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Awakening the Mole People
The latest in our series to heal the politically and spiritually blighted…
Dear Polly:
I have been watching the turmoil in Congress for quite some time, and it just seems to get wilder every day. And not just in Republican circles. For Republicans, it looks like a whole lot of them are going to be in a whole lot of trouble. For Democrats, it looks like a whole lot of them are starting to grow a spine. I feel like I’m on another planet.
The political landscape has become almost unrecognizable from recent years.
My question is this: Do you think this shake-up will truly put the legislative branch back in touch with the American people? Or will it make a few headlines and then go back to business as usual?
Lethargic in Philly Suburb
Dear LIPS:
Well, it’s hard to say if this will cause the remaining members of Congress to smell the coffee. There’s never a guarantee in these matters - particularly when you’re talking about a group of people who exist in the plastic world inside the Beltway. Sometimes, I think NASA was secretly employed at some point in our nation’s history to construct an invisible bubble around the capitol. But I digress… It is worth noting that a majority of Americans disapprove of many aspects of current leadership, including the recent acknowledgement by George Bush that Americans are being spied on.
Our friends over at Think Progress have posted some info on this: http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/07/nsa-poll/
And this is not the only area in which our friends in D.C. have fallen off the American thought-log… On Iraq, the deficit, veteran’s funding, health care, energy independence… the list goes on and on. In virtually every area, the current leadership in Washington has lost touch with mainstream America.
In his weekly radio address, George Bush, in the face of a deteriorating situation in Iraq, and a national deficit that threatens the security of generations to come, once again goes to bat for his wealthiest friends (contributors). Of all the issues that trouble our nation at this time, the President’s biggest worry is that his tax cuts won’t be made permanent. It’s politics as usual from this White House:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/07/bush.radio/index.html
And that’s partly our fault. We’ve been sleeping. Along with much of the press corps, we’ve let it all slide downhill, and now we’ve awakened to a world of kukka.
So, to get back to your question… I think the reality is that it’s up to us – the American people – to dictate how the mole creatures will respond to our position. We can allow them to ignore public sentiment, or we can break with tradition, and take daily bites out of their precious, over-insured backsides.
As usual, my friends at the Democracy Cell Project have a front page that is chock-full of ways to get involved in the effort to take our country back. Please go here and see what you can do:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/
Contrary to popular myth, the American people are not totally powerless in relation to the actions of our government. Each and every member of the current Congress and administration was put there because we elected them (well, some of the time)...
Therefore, we can un-elect them.
And before that, we can let them know every single day that we’re paying attention, we know what they’re doing, and we want them to represent our view.
So, LIPS, get active. Start here at the Democracy Cell Project and just keep going.
Remember that moment in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” where the scientists are having the musical discussion with the alien mother ship? Well, at the beginning of that conversation, they are trying to establish the vocabulary for communication. And then, suddenly, the scientists say “We’re taking over this conversation… NOW.” And so they do.
Now is the time for the American people to take over the conversation. Today, not tomorrow. Now, not later.
Go get ‘em.
Your friend Polly
A March on Washington DC that shakes the very pillars of political power. Band together these grassroots organizations and leverage them into raw Political power.
We dont ask, we Demand Government be returned, that compromised representatives resign, republican and democrat alike.
And then we shut down K street. Just close it and never let it rule government again. If that means democrat and republican operatives lose their milk money, too bad.
Nothing will change until your representatives quake in their boots and highheels.
Brint it on.
Posted by: Toolmaker at January 8, 2006 04:25 PM
The people giving those legislators milk money are NOT the ones who voted for them....
Time to take *our* Congress back. And, you're right. If they don't listen to their constituents, those senators and representatives can be "un"-elected, too. There are other people in the wings who can be elected, and some of them may not succumb to the money from K Street, but actually do what's best for the people of this country.
Edward M. Kennedy: Alito's Credibility Problem
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806Z.shtml
As Judge Samuel Alito approaches his confirmation hearings next week, Congressman Edward M. Kennedy learns more about him by generating questions concerning the credibility of his assurances.
DeLay Blocked Federal Investigation of Crony
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806Y.shtml
In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen teamed up with disgraced Congressman Tom DeLay to use their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions.
Media matters refutes the media's falsehoods about Alito
http://mediamatters.org/items/200601070001
The whole thing with discussing religion and politics together is deeply disturbing for one reason only: It falls straight into the neoCon trap.
WHO and WHAT are you NOT discussing or paying attention to when you go off on tangents about values and religion??? Yes, right... politics and what criminal activities The Cretin and his people are doing! As long as people's attention is diverted away from The Cretin and his evil cabal, they're ecstatically happy and the evil minions can accomplish whatever the hell they want to do because your attention is not on what they are doing in the political (or criminal) arena. When your attention is diverted away from The Cretin and his cabal, you're not wondering what they're doing behind closed doors. When your attention is not focused on The Cretin and his cabal, you're not making lists of their crimes and wondering when our legislators are ever going to bring impeachment charges against them.... and on and on, all POLITICAL activities and CRIMINAL activities that they are accomplishing while you're discussing things that are way off of those topics (precisely as Lamestream Media does, too). And, of course, when politics and media are not center stage as the focus of attention, then no one is writing or calling legislators or newspapers or TV stations or accomplishing anything practical....
