Not for poets only

Preserving the Planet

2008-08-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

More than four months have passed since I last posted to this blog. I have not been idle however. What I have been doing is re-evaluating my goals in life. While good and honest politics is a worthwhile pursuit, what good will it do if our planet can no longer support life? A strong economy will also be worthless. Nothing much will matter if we are all crispy critters or frozen in an ice berg. It is with that in mind that I have decided to make the earth my passion. I feel strongly that we have little time to turn around the direction in which we have chosen to take our environment. Henceforth I will be discussing this issue in this forum. I am hoping to hear from others about what they are doing to help.

The other thing I have become rather focused on is inner peace. Sounds silly doesn't it but image a world where everyone is at peace with themselves and others. We could live in harmony with nature. Perhaps we might even stop killing each other.

Mankind Loosed, author Unknown

2008-03-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

I have died in Viet Nam but I have walked the face of the moon.
I have befouled the waters and tainted the air of a magnificent land but I have made it safe from disease.
I have flown through the sky faster than the sun but I have idled in streets made ugly with traffic.
I have littered the land with garbage but I have built upon it 100 million homes.
I have divided schools with my prejudice but I have sent armies to unite them.
I have beat down my enemies with clubs but I have built courtrooms to keep them free.
I have built a bomb to destroy the world but I have used it to light a light.
I have outraged my brothers in the alleys of the ghettos but I have transplanted a human heart.
I have scribbled out filth and pornography but I have elevated the philosophy of man.
I have watched children starve from my golden towers but I have fed half the earth.
I was raised in a grotesque slum but I am surfeited by the silver spoon of opulence.
I live in the greatest country in the world in the greatest time in history but I scorn the ground I stand upon.
I am ashamed but I am proud. I am an American.

The Jackel, The Hyenia, or The Devil

2008-03-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

Jackels are known scavengers. They prefer not to hunt but will steal a kill from a predator at any chance. They are opportunitistic and will kill if they are forced to. Mostly they like to come upon remains left by others. Jackels usually operate in packs and have been known to eat their own.

The Hyenia, though thought of as a scavenger is truly a capable hunter. They have the strongest jaws in the angimal kingdom and can crush a bone effortlessly. They too like to steal someone elses kill but will hunt efficiently. The Hyenia is truly formidable. Like the Jackel, they will eat their own.

The Devil needs no description. The Devil is capable of any evil and is quite creative at causing pain and destruction. The Devil will devour your very soul or take charge of it, which ever happens to suit him. Of course the Devil is only symbolic of the evil of which man is capable.

We come now to Hillary, Obama, McCain. McCain as we all know, is openly and clearly a war mongering, dottering old man who never quite made it to his goal in life. That goal is not quite clear to me but I am sure it goes along with misery and strife. McCain wants to bomb Iran and keep our combat troops in Iraq for hmmm maybe 100 years. He is very open about that. Hillary and Obama on the other hand
want to take combat troops out of Iraq. The operative word here is *combat*. This does not mean we will re-deploy all of our troops. Just our combat troops, leaving behind, Blackwater and other contractors as well as troops to guard our precious installations in Iraq. Obama is also in favor of this plan. He is also in favor of sending troops to Pakistan to continue the war on terror.

The Iraqis do not want us there. They do not want Blackwater, Dyncorp, CACI or any of the rest. They do not want US troops in their country. Geeze, who would? Do Obama and Hillary think for one moment that there will not be aggression under those circumstances? Do they really believe that the Iraqis will not continue to kill and be killed? Give me a break.

McCain is clearly insane so I can sort of overlook his ideas and hope that enough American voters are not in favor of them to keep him out of the White House.

Hillary and Obama on the other hand manage to sound reasonable. Scary! Obama has scooped up the remains of the progressive movement and with his pretty words, has managed to pick up a great deal of momentum. Hillary got the left overs but believe this, Hillary is a formidable enemy. She has shown herself for what she is. The hunter with powerful jaws.

It is a sad day indeed when good men like Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd, John Edwards have fallen away leaving us a Jackel, a Hyenia and a Devil.

Breaking the Bars

2008-02-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

The word is out, 1 in 100 Americans is in jail or prison. If you think that does not sound so bad, consider this; 1 in 15 African American males is among them. Think about the implications here. Is it because they have a criminal nature? Of course not. I suspect they have less opportunities is this great country of ours and there comes a time when ya gotta do what ya gotta do to survive. Just one more reason for us to speak out against racism and promote a good system of education.

Education, the magic word. I was entertained when a friend of mine e-mailed me a Citizen Quiz. I scored well and had fun with it. However, I was surprised and appalled at the averge score. The other thing of notice was that younger people had the worst scores and they went up with the ages of the participants. Does this mean our schools are failing? Why yes, of course. Thank You Ronald Reagan.

Thanks to the years of GOP rule, we now have lousey schools. Our schools don't even teach civics classes anymore. Remember civics classes? I hated them but now I am so glad we had them. We had to bring in a newpaper article of interest to read and share with the class, then we would discuss it. I learned a lot from those classes. I often wonder if todays adults could do that.

Not that the newspapers tell us much anymore, but kids need to learn to explore for facts and reading the newspaper is a good start, especially if the article is discussed with others.

I encourage parents of school age children to push for more current events and civics classes so our next generation can be more knowlegable then the present one. We need to raise a generation of world citizens. Today is a good day to start.

An Open Letter to Bush

2008-02-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

George, Sorry I cannot call you Mr. President for you are not now nor were you ever my president. I cannot call you Mr. Bush since that implies respect. George, the point is I have no repect for you. I certainly cannot say *dear* George. Eeeewww. There is nothing dear about you.

Here is the way I see you. I see you as selfish, spoiled, inarticulate, uncaring and actually evil, pompus ass. Yep, you might be the spawn of satan for all I know. I read once that L Ron Hubbard and Alister Crowley tried to create a "Moon Child", a wicked female, the embodiment of evil. Then I read somewhere else that your gradmother may have had an affair with Crowley. Maybe they get everything right and it is your momma. I am not making any of this up. I really did read it. Wow what would that make you? Gotta think on that one.

The point is that in 7 years, you, with the help of other evil men like you, have managed to undo so much good. You have taken us back in time to a place that many have worked hard to make right. We have moved back to racism, genocide, poverty, male chavanism, disease and strife the likes of which I never dreamed we would see again. Not only that, you have taken the hope of the world away. In addition, you are a never ending embarrassment to the American people. You sure inherited the blunder gene from your momma.

People struggle to keep the wolf from the door, George. Do you even notice? I suppose not. It does not effect you. It does effect the whole world though. What must it be like to be you? I cannot imagine it. Yes, you could be the spawn of satan all right.

You and your buddy Rumsfeld, the other sadist (yes, you are a sadist, always have been) have turned our country into a country of aggressors who are not happy with killing and ravaging others but now it is your pleasure to torture them too. George, do you believe in Karma at all? I know you think you are going to heaven but I have news for you. There is no such place and if there was, you would not be welcomed there. Make no mistake, you may have made yourself above man's laws but you can never be above the laws of the universe. Karma gonna git ya georgie. I hope I live to see it.

So George, you have everything you want now. Americans are losing rights on a daily basis. We are being spied on in our own homes, we fear our government. We are suspicious of each other. We are becoming more impoverished by the day. You have your gulags built and ready for us, fancy schmancy weaponry designed to control us, FBI data bases to find us and a plan. When will you make your move? Are you going to keep us in suspense much longer. I know you have something on the back burner there. When do you get to say, "Mission Accomplished"?

I have met the enemy and it is the FBI

2008-02-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

Safe Citizens
By Jennifer Cecere

We’ve a new microchip Citizen
Just a little stick right here and it’s in.
Now we can track you were you go,
Because we really need to know,
What you are up to every day Citizen.

Got a new ID card too Citizen.
It protects from ID theft Citizen.
And you can board a plane or bus,
Without avoiding us
We’ll all be safer this way Citizen.

We can scan your iris too Citizen
If your eyes are brown or blue Citizen
Learn your allergies, blood type,
With a simple little swipe.
We need to know these things Citizen.

If a hurricane should strike you Citizen,
We’ll be there to check your ID Citizen.
In the case that you should drown,
We’ll be there to track you down,
And identify your body Citizen

Yes, we always need to know Citizen,
Where you are and what you do Citizen.
If you’re a liability,
Singing people should be free.
We will find you anywhere Citizen.

There are places for your ilk, Citizen,
Recently constructed, please don’t grin.
This is a very serious matter,
You must comply without this chatter.
Don’t forget we’re watching you Citizen!

Are We All Demented?

2008-02-08T09:59:00.001-08:00

Americans seem to forget very quickly. Is it something in the water? Is it dietary? What is wrong with the American memory?

Say out there, remember when we voted on paper ballots that were counted by real people?

Remember what happened in Florida in 2000? Ohio in 2004?

Remember the surplus of money in the government coffers in 2000? Geeze Dubya could not spend that fast enough. Remember that?

I seem to recall complaining about gas being $1.50 a gallon back then. Do you? Strange how Exxon has record profits quarter after quarter and now we pay twice as much for a gallon of gas. Hello!

Remember having a job? Insurance? I remember paying $10 a month for my insurance plan. I pay more than that for medicare now.

Remember that fateful day when Dubya invaded a soverign nation that was no threat to anyone anywhere without a declaration of war? Geeze Saddam had been pretty much been rendered impotent in 1990. His army was wrecked, his airforce non-existant, yet Bush felt the need for shock and awe. His wreckless disregard for innocent lives is so difficult for me to wrap my mind around.

