2006-07-17T15:26:00.000-04:00

Iranians helped Hezbollah attack warship: Israeli intelligence

Associated Press

JERUSALEM — A missile fired by Hezbollah, not an unmanned drone laden with explosives, damaged an Israeli warship off Lebanon, the army said Saturday. Elite Iranian troops helped fire the missile, a senior Israeli intelligence official said.

Comment: It may simply be my reading of this, but this article is offering as fact what appears to me to be a claim (speculation).

The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said about 100 Iranian soldiers are in Lebanon and helped fire the Iranian-made, radar-guided C-102 at the ship late Friday.

Comment: Again, offered as fact rather than hypothesis.

The official added that the troops involved in firing the missile are from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, an elite corps of more than 200,000 fighters that is independent of the regular armed forces and controlled directly by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Comment: "Israeli Intelligence Officials" said it, so it must be true! ASSHOLES.

Can the press be any MORE biased in pushing us towards a confrontation with Iran?

A detailed discussion of the path to fascism

2006-07-15T10:49:00.000-04:00

Get up, Stand Up

Posted on MyLeftWing, DailyKos, and truthandprogress.

What does "civil war" look like?

2006-07-10T11:52:00.000-04:00

In March, 80% of the population thought that civil war in Iraq was either likely or somewhat likely, compared to 16% who thought it unlikely.

Allison Caldwell of ABC news reports "The rise in sectarian violence has sparked fresh fears of a descent into civil war"

One guy reported in the article has it right.

ALLAN BEHM: I think since the death of al-Zarqawi, there's been no single leadership focus, so we see now the splintering of groups, each operating, I think, on their own agendas without much in the way of unified direction.

William Lind of Antiwar.com has it right.

Observers continue to ask, "Will Iraq descend into civil war?" The answer is that civil war is already underway in Iraq. Most people do not see it, because it is not following the Sunni/Shi'ite/Kurd fault lines on which we have been lead to focus. As is usually the case in war, we are the victims not of deception but of self-deception.

Later in that same article:

The resulting civil war may still have Sunni vs. Shi'ite aspects; in fact, it is almost certain to include that fault line. But there will be many other fault lines as well, some within the Shi'ite and Sunni communities, some cutting across them. At the physical level, this works to the "government's" advantage, in that its relative power increases. But at the moral level, virtually all the other factions have greater legitimacy than the "government." And just as the strategic level trumps the tactical, so the moral level trumps the physical. That is one of John Boyd's more important insights into the nature of war.

NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN IN JULY 2004!!!

CBS News discussed ethnic cleansing (c'mon folks, time to call it what it is) in Septeber of 2005.

CBS News was shown a pamphlet by a young man too afraid to reveal his face. It's an order for all Shiites to leave his neighborhood, or be killed — given to him in broad daylight by masked terrorists. The man said if he did not leave, he will die.

January of 2006 brings another from Alternet

Friday's election results make it nearly impossible to stop the country from descending into full-blown civil war.

Only the blogosphere seems willing to admit that civil war is already there, and US presence is simply making it worse.

Yet Bush and his congressional thugs refuse to admit that this is going on.

"We'll stand down when they stand up" just isn't believable anymore. Put on top of this that militia members have infiltrated the police and armed forces, so they will be of no help once US troops leave.

It sounds a bit too much like Nixon's quote, as highlighted here:

President George W. Bush likes to say that "as Iraqi forces stand up, American forces will stand down." Given that track record, U.S. forces may end up being in Iraq far longer than anyone hoped, least of all, the troops themselves. In fact, if we are to learn anything from history, President Richard Nixon used to say the same about the war in Southeast Asia: "As South Vietnamese forces become stronger the rate of American withdrawal can become greater."

source

Arianna Huffington, posting from Aspen says this.

In between panels, I ran into Colin Powell and asked him if we are ever going to get out of Iraq. "We are," he told me, "but we're not going to leave behind anything we like because we are in the middle of a civil war." Powell and Jack Murtha both talking about civil war in Iraq -- shouldn't that be headline news?

Yet, alas, the media still denies that a civil war exists there, cowing to the bully pulpit of the white house, afraid to be attacked like the New York Times by a rabid free speech hating white house.

UPI Analyst Claude Salhani has an excellent analysis and some outtakes from this article about a "better" Middle East, taking into account that the current borders were designed to carve up a post WWI empire.

It is time to admit to ourselves that we are doing more harm than good in Iraq and that bloodshed may be the only way to come to borders that are more acceptable to the people living inside of them.

I don't want to sound like I am encouraging a civil war, it only seems to me that we are delaying, rather than prohibiting, a full out war between the sects.

"The corporation"

2006-07-10T11:26:00.000-04:00

Posted for Kat

The End of Cowboy Diplomacy

2006-07-09T10:40:00.000-04:00

Fabulous article by Time Magazine

How Badly do the "DEMS" want the congress?

2006-07-09T09:32:00.000-04:00

Subtitle: How badly do we want this current crop of Dems to control the congress?

So - from my previous post regarding DINO alerts, I want to shamefully steal a quote that I have seen a number of places, particularly with respect to Holy Joe.

"The incumbent protection racket"

To whit: Democrats (e.g. Biden, Schumer, Salazar, Feinstein, Boxer) that will continue to support Joe even were he to lose the Aug 8th primary. I have long been a Boxer fan, and truly hope that she will come to her senses and realize that it is her responsibility to honor the wishes of her constituency, which, last time I checked, is on the OTHER COAST (California).

It is truly shameful to me to see these leeches on our system of representative government continue to come out in support of each other, often at the expense of "We the People".

So - back to my main question...

I for one would rather see another 2 or more years of Republican (holding my nose) control of both houses than to reward these undeserving corporate cronies (who, alas, are not much different that Joe) control of the congress.