May I humbly suggest that if you want to pray, to go your house of worship or wherever, but keep it off the blog (or start your own separate blog and talk about it there). It's a separate realm of belief in the invisible and it doesn't have one damned thing to do with politics or voting machines or the media that plays into the hands of the neoCons for profit.
I figure if there is a supreme being who is unhappy with the way things are going on earth, then She or He will have to appear IN PERSON to straighten things out, and that hasn't happened. But there sure are a lot of people who presume to speak for that supreme being (although I notice those same people are saying what they think a supreme being would say or do, so these pretenders to the throne of religious dogma are only spouting their own opinions). But if you are talking about religion and politics and moral values (whatever that fuzzy term means to each individual), then you are not actually DOING anything to stop The Cretin and his cabal - all talk, no action. You've fallen straight into the trap of discussing divisive and irrelevant side issues that don't have anything whatsoever to do with POLITICS and the CRIMES of The Cretin and his cabal, just as Lamestream Media has done....
Weren't the original aims of this blog something to do with focusing on politics, voter rights, and media???
Focus, please: POLITICS, MEDIA, VOTING
I'm going to "Arlington West" so will report back. I saw the eternal Peacemakers who never give up (going for almost 5 years now) starting to gather, so want to join them.
I also sent Karen photos from yesterday's Backbone Project action where we delivered giant LTEs to 2 media outlets, including a Fox Affiliate, & brought our big puppet of a spine.
I'm sure we have a backlog of reports on things that happened yesterday as I saw mention here that several of us, across the four time zones, attended events.
Meanwhile .. trying not to post stories redundanty so these should be different ones.
14 + 5 = 20 more dead (& civilians)
I saw a guy with Army t-shirt & haircut at the bakery I just went to, sitting alone - wondered what his story was but didn't manage to ask.
I saw a billboard about a Lutheran Financial Service: "Millions of Lutherans Swear by Our Financial Services .. well we don't really swear." It struck me really funny, so Puritanical, but my husband says Seattle is Minneapolis of the West, and called Ballard Swedish Harlem. The Nordstroms are Bush donors, by the way.
Jason Leopold | The NSA Spy Engine: Echelon
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806A.shtml
Jason Leopold reports on the National Security Agency spy program code-named Echelon, which was likely responsible for tapping into the emails, telephone calls and facsimiles of thousands of average American citizens over the past four years, in its effort to identify people suspected of communicating with al-Qaeda terrorists.
German Chancellor: Shut Guantanamo Down
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806B.shtml
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an interview published days before her first visit to the United States and a meeting with George W. Bush, said Washington should close its Guantanamo Bay prison camp and find other ways of dealing with terror suspects.
Frank Rich | The Wiretappers That Couldn't Shoot Straight
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806C.shtml
Frank Rich condemns the president for false promises of bringing a "culture of responsibility" to Washington and his public scapegoating of The New York Times and the rest of the press for his failures.
Let the Congressional Showdown with Alito Begin
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806F.shtml
When Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito faces his Senate confirmation hearings this week, he will have to turn in a performance that fits somewhere between the appearances of John Roberts Jr. and Robert Bork.
Leadership Gone, DeLay Faces New Probe
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806G.shtml
Having secured a guilty plea from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, prosecutors are entering a new phase of the corruption investigation in Washington and are focusing on a lobbying firm that has even closer ties to Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, who is under legal scrutiny in the scandal.
Dahr Jamail | US Propaganda vs. Iraqi Reality
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806H.shtml
Dahr Jamail points to the the Capital Hill Cabal who are desperate to paint the Iraq disaster in a glorious hue. Jamail says they are working their pundits and spokespeople overtime to convince the ill-informed they have not failed dismally in every aspect of their illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Noah Feldman | Our Presidential Era: Who Can Check the President?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806I.shtml
Noah Feldman compares the Bush administration to the Nixon administration, pointing to the recent revelation that George W. Bush ordered secret wiretaps in the United States without judicial approval and thus set off the latest round of arguments over what the president can and cannot do in the name of the presidency.
Black Hawk Down, 17 Americans Dead
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806X.shtml
Twelve Americans were killed when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq, early Sunday. Five US Marines were also slain over the weekend.
DeLay Blocked Federal Investigation of Crony
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806Y.shtml
In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen teamed up with disgraced Congressman Tom DeLay to use their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions.
Connecticut turns diebold away.
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002234.htm
I'm going to an election reform forum tonight in my area where we hope to ditch the diebolds too.
Sparrow
You are very active in this arena and so is Marjorie G in Brookklyn. Our person here is Elizabeth (election reform). She is planning a Panel with Paul Lehto (the Snohomish guy who sued) and Bev Harris. Yesterday Code Pink agreed to help & she was interested in the Backbone Project. I have also let Karen know, because she asked me (but I don't have too many particulars yet) - it would be in March. Let me know if you want to network with people working hard on this issue here, & I'll put you in touch.