Remember Afghanistan?

Remember the 4,000 dead Americans? The hundreds of thousands with missing limbs, PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injuries?

Yes, Americans are demented, they can't remember shit.

I remember when I could put my money in the bank and not worry about it being frozen because my government did not approve of what I said.

I remember when I could go to a demonstration and not worry about being beaten up or attacked with noxious chemicals.

I remember being certain that a warrant was required before the police could enter my home. Now they can enter it at will even if I am not there. They can burst into my home in full riot gear and kill me with impunity.

I recall when I could borrow a book from the library without anyone caring about it.

I remember Enron, Kenny Boy Lay, Bushes buddy. Remember him? Yeah, good old Kenny Boy. They say he died. I say he is in a warm sunny clime drinking something tall and cool. He had to be dead so wifey could keep all that money. I am sure she provides his every whim with it.

I even remember when I was not spied on. I could talk on the phone without concern about being overheard. Americans have not been spied on since Nixon. Nixon, you will recall was impeached. So, what happened? Why are the criminals in charge not being impeached?

Do you remember the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, the signing statements?

Remember this folks, when you go to the polls to vote, assuming you will not forget, that there is not a Republican alive who will not carry on the BushCo tradition.

And by the way, bet you remember Monica Lewinsky just fine.

Who Is Thom Hartmann?

2008-01-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Thom Hartmann, radio talk show host, author, counselor, whore.

I have been listening to Mr. Hartmann and reading his books for several years. He has been informative, tolerant and pleasant.

Thom was a big fan of John Edwards. I never understood why he, who states he is progressive, never supported Kucinich. Instead he supported Edwards. Now, Edwards is a good man, no doubt about it but come on, he was not the MOST progressive of the candidates. But, I digress. Thom pushed Edwards down our progressive throats ad nauseum. Now that Edwards has withdrawn his bid for the presidency, I expected some sense of sorrow from Thom. Instead, he has immediately and without missing a beat become the fan of Obama. He is a whore, he goes the way the wind blows and I have lost a good deal of respect for the guy as of today.

I am looking for an honest man. Can't find one anywhere. How depressing.

Meanwhile, GW Bush is setting things up nicely for the next despot. He has even taken the power of congress to impeach away. That is another story.

The Mighty Little Man

2008-01-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

Dennis Kucinich ... In his own words

This campaign began more than a year ago when I saw that leaders in
Washington, many in my own party, were intent on continuing a war, a
war that has cost the lives of more than 4,000 of our brave young men
and women and 1 million innocent Iraqis. A war that will cost this
nation 2 trillion dollars and a war that has already cost our
Cleveland community over a billion dollars.

At the same time, I saw that the American economy was headed for
serious trouble. People were losing their jobs, their health care,
their homes, their retirement security. Not just here in Cleveland,
but all across the country. And the solutions to those problems don't
reside here in Cleveland. They were created and facilitated by people
and policies in Washington D.C. – in the White House, in the U.S.
Congress – and on Wall Street.

That's why I ran for President in the first place: to give those
issues the national attention they deserved and to do my best to win
the nomination and bring a totally new perspective and a totally new
direction to the Office of President of the United States of America.

I deeply and sincerely believe that we fought the good fight – in
large part because of the support from all of you here and from
hundreds of thousands of people just like you all across this country.
I stood strong because you gave me strength. I spoke out because your
voices needed and deserved to be heard. And I told the truth, no
matter how unpopular or inconvenient, because, no matter how long it
takes, the truth really will set us free.

I won't be President, but I can continue to fight for these important
issues as a Congressman, representing the community that is first in
my heart, Cleveland, Ohio: issues like the economic rights of people,
jobs for all, health care for all, retirement security for all, and
social justice for all.

I have put proposals before the Congress to create jobs. I have put
proposals before the Congress to create health care for all. I have
put proposals before the Congress to create universal pre-kindergarten
-- all things which my district, and many districts like it across
this country, need so desperately.

Instead, we asked for jobs, we get war. We asked for health care, we
get war. We asked for funds for education, we get war. We ask for a
clean environment, we get war. It is time to end this war. It is
time to end war as an instrument of policy and have the government
start taking care of things here at home. In Cleveland. And in
places everywhere just like Cleveland.

The physical health of our nation is declining. Here in Cleveland you
can see people suffering everywhere because they have no health care.
Across Ohio there are 1 million people who have no health insurance.
Either because they can't afford it or because they lost their job,
or because they have a pre-existing condition. It is time to have a
single payer, not for profit health care system. I am the co-author
of the bill, HR 676, and this single idea of a single-payer system
would be the key economic stimulus that could both save and create
millions of jobs while restoring the health of our nation.

We are losing our nation to a war based on lies, to destruction of our
civil liberties and to massive debt. I tried to get these themes into
the debates. But I was locked out of six debates. In each and every
early primary state, in Iowa, in New Hampshire, Nevada, South
Carolina and California, the American people were denied an
opportunity to know that there is a way our of Iraq, there are plans
to restore our economy, there is a practical health care plan which
means the end of premiums, co-pays and deductibles. But there was no
way to get the message out. Workers here know about lockouts. They
stop you from being heard.

But workers also know that the fight for economic rights is not about
a single day, or a single year, or a single campaign, or a single
candidate. It is a lifelong endeavor.

So today, we are re-committing our energies to a government that
works for all of us and is open to all of us. A government that stands
for economic strength through peace. A government that stands for
jobs, for health care, for education. A government that stands for
truth, for civil liberties, and for our Constitution. And it starts
again today in Cleveland, Ohio in the heart of America.

From our efforts in Cleveland and around this great country, we're
creating a new force to be reckoned with, a force that will be made up
of people, ideas, new technologies and the kind of patriotic verve
that has no place for cowardice or compromise. I have been called the
Conscience of the Democratic Party. Our efforts will involve a call
to conscience. A call to integrity.

To those who supported this campaign with their energies and with
their hearts, I want you to know that we are transitioning the
Presidential campaign into a national movement based on integrity and
based on practical ways in which we can affect policies at local and
national levels. I am no longer running for President, but I am
intent on saving our nation from the destruction of our economic hopes
and from the destruction of our Constitution.

And all of the energies of all of the people who have been involved in
this campaign will be transitioned into a new, national effort to
regain control of our government, which seems more and more
inaccessible. We are calling that effort "Integrity Now", and there is
a website – http://www.integritynow.org -- where we can begin to
channel all of that enthusiasm and that commitment from people just
like you, and just like me, so we can take positive steps to do what
we know is right and in the best interests of this nation.

So let us begin again, here, today, in Cleveland, Ohio, with a renewed
effort to be of service to our community and to our nation. Let us
re-focus on what we can do and what we must do, here at home, in
Washington, and all across this country to end the war, rebuild this
nation, restore truth and justice and integrity to our government.
Let's make the American dream more than a dream. Let's make it a reality.

Thank you.

Dennis Kucinich

==============================================
You can join this effort on Yahoo groups now at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Integrity_Now/

The World of WE

2008-01-24T15:25:00.001-08:00

I begin with a deep heavy sigh having just viewed Sicko for the second time. It made me cry. I asked out loud, "Why are they doing this to us?". What must we do to change this system? I am at a loss. Everyone I know is at a loss. I am sad and think I would like to move to Cuba. There in lies the world of WE.

Now I get it! Duh!

2008-01-21T17:46:00.001-08:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012108H.shtml

No wonder I am tearing my hair out. GHW Bush was their advisor? If there is a god, give me strength.

This explains it:
Selling Out Grandma
By Emily Udell
In These Times

Monday 21 January 2008

In late 2007, the investment firm The Carlyle Group purchased one of the country's largest nursing home chains despite the concerns of regulators, lawmakers and workers' groups that the acquisition would lead to staffing cuts and cause a decline in quality of care for residents. The $6.3 million purchase of Toledo, Ohio-based Manor Care Inc. closed after a Michigan judge lifted a restraining order that temporarily halted the sale.

"The problem is, in the nursing home industry, making money means cutting care," says Julie Eisenhardt, a spokeswoman for Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents employees at about 15 Manor Care homes and which spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness about the buyout.

In 2006, Manor Care, which operates more than 500 nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities in 32 states, posted $167 million in profits and $3.6 billion in revenues. Manor Care shareholders were slated to get $67 for each share as part of the deal.

The Carlyle Group has holdings in several industries, including healthcare, defense and energy. Former President George H.W. Bush was one of its advisers until 2003.

Officials from both firms have denied plans to reduce staffing or slash services following the takeover, and have said Manor Care will continue to be run as it was before the buyout. "There's not going to be a cut in staff and there's no reason for quality to go down," says Rick Rump, a spokesman for Manor Care. "Carlyle is going to realize a return in investment by our company growing and becoming a better provider of healthcare."

The deal's critics also say investment companies create Byzantine ownership structures that impede regulation and shield the firms from accountability for negligent care or wrongful death accusations.

Rump says that Carlyle would not separate its assets from its operations as some private equity firms have done and that the Manor Care management team would remain the same.

Carlyle officials did not return calls by deadline, but Karen Bechtel, the company's managing director and global head of healthcare, said in a statement: "We are pleased to back a high-quality company and management team. We support [Manor Care CEO] Paul Ormond's strategic vision and support his commitment to quality patient care."

But a preliminary study of a large nursing home chain owned by a private investment firm found that staffing of registered nursing homes dropped by 8 percent and deficiencies that harmed residents doubled.