So - I would like to see a little house cleaning: First "The Kiss" Lieberman, and perhaps some other fat cats who have never faced a challenge in the primary. This might encourage those next on the target list to remember they are there at our will, not theirs.

Failing that, I will be lobbying with every bone of my body to change the electoral system in this country to make a 3rd party viable.

I think that we need the second point as well, since it is precisely the lack of a viable third alternative that keeps us divided as a nation.

Bush (via MSM) has a message for you: BOO!!!

2006-07-07T12:41:00.000-04:00

Top News on CNN:

Bush wants world to condemn N. Korea missiles

Gunmen, bombers target Iraqi holy sites

And naturally the "foiling of the Holland Tunnel Bombers".

(CNN) -- U.S. and Lebanese agents have foiled terrorist plans to attack New York's transportation system, U.S. authorities said Friday.

Fox News Top Story? You guessed it, the "Tunnel Bombers" in Lebanon.

Well, maybe the international news is more relevant...

Top Story: You guess it - one year anniversary of London bombing.

Top story in politics: Bush says N. Korea must disarm. OH, NOW they are a threat...

MSNBC:

US News: U.S. reports plot to bomb NYC transit

World News: Islamic Radicalization feared in EU prisons.

CBS:

Good for them - reporting on tepid job growth in June.

But then: Lead story 2: NYC Transit Bomb Plot Thwarted *sigh*

Some "truthiness": The plot never went beyond e-mail exchanges, described as "extremely vague" in nature, Stewart says. "This never moved beyond the aspirational stage," one official told Stewart. Stewart adds that his sources say that no one in the United States ever took part in the Internet conversations and that no one ever purchased any explosives or scouted the transit system.

But no reason not to broadcast it everywhere and scare the crap out of people.

How about World coverage from CBS:

1) In Nicaragua, Old U.S. Foe Rises Again (Ortega)
2) UK Marks Transit Attacks Anniversary
3) Running Of The Bulls Tragedy. New York Man Seriously Injured At Mock Bull Fight In Pampalona [sic]
4) Bush: North Korea Different Than Iraq. Tells News Conference World Needs To Send 'Loud And Clear Message' On Missiles

Nope, more fear and dread there...

Hmmm... Politics?

AHHHHH!! Some real news (sort of). Talked about the debate in CT between Lamont and Lieberman. (But that is another blog - see DINO alert thread).

ABC Top Stories:

1) London Bombings
2) Tunnel Bombers foiled
3) Murder on the Beach (woman killed on third anniversary - ABC suggests set up by husband (subtitle: Why do people kill their spouse?))
4) Is the New Pirates of the Carribean worth seeing?
5) The Beach Boys performing live on Good Morning America.

US News:

1) California Wild Fires
2) Holland Tunnel Bombers
3) Sisters that survived London Bombing
4) Murder on the Beach
5) Online Gambling King (lead in picture with guy sitting between two bikini clad models)

Sex, violence, and fear. Nice.

World News:

1) S. Korea says no to talks with North.
2) London Bombings
3) Running of the Bulls
4) Mexican Election (FINALLY! REAL NEWS)
5) World Cup Final

*sigh*

Mixed in with the fear, sex, and violence is the world cup opiate for the masses.

Central Message: "Be afraid, be very afraid. Just relax a few of the amendments to the constitution and we promise to keep you safe so you can watch the world cup, gamble on line, and see models in bikinis."

Sad, so sad.

DINO Alert

2006-07-06T06:55:00.000-04:00

DINO alert.

We know that there were 5 Democrats who voted to confirm Gonzales as the attorney general:

Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (D-CT)

The following four Senators voted in the Intelligence committee to confirm a man to head the CIA who, ON RECORD, has misstated the requirement for a warrant in the 4th amendment.

Feinstein (D-CA)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Levin (D-MI)
Mikulski (D-MD)

Then, add in those who voted for him in a floor vote (committee members not listed again):

Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Biden (D-DE)
Byrd (D-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)

Now, add to that list, those Senators that would support an independent bid by Joe Lieberman if he loses the August primary.

Ben Nelson
Ken Salazar
Diane Feinstein

Does anyone see a pattern here?

A scary truth about the SCOTUS

2006-07-04T12:50:00.000-04:00

I just saw another post about the current make-up of the Supreme Court, and I have to say, we are F$#%ed.

Four of the Nine current justices were appointed by a Bush. That means that their legacy lives on for a long time.

To whit:

Souter, David H. (66) Although he seems to vote his conscience and not the "party line"

John Roberts (51)
Samuel Alito (56)
Clarence Thomas (58)

These guys will likely be on the court for another 20 years.

Throw in Scalia (at 70) and there is a clear voting block of 4 that will always side with the conservatives.

If we lose Stevens (86) we are truly in deep shit.

Happy July 4th

2006-07-04T05:23:00.000-04:00

This is a day that all American's should hold close in their hearts. I however cannot help but feel sad regarding all of the freedoms that have been taken away from us in the name of "The long war on terror".

Warrants seem to no longer be required to gather personal information about us. (bye bye 4th amendment)

Police need no longer announce themselves before entering a home.

We can be held indefinitely without access to legal counsel and no charges.

There is an all out war against freedom of the press.

There are "protest zones" for free speech.

I am certain there are many more, I am just too tired and too sad to think of them all.

"Stop throwing the constitution in my face, it's just a piece of paper"... GWB.

Happy Independence Day everyone.

Welcome

2006-07-01T08:54:00.000-04:00

Greetings everyone to the site.

I hope that we can get some reasonably regular posts here about what is going wrong in the USA.

Feel free to link, comment, whatever.

Welcome everyone!

PS: Happy Canada Day