"Cost of living" verses wage stagnation

I spent the year of 1979 near Hiroshima, Japan. During my stay there gasoline cost around $1.25 in the U.S. and almost $4 per gallon in Japan. Of course, they didn't sell it "by the gallon" there, rather by the liter. But the price worked out to that which I am siting.

When I asked anyone about the difference in price, I was invariably referred to the same logic that was given when asked about prices for everything in metropolitan America being higher than that of rural America. Prices were higher because people in metropolitan areas made higher wages. And this was the explanation for the higher price in Japan of that time.

And today, as we see the cost of virtually everything skyrocketing because, as we are told, the price of oil is rising exponentially, Congress has done everything within its power to hold wages down, bust unions, and give tax breaks to those who are responsible for failing banks, lending institutions, energy companies, and other "industry" owners.

So, as we are forced to live on less, and pay more for everything that we need to survive, the fat cats are living in luxury and laughing at the rest of us.

Nationalize all industries that supply the basic necessities of life, provide employment with a living wage for all who can work (and subsidize the disabled), and tax the ever living shit out of all other industries and providers.

It offends me tremendously when I hear people on 'Corporate Welfare" refer to the poor as "a drain on society". When I know for a fact that they draw thousands and more every month from a government agency for doing little if anything for it, my sensibilities and moral compass are offended.

If "the American Dream" has given them so much, they should not mind giving back. If they do, then of course it is they who are the true "drain on society".

ANNOUNCING THIS BRAVE NATION SERIES AND AWARD

I pass this message along with the deepest reservations. "Progressive" to me denotes an implied concession to the fatally flawed and fraudulent "Two Party System". After all, what good is there in declaring a Marxist Philosophy and outlook when you continue to fuel the above mentioned system. But I reserve the belief that these organizations have the ability to work toward Socialism which may show more undereducated and unaware individuals the truth about Socialism: that only Socialism can and will provide for a better existence and future for ALL, where Capitalism will never care about any but the wealthiest few. Monarchy ceased years ago, but we are all still serfs.

So, with this caveat I pass along this information.

From: Progressive Democrats of America http://pdamerica.org

ANNOUNCING THIS BRAVE NATION SERIES AND AWARD

You may recall that PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter was named The Nation's "Most Valuable Progressive in 2007." We also partnered with the folks at Brave New Foundation to bring you news and DVDs. We're all working together within the progressive movement, so we're happy to forward the following note from Katrina vanden Heuvel and Robert Greenwald about an exciting joint project between The Nation and The Brave New Foundation. Your support of this project supports the work of PDA.

"Just take what you love doing, and do it with enough other people to make it the future." Those are the inspired words of the Sierra Club's Executive Director Carl Pope http://www.sierraclub.org/. And it's just a snippet of his fascinating conversation with Van Jones of The Ella Baker Center http://www.ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=1 and Green for All http://www.greenforall.org/, in Sunday's thrilling premiere of This Brave Nation! http://bravenation.com/?utm_source=pda

This Brave Nation reflects months of collaboration between Brave New Foundation and The Nation to bring you a 6-part dynamic dialogue among progressive activists. Each Sunday for the next five weeks, you'll see other episodes that featured: Carl Pope and Van Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Dolores Huerta, Pete Seeger and Majora Carter, Anthony Romero and Ava Lowery, and PDA advisory board member Tom Hayden and Naomi Klein. These are some of the most celebrated progressive minds in our country today, and now we want to know who your local activists are.

Nominate your local unsung hero for our This Brave Nation Award. Brave New Foundation and The Nation will fly the winning activist out to Los Angeles to be part of our series finale, which will air LIVE on July 13th featuring special guests. http://bravenation.com/heroes.php

Our hope is that 'This Brave Nation' will raise the discourse about progressive issues in our country. And you can help by donating $15, for which you'll receive 2 DVDs with all 5 episodes that you can pass along to your family, friends, local schools, and libraries. https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/552/p/10040/bravenation?utm_source=pda

Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP

And we all know how innocuous our last (and present) VP has been.

Don't do it! They are cut from the same cloth!

Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton told colleagues Tuesday she would consider joining Barack Obama as his running mate, and advisers said she was withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket.

On a conference call with other New York lawmakers, Clinton, a New York senator, said she was willing to become Obama's vice presidential nominee if it would help Democrats win the White House, according to a participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to speak for Clinton.