"They're not there to invest in the care for the residents, they're there to make money," says Charlene Harrington, a professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of the 18-month study. "The way these chains have made money is by cutting the staff to the bare bones and pocketing the profits."

Harrington, who is part of a team that has researched nursing homes for 25 years, says the privatization of chains allows companies to shirk regulatory scrutiny because they are not required to file financial documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state regulatory agencies.

"These chains have had so many quality problems that they have wanted to go private in order to keep from having the litigation they have," she said.

A recent New York Times analysis of government data from 2000 to 2006 found that the quality of care declined at nursing homes that were taken over by investment firms such as Warburg Pincus and Carlyle because of cost-cutting and staff reduction.

David Adams, 40, entered one of Manor Care's homes in Pittsburgh, Pa., after he ruptured his Achilles tendon playing basketball. He says the care at the Shadyside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was substandard before the takeover, and he's concerned it will only get worse.

"They're coming up short - they do the minimum they can get away with and no more," says Adams, a former construction worker and cook, who testified during state hearings in Pennsylvania on the buyout. Adams says he contracted infections because his bandages weren't changed regularly, received the wrong medication and was stranded for 45 minutes after falling in his bathroom.

"One day I will leave," he says, "but there are people that are going to die here."

The Carlyle Group's buyout was announced last summer and given the green light by the SEC. Shareholders approved the deal in a December 2007 meeting. After the sale, several state health departments, including those in Illinois and Michigan, still had to approve the transfer of licenses from Manor Care to Carlyle, but Manor Care's Rump says he expected the transfers to be granted.

In November, legislators in Washington, D.C., held hearings on the issue of care at facilities owned by private investment firms, and hearings took place in several states.

In West Virginia, regulators reconsidered their initial approval of a deal just days before the completion of the sale. But after a Dec. 14 hearing, the state Health Care Authority lifted a stay on the approval, which would affect seven West Virginia nursing facilities. Manor Care had protested the stay, saying the delay was costing investors $1 million per day.

In Illinois, legislators and union leaders voiced concern about the deal.

"I think the size of the transaction, the nature of the business of the proposed buyer and the effects that could be felt by our most frail and vulnerable populations require us to give the proposal extra scrutiny," said State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) at a December hearing before the Illinois Department of Public Health, which regulates the state's nursing facilities.

In December, financial news service Bloomberg reported that the Manor Care purchase was the eighteenth sale of a nursing home operator in the United States in four years. Experts say investment firms' interest in nursing facilities is partially an effort to cash in on the aging of baby boomers into the system.

"As boomers get older, taking care of them is going to be big business," says Eisenhardt of SEIU. "The question is: Do we as a society think it's right that people are trying to make money off taking care of our most vulnerable population?"

--------

Emily Udell is co-anchor and co-producer of In These Times' monthly radio show Fire on the Prairie. She joined the staff of In These Times in 2002 and co-founded Fire on the Prairie in

The Death Penalty

2008-01-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

Let's abolish it. It cannot bring back the victims, it only makes more victims. Nuf said.

Corporate Eyes Have Selective Sight

2008-01-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I walked into my place of work and was surprised to see two tall men in dark suits, wearing corporate ID tags, walking the halls. They rarely reveal themselves to us. They are the unseen forces that shape our world. As we approached each other, it became clear, they did not see me nor did they want to. In my whole life I have never felt so inconsequential. They could see only each other. I suppose that is because no one else matters to them.

That experience, as minor as it may seem, made me angry to my core. Not for being ignored but for what it means. They saw no one. The were people with a purpose, one that did not acknowledge the staff that keeps the money rolling in for them so they can rake in their six figure wages year after year. We do not matter, we are expendable, we are not their problem.

Now I understand why it is so easy to send young people off to die and be maimed in a for profit war. They too are invisible, non-existent, expendable. What matters is that GE and the rest of the weapons builders make money along with Halliburton, KBR, etc. Let us not forget Blackwater, CACI and the other mercenaries. Mercenaries gotta live too, no?

For many years I have resented working for corporations. I am a nurse. I believe that for profit health care is neither workable or sustainable. I feel like a sell out enabling *them*. That day I vowed to find another job in a facility that is privately owned. (I pray such a place still exists.)

Over the last 35 years I have watched nursing change from a highly enjoyable and rewarding career to a miserable existence for both patients and staff. Everyday more work is added until it is no longer possible to do everything and still care for patients. In the end result the patients suffer. There is barely time to even speak to them.

I wondered about those men I saw. I wondered if they ever see other people at all? Do they only recognize the ones who offer them something they cannot refuse? Do they ever experience joy? What must it be like to be them? Do they require sleep aids at night? Do they tell their families they love them or do they neglect them all year and try to make it up to them with things offered at holidays? Are they depressed? Do they understand the meaning of life at all or is it just the ability to buy things that drives them? How much money do they need to have to feel it is enough? These people, if my suspicions are correct are victims of themselves. I pity them but I grow weary of being victimized by them.

Today I must make some choices and I shall. I can no longer justify my complicity. I want once again to feel good about what I do. I want my personal power back. I have given away to the corporation. I will not work for the corporation and will try very hard to limit my spending to those places that are not corporate owned. It won't be easy but nothing that is worth it is.

From an Original Liberal

2008-01-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

Love the earth and sun and animals.
Despise riches.
Give alms to everyone that asks.
Stand up for the stupid and crazy.
Devote your income and labor to others.
Hate tyrants.
Argue not concerning God.
Have patience and indulgence toward people.
Take your hat off to nothing known or unknown to any man or number of men.
Go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young mothers of families.
Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or any book.
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul and your very flesh shall be a great poem.

Walt Whitman

When is a Person a Person?

2008-01-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

So let me get this straight. If you are a detainee ie prisoner OUTSIDE of the US but held in US custody, you are no longer a person. If you are an *enemy combatant* inside the US are you still a person? Hmmmm????? I am confused but I really do think I am still a person.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011208B.shtml

Torture

2008-01-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

Reading this article was torture enough for me. What would you like to know? I will tell you anything if you promise not to make me read this again.

McConnell Weighs In on Waterboarding
By Pamela Hess
The Associated Press

Sunday 13 January 2008

Washington - The nation's intelligence chief says waterboarding "would be torture" if used against him or if someone under interrogation actually was taking water into his lungs.

But Mike McConnell, in a magazine interview, declined for legal reasons to say whether the technique categorically should be considered torture.

"If it ever is determined to be torture, there will be a huge penalty to be paid for anyone engaging in it," McConnell told The New Yorker, which published a 16,000-word article Sunday on the director of national intelligence.

The comments come as the House Intelligence Committee investigates the CIA's destruction of videotaped interrogations of two al-Qaida suspects. The tapes were made in 2002 and destroyed three years later, over fears they would leak. They depicted the use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques against two of the three men known to have been waterboarded by the CIA.

As McConnell describes it, a prisoner is strapped down with a wash cloth over his face and water is dripped into his nose.

"If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can't imagine how painful! Whether it's torture by anybody else's definition, for me it would be torture," McConnell told the magazine.

A spokesman for McConnell said he does not dispute the quotes attributed to him in the story by Lawrence Wright, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for "The Looming Towers", a book on al-Qaida and the Sept. 11 attacks.

McConnell said the legal test for torture should be "pretty simple."

"Is it excruciatingly painful to the point of forcing someone to say something because of the pain?" he said.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto refused comment Saturday on waterboarding.

"We don't talk about interrogation techniques. And we are not going to respond to every little thing that shows up in the press," he told The Associated Press. "We think McConnell is doing an incredible job heading up the intelligence community, reforming it and making it incredibly effective in being able to provide the president the best intelligence on threats to the nation. We think it's vitally important he and the intelligence community have all the tools they need."

Attorney General Michael Mukasey has declined to rule on whether waterboarding is torture. An affirmative finding by Muksasey could put at risk the CIA interrogators who were given permission by the White House in 2002 to waterboard three prisoners deemed resistant to conventional techniques. The CIA has not used the technique since 2003; CIA Director Michael Hayden prohibited in 2006.

The House and Senate intelligence committees want to prohibit the CIA from using any interrogation techniques not allowed by the military. That list includes waterboarding. If their bill authorizing intelligence activities for 2008 is approved by Congress, it almost certainly will face a veto from President Bush.

Last summer he issued an executive order allowing the CIA to use "enhanced interrogation techniques" that go beyond what is allowed in the 2006 Army Field Manual.

The House has approved the bill. The Senate has not yet voted on it because of objections to that restriction.

Wright disclosed in his article that the government has eavesdropped on his own telephone conversations with sources at least twice.

One was with a relative of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, who wanted to know if all of Zawahiri's children were dead. Wright was told by an intelligence source that a summary of that phone call was contained in an intelligence database. Under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act, if the government did not have a court order to monitor Wright, his name should have been concealed in the database.

Wright also was approached by FBI officials about calls he made to the lawyer of several men he had interviewed for his book on al-Qaida. Wright says the FBI erroneously believed his daughter, who had just graduated from college and was in Paris, had placed the calls. That landed her in FBI files as an al-Qaida connection.

McConnell told Wright he did not know how his daughter's name would have become known to the agency.

It is unclear under what authorities those intercepts were conducted.

"It may be troublesome, it may not be," McConnell said. "You don't know."

Wright told the AP the conversation with McConnell disturbed him because he realized his calls - and therefore his sources - could be exposed to government eavesdropping.