Our grassroots group divided into focus areas and they were: uniform statewide volunteer network on computer, media and election reform. I was more hooked up with the first group but I ran into Elizabeth yesterday and get alot of her email stuff so if you meet people in your area who want to work with people in this area, maybe it could happen.
I am posting this here rather than emailing it privately, as I want people to think about ways they could network with others in other parts of the country (and world) without necessarly waiting for leaders, candidates etc. (though it's all good - we work with those too).
I do believe the grassroots need to take the lead in organizing themselves vs waiting for external forces to come and rally them. If there is one thing I learned from the last election, it is that.
Dianne,
Thank you. I will see what comes from things tonight.
Abramoff Viewed as ‘The Middle Guy,’ Official Involved in Probe Tells TIME, Suggesting There Are Bigger Targets in Their Sights
New York - In an internal e-mail obtained by TIME, the director of the FBI’s Washington field office, Michael Mason, congratulated some 15 agents and 15 support staff under him on the case for “a huge accomplishment” in squeezing Jack Abramoff to make a deal after 18 months of investigation and negotiation, one that made “a huge contribution to ensuring the very integrity of our government.” But he added that “the case is far from over,” TIME’s National Political Correspondent Karen Tumulty reports in Monday editions of the magazine, RAW STORY has learned.
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Time_FBI_email_says_Abramoff_case_0108.html
To say that politics and religion should not mix is great and fine, but unfortunately, in the United States of America, the two are intertwined thusly:
Politicians have been using religion to influence the vote for decades.
Karl Rove has made an art out of it.
As much as we think they should be seperate, they are not, in the United States of America.
I and many others vote their conscience. I am influenced by my religion to a degree because I make what I personally believe to be a moral decision on what I do and also how I vote. There are many others out there just like me.
So as much as we want to say "Don't mention religion with politics", and "Don't mention religion on this blog", I feel that is discriminatory and censorship. And since this is a site where Democracy is taught, I may, at times, post something where I feel a political line may interfere with my moral choices.
I am not trying to influence anyone else to join a religion. I also don't feel anyone should censor a person for writing about the correlation between moral choices and politics, at this site, on this blog.
The firm, Alexander Strategy Group, is of particular interest to investigators because it was founded by Edwin A. Buckham, a close friend of Mr. DeLay's and his former chief of staff, and has been a lucrative landing spot for several former members of the DeLay staff, people who are directly involved in the case have said.
Although the firm's name has circulated in connection with the case for many months, prosecutors' questions about Mr. Buckham and Alexander Strategy - which did not respond to requests for comment - have intensified recently, participants in the case said.
The firm openly promoted the idea that it could deliver access to Mr. DeLay, who has denied any wrongdoing but abruptly announced Saturday that he would not try to regain his leadership post. Now the very connections with Mr. DeLay that formed the backbone of Alexander Strategy, put together with Mr. Abramoff's help, have put the future of the firm in doubt.
http://tinyurl.com/ar4ll
Truth Shall Prevail:
You say "I am not trying to influence anyone to join a religion." That is important to me! I just had houseguests all of different major religions, including nonbeliever. I was able to ask and answer many questions & learn alot, but we had no friction, in fact quite the opposite. Alot of our interaction had nothing to do with religion and same with our discussion, but then there was also an intersection where it did and we were respectful and open-minded but there were no attempts at conversion.
I just came from Arlington Northwest and everyone was moved and it came from a deep human place beyond religious differences.
Here is a poster that can be used by anyone, courtesy of Bert in Minneapolis.
http://www.pbase.com/image/54586159
PS I can not believe how much I respect everyone on this blog, because of & not in spite of differences in opinion on some major things. It proves that people here think for themselves and do not take things lightly.
I find myself agreeing with parts of things that people say who basically disagree with each other and realize that my own believes are constantly evolving as I receive new data. This starts in infancy and I hope it continues til I die. If I feel I have become closed-minded, I don't think I'd find purpose in life anymore.
& if I can't be moved by things like seeing old WW2 vets amble up from the nursing home to participate with Arlington West, then I think I would be morally dead even if not technically.
Fortunately, that is not the case!
Karl Rove has made an art out of it.
As much as we think they should be seperate, they are not, in the United States of America.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at January 8, 2006 06:03 PM
And discussing religion and politics together just proves that Karl Rove has you right where he wants you.... NOT fucused on politics and the crimes of The Cretin and his administration....
Religion and politics used to be separate, and in my youth no one discussed the two topics together. It just wasn't done. Ethics and morality are NOT learned in church anyway, but in the home.
I'm not trying to censor you (or anyone else). I'm just saying that discussing the two topics together keeps people focused on anything but The Cretin and his evil cabal, and that's how Rovian (and The Cretin's) politics keeps people unfocused and talking about anything but them, keeps people from asking questions about their lies, high crimes and misdemeanors, torture policies, the illegal, unjust, immoral, and unethical war he started....
Bush Advisor Says President Has Legal Power to Torture Children
By Philip Watts
John Yoo publicly argued there is no law that could prevent the President from ordering the torture of a child of a suspect in custody – including by crushing that child’s testicles.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11488.htm
Yes, there is religion, but if you REALLY want to piss off the neocons, WITHOLD WAR TAXES EN MASSE - how can we get people to do that?!!