Clinton's remarks came in response to a question from Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who said she believed the best way for Obama to win key voting blocs, including Hispanics, would be for him to choose Clinton as his running mate.

"I am open to it," Clinton replied, if it would help the party's prospects in November.

Disabled Veteran Catches his Crook

Man, 71, and friend in wheelchair subdue suspect

KINGSTON, Pa. (AP) - The young woman probably thought the 71-year-old veteran, whose friend was in a wheelchair, would make an easy target. She was wrong. Harry Kopenis chased and tackled the 22-year-old woman he says robbed him at an ATM in northeastern Pennsylvania. Then, with help from his friend in a wheelchair, he held her until police arrived.

"Maybe she thought I was easy prey. She didn't think I was going to get her. Well, senior citizens aren't easy prey," Kopenis said.

Police charged Erin Vanmatre, of Kingston, with robbery, harassment and other offenses. Vanmatre, who was on probation for conspiracy to commit theft, was locked up on $10,000 bail. It wasn't clear if she had an attorney.

Kopenis said he's not sure how he was able to catch Vanmatre, considering he suffered a stroke five years ago and is on various prescription medications. He pointed to the sky and said, "It was a source up there who gave me the energy."

He was pointing to the flashing sign high on a pole with the name of his bank on it. His bank did not insure his transactions outside the bank.

He had gone to an ATM near his Kingston home Monday morning and withdrew $100 when Vanmatre allegedly knocked him down, took his money and fled.

Kopenis' friend, Kevin Lamb, was nearby in his electric wheelchair. Both men took off after her. Kopenis got her to the ground and Lamb grabbed her leg.

"She wasn't going anyplace then," said Lamb, 56, who uses the wheelchair due to breathing problems.

Kopenis said he thought about not pressing charges, but she continued to resist and gave him a kick to the leg.

The men weren't seriously injured.

If I had done what he did here, I would have been arrested for assaulting the robber. And if I had used an electric wheel chair in the above described manner, I would be charged with vehicular assault.

I'm glad that some people some places are allowed to protect themselves from theft. But in Missouri, you can't even protect yourself from physical harm! I proudly refer to it as a "Don't hit me" state.

"Show Me" (MO State Motto) "Semper Fidelis" (Marine Corps (latin): "Always Faithful")?

I don't think so. More like "Show me your hands! Above your head."

Brian Moore Wins Injunctive Relief Against Ohio Petition Restriction

Small victories.

Hot off the presses of Ballot Access News
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/06/02/brian-moore-wins-injunctive-relief-against-ohio-petition-restriction/


Brian Moore Wins Injunctive Relief Against Ohio Petition Restriction
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/06/02/brian-moore-wins-injunctive-relief-against-ohio-petition-restriction/

June 2nd, 2008

On March 2, Brian Moore (Socialist Party presidential candidate) won injunctive relief from U.S. District Court in Columbus, against an Ohio law that requires independent candidate petition circulators to be registered voters in Ohio. Moore v Brunner, southern dist., 2:08cv-224.

Although the law has not yet been declared unconstitutional, while that part of the case is pending, any adult may circulate an independent candidate petition in Ohio. Ohio tried to persuade the judge that even if he issued an injunction against the registration requirement, he should still let the state bar out-of-state residents from circulating an independent candidate petition. But the judge rejected the state's plea. Although a theoretical in-state residency requirement might be constitutional, the judge said, Ohio has no such law on the books. It only has the law requiring registration for circulators. Thanks to law professor Mark R. Brown, who is doing this case pro bono.


--

www.iamonlyone.net

"I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do" - - - Edward Everett Hale

Electoral Tea Leaves: Street agitation to be launched by CPN-M against bourgeois parties

Does anyone think that there is even a remote possibility that any U.S. "party would

launch a street movement" if the Chimp and his 'Troop'(s) refuse to step down (or aside, or whatever) at the end of this year?

Maoist chairman Prachanda today warned that his party would launch a street movement if the Nepali Congress (NC) failed to hand over the reins of power to his party within the next three days.


Addressing a mass gathering in Gorkha district, Prachanda said Prime Minister Koirala should tender his resignation to the Constituent Assembly (CA) and pave the way for the

Maoists to lead the government. If that does not happen in the next 2-3 days, he said, the Maoist representatives in the current government would resign en masse and join a

street agitation to be launched by the party.