The Senate returns to work this month on a domestic surveillance law to replace the one Congress hastily passed in August. That law, which expanded the government's authority to listen in on American communications without court permission, expires Feb. 1. There are deep political divisions over whether telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on U.S. citizens' calls should be protected from lawsuits.

In discussing Osama bin Laden, McConnell said if the U.S. got a read on the al-Qaida's leader's precise location, it would not hesitate to cross the Pakistan border to capture or kill him. "You cannot indiscriminately attack a sovereign nation," McConnell said, but said "we'll bring it to closure." He says bin Laden is in the lawless region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

-------

A Battle is Not the War

2008-01-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

Washington - "President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan warned in an interview published Friday that any unilateral attacks by the United States against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in his country's tribal areas would be treated as an invasion."

Does it seem to anyone else that Bush wants a nuclear war so bad he can taste it? I was fearful then he was appointed to the Presidency in 2000. Little did I know at the time how much there was to fear.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011208A.shtml

Forever Bombing People to Save Them

2008-01-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20080111/bush-israel-holocaust/

I could not let this one go by. I am beyond words.

Need a Good Laugh?

2008-01-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

FBI Wiretaps Dropped Due to Unpaid Bills
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011108N.shtml
Lara Jakes Jordan reports for The Associated Press, "Telephone
companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals
because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time."

These clowns are killing me.

The Word is Out

2008-01-11T10:47:00.001-08:00

It is official. The US ranks dead last in healthcare in the developed world. Way to go Bush.

You Need to Know

2008-01-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091307Z.shtml

Your e-mail is being censured.

Forgive Me For Laughing

2008-01-11T10:34:00.001-08:00

Does anyone really believe that the Iranian Navy would be stupid enough to approach American war ships with the intention of attacking them in speed boats. OMDog, that is actually funny. Yet Dubya was audacious enough to stand up on National television yesterday and suggest just that. This guy, like most crazy people is often a hoot in a twisted sort of way.

If you would like to see what really happened? Look here: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011108J.shtml

The New Year Finally Arrives

2008-01-05T11:01:00.000-08:00

Somehow the arrival of a new year, an election year, gives me a sense of hope. Call me crazy. You won't be alone. I feel a sense of change in the air even with all that is happening on the campaign trail.

Kucinich has filed a law suit in Texas due to the fact that he is not being allowed to have his name on the ballot! WTF? Gravel, Hunter and Kucinich are being blocked from debates in New Hampshire. Obama takes the lead in the Iowa Caucus (most likely because he was given the votes that would have been for Kucinich at the bidding of Dennis himself). My head is spinning. Huckabee, that scary little worm, wins in Iowa with Mitt taking second place. Geeze, what is wrong with Iowa? Of course the ReThugs really did not have much to choose from. Yet, I feel hopeful. Okay, I admit it, I am crazy.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Dubya continues to tout his tax cuts for the rich. Banks are being bailed out by the government, the dollar is little more than worthless and the stock market would have crashed long ago had it not been for being artificially inflated.

The occupation in Iraq rages on. Our fearless leader continues to lie to us via HIS media by saying things are getting better. While it is true things are going his way, I would not call that *better*. Millions of lives have been ruined forever while Americans continue to drive their SUVs. Oh boy, Americans love those SUVs. McCain, the twisted old man, says it would be fine to leave troops there for 100 years. Good Grief. Still I am hopeful. Call me a doctor. No, I mean call a doctor for me.

Speaking of doctors, Glenn Beck, whose recent surgery went wrong, now sees how bad health care in America is and believe it or not, now says he understands compassion. Being a nurse and having been a patient, I can tell you all about our health care system but that would be a book. It is bad and has been for a very long time now.
I suppose I feel hopeful because I think things cannot possible get worse so surely they will get better.

Poverty and joblessness are up while we have more billionaires then ever before. Can you say banana republic? Prices are out of sight. Green peppers $1.50 each? Bread almost $4 a loaf? Imported food from China tainted with heaven knows what? Where will it end? Sometimes I think *they* are trying to kill us all by starvation.

Oil companies are doing well. Gas is now $3.21 a gallon here in my area. Still we drive our SUVs. Crude now $100 a barrel. Think of this, we could have been getting that same barrel of crude for $50 if King George the Myopic could play nice with Chavez.

Every day we hear of another cover up, another dirty deal. Think of the millions we don't hear of. Stop the world, I wanna get off.

But, crazy me, I feel hopeful. I will tell you why. I think the day is close where Americans will understand that it is up to us to change things. Damnit people, lock that SUV in the garage and take to the streets. Only YOU have the power to make change happen.

Rise Up!

Are you angry? Rise up!
They are stealing your freedom away.
If you’re angry, rise up.
We have a chance if you do it today!
They have stolen elections,
Lowered your wage, inflation is on the rise.
Rise up! Rise up!
Or the fat cats will be our demise.

Had enough yet? Rise up!
Honor the ones who have died
They gave their lies free,
For you and for me.
Rise up!

Are you angry? Rise up!
Our children are dying for oil.
If you’re angry, rise up!
Don’t let your freedom be spoiled.
They have lied for their ends,
And the truth is they spend
what we need for the hungry on war.
Rise up! Rise up!
Our nation will soon be no more.

Had enough yet? Rise up!
Does the patriot act make your blood boil?
They seize liberties,
We are no longer free.
Rise up!

Pay attention! Rise up!
We’re destroying the air that we breathe.
You should be angry. Rise up!
Our planet may soon cease to be.
For we are fouling the land,
As we drive our SUV’s
making oil companies richer than ever before.
Come on now, Rise up!
Our ruin is down to the core.

Does it irk you? Rise up!
The Bill of Rights is being ignored.
The law does not apply,
To those that will lie.
Rise Up!

Don’t accept it. Rise up!
Torturing prisoners is not our way.
You should be angry. Rise up!
As you read this it’s happening today.
For years without benefit of counsel
Hundreds being held in a tiny, dirty cell,
and no charges are brought
So rise up!
This is not a democratic line of thought.

General Hayden, Can you hear me?
Are you upset with my point of view?
Will you lock me in a cell,
Leave me there for years to dwell?
I can’t let you. I must rise up!

I am angry, I rise up!
I will block you at every given chance.
I will shout and I will sing.
I will chant and I will bring
a message from the people as I dance.
You will see me on the street, marching to a simple beat
And you will always know I’m there.
I rise up!
For the people have the power when they dare!

The Death of the Dollar

2007-12-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

Will the dollar collapse? Some say it will. James Petras says it will not. Democrats in congress are not worried. They are in on the exploitation of the working classes. Hell, isn't everyone but the workers?

Only a dramatic showing of protest of the current economic situations can turn the tide. But, the powers that be are not stupid. They know that it is safe to carry things only so far before the multitudes have had enough. They know just how far to take things. That being said, what do you plan to do about it? How do you plan to fight poverty in this country? Your vote alone will not do it. I have no hope that one person in the White House can change the world. It is going to take a lot more than that. There are far to many vested interests with far too much power. It is truly up to us.

The time has come for us to unite and rise up. I am ready. Will you get on board? Will you call your representatives and senators unrelentingly? Are you willing to write letters to the editor, carry a sign and help show others the way?

It is time to sink or swim. The neo-cons are organized and have plans. If you question that, look at what has happened in New Orleans. They are using Shock Economics in it's purest form there. Read about shock economics and see for yourself. After you do that, call a congress person, write a letter. Do something to be heard. The future of your family, country and the world depends on it.

Mitt Has Brass Balls

2007-12-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/14/romneys-bain-capital-buy_n_76801.html

How about this guy? He buys the largest radio stations during a presidential campaign. Handy, no?

Remember Pearl Harbor

2007-12-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Remember that? Who would have thought that we would come to a time in our history where a new memory would over shadow that day. Alas, sadly we do.

I recall going aboard the USS Arizona in Hawaii some time back. There are souls there, I swear it. I was lucky enough to get aboard a private launch with 3 other people and the navy color guard that morning. We got to be present when they raised the flag as they do every morning. As I stood watching, right hand on heart, I felt the presence of many others. They were silently watchful. They were there with us. Other people have spoken of this but I truly did not expect to experience this. It was eerie and sad. The ceremony over, I wandered the deck that had been built over what was left of the ship. Looking over the side, I could see oil, after all these years, still rising to the top of the water. I knew *they* were down there. They knew I could feel them. Needless to say, it was one of the most moving experiences of my life.

Please do take a moment today to remember Pearl Harbor and the men who gave their lives for our freedom. In so doing, perhaps a little vow that they may not have died in vain. We are so close to losing all we have fought for over the last 231 years. The time has come to make a stand, to fight again, this time without weapons but with as strong a determination as ever we have had. Remember "if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything".

The neocons have in place their plans to steal the election by changing the rules in the great state of California. New edicts make us technically their enemy. We are in dire peril and most Americans want to sleep, watch TV or go shopping through it. Those of us who are awake will have to take up the slack. We have a big job to do, no time for rest. Be ever watchful and determined to fight back, I beg you.

The New Wave

2007-12-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Five Guard Brigades Alerted for Deploymenthttp://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120307S.shtml
These troops won't be deployed till summer of 2009. Hmmm, 2009! So I guess the plan is to be in both Afghanistan and Iraq two years from now. Here's hoping they will be entitled to health care (and won't need it) when they get back, assuming they do get back. Please note that thousands of troops are not qualified for VA benefits. Those who earn $30,000 a year or more are on their own. Of course they may not have a job when they get back. Many do not. Shame on you Mr. Bush.