There are good, moral people who are religious. The others - I say MAKE FUN OF THEM! They are hypocrites.
Earlier I posted our laws about separation of church and state. They are rather ambiguous, with people constantly arguing about their interpretation and trying to undermine them.
In places like France, or even Canada, the "State" does more for "the people" despite (and with the help of) higher taxes. In places like US, the "State" does little more than build roads, give tax breaks to the rich (on our backs) and instigate and profit from wars.
If they can get religion in service of that, or "blur the lines," they do & it is nothing new.
There have been several calls, including internationally, to not even discuss religion, but in America I agree it is like saying "Try not to think of an elephant."
Actually, I try not to think about Elephants (the party logo) and as for religion? Even when we say we shouldn't talk about it or that the line is being blurred, we're talking about it!
One reason it's not going to go away (religion or talk about religion) in US is because our "State" doesn't do much for us. In many European countries (who admittedly are having a hard time paying for this), you can get free education through the BA degree. Here, it's only through high school. In some of those countries and Canada, most developed countries, you can get at least some health care.
Here, forget it! My two brothers and their families have no health care! They are in their 40s, with little kids!! What an embarrassment our "State" is.
The Grover Norquist system is to make the "Church" do the work of the "State" - that is why all the faith-based stuff. That is why we have to give alot to charity - the "State" isn't doing it's job. It would be Libertarian if it would stay out of our bedrooms but I think there are alot of "kinky" conservatives.
By the way, Monday, January 9th - National Call for Accountability Day
http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8342651&type=CO
On Monday January 9th, the Backbone Campaign along with PDA http://pdamerica.org and the AfterDowningStreet.org http://AfterDowningStreet.org coalition are pushing a National Call for Accountability Day. Call your members of Congress to support Rep. John Conyers' (D-MI) efforts to demand censure for Bush and Cheney.
In addition, he seeks the creation of a Special Committee to investigate impeaching the Bush Administration for its widespread abuses of power. Take action here TOMORROW Jan. 9th! http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8342651&type=CO
H.Res.635 http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/bills/?bill=8339416 to create a select committee to investigate and to make recommendations on grounds for impeachment, H.Res.636 http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/bills/?bill=8339436 to censure Bush, and H.Res.637 http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/bills/?bill=8339456 to censure Cheney. Please call your Congressmember at his/her district office tomorrow and ask him/her to support Congressmember Conyers campaign for Accountability. Click here http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8342651&type=CO to take action http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8342651&type=CO .
Because there are so many pieces of legislation in the works right now to bring the troops home from Iraq and hold the Bush Administration accountable for the lies that put them there, the Backbone Campaign has created a "scorecard" to help you keep track. Click here to download our Operation Homecoming, Brave Troops, Foolish Leaders legislative scorecard.
I brought this post over from the previous thread as it seems more appropriate to this discussion:
Posted by: Toolmaker at January 8, 2006 02:54 PM
Toolmaker,
Quite simply we need a leader. IMHO the internet stifles any one person from becoming that leader. A true leader will be born from their local environs and then use the internet to further establish their prominence and following.
Alito may be the worst choice:
AT THIS moment in American history, it would be hard to find a worse Supreme Court nominee than Samuel A. Alito Jr. His ideology captures everything extremist about the Bush administration. If confirmed, Alito would serve as Bush's enabler.
http://tinyurl.com/cdavh
Posted by: sparrow at January 8, 2006 05:26 PM
Good luck Sparrow,
Unfortunately our local commission bought into Deviloid hook, line and sinker. The Republican culture of corruption extends to the middle west and despite an intense letter writing campaign and frequent comments by concerned citizens at the commission hearings, as well as a personal appearance by Christine Cegelis (a software expert herself) highlighting the flaws with the Deviloid system, we couldn't influence their vote. One of the commissioners actually is quoted as saying, "alleged" software issues, even after Florida and California clearly showed the problems.
This county, DuPage in Illinois is worse than Cook County when it comes to corruption and cronyism. Needless to say it is run entirely by Republicans.
Here's a link to an interesting editorial from Carl Wernicke who is the Opinion Editor of my local paper, the Pensacola News Journal.
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/OPINION/601080314/1038/COLUMNISTS02
It may be too long a link to click, I'm not sure. But I never knew that Pat Robertson supported Charles Taylor, the dictator of Liberia, because Taylor had helped Robertson invest in a Liberian gold mind.
And that fact that he partnered with Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire in a diamond mind is pretty interesting too.
As the article says, it makes you wonder what biblical principles Robertson thinks he's following in those actions.
I'm just becoming a little skeptical that God would talk to anyone who did those things. :-)
DiAnne- Speaking of those elephants you're trying not to think about......
Back when I was dating a guy who was stationed in the Far East during the Vietnam Conflict, I got a letter asking if I wanted a Buffy. He said that's what the servicemen all called the ceramic elephants that were being sent home from Vietnam to their girlfriends and spouses. These things were sprouting up on every porch in America it seemed, as planters, yard ornaments, whatever.