Prachanda, who arrived in Gorkha accompanied by his deputy Dr Baburam Bhattarai, also took the NC and CPN (UML) to task for what he called violation of past agreements, by setting conditions for allowing the Maoists to lead the government.


"Now the kings have been thrown out, but there are small kings who are not willing to step down even after losing the election," reports quoted the Maoist strongman as saying.


On the occasion, Prachanda also hoisted the national flag at the historic Gorkha palace that opened to the public from today.

nepalenews.com

I don't personally believe that the slumbering, mind numbed 'consumers' would raise much more than a 'grunt' of disapproval, if even that! We have lived in fear under increasing oppression for so very long that we don't even have a skeleton of organizational structure among the masses. We have quietly and easily given away our rights and freedoms for a 'security' that is only in danger from those who were suppose to protect us.

I have a friend in Nebraska with whom I was speaking on Sept. 11, 2001 when I expressed my fears for the future. I said, "Our world has just taken a turn for the worse than modern man has ever seen, and we are going to be our own worst enemy." I couldn't see just how this would happen, but it has worked out pretty much as I called it. And frankly, I don't see that changing much no matter who leads the nation next year. But then, I see those in power now doing whatever they have to do to stay in power anyway.

Freedom is gone! It is time to organize to take it back from corporate concerns and war mongers.

Speaking of war mongers, I have long held that the main reason that 'law enforcement' is so anti-second amendment is the very reason for its existence. They don't want local private militia's to have the ability to resist them. And anyone who has already fired a weapon on another human leaves little to question that they would defend themselves against anyone, especially armed aggressors sponsored by a rogue government.

And that, my friends, is exactly what we now have: a rogue government. Look it up. We fill the bill on virtually any description thereof.

U.S. Soldiers Launch Campaign to Convert Iraqis to Christianity

So, it is not enough that we invade their country, rape their resources (and women and children), imprison, torture and kill their men, and desecrate their Holy Book and places of worship. It seems that we must also teach them the same mores that got our troops to this place of inhumanity by forcing Christianity down their throats as well. Who would'a thunk it?

U.S. Soldiers Launch Campaign to Convert Iraqis to Christianity

Some U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq appear to have launched a major initiative to convert thousands of Iraqi citizens to Christianity by distributing Bibles and other fundamentalist Christian literature translated into Arabic to Iraqi Muslims.

A recent article published on the website of Mission Network News reported that Bible Pathway Ministries, a fundamentalist Christian organization, has provided thousands of a special military edition of its Daily Devotional Bible study book to members of the 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, currently stationed in Iraq, the project "came into being when a chaplain in Iraq (who has since finished his tour) requested some books from Bible Pathway Ministries (BPM)."

Chief Warrant Officer Rene Llanos of the 101st Airborne told Mission Network News, "the soldiers who are patrolling and walking the streets are taking along this copy, and they're using it to minister to the local residents."

"Our division is also getting ready to head toward Afghanistan, so there will be copies heading out with the soldiers," Llanos said. "We need to pray for protection for our soldiers as they patrol and pray that God would continue to open doors. The soldiers are being placed in strategic places with a purpose. They're continuing to spread the Word."

"The shocking actions revealed just last week of American soldiers in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan callously using the Koran for automatic weapons "target practice" is absolutely connected to the same issues of national security breach wrought by our United States armed forces proselytizing the local populations via the distribution to them of fundamentalist Christian coins, bibles, tracts, comics and related religious materials written in Arabic," Weistein said.

"The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been acutely aware of such astonishing unconstitutional and illicit proselytizing in Iraq and Afghanistan for over three years now and knows how massively pervasive it really is. These proselytizing transgressions are all blatant violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and MRFF is now demanding that any and all responsible military personnel be immediately prosecuted under Article 92 of the UCMJ: Failure to Obey an Order or Regulation," Weinstein added.

Members of the U.S. military first started actively proselytizing Iraqi Muslims soon after the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003.

Each and every U.S. citizen in Iraq who has participated in this travesty should be hauled off in stocks and locked up for violating the First Amendment, and anything else that could be levied against them! But then, they should be in line behind the prosecution of the first sitting president... like that will happen!

Land of the Free? Do these cretins sound like they are spreading freedom?

Let me pass this along here as well:

May 28, 2008

On this day in 1830 President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, leading to the Trail of Tears in which thousands died on the march to Oklahoma. In the language of the Cherokee it is "The trail where they cried."