Guilty Pleasures

2007-12-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

It does not take much to amuse our pResident. Only this morning, the morning of Dec.3, in the cold, Mr.Bush held a news conference in the rose garden at OUR white house. What a sense of humor he has. Reporters waited in the cold from 9 a.m. for his nibs to appear from his warm abode. Is that a knee slapper or what?

New Madness

2007-11-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is over (maybe there is a god) and the madness of Christmas begins.
I don't happen to celebrate either holiday but if I did I would be thankful for every time I open a can without pain, bend over and can stand straight again or walk to the mailbox. It's those little things in life I love. I am grateful every time it rains and the roof does not leak, every time I can take a hot shower or turn the thermostat up to a comfortable temperature. Let me not get started on how wonderfully fortunate I feel for every single meal to which I am able to sit down . You see everyday is a day of Thanksgiving for me. My home is fully equipped with electricity so the lights work, the heat works, the TV works, the PC I am typing on works. My phone works too. I have everything I need.

Many people of the world cannot say these things. Sadly in Iraq, they do not even have clean water to drink forget the showers. Oh my! The air and the land has been fouled with depleted uranium, millions are homeless and the savagery continues with no end in sight. Those who still have homes have become accustomed to the sight of the dead on the streets outside their doors. Worse still are the injured they dare not offer assistance. Is this the freedom we sought to bring them? Is it any wonder they hate us?

The bottom line is clear. The Iraqi people are not now nor have they ever been a concern for George W Bush and his cronies. This is about the oil. More than that it is about controlling an oil rich region. Now they have set their sights on Iran. More death, more destruction, more human suffering, more plundering, pillaging and more madness.

While the oppressed of the world suffer needlessly, Americans ponder what junk they will buy from China to appease one another and assure themselves they are loving Christians. If I wanted to buy a Christmas gift for someone I think it might be a book. Something from Molly Ivins or Bill Moyers. Maybe Howard Zinn or Noam Chomsky. Perhaps a nice massage to help one focus on a bit of introspection. As it is the greatest gift I have to give is to share what I know and help Dennis Kucinich win the election.

Yes the time has come for America to educate itself about the world and spirituality. America has become a culture of greed and facades. I miss the old days when people really had values. I am old enough to recall them you see. Time we recognize the suffering of others in this old world, the one we have all but destroyed to satisfy our endless needs. We really are our brothers keepers after all. We are all members of the human family and as such we owe a debt to the world to be fair, honest, caring and just plain good world citizens.

So how do we do this? I know how we don't do it. We don't do it by dropping bombs. We do it the Jimmy Carter, JFK, MLK, Ghandi way. There are no winners in war and armed conflict. Every soldier who has ever fought a war knows that. Thousands of American and Iraqi families can tell you that no soldier who participates in war is uninjured. Those 18 years olds we sent to Iraq will never be the same kids they were before. The entire nation of Iraq will be old, sick, bitter, unhappy and have a good solid case of PTSD not to mention the birth defects that result from DU. Dick Cheney, GW Bush, at times like this I wish I believed in hell for there would surely be a special place there for you and Rummy and Wolfowitz and the rest who engineered this horror. I am angry and I curse you. May you rot before you die.

Letter From Iraq
By Jennifer Cecere

Please think of me in the morning,
When you rise to start your day.
Think of me when you do your job
For I am so far away.
They sent me here to fight a war
And I really don’t know what it’s for
But my days and nights are full of gore
Please think of me.

Please think of me in the evening,
When you turn your TV on.
Think of me as you watch the news
Remember I am gone.
Please know that I am wracked with fear.
I wish so much that I was there
With you where all my thoughts were clear.
Please think of me.

Please think of me in the desert,
Where the heat is so hard to bear.
Where my greatest wish is a shower,
In a place where there’s never a care.
It’s the simple things I miss so much,
A drive to the store, McDonalds for lunch
A lottery ticket bought on a hunch
Oh, think of me.

Some days are harder than others
It depends on how things go.
Like when they kill my brothers,
And my spirits sink so low
I sit down and cry,
I wish I could die,
And I know it was all for lies.
Think of me.

The things that I see are so awful.
There is never a beautiful sight
It’s all very grim and woeful
And the future does not look bright
I see babies die, I hear mothers cry
I hear fathers vow revenge.
They pick up their guns
For we’ve killed their sons
And the nightmare never ends.

Too Short to Be President?

2007-11-18T23:22:00.000-08:00

Dennis Kucinich is NOT too short to be President.

James Madison was a mere 5'4". He was a fine president. Queen Victoria was 5' 0" and Barbara Boxer, power house that she is 4'11" tall. Is there such a thing as too short to be president?

Don't get me started on looks. I have two words to say about that. Richard Nixon.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zach-kanin/does-height-matter-in-pol_b_73129.html

This and That

2007-11-15T18:56:00.001-08:00

The Debates
After watching the Democratic debates I have come to the conclusion that Joe Biden is a pompus ass. Chris Dodd is a jerk. Obama is a twirp. Richardson is a Teddy Bear. Hillary is a shame. Edwards, eh, he's not bad. I could live with him in the WH. BUT, Dennis, now Dennis is the Bomb! MHO for what it is worth. I want Dennis in the WH in '08. There you have it.

Tazers
By now you have seen the video of the Polish non-English speaking immigrant who waited 10 hrs for his mother to meet him and in the end was tazered and killed by the police in Vancouver, BC, CA. In 10 hours no one was able to determine that the man needed some assistance? WTF? What are these people on? What planet is this? Don't people help each other anymore? Here is a man with no weapon who has not threatened anyone. He is lost, alone, unable to speak the language, just deplaned from his very first flight ever. He is tired, scared, anxious. This is not rocket science. Did no one in the airport notice this man in the baggage area for 10 hours? Of course he threw things. He was no doubt in a panic. So what do the police do, they taze and kill the man. He is tazed, on the floor writhing in pain, and they taze him again. Good grief. Then someone holds him down by putting his knee on the mans neck. Hello! Ever hear of breathing? I worked on some of the most dangerous psych units in this county. We did take downs all the time. We did not have tazers. We were trained to do a take down without harming anyone. Most of us were women, small women. If we could do it so can the police. It strikes me as sadistic somehow to repeatedly taze a person and even worse to kneel on a persons neck. The police departments need training in take downs. What is more, if the police cannot responsibly use their weapons they need to not be police. A tazer is a weapon. Supposedly non-leathal but people die from them too often to suit me. These same schmoos cannot find bomb parts in luggage. I am slapping my forehead here. How about you?

Tired of people being killed in the interest of safety.

Pakistan
Oh My Dog! Negroponte is being sent to Pakistan. I would bet the farm people will begin to die now. That seems to be his history. They don't call him Death Squad John for nothing.

Thought of the Week

2007-11-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

Americas Disgrace

Our treatment of veterans is a national disgrace. It is not new either. We have been abandoning those who have fought for us since the Revolution.

Homelessness in America

2007-11-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

The word is out, 25% of the homeless are veterans of the US military. I am not surprised when I consider the reason that many joined the military in the first place. Many of these people could not find work (compliments of outsourcing), they still can't, of course. Of those who had jobs before they were sent to Iraq, many find their jobs are not there anymore, which btw is illegal. Then there are the men and women with PTSD who have become unemployable by this horrible fiasco Beelza-Bush likes to call a war. There are the maimed as well. Kinda hard to work for the phone company without legs. Bush had the audacity to have himself smilingly photographed with some of the disfigured on Veteran Day. What did he have to smile about. He should have wept knowing that he was the cause of their problems. Instead he smiles with glee as if he enjoys being in the presence of those with missing limbs and faces burned beyond repair. What happens to the men and women, throw aways to Bushco, after they learn to walk on their new legs and get to go home. Do they have homes? Do they have families? If they do have families, will those families be able to cope with the PTSD, the physical limitations, the health problems heaped on these veterans? Living with someone with PTSD can be the most difficult and demanding situation ever. I know, I tried it. I failed. I nearly lost my life. Yet Jr. Bush smiles happily.

Bye Bye Blackwater

2007-11-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

The Iraqi government is about to issue a new law ending the immunity of Blackwater and the approximately 8,500 contractors in Iraq. "The title of a letter sent by the interior ministry - and obtained exclusively CBS News - says it all: "Removing the legal immunity." Until now, security firms like Blackwater have operated under a grant of immunity issued in 2004 by the then-top American in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer. "

Paul Bremer, what a joke that guy is. The first thing he did in Iraq was to get rid of law enforcement there. To add insult to injury he uses private contractors like Blackwater to guard himself against the ensuing dangers. He btw was replaced with John Negroponte. What does that tell you about his job? Since Negroponte came along so did the death squads. Hmmm they seem to have followed him from South America.

Blackwater, Dyncorp, Triple Canopy and all the rest will not be missed. Though I cannot help but wonder what kind of chaos will ensue getting them out of there.

A Last Some Good News

2007-11-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

Happily, Lt. Watada will not be tried again for refusing to participate in war crimes. On Nov. 8, the Honorable Bejamin Settle issued a preliminary injunction preventing the double jepaordy trial. Thank You Judge Settle.