I told him I didn't want one, but I would like to know why they were called Buffys.
He said the word was actually spelled Bufe, but pronounced Buffy.
It was military acronym for big, ugly, f---ing elephant.
Even though I was a Republican at the time, I could never think about the symbol of that party again without thinking of the acronym.
Sorry, shame on me for mentioning it. :-)
Bush announces radical shift in foreign policy; No U.S. media report it:
Buried in the UK's Financial Times - and as far as I can tell, not reported anywhere else - are the details of a State Department briefing this week in which the Bush administration very publicly said it is essentially scrapping U.S. support for NATO and the United Nations. No joke.
http://tinyurl.com/8tgn7
Merkel says Guantanamo should be shut ::
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an interview published days before her first visit to the United States, said Washington should close its Guantanamo Bay prison camp and find other ways of dealing with terror suspects.
http://tinyurl.com/75htp
US may move some Guantanamo inmates to Afghanistan :
The U.S. government has chosen the site of a former Soviet-era prison near the capital, Kabul, to house the prisoners, the British newspaper reported
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=130428
Linda:
You were right, it was. Okay, now, repeat after me: http://www.tinyurl.com
;0)
British lawyers linked to $1m payment for favours at US Congress:
The revelations that the $1 million is thought to have originated from Russian oil and gas executives seeking to shape US legislation have fuelled pressure for a shake-up in the Republican leadership in Congress.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11487.htm
Scottish Tories helped to convict US lobbyist Abramoff:
EVIDENCE from Conservative MSPs helped to bring down Jack Abramoff, the American lobbyist on corruption charges.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2090-1975599,00.html
(BTW, thnx and a tip of the otter topfur to Sparrow and NonnyO for already knowing what I was gonna say at 7:22 pm even before I said it... *heh*)
Criminentlies, just what planet does BubbleBoy live on, anyway??
-----
Those who do not want to make the tax cuts permanent are only interested in raising taxes, the president said during his weekly radio address.
"Just as we're seeing new evidence of how our tax cuts have created jobs and opportunity, some people in Washington are saying we need to raise your taxes," he said. "They want the tax cuts to expire in a few years, or even repeal the tax cuts now."
"To keep our economy growing, we need to ensure that you keep more of what you earn, and congress needs to make the tax cuts permanent."
-----
Okay, class, let's have a little reality check here: how many of Bush's tax cuts have done anything at all to ensure that *you* keep more of what *you* earn?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Maybe on his home planet he's an emperor, but here on ours he's just another chimp with a suit and a tie.
so impeach that outta-touch sonuvabush already,
Otter
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060108/ap_on_re_us/katrina_netherlands_visit
La. Team to Study Dutch Flood Controls
NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record) is leading a delegation to the Netherlands on Monday to study the flood control systems protecting a nation much farther below sea-level than New Orleans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At least one PBS show (NOW?) - even before Katrina, when they were talking about pollution and ecosystems on one of the shows - talked about the marshland in Louisiana that has been destroyed by modern industry. If it were left alone to build up naturally from the mud of the Mississippi Delta, an unpopulated marshland could act as a natural buffer that slows a hurricane before it hits populated areas.....
On the other hand, it's about time someone goes and talks to the Dutch about what they've done and the levees they've built (all successful, BTW) that keep the North Sea out of that part of Holland that's about 21 ft. below sea level.... (much lower than sections of NOLA).
But if the polar ice caps melt, it won't help anyone on coastal cities from being forced inland to live on higher ground anyway, 'cuz many coastal areas will be under water....
Otter, I'd stroke your fur any day.... ;-)
NonnyO
We were told of destruction of marshland in Louisiana by gas companies when we took a boatride through the bayous.
Linda Enterkin
You can read alot about Pat Robertson and Bush's father & their dirty dealings in Africa in "The Best Money Democracy Can Buy," by Greg Palast.
Posted by: NonnyO at January 8, 2006 07:37 PM
A stroke of genius, as it were.
http://tinyurl.com/98wu4
Ok. Here's my tiny url made from the (only) 98 character one I posted above.
Sheeesh....... :-)
Dianne- Thanks for that book name. I'll check it out.
Nonnyo- if the polar ice caps melt, we'll all have waterfront property. I doubt there'll be any "high ground" to go to. But, Bush doesn't care, because it's not going to happen during the next 3 years.
Dianne- I hope you fed the alligators some marshmallows on your trip into the bayou. They love the things.
Way down in Louisiana
Where the alligators grow so mean
They got some democrats we can testify that
Will make them 'publigators look tame
Poke salad Demmies
Poke salad Demmies, yeah
music hath charms to soothe the savage
Otter
Linda Enterkin
I fed the alligators marshmallows!
They were already starting to hibernate and this big 11 foot one came out of it fast when he detected the marshmallow.
I tasted Whiskey Pudding for the lst time and it was "finger lickin' good"!
Linda Enterkin,
Here is the Table of Contents (old version):
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast
CHAPTER 1. JIM CROW IN CYBERSPACE: The Unreported Story of How They Fixed the Vote in Florida 11
In the days following the presidential election, there were so many stories of African Americans erased from the voter rolls you might think they were targeted by some kind of racial computer program. They were.