Oh yeah! Real "Christian" Values, convert 'em or kill 'em... morons.

Disallusioned Soldiers are telling their stories - Let's Listen

I'd like to introduce 'Bryan', a soldier at Fort Hood, Texas and an active member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He was 'jaded' by our government at the age of 18. Now, he is beginning to see the reality of the Imperial War Machine and is speaking out. He has a lot to say. I suggest that we listen to him.

See his blog here at Blogspot by clicking this link - Playing the College Lottery

The U.S. Uses Cluster Bombs, and intends to continue their use

Mothers seem to intuitively know things that some of us just can't get. And even in the face of tragedy, they continue to sound their warnings. Who will thank them for their contributions... and console them for their loss? How can they be consoled? They lost.

But with each person that dies due to the reckless actions of Imperialism, we all lose. If we do nothing to prevent these dastardly deeds, we lose our dignity, self-respect, and souls to the darkness that is coming.

Lynn Bradach tells the story of her son, Travis Bradach -Nall, who was killed
by a U.S. cluster submunition while serving in Iraq.

Tell your friends about the video.

Ban Cluster Bombs | FCNL

The U.S. Uses Cluster Bombs

In the last 10 years, the United States has used them in civilian-populated areas of the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

U.S. Cluster Bombs Kill Civilians and U.S. Soldiers

Cluster munitions pose a danger to civilians during and after conflict, as malfunctioning bomblets scattered over a wide swath of land become de facto landmines. And during the 1991 war against Iraq, U.S.-dropped cluster submunitions were the single most deadly weapon facing U.S. troops.

Bush Refuses to Read McClellan's Book

Andy Borowitz: Bush Refuses to Read McClellan's Book, Calling It 'A Book' - Politics on The Huffington Post

On a day when Washington was abuzz with the news that former White House spokesperson Scott McClellan had published a tell-all memoir, President George W. Bush offered his personal reason for not reading it.

"I have no intention of reading Scott McClellan's book," Mr. Bush told reporters, "because it's a book."

Mr. Bush said he was "surprised" that Mr. McClellan had written a book to criticize him because "if you're trying to communicate some criticism to me, a book is pretty much the last place you'd put it."

The president said that he thought the chances of his someday reading Mr. McClellan's book were "zero," adding, "If I didn't read the Iraq Study Group's report, I really don't think I'm about to read Scott McClellan's little book."

Beside the fact that there is a question as to the literacy of the Chimp.

For his part, Mr. Bush said that there was in fact a book published this week that had caught his eye: the new James Bond thrilled entitled "Devil May Care."

"Now, that book looks like it could be good," he said. "Maybe I'll have Laura read it to me."

And since he didn't read (or have read to him) the Iraq Study Group's report, why should he bother with little trivialities such as his perpetual campaign and war mongering propaganda?

I have always been concerned that a man that couldn't say the word had his finger on the "nucular" (sic!) button.

He honestly must think that if he (and his MSM propaganda organ) keeps repeating his lies that we will eventually believe it! That was the philosophy of his grandfathers' buddy, Hitler.

The main problem with Christians is that they refuse to believe the unthinkable and refuse to admit when they are wrong. Either can be fatal. Both suggests a foregone conclusion of fatality.

US bank failures loom

Still keep your money in a bank? You might want to read this whole article. If you don't take steps to secure your own money now, you might wake up one day soon without any.

US bank failures loom | Thought Criminal

By April, Gary Holloway was almost three years into retirement. He'd built a new home by a lake in Texas, bought a boat and was working on his golf game. While taking on some part-time work, Holloway also travelled for months across the US with his wife, from Seattle to Washington DC, catching up with old friends and family.

That life of leisure abruptly changed about six weeks ago when Holloway got a phone call from his former employer, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, or FDIC, which regulates US banks and insures deposits.

Earlier this year, the FDIC began trying to lure roughly 25 retirees like Holloway back to prepare for an increase in bank failures. It's also hiring about 75 new staff. Holloway quickly went back to work. ANB Financial NA, a bank in Bentonville, Ark with $2.1 billion in assets and $1.8 billion in customer deposits, was failing and an expert like Holloway was needed to value the assets and find a stronger institution to take them on.

On May 9, life for ANB ended when the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, another bank regulator, announced that the lender was closing. Only three banks have failed so far in 2008. But that number is set to surge as the credit crunch slows economic growth and hammers some lenders that grew too fast during the recent real-estate boom, experts say.