During the initial trial the army shoot itself in the foot by disallowing crucial testimony. Is anyone surprised?

read the entire article: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111107A.shtml

TO PROTECT A WAR CRIMINAL

2007-11-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Sad Day For America

I am both sick and unhappy to read that by a 53 to 40 vote, Mukasey has been confirmed as our new Attorney General. What is most disturbing, over and above his background, is the fact that he cannot say water boarding is torture. He cannot admit that it is illegal. He cannot say those things because if he did he would obligate himself to accuse Beelza-Bush and his henchmen of war crimes. So it appears that once again we have an AG who thinks it is his job to protect the Chimp in Chief over and above our constitution.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110907J.shtml
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071109/ap_on_go_co/senate_mukasey;_ylt=AiW0iTe7JUJrjgRIaFsnq0Os0NUE

"Six Democrats joined 46 Republicans and one independent in approving the judge, with his backers praising him as a strong choice to restore morale at the Justice Department and independently oversee federal prosecutions in the final months of the Bush administration.
Thirty-nine Democrats and one independent opposed him."

"He felt that he could not make that pronouncement without placing people at risk to be sued or perhaps even criminally prosecuted," said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

What has this country become?

GO DENNIS

2007-11-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

A nationwide poll shows Dennis Kucinich in the lead in 47 states. I think he is unstopable this time.

It seems to me that Americans are ready for an FDR type Democrat.

This gives me hope. Hope is something I have not felt for some time.

Thought of the Week

2007-11-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

Have you done something this week to help turn our country around?

Torture The Topic De Jour

2007-11-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

Rudy the Skull is either stupid or really does not want to be president. His idiotic comments about torture should be his total undoing. He is clearly unable to empathize with others and cares nothing about the eithical behavior of this country. Sound Familiar?

"His hyperbole is an insult to all American soldiers who have had to endure real torture," said retired Marine Sgt. Maj. Paul Chevalier, chairman of McCain's New Hampshire Veterans Advisory Committee.

"They talk about sleep deprivation," Giuliani told Iowa voters two weeks ago. "I mean, on that theory, I'm getting tortured running for President of the United States. That's plain silly."

Silly? Did he say silly? Not a word I would choose when speaking of sleep deprivation. I am not talking about getting to bed late and being up again early. That is nothing compared to this: "Orson Swindle, a McCain friend and fellow prisoner in Vietnam, says he underwent sleep deprivation for up to 20 days, and considered that torture." There are many forms of torture. Sleep deprivation is just one.

This brings me to water boarding. (Naturally we have to talk about water boarding.) Water boarding, according to those who have experienced it brings one to the brink of death. DEATH! The victim is then brought to life again and the process is repeated until they either tell all or actually do die.

BUT, what if you haven't anything to tell? Make something up? Such a dilema. What would you do?

It is time that this country made a move back to the way things were when our prisoners were treated well. When German POWs were held here in America, they did not attempt to escape. Why would they have wanted to go back to the front when they were not tortured, ate well and treated like human beings? It has not been our history to condone torture. Even George Washington during the Revolution found torture and maltreatment deplorable. Soldiers were admonished to treat prisoners kindly.

Don't misunderstand me, I know it has happened in the past even as far back as the Civil War. The thing is, it was always considered criminal behavior in this country. Now I hang my head in shame at the very idea that our government not only condones torture but encourages it.

KUCINICH YOU DA MAN

2007-11-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of Dennis Kucinich today I am busting my buttons. Wow! What a courageous and sincere man. He is truly a modern day hero.

By now you have probably heard that he has succeeded in getting the votes to bring impeachment of Dick Vadar aka Cheney to the table. Way to go Dennis.

To my surprise most of the votes came from Republicans. Are they begining to wake up to the truth or is this a political manuver? I am not smart enough to know.

Bush vs Veterans

2007-11-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Senator Patty Murray urged President George W. Bush to approve legislation he has threatened to veto that would pay for veterans' programs including treatment for war wounds and mental health.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110407Y.shtml

Einstein on Religion

2007-11-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

(Einstein) wound up in old age being irrelevant on both the religious and scientific front. His God was too impersonal for the religionists; his physics was too idealistic for the scientists (idealistic in the sense that Einstein never abandoned his belief in a non-random creation). What's so heartening about him today is that Einstein never adopted the arrogant small-mindedness of contemporary atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, neither of whom evinces the slightest awareness of the quantum revolution that occurred a century ago. Without a shadow of arrogance Einstein wrote, "What separates me from most so-called atheists is a feeling of utter humility toward the unattainable secrets of the harmony of the cosmos." I remain amazed that his beliefs are dismissed while those of much lesser minds earn general acceptance. Quite rightly, Einstein thought that atheists are slaves to the religious tradition they hate and hold such a grudge against traditional religion that "they cannot hear the music of the spheres."

Read the whole blog:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/einsteins-god-or-the-ho_b_63545.html

Kucinich

2007-11-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

Rumsfeld memos corroborate targeting of Iran, Kucinich charges

Rumsfeld memos corroborate targeting of Iran Thursday, November 01, 2007 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public disclosure of private memos from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld provides further evidence, from the highest level, that the Bush Administration has been targeting Iran for aggression for longer than previously acknowledged, Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said today.Rumsfeld, one of the architects and chief advocates of the war against Iraq, wrote in one memo, "Iraq is only one battleground," according to revelations in today’s Washington Post. In other memos, termed “snowflakes” by Administration officials, Rumsfeld wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," and "link Iraq to Iran," according to the newspaper account. Further, the Post reported, Rumsfeld argued, “…if we fail in Iraq, it will advantage Iran," in an April 2006 memo. “From the Oval Office on down, this Administration has been targeting Iran as the next domino it wants to topple,” Kucinich said today. “They used lies and deceit to take this nation into war, and they have been fabricating justifications to launch a second war against Iran. The criminality of these actions must be addressed by the Congress of the United States of America.”Congressman Kucinich, (D-OH), introduced Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Richard B. Cheney earlier this year for his role in laying the groundwork for the Iraq war. In recent weeks, Kucinich has argued that not only Cheney, but also President Bush and other top-ranking members of the Administration must be held accountable for possible crimes under the Constitution, the UN Charter, and international treaties.“The Congress has abrogated its responsibility to hold this President and his Cabinet accountable for the deaths of thousands of brave U.S. military men and women and more than one million innocent Iraqi civilians,” Kucinich said. “We have a moral obligation and the Constitutional authority to end this war and stop the President from bombing this nation into another war with Iran.”“The Congress is not doing its duty, and the other Presidential candidates are failing to exhibit leadership in addressing this threat of yet another war,” Kucinich said.It is possible that the impeachment resolution may reach the House floor as soon as next week.

More Power for the President

2007-11-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

Germany 1932 Reduex

I never dreamed I'd see the day,
Americans would ever live this way.
In fear and dread, our freedoms gone.
We dare not mention what is wrong.

What happened to the First Amendment?
Why does congress sit still for this?

http://www.libertynewstv.com/Documents/execorder.htm

From Buzz Flash

2007-11-01T18:36:00.001-07:00

GOP HYPOCRITE OF THE WEEK

LEARN MORE
Thursday, November 01, 2007

Richard Curtis
We have some advice for the macho-posturing Republican males. If you don't want people to think you are gay, a cross-dresser, adulterer, transsexual, or a child molester, you better become a Democrat or Independent.Because at the fast pace of sexual perversity being exposed among elected Republican officials -- almost all of whom are invariably publicly and sanctimoniously opposed to gays and adultery -- it's kind of de facto questionable whether any white GOP male who claims to be for "family values" is not a "pervert."Yes, a now resigned state representative from Washington State got himself in a cross-dressing, fellatio, male sex for hire "tight spot" the other day in Spokane, where not too long ago the Republican mayor was uncovered as a sexual harasser of his male employees.Our mind is dizzy with recent tales of right-wing debauchery. While Curtis has indeed taken it to a new level of tabloid sensation, the pattern is the same: repression and hypocrisy.
Read More >>>http://gophypocrites.com/2007/11/hyp07044.html
For More Than 180 Headlines

Corp Watch

2007-11-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.warprofiteers.com/img/original/protest%20lobby%2010-11.jpg

Iraqi Parliment Votes to End Blackwaters Immunity

2007-11-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/103107B.shtml

"The Iraqi government's decision followed reports that the State Department had promised Blackwater guards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of the shootings. On Tuesday, the State Department confirmed that some Blackwater employees questioned in connection with the shootings had been granted a form of immunity in exchange for their statements.
The draft law canceling the private security firms' immunity was written by the legal adviser to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. It would overturn a measure known as Order 17, dating from the administration of L. Paul Bremer III.
Under the version approved by the cabinet, foreign security companies would have to meet several criteria, including a requirement that all their weapons be licensed by the Iraqi Interior Ministry. Their equipment, including helicopters and armored vehicles, would have to be registered with the appropriate Iraqi agencies and all foreign employees would have to obtain visas from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
Currently, many contractors in Iraq, including those who work for security firms, enter the country without regular visas because they have badges that say they work with the Defense Department or another agency either of the United States or of a country in the American-led coalition. The Iraqi government previously accepted the badges rather than requiring visas.
"This decision does not just cover Blackwater; it will cover all the foreign security firms operating in Iraq," said Thamir Ghadban, the chairman of Mr. Maliki's council of advisers. "This law will protect Iraqis and Iraq's sovereignty."

Quote of the Day

2007-11-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

"Mercenaries are disloyal and disunited. They have nothing other to keep them in a battle but a meager wage which is just about enough to make them want to kill for you...but not enough to make them want to die for you."

Machiavelli, as translated by John Cale.

Kucinich for President

2007-10-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goCq-4ZhDRk

http://Dennis4President.com

Bring Them Home

2007-10-31T10:29:00.000-07:00

Letter From Iraq
By Jennifer Cecere

Please think of me in the morning,
When you rise to start your day.
Think of me when you do your job
For I am so far away.
They sent me here to fight a war
And I really don’t know what it’s for
But my days and nights are full of gore
Please think of me.