CHAPTER 2. THE BEST DEMOCRACY MONEY CAN BUY: The Bushes and the Billionaires Who Love Them 83
Who owns America? How much did it cost? Was the transaction cash, check, or credit card?
CHAPTER 3. CALIFORNIA REAMIN’: Deregulation and the Power Pirates 117
Jake Horton borrowed the company plane to confront the company’s board of directors over accounting games and illegal political payments. Minutes after takeoff, the plane exploded.
CHAPTER 4. SELL THE LEXUS, BURN THE OLIVE TREE: Globalization and Its Discontents 143
A cache of secret documents from inside the IMF, the World Bank and World Trade Organization explains the inner workings of the iron triangle of globalization.
CHAPTER 5. INSIDE CORPORATE AMERICA 207
Fifteen thousand stockholders believe they hear Sam Walton speak months after he died—and other strange tales from Planter Dollar.
CHAPTER 6. PAT ROBERTSON, GENERAL PINOCHET, PEPSI-COLA AND THE ANTI-CHRIST: Special Investigative Reports
CHAPTER 7. SMALL TOWNS, SMALL MINDS 297
I live in one of those lovely little rural villages in America that still preserve good old American small-town virtues. So why has our local newspaper written two editorials requesting I get the hell out?
CHAPTER 8. KISSING THE WHIP: Reflections of an American in Exile 311
When the TV infotainment hypnosis wears off, when “Have a nice day” is an insufficient answer to getting screwed by the powers that be, Americans can surprise themselves, rise up, and say, “No, thanks, we won’t kiss the whip that beats us.” Thoughts in exile.
APPENDIX: Your turn—Resources for Action 343
You people do realize that by getting those poor alligators all strung out on marhsmallows you are totally upsetting the ecological balance of the entire Mississippi Delta region and that you will burn in hell for all eternity because of it, right?
hellfire and damskippy,
Otter
Yeah, but they're really cute munching on those little marshmallows. Just as cute as an man-eating reptile can be.
I didn't see any otters there, or I'd have fed them some too. I did toss a few to the racoons on the shore and watched the alligators try to catch them before the coons did, but the coons are faster.
otherwise , there'd be no coons there, I suppose.
Hmmm- like I said, there were no otters there.
Wonder if otters are as fast as racoons?
Anyway, I'm a democrat, and I've been told for 5 years now that I'm gonna burn in hell for it, so, no sweat.
Just now sitting down to read the Sunday NYT and the first article I happened upon was this...a store in a hoity-toity section of downtown Chicago is finding a unique way to take an impressive political stand...
The Windows Talk Politics to Passers-By
THE silvery mannequin in the window sports a sexy black sequined skirt with a butterfly tail and shear fringed halter top, her wrists weighted with $1,000 worth of Swarovski crystal bracelets. But above the matching scarf wrapped around her neck, where the head should be, sits a big red stop sign.
"Stop" as in "Stop Domestic Spying," the white block letters splayed across the plate-glass window.
It seems a strange slogan for selling Italian stilettos with four-figure price tags, but the owners of the exclusive boutique, G'bani, see shocking the shoppers strolling this city's Gold Coast district as part of their mission.
"We can just sell shoes and clothes, or we can do more," said Trevian Kutti, who owns G'bani with her husband, B. J., a native of Nigeria, who, she said, "didn't have any shoes when he was growing up."
Inspired by Ms. Kutti's anger over disclosures that the Bush administration has been eavesdropping on the international phone calls and e-mail messages of some Americans since the 2001 terrorist attacks without obtaining court orders, the domestic spying display is one of the tamer G'bani windows.
Please read the rest ==> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/fashion/sundaystyles/08store.html
What? If there'd only been some in the neighborhood, you'd'a fed them alligators some *otters*, TOO??
repent ye godless heathen you,
Otter
"There are thirteen species of otters alive today. There used to be fourteen, but the fourteenth otter, Maxwell's otter, is presumed extinct due to draining of their waters to perform genocide in Iraq. Otters are very smart; they are one of only a handful of tool using mammals. Sea Otters use rocks to pry abalone off rocks and to break open shells. "
I should think that you'd support our war in Iraq, considering Saddam evidently killed off a whole species of Otters.
It's a wonder W never mentioned that as a reason to invade. WMD's, threats of WMD's, Plans for WMD's, WMD related programs, and killing the otters.
Dang. I've got to rethink my whole position on the war now.
http://www.otternet.com/
That's the website where I got that amazing piece of info on the genocide that Saddam committed against the otters.
You can go to that site and play otterpong too, but stay away from the sharks.
And people, this IS political.
It's about animal rights, genocide, war, all of it.
So it's appropriate to the blog.
Okay, that tears it.
Saddam Hussein is definitely *not* gonna be on my Chri$tma$ card list next year.
otters is as otters do,
Otter
[P.S. -- If you're at all serious about this, be sure to check out the International Otter Survival Fund's website at http://www.otter.org/ -- and see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otter , http://www.luddist.com/otter.htm , and http://www.otterproject.org/ for more info while you're at it...]