Things may get worse before they get better: At least 150 banks will fail in the US during the next two to three years, according to a projection by Gerard Cassidy and his colleagues at RBC Capital Markets.

If the current economic slowdown deteriorates into a recession on the scale of those from the 1980's and early 1990's, the number of failures will be much higher this time around - probably as high as 300 of them, by RBC's reckoning. That's a massive surge compared to the recent boom years of the credit and real estate markets. From the second half of 2004 through end of 2006 there were 10 consecutive quarters without a bank failure in the US - a record length of time, Cassidy notes.

Coffee can buried in the yard or garden (which you will need soon for sustinance) is becoming the only 'safe' bank. If the money itself holds any value at all into the future.

Personal investments of time and money for a ("Victory"? Anyone remember that?) garden and a flock of chickens and other small livestock may soon be the only security one may sustain. Those who are not moving to self-sufficiency may soon find themselves without the most basic of necessities nor the ability to procure them.

Unless you steal from those of us who are preparing for the worst.

Selling America to the Highest Bidder

"Safety and Security" or selling off America to the highest bidder? I would have to go with the later.

Your life's ambition being shipped overseas. Democracy in action? No. Democracy inaction.

Plan Mexico: Plan Colombia Heads for Mexico

The only problem that I see with this article, other than the outrageousness of the subject matter, is that when listing the "valuable resources" of Columbia that the U.S. seeks to control, cocaine is not listed. Though the author does note that Imperialist U.S. is "the nation most skilled in" drug trafficking.

Plan Mexico: Plan Colombia Heads for Mexico

It's called "Plan Mexico," or more formally the "Merida Initiative," and here's the scheme. It's to do for Mexicans what Plan Colombia has done to that nation since 1999, and, in fact, much earlier. Since then, billions have gone for the following:

-- to establish a US military foothold in the country;

-- mostly to fund US weapons, chemical and other corporate profiteers; it's a long-standing practice; in fact, a 1997 Pentagon document affirms that America's military will "protect US interests and investments;" in Colombia, it's to control its valuable resources; most importantly oil and natural gas but also coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, silver, emeralds, copper and more; it's also to crush worker resistance, eliminate unions, target human rights and peasant opposition groups, and make the country a "free market" paradise inhospitable to people;

-- it funds a brutish military as well; already, over 10,000 of its soldiers have been trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) - aka the School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning, Georgia; its graduates are infamous as human rights abusers, drugs traffickers, and death squad practitioners; they were well schooled in their "arts" by the nation most skilled in them;

-- it lets Colombia arm and support paramilitary death squads; they're known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC); for more than a decade, they've terrorized Colombians and are responsible for most killings and massacres in support of powerful western and local business interests;

-- it funds drug eradication efforts, but only in FARC-EP and ELN areas; government-controlled ones are exempt; trafficking is big business; laundering drugs money reaps huge profits for major US and regional banks; the CIA has also been linked to the trade for decades, especially since the 1980s; after Afghanistan's invasion and occupation, opium harvests set records - mostly from areas controlled by US-allied "warlords;" the Taliban's drug eradication program was one reason it was targeted; Colombia's drug eradication is horrific; it causes ecological devastation; crop and forest destruction; lives and livelihoods lost; large areas chemically contaminated; bottom line of the program - record amounts of Colombian cocaine reach US and world markets; trafficking is more profitable than ever; so is big business thanks to paramilitary terror;

-- it's to topple the FARC-EP and ELN resistance groups; Latin American expert James Petras calls the former the "longest standing (since 1964), largest peasant-based guerrilla (resistance) movement in the world;" it's also to weaken Hugo Chavez, other regional populist leaders and groups, and destabilize their countries; and

-- it supports the "Uribe doctrine;" it's in lockstep with Washington; its policies are hard right, corporate-friendly and militarized for enforcement.

Plan Colombia turned the country into a dependable, profitable narco-state. Business is better than ever. Violence is out of control and human rights abuses are appalling.

It gets worse. Two-thirds of Columbians are impoverished. Over 2.5 million peasant and urban slum dwellers have been displaced. Thousands of trade unionists have been murdered (more than anywhere else in the world), and many more thousands of peasants, rural teachers, and peasant and indigenous leaders have as well. Paramilitary land seizures are commonplace. Colombian latifundistas profit hugely. Wealth concentration is extreme and growing. Corruption infests the government. Many thousands in desperation are leaving. Colombia's "democracy" is a sham. So is Mexico's. Plan Mexico will make it worse. That's the whole idea, and it's part of the secretive Security and Prosperity Partnership - aka the North American Union.