Please think of me in the evening,
When you turn your TV on.
Think of me as you watch the news
Remember I am gone.
Please know that I am wracked with fear.
I wish so much that I was there
With you where all my thoughts were clear.
Please think of me.

Please think of me in the desert,
Where the heat is so hard to bear.
Where my greatest wish is a shower,
In a place where there’s never a care.
It’s the simple things I miss so much,
A drive to the store, McDonalds for lunch
A lottery ticket bought on a hunch
Oh, think of me.

Some days are harder than others
It depends on how things go.
Like when they kill my brothers,
And my spirits sink so low
I sit down and cry,
I wish I could die,
And I know it was all for lies.
Think of me.

The things that I see are so awful.
There is never a beautiful sight
It’s all very grim and woeful
And the future does not look bright
I see babies die, I hear mothers cry
I hear fathers vow revenge.
They pick up their guns
For we’ve killed their sons
And the nightmare never ends.

General Hayden Can Hear Us But I Can't Hear You

2007-10-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

"Comcast - the nation's No. 2 Internet provider - has acknowledged "delaying" some subscriber Internet data, but said the delays are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users.

Verizon Wireless in late September denied a request by Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, to use its mobile network for a sign-up text messaging program.

The company reversed course just a day later, calling it a mistake and an "isolated incident."

AT&T reportedly changed a service agreement that previously included language permitting the company to cancel accounts of Internet users who disparage the company."

I am wondering why MSN is not mentioned in this article since they no longer allow Truthout to come through on hotmail accounts in spite of the fact that one must subscribe to them. MSN calls this spam. ????? Spam? It is a subscription.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/103007R.shtml

Birth Defects Related to Pollution

2007-10-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

China's Birth Defects Soar Due to Pollution - Report Reuters
Monday 29 October 2007
Beijing - Birth defects in Chinese infants have soared nearly 40 percent since 2001, a government report said, and officials linked the rise to China's worsening environmental degradation.
The rate of defects had risen from 104.9 per 10,000 births in 2001, to 145.5 in 2006, affecting nearly one in 10 families, China's National Population and Family Planning Commission said in a report on its Web site (http://www.npfpc.gov.cn/en/index.htm).
Infants with birth defects now accounted for "about 4 to 6 percent of total births every year," the family planning agency said. Of these, 30 percent would die and 40 percent would be "disabled."
The World Health Organisation estimates about 3 to 5 percent of children worldwide are born with birth defects.
China's coal-rich northern province of Shanxi, a centre of noxious emissions from large-scale coke and chemical industries, had the highest rate of defects, Xinhua news agency said in a report carried by Monday's Beijing News.
"The incidence of birth defects is related to environmental pollution," the newspaper quoted An Huanxiao, director of Shanxi's provincial family planning agency, as saying.
"The survey's statistics show that birth defects in Shanxi's eight large coal-mining regions are far above the national average," An said.
The report said about 2 to 3 million babies are born in China with "visible defects" every year, and a further 8 to 12 million would develop defects within months or years after birth.
Officials had also linked high defect rates to poor, rural areas, and regions that suffered "high rates of illness."
About 460,000 Chinese die prematurely each year from breathing polluted air and drinking dirty water, according to a World Bank study.
The report comes as Beijing tries to improve air quality in time for the August 2008 Olympics, with high levels of small particulate matter - which are sometimes more than 200 percent above recommended safe level - of particular concern.
China, home to some of the world's most polluted cities, has pledged to cut emissions and clean up its environment, laid waste after decades of breakneck development.
But lax local enforcement and an insatiable demand for energy to feed its booming economy continue to undermine environmental policy goals.
-------

Halloween

2007-10-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

Who needs halloween anymore? Life is spooky enough. We have Blackwater, wars, fires, floods, earthquakes, hunger, rapes, torture and on and on. Yes life is spooky enough.

Thought of the Week

2007-10-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

Have you done something today to help stop global climate change?

License to Kill

2007-10-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

By David Johnston The New York Times
Tuesday 30 October 2007
Washington - State Department investigators offered Blackwater USA security guards immunity during an inquiry into last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad - a potentially serious investigative misstep that could complicate efforts to prosecute the company's employees involved in the episode, government officials said Monday.
The State Department investigators from the agency's investigative arm, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, offered the immunity grants even though they did not have the authority to do so, the officials said. Prosecutors at the Justice Department, who do have such authority, had no advance knowledge of the arrangement, they added.
Most of the guards who took part in the Sept. 16 shooting were offered what officials described as limited-use immunity, which means that they were promised that they would not be prosecuted for anything they said in their interviews with the authorities as long as their statements were true. The immunity offers were first reported Monday by The Associated Press.
The officials who spoke of the immunity deals have been briefed on the matter, but agreed to talk about the arrangement only on the condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to discuss a continuing criminal investigation.
The precise legal status of the immunity offer is unclear. Those who have been offered immunity would seem likely to assert that their statements are legally protected, even as some government officials say that immunity was never officially sanctioned by the Justice Department.
Spokesmen for the State and Justice Departments would not comment on the matter. A State Department official said, "If there's any truth to this story, then the decision was made without consultation with senior officials in Washington."
A spokeswoman for Blackwater, Anne E. Tyrrell, said, "It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the investigation."
The immunity deals were an unwelcome surprise at the Justice Department, which was already grappling with the fundamental legal question of whether any prosecutions could take place involving American civilians in Iraq.
Blackwater employees and other civilian contractors cannot be tried in military courts, and it is unclear what American criminal laws might cover criminal acts committed in a war zone. Americans are immune from Iraqi law under a directive signed by the United States occupation authority in 2003 that has not been repealed by the Iraqi Parliament.
A State Department review panel sent to investigate the shootings concluded that there was no basis for holding non-Defense Department contractors accountable under United States law and urged Congress and the administration to address the problem.
The House overwhelmingly passed a bill this month that would make such contractors liable under a law known as the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. The Senate is considering a similar measure.
Some legal analysts have suggested that the Blackwater case could be prosecuted through the act, which allows the extension of federal law to civilians supporting military operations.
But trying a criminal case in federal court requires guarantees that no one has tampered with the evidence. Because a defendant has the right to cross-examine witnesses, foreign witnesses would have to be transported to the United States.
Several legal experts said evidence gathered by Iraqi investigators and turned over to the Americans, even within days, would probably be suspect.
Another law that may be applicable covers contractors in areas that could be defined as American territory, like a military base or the Green Zone. But the Blackwater security contractors in the Sept. 16 shootings were in neither place.
The government has transferred the investigation from the diplomatic service to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has begun reinterviewing Blackwater employees without any grant of immunity in an effort to assemble independent evidence of possible wrongdoing.
Richard J. Griffin, the chief of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, resigned last week, in a departure that appeared to be related to problems with his supervision of Blackwater contractors.
In addition, the Justice Department reassigned the investigation from prosecutors in the criminal division who had read the statements the State Department had taken under the offer of immunity to prosecutors in the national security division who had no knowledge of the statements.
Such a step is usually taken to preserve the government's ability to argue later in court that any case it has brought was made independently and did not use information gathered under a promise that it would not be used in a criminal trial.
The episode began as a convoy carrying American diplomats and staffed by Blackwater guards approached Nisour Square in Baghdad at midday on a Sunday. A second Blackwater convoy, positioned on the crowded square in advance to control traffic, opened fire, killing 17 people and wounding 24.
Blackwater's original statement on the shooting said the company's guards had "acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack," and initial assertions by the State Department stated that the convoy had come under small-arms fire.
But subsequent accounts from witnesses and Iraqi investigators indicated that the convoy had not been attacked and that the Blackwater guards fired indiscriminately around the square. Americans soldiers investigating the scene afterward also found no evidence of an attack.
F.B.I. agents have been at the Blackwater compound in the Green Zone interviewing guards involved in the shooting.
Immunity is intended to protect the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination while still giving investigators the ability to gather evidence. Usually, people suspected of crimes are not given immunity and such grants are not made until after the probable defendants are identified. Even then, prosecutors often face serious obstacles in bringing a prosecution in cases in which defendants have been immunized

Coming to Your Iraqi Neighborhood soon....

2007-10-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Iraqi Dam Seen in Danger of Deadly Collapsehttp://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/103007C.shtml

From the makers of war, disease, death and destruction comes the latest exciting event in Iraq. Yes folks, we never tire of bringing you fun.

If you thought Katrina was fun, watch for the remake in Iraq.

All together now, 1, 2, 3 ..... Thank You George Bush.

WAR - What is it good for?

2007-10-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

Never the Same
by Jennifer Cecere

I can well recall with sadness the year that daddy went away.
He said he had a job to do but he’d return someday,
But, daddy never did come home, his mistress held him fast.
Now here I am all grown up, still sad about the past.
Two years old I was then and the war had just begun.
We spent our days just waiting instead of having fun.
The nights were often blacked out with sirens ringing clear.
My fear of darkness still remains, loud noised cause me fear.

I still can see my Grandma when the telegram arrived,
To say my uncle had been shot, though he was still alive.
She cried she screamed she agonized to think about her son.
But her grief was not near over, this was only number one.
Two more wounds he suffered before the thing was through,
But the biggest grief for Grandma was the fate of number two.

Uncle Carlo was a dashing man who really got around.
We nearly lost him to his wounds, today he’s wheelchair bound.
His courage is unfailing. He really does his best.
This tragedy we lived through put our family to the test.
At last the war was over but life never was the same
For afterward the scarring forever would remain.