A March on Washington DC that shakes the very pillars of political power. Band together these grassroots organizations and leverage them into raw Political power.
Posted by: Toolmaker at January 8, 2006 04:25 PM
*****
On the front page of this website, as Polly points out above, is a list of many actions. No one has to do all of them, or really, any of them. But think about what might be possible if everyone who was concerned about this country and the direction in which it is heading did do all of them.
What would it mean if millions called into Congress tomorrow? (National Call-In Day), instead of the thousand or so usual suspects?
What would it signal if millions came into the street on January 31 and sang, and beat drums, and shouted and beat pans while Bush tells his annual lies?
What might be the result of MILLIONS of people in Washington on February 4, surrounding the White House 20 deep, and refusing to leave until he stepped down?
What could you see as a possible consequence of MILLIONS and MILLIONS of women in front of the United Nations on March 6, and then in Washington at Congress two days later, on International Women's Day, demanding an end to the War in Iraq, and standing with Iraqi and Afghani women?
Or another march on March 20--the three year anniversary of the Iraq invasion?
Would any of those pictures be worth your time and energy? How about a slow but steady building up of public opinion and support for larger and larger actions? Would that help you get there?
Would you really rather stand back and judge the events? Is it helpful if you pick and choose the ones most comfortable, and dismiss the ones that are difficult or outside your comfort zone?
I do not have answers for you. The doors are merely and always, open.
karen...you should put that to music, you could call it "Imagine"...o wait...that title is already taken ;)
Also, on the general notion of church and state:
Yesterday's events were about church-and-justice. The place where religion and politics meet naturally is the corner of Principles and Morality, in the town of Ethical Practices, in the state of Justice and Peace.
And Martin Luther King, Jr? Remember him? I recall lots of prayers for peace--in public too. And churches were used as organizing spots.
Just as they are today here in Washington DC, where the tent of resistance is growing ever bigger.
NonnyO is correct that fighting over religion is a distraction. But please note how many different types of people are coming together to fight for peace and justice. That's the story we want to be telling.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060107/NEWS09/601070432
COLUMBUS - An activist group called on President Bush yesterday to disclose the sources of all campaign contributions collected by former Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and other Bush "Pioneers" and "Rangers" convicted, indicted, or under investigation on corruption allegations.
"The President should not fall victim to the Nixonian tendency to keep bad things secret," said Ned Wigglesworth, analyst for TheRestofUs.org, a watchdog group based in California. "He owes it to himself and the American people to disclose this information so the public can take a closer look at the Pioneers."
In October, a federal grand jury in Toledo indicted Mr. Noe on charges he laundered donations into Mr. Bush's re-election campaign. He has pleaded not guilty. State officials have accused the former Maumee coin dealer of stealing at least $4 million from the rare-coin investment he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
Mr. Noe attained the elite status of a Bush Pioneer in 2004 by raising at least $100,000 for President Bush's re-election campaign.
"...And so let freedom ring, from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring! And when we allow freedom to ring -– when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last."
I don't have to tell you who spoke those words. It's one of the most famous speeches in all of American history... as well it should be.
quoted without comment,
Otter
karen, it is a distraction to fight over religion on the blog, but I've never seen the comments on here concerning religion to be any kind of fight. We have believers and non-believers, and people who really don't care to hear about any of it, one way or the other.
I think all of us on here respect all of those opinions- I've never heard anyone on here condemning anyone for their religion or lack of it, except for maybe otter, who feels that you and I have messed up the ecology of the bayou and should suffer the pangs of hell for it :-)
I fully respect those who do not believe in my faith, and understand where they're coming from, and I think Truth and others on here who call themselves Christians also understand that perspective.
But I think that pointing out that there are those of us who call ourselves Christians and do NOT drink the kool-aid that the leaders of our congregations seem to drink is a good thing. The news media would have you believe that everyone in America who attends church is a Republican wing-nut, and it's simply not so. There are tenets of every religion that teach peace, brotherhood, moderation, and responsibility. Most of us who are religious believe that those things can be learned outside a religious background as well, I certainly believe that. I have an extremely moral nephew, for example, who just happens to be an agnostic. But my religion has fortified those basic truths, and reading, as I often put it, the red print in the Bible also fortifies them. If the red print,by the way, in any way differed with my conscience, I'm not sure how I'd feel. I would probably first examine my conscience, or my social conscience, whichever, and if there were still a conflict, I might begin to question the teachings of my religion. That's never happened because I only subscribe to the teachings of one man in particular; I don't subscribe to the garbage that has been added in by other men throughout the last couple of centuries who have tried to twist his words to suit their warped consciences, which have been perverted and twisted through greed.
I think there is a lot of value in other religions- if they fortify what the human conscience already knows is right to begin with. And most of the world's greatest religions do that. Because some of us need a personal religion to strengthen and validate those values, while some of us do not.