It's planned behind closed doors - to militarize and annex the continent. Corporate giants are in charge, mostly US ones. The idea is for an unregulated open field for profit. The Bush administration, Canada and Mexico support it. Things are moving toward implementation. Three nations will become one. National sovereignty eliminated. Worker rights as well. Opposition is building, but moves are planned to quash it. That's the militarization part.

Business intends to win this one. People are to be exploited, not helped. That's why it's kept secret. The idea is to agree on plans, inform legislatures minimally about them, get SPP passed, then implement it with as few of its disturbing details known in hopes once they are they'll be too late to reverse.

Read the rest of this article here.

So, there you have it. North America, and much of South America as well, are soon to be militarized and run by and for the corporations.

Sweet. Not.

Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August'

I believe that I called this one in an earlier post. Just getting to apathetic to check. I do know that I have been saying for months that The Chimp and his Troop would start the war with Iran before November in hopes that he could help insure a Republican victory. If a Dem wins, he will simply declare martial law.

If you are interested in whether I have posted this prediction, you can use the 'search' box at the top of the page and search for "war with Iran", or something similar.

It is getting hard to care any more.

Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs

Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August'
By Muhammad Cohen

NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently.

Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the source, but their projected New York Times op-ed piece has yet to appear.

The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously, said last week that the US plans an air strike against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The air strike would target the headquarters of the IRGC's elite Quds force. With an estimated strength of up to 90,000 fighters, the Quds' stated mission is to spread Iran's revolution of 1979 throughout the region.

Targets could include IRGC garrisons in southern and southwestern Iran, near the border with Iraq. US officials have repeatedly claimed Iran is aiding Iraqi insurgents. In January 2007, US forces raided the Iranian consulate general in Erbil, Iraq, arresting five staff members, including two Iranian diplomats it held until November. Last September, the US Senate approved a resolution by a vote of 76-22 urging President George W Bush to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization. Following this non-binding "sense of the senate" resolution, the White House declared sanctions against the Quds Force as a terrorist group in October. The Bush administration has also accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program, though most intelligence analysts say the program has been abandoned.

Unless someone arrests the Chimp soon, I (and many of you as well) will be in torture prisons by the new year anyway.

Go ahead, tell me I'm crazy. I don't care any more.

McClellan 'disgruntled about his experience'

Why is it that any time someone gets a case of righteous indignation and speaks out in truth, those elites refer to them (me, us) as 'disgruntled'?

White House press secretary says McClellan 'disgruntled about his experience' - Democratic Underground

White House press secretary Dana Perino released this statement on Scott McClellan's critical book on the Bush White House:

"Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. For those of us who fully supported him, before, during and after he was press secretary, we are puzzled. It is sad -- this is not the Scott we knew."

I think that it has been well proven that the Bush Administration lied... repeatedly... for years... about virtually everything. The Chimp and his minions are just pissed (disgruntled) because they are getting outed by 'their own'. The Chimp his self has said repeatedly that he holds loyalty above all else!

What a gas!

Let me pass a bit of 'convict' wisdom on to Washington: If you are going to commit a crime, don't tell anyone! Dip shits.

Socialist Party VP nominee calls McCain "reckless" on Iran

Do I hear someone speaking for the people? I can't tell for sure, as it has been so long since I've heard 'the truth' from a politician. But then, I have trouble considering Stewart Alexander a politician.

portland imc - 2008.05.28 - Socialist Party VP nominee calls McCain "reckless" on Iran

Stewart A. Alexander
Nominee for Vice President Socialist Party USA
Candidate for Vice President Peace and Freedom Party

May 28, 2008

As the Iraq War runs its bloody course, Iran has become a central focus in the 2008 presidential campaign. While not satisfied with Barack Obama's conditional plan for a much delayed disengagement from Iraq; Socialist Party Vice Presidential nominee Stewart A. Alexander says that he and his Presidential running mate Brian Moore are "greatly concerned" that comments being made by Republican presidential contender John McCain, regarding Iran "are reckless and irresponsible and will further escalate tensions in the Middle East and the international community."