Not too many years went by before the family men
Were carried off to Asia to fight a war again.
To ward off the old feelings, I made myself go numb.
With dread I prayed that we’d be spared the news that just might come.
When it was finally over I thanked God from my heart
And asked that he would never let another conflict start.
A child I was with hope and trust who really did believe
That mankind could forego war and work instead for peace.
I never dreamed I’d hear the words Danang or Hamburger Hill.
But I did and all the horror lives inside me still.

I was young and so in love with the man who went to fight.
I fretted all the day and often through the night.
My dry shoes caused me guilt, my warm meals caused me pain.
I wanted for my lover to be blessed with all the same.
I wanted him to have a bed to lay his body down.
A place with nice warm showers and no bullets flying ‘round.
It made me sad and miserable to know he suffered so.
And I often wished inside my heart it had been me to go.
For two long years I worried, I cried but carried on
Writing letter after letter while the time dragged on so long.
I prayed each day no telegram would come to say he died.
Instead I died daily, just a little bit inside.

And then one day my lover once again was by my side.
But, alas, to my amazement he had truly died.
Just a shell that looked quite like him was all that now remained,
And the truth was once again my life would never be the same.
A kind and caring man had been sent to Viet Nam.
The shell that now replaced him only filled me with alarm.
He was callous even cruel, the caring was not there.
His smile too was missing, in its place a vacant stare.
The man who once was patient now exploded into rage.
With his violent expressions, I could fill another page.
For two hard years I struggled to keep my love alive.
Finally in defeat, I put it all aside.
For eight more years I grieved my loss and vowed to stay alone.
To find new meaning for my life, a meaning all my own.

Eighteen years went by , some were happy, some were sad.
I came to terms with loneliness and thought it wasn’t bad.
I even learned to like it and then the day arrived,
When loving seemed quite safe again so I let someone inside.
A special man, a loving man and one, who loved me so,
But, he was in the navy so at times he had to go.
I thought, “I can take it, I’m accustomed to *alone*”
So many times he’s come and gone and left me on my own.

I managed to survive two years of part time couple hood.
The times we were together were inordinately good.
But, now the threat of war again hovers overhead.
My husband has been taken and it’s filling me with dread.
I miss him and I worry. I am frightened once again.
And I ask myself in silence, Will life ever be the same?

A Sort of Book Review

2007-10-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

The most shocking thing I have read today comes from Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine. In chapter 18 titled Full Circle, Naomi tells us that Lockheed Martin, the worlds largest manufacturer of of weapons, began buying companies in the healthcare market. "Lockheed is poised to profit not only form making the weapons and fighter jets but from rebuilding what they destroy, and even from treating the people injured by it's own weapons."

Bush's Private Army is prepared to be deployed at a moments notice just as our military reserves are. Bush referred to this as the *civilian reserve corp* in his 2007 state of the union address.

"A year and a half into the Iraq occupation, the U.S. State Department launched a new branch: the Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization. On any given day, it is paying private contractors to draw up detailed plans to reconstruct twenty-five countries that may, for one reason or another, find themselves the target of U.S.-sponsored destruction, from Venezuela to Iran. Corporations and consultants are lined up on *presigned contracts* so that they are ready to leap into action as soon as disaster strikes".

I consider Naomi Klein's work, The Shock Doctrine, a must read for anyone who wants to understand why we invaded Iraq and why we still occupy it. Further understanding can also be gleaned from John Perkins book Confessions of an Economic Hitman.

Now the question becomes, what is to be done to stop this?

The Sale

2007-10-27T00:14:00.000-07:00

The Sale
By Jennifer Cecere

I represent a company of stature,
In this world the only one of it’s kind.
The largest and the greatest so they tell me.
Please keep my employer’s name in mind.

Uncle Sam is the company that pays me.
The capacity of salesman is my lot.
Next month I’ll be up for promotion
if the most in contract sales is what I’ve got.

I’ve an item here to sell, I know you’ll love it.
I have sold it to so many folks like you.
They all seem satisfied with this product.
I feel certain I can make you think so too.

The item that I offer is called Freedom.
A special brand of Freedom you will see.
It’s Uncle Sam’s own brand, the very best kind.
I will demonstrate it, watch me carefully.

I was one of the first purchasers of this brand.
As you can see I have no chains or strings on me.
But I believe all Uncle Sam has taught me.
He reared me from a pup so lovingly.

Uncle Sam has made it easy life to cope with
For he’s given me his thoughts in place of mine.
When in doubt I need but stop and let him whisper,
Then I do as he directs and all is fine.

You see this is how it works, my uncles freedom.
It relieves me of the need to be me.
Why be bothered with the trouble of thinking
When Uncle Sam as mapped it out painstakingly.

His plan removes the need to make decisions
Consequently possibility of error,
Making life a carefree game that doesn’t matter.
Is something wrong? I see on you a look of terror.

Does it worry you to cast aside life’s problems?
Are you fearful of what you might cease to be?
Don’t worry friend, I wouldn’t steer you wrong now,
Uncle Sam would not allow it. Look at me.

I met a few like you who wouldn’t purchase.
In fearfulness they’d argue and they’d say,
“I refuse to forfeit my own powers of reason.”
It is sad but they regret it to this day.

I’ll say simply then continue with my sales pitch,
Uncle Sam was sore displeased with their intentions.
To break down our sameness was their plan.
Enough of them, the price is still not mentioned.

Yes, I’ll tell you of the price Freedom will cost you,
For Uncle Sam has instructed me.
We simply feel beforehand you should know it,
After all is it important we agree.

In order to unload life’s dreary thinking
And accept my Uncles’ Freedom in its stead,
You must agree to let my uncle without surgery,
Replace his thoughts for yours within your head.

One more thing is required. Yearly payments,
Outside of income tax and such as that.
And you must happily respond if you are needed.
In times of strife you may be called to bat.

Any questions? Yearly payments – Oh that’s easy.
There are times when other nations disagree.
They won’t buy Uncle Sam’s brand of Freedom.
Yet our uncle wants them all to be free.

The result is always war, my poor uncle,
So we ask that you do forfeit every year,
The life or the limb of a loved one.
It need not be a relative, a friend that’s dear.

Oftentimes folks run short of relatives.
So to make it easy on the ones that do,
And in order to ensure yearly payments,
Any precious, close, dear friend will do.

Oh and yes! They need not die in the melee.
Uncle Sam is not unfair you understand.
If death does not occur he will consider,
An arm, a leg, a hand.
So you see it’s really all very simple.
And I hope that I have made it very clear.
Uncle Sam has in mind your best interest.
Here’s my pen, please sign right here.

Sir, I’m holding out my pen, won’t you take it?
Well then, I’m forced to tell you the news.
There is a new law in effect as of this morning.
It is compulsory, you cannot refuse.

It is essential that we all are in agreement.
It is the most important part of Freedoms plan.
If you refuse then more are bound to follow.
You must become like every other man.

If you don’t pick up that pen and sign that contract
I must stamp upon your forehead LIBERAL!
Then in every place you go, you will be target,
Of free men who may cast their stones at will.

Surely you will not abide your own destruction.
Don’t you want the safety numbers have to give?
I do not understand your refusal.
A relative, a friend, so what, you’ll live.

You seem like such a likeable young person
So I’ll give you one last chance to sign
And if you refuse this time,
The guilt for your fate cannot be mine.

Alright, have it your way, I will stamp you.
There it’s done, you’re now one of them who dares
And like all the fools thus labeled throughout history
You’ll be laughing as I descend those stairs.

What is it makes them laugh I always wonder.
It’s their lives, their very futures they have canned.
They could have saved it all by simply signing.
Yet they laugh and I will never understand.

Uncle Sam keeps telling me I mustn’t worry.
It’s unfree to come to him with such sad tales.
Then he tells me I’ve done well and pats my shoulder.
And we smile and gaily total the day’s sales.

America The Pitiful

2007-10-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

The Reign Of King George The Myopic
by Jennifer Cecere

Once a proud nation, once a bright star,
Once the people of earth longed to be where we are.
Once the model of freedom now no more to be
King George the Myopic has changed things you see.
He has fouled the oceans, the rivers, the air.
And betrayed the worlds trust with never a care.
Ravaging nations that were never a threat
He has made us a monster no one will forget
With torture and cruelty he seems to enjoy
He has been this way since he was a boy.
Now depleted uranium permeates all
Of the lands we held dear and will be our downfall.
Our land has been poisoned, our food supplies too.
The world now is toxic for me and for you.
With jobs all but gone and no money for school
The poor join the army, old George is no fool
Our children are sent to kill children of others
And all that is left now are the grieving mothers
The wives and the siblings cry day and night too
King George has created a sad point of view
Tax cuts for the wealthy in a time they call war.
Work for the rich, abandon the poor.
Get rid of the unions, move jobs overseas.
Make slaves of the masses, bring them to their knees.
Habeas Corpus, throw that in the trash.
The first amendment, burn that to ash.
Send Jenna to war, have Barbara go too.
They need to know what it’s like for the few
The proud and the dying while daddy spins lies
And shows the whole world his criminal ties.
Evangelical Christians, I call upon you
Pray hard for this land, what else can you do?
Shout to the heavens, call out His name
And after you’re done it will all be the same.
It’s sad but it’s true so understand this.
The Land of the Free no longer exists.
Progressives get ready, there is work to be done
It is time to clean up what King George has done.
Demand a fair vote, march to the beat
Never give in, take to the street.