There's room for everyone in the tent- all those of us who consider ourselves Christians are asking is not to be judged by the actions of the perverted masses out there who profess Christianity but don't have a clue what the teachings of any major religions are about, much less Christianity. They've warped the words for 2000 years now, in the same way that those who profess to be Muslims today have warped the teachings of their religion to make it a religion of war.
It's not religion that is bad- religion simply helps sustain our sense of morality. It's the greedy, perverted screwballs who are using it for personal greed that are painting the large picture of religion today. And they don't even have the proper paintbrushes or canvas to know what the hell they're doing.
They're just out there making forgeries.
And it's making the rest of us look bad.
Linda--yes, agreed on all.
This just in:
PRESSADVISORY: URGENT
January 9, 2006
From: International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration
TRIBUNAL INDICTS BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
INDICTMENTS TO BE DELIVERED TO THE WHITE HOUSE ON
TUESDAY JAN. 10th
When: 1:30 p.m. January 10, 2006
Where: The White House, Front Gate
http://www.bushcommission.org
Contact: Connie Julian 917-449-9064, or Janet Yip
212-941-8086, or e-mail: commission@nion.us
An unprecedented series of indictments alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity, in five separate areas, will be delivered to President Bush at the front gate of the White House this Tuesday, January 10th.
Named in the indictments are:
President of the United States George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, U.S. Army Major General Geoffrey Miller, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, et al.
The indictments will be delivered to the White House by:
Retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern, authors William Blum and Larry Everest, Code Pink, Mike Hersh (Progressive Democrats of America), Kevin Zeese (Director,Democracy Rising; candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland), Travis Morales (World Can’t Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime) and others TBA.
A press conference will follow delivery of indictments, which will also be delivered to the
Department of Justice.
The indictments result from preparatory work and
testimony presented in New York City in October 2005, before the International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration which featured former UN envoy to Iraq Denis Halliday, Guantanamo prisoners’ lawyer Michael Ratner, and former State Department officer Ann Wright. The Commission's second tribunal will be held
at Riverside Church and the Columbia University Law School in New York, January 20-22. Witnesses will include Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, former British ambassador Craig Murray, and former arms inspector Scott Ritter, among many more. The indictments allege illegal acts authorized by the Bush Administration in relation to:
1) Wars of Aggression, particular reference to Iraq and Afghanistan;
2) Torture and Indefinite Detention;
3) Destruction of the Global Environment, particular reference to distortion of science and obstruction of international efforts to stem global warming;
4) Attacks on Global Public Health and Reproductive Rights, particular reference to the potentially genocidal effects of enforcing abstinence only, global gag rule, distortion of science, and restriction of generic drugs; and
5) Failure of Bush administration, despite
foreknowledge, to protect life during and after
Hurricane Katrina.
Appended to these indictments will be the demand for investigation of the war crimes of Tony Blair and George Bush submitted by prominent British citizens to the UN Secretary General and the UK Attorney General.
The commission was organized by the Not in Our Name Statement of Conscience and is endorsed by: Center for Constitutional Rights, National Lawyers Guild, After Downing Street.Org and others, including Former Sen. James Abourezk, former British MP Tony Benn, authors Gore Vidal and Howard Zinn, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and actor Edward Asner.
Charter, full indictments, standards for judgment, and audio and video coverage of the first session:
http://www.bushcommission.org
-30
Sounds great!
There is a reason we don't join the World Court!
Posted by: karen at January 8, 2006 11:24 PM
Karen,
Since we can't be in Washington to suport this indictment, what can we do from our own hometown to make this indictment loud and clear? (Especially because I doubt the corporate media will show it.)
US Troops Seize Award-Winning Iraqi Journalist
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1682208,00.html
Unbelievable.
Support it by letting people know it is happening. MSM and blogs--your email lists, etc.
I will try to cover it here.
Posted by: karen at January 9, 2006 01:06 AM
I think we need to blogswarm a "Call the media day."
All of us should call with the message, "TRIBUNAL INDICTS BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY" and we should tell them we're watching for their reports on this.
If we all blogswarmed in the morning and throughout the day asked that people post their reports of the responses made to their call, then we could maintain a constant flow of calls to each of the corporate networks--giving all of them a "tip".
Then on Tuesday when it's delivered, those people who have video should call the media and tell them they have video and make copies and send it to them.
In the meantime, on Tuesday, everyone can call into the media and say, "Where is the coverage of the indictments?"
I put it here if anyone wants to help keep it alive:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/9/01446/70672#15
Posted by: marc trager at January 8, 2006 07:44 PM
Busy beavers like me are more adept at slapping a tail on the water and making a big splash before diving.
Posted by: not my president at January 9, 2006 12:52 AM
Control of a foreign press or correspondent through terrorist tactics....
Do they think that will make the UK papers write nicer things about The Cretin and his Criminal Cabal?
BREAKING NEWS Vice President Dick Cheney leaves hospital after treatment for shortness of breath, vice president's office says.
LOS ANGELES - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received 15 stitches in his lip Sunday after he and his 12-year-old son were involved in a motorcycle accident near their Los Angeles home, his spokeswoman said.
Our Presidential Era: Who Can Check the President?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/magazine/08court.html
Essential reading before the Alito hearings.