Senator McCain recently directed a barrage of negative comments against Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic Party presidential frontrunner. According to the Associated Press, Senator Obama had stated, "Iran, Cuba and Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us." Senator McCain responded to Obama's statement saying "Such a statement betrays the depth of Senator Obama's inexperience and reckless judgment." Alexander says "It is amazing that the fellow who chanted 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran even knows the word 'reckless.' But he apparently doesn't know its meaning, as it could best be applied to him of all the candidates."

McCain is charging that the Iran government is a sponsor for terrorists in the Middle East and that Iran is attempting to develop an atomic bomb; McCain is also charging that Iran is committed to the destruction of Israel. However, recent intelligence has revealed no conclusive evidence that Iran is attempting to develop an atomic bomb and there is no indication that Iran has plans to take any hostile actions against Israel. Alexander points out that "the refusal to accept accurate intelligence, and a determination to whip up war fever against a Middle Eastern state that does not in fact threaten us, was exactly how the Bush administration misled our people into the lie-based aggression in Iraq."

These reckless statements by Senator McCain are another indication that the Republican presidential frontrunner is mapping a road to the White House by staying the course that has been paved by President Bush; a course that will continue to advance U.S. imperialism, a course that will continue to benefit the rich at the expense of working people, and a course that has spiraled the U.S. economy into the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Socialists are opposed to the domestic and foreign policies of both John McCain and Barack Obama because the two presidential contenders have expressed a clear determination to expand U.S. imperialism based upon more human sacrifice. The greatest sacrifice has been the 1.2 million Iraqis that are now dead as a result of the war, more than 4,000 U.S. dead, the tens of thousands of U.S. veterans that have been injured and emotionally scared, the 4.2 million Iraqis that are now living as refugees, and a U.S. economy that is crumbling under the escalating cost of the war. The continuing war in Afghanistan, that has also claimed so many dead and wounded, has been revealed now as an attempt to prop up an utterly corrupt coalition of warlords, some of whom treat women and workers even worse than did the Taliban.

The cost of the Iraq War is now being felt by most Americans from coast to coast as the war expenditures accompanied by huge tax cuts for the rich cheapens the dollar. The cost of gasoline is now over $4.00 per gallon and diesel is over $5.00 per gallon in some areas. The U.S. automobile industry is in a major slump creating job loses for tens of thousands, the U.S. housing market is in a major crisis; as many as 2 million homeowners may lose their homes in 2008. College students are feeling the cost of the war by having to pay higher college tuitions, and millions of seniors and working people are struggling daily just to keep pace with the rising cost of living and escalating food prices. The Iraq War is also making it difficult for most working people to keep up with the rising cost of health care; presently, more than 48 million Americans are without health care coverage and as the cost of living continues to rise, the numbers of the uninsured will continue to rise to even greater levels.

"Working people are beyond the empty promises and future timetables to end the Iraq War; Congress must end the war now. Millions of working people, and their unions, are saying with a loud voice "End this War and No War with Iran." Congress must discontinue the endless funding for the Iraq War and take a greater role to establish peace in the Middle East. Socialist Party USA and Peace and Freedom Party both demand an immediate end to the Iraq War and both socialist parties are opposed to the escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran."

I wouldn't mind an easing of tensions with our Latin American brothers and sisters, as well.

Healthcare NOT Warfare, Sign the Petition

Just passing this along...

Healthcare NOT Warfare, Sign the Petition

Sign the Petition here.



As Martin Luther King Jr. observed forty years ago, "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." While the insurance and pharmaceutical industries post huge profits, the U.S. health care crisis grows steadily worse.

Today, nearly one in six Americans has no health insurance. Tens of millions of others are woefully under-insured. Meanwhile the war in Iraq drains our resources and overburdens our budget. Our government's duty is to protect us--security begins with our health and well-being at home. In 2008, we have an historic opportunity to turn from warfare to health care for all.

We call on the Democratic Party at all levels--in party platforms and resolutions- -to commit to redirecting wasteful and unnecessary military spending to meet human needs. This commitment must start with comprehensive, guaranteed health care--driven by the needs of patients and the judgment of doctors. We call on Democrats to support a plan that eliminates any financial barriers between the patient and healthcare providers, resulting in a patient not receiving medically necessary care.

We call on members of Congress to bring the troops home from Iraq and to pass H.R. 676, Rep. John Conyers' bill which guarantees comprehensive publicly-funded, privately-delivered health care for everyone in the U.S.

Prior to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, this petition will be delivered to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, DNC Chair Howard Dean and your member of Congress.

Jimmy Carter Says Israel Has 150 Nuclear Weapons

Mr. Insanity, Jimmy Carter, Speaks! Is He Out Of Line? at Desert Conservative

LONDON - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says Israel has a nuclear arsenal of 150 weapons, The Times of London reported Monday.

While experts have long maintained Israel has a nuclear arsenal, the Jewish state has refused to confirm or deny it.

Most estimates, many based on evidence leaked in 1986 by Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, put the number of Israeli nuclear weapons at between 100 and 200. But other experts have said the number is as low as 60 or as high as 400.

It was unclear from the newspaper's account whether Carter was citing those estimates, offering his own independent assessment or drawing on U.S. intelligence he would have had access to as president.

U.S. officials have generally avoided the issue of Israel's nuclear status, although during a 2006 Senate confirmation hearing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates confirmed that Israel was a nuclear power.

The Times said Carter made the comment Sunday while at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival on the border between England and Wales. He was discussing Iran, and the difficulty it would have in building a secret nuclear arsenal, when he mentioned the Israeli weapons, the paper said.

Lee ADDS: If the "Peanut Farmer" is revealing Secrets he learned while in office he should be held responsible for his words. The man is insane with a need for personal recognition!

President Carter, "Mr. Insanity" as this columnist so quaintly refers to him, is only speaking truth to what the entire world seems to be afraid to speak of. Even our war hungry administration won't speak to it as they might alienate their bastard child, Israel.

Mr. Carter has shown more integrity (and more spine and fortitude) since he left office than he ever exhibited as the "leader of the free world". I applaud his honesty. Washington could use a little more of it... well, a lot more of it.

John McCain opens fire on Barack Obama

John McCain opens fire on Barack Obama over Iraq war, urges joint visit | The Australian

"For him to talk about dates for withdrawal, which basically is surrender in Iraq, after we're succeeding so well, is really inexcusable," said Senator McCain, who has been to Iraq eight times, most recently in March.

Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Senator McCain's top allies, laid the groundwork for his criticism in a television interview in which he noted Senator Obama's absence from Iraq. He floated the idea that the two men should go together to be briefed by General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

From what I can tell, the only people that I have ever heard use the term 'surrender' regarding Iraq have all been Republicans.

These guys really have a hard time admitting that they have made such a monumental screw up. The very idea of admitting that you were wrong to invade a country on false pretenses, costing both countries (and more) trillions of dollars and untold lives, is apparently inconceivable.

Did we 'surrender' in Viet Nam? Hell no. We packed our bags and got the hell out of the mess we made and let the Vietnamese clean it up (which they did a fine job of). And we now have 'normalized relations' with them.

Bush Engaging Sudan

The "Decider" has decided.

Bush Straddles His Hard Line in Engaging Sudan - washingtonpost.com

Sometime in the next few weeks, a special envoy of President Bush plans to meet with Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, whose government sheltered Osama bin Laden and pursued a scorched-earth policy in southern Sudan that resulted in more than 2 million deaths.

Bashir's government has been accused by Bush of participating in a "genocide" in Darfur, the only U.S. government use of such a strong accusation. Yet Richard S. Williamson's visit to Khartoum follows a series of direct contacts by senior Bush administration officials with the Sudanese president, including Secretaries of State Colin L. Powell and Condoleezza Rice, Rice's deputies, and several special presidential envoys.

Bush has spoken to or exchanged letters with Bashir on numerous occasions, underscoring how White House policy has departed from his pointed public call to shun talks with radical tyrants and dictators. His appointees have also pursued aggressive diplomacy with North Korea and Libya and have even conducted limited business with Cuba, Syria and Iran.

In the case of Sudan, experts are deeply divided about how much the administration's engagement has improved conditions in a country beset for decades by mass violence and famine. It has at least provoked charges of hypocrisy, because Bush recently accused those advocating talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other radical figures of "appeasement."

So, lemme see... if I understand this correctly, anyone who would talk to "radical tyrants and dictators" is an "appeaser" (which is what I do every day to endure the radical Christian extremists who surround me), unless, of course, it is "the decider" who is doing the talking. Then it would be 'diplomacy' where "...they want better relations with the United States and we want to stop a genocide."

Hmmmm. Sounds a lot like hypocrisy to me. And I see a lot of that around here, so I know what that is.