Impeach Bush

Salon.com has a great article which proves what many people already surmised. Bush knew that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction.

It isn't really news, nor does it let Hillary Clinton and John Kerry off the hook. If I figured out that Bush and Cheney were lying, they did too. They made a political calculation that being pro-war would get them campaign cash and a presidential nomination. The pro-Israel check bundlers would have looked askance at an anti-war position.

Poor stupid Kerry. He was hoisted on his own pitard and then didn't know how to get down. As I said many times in 2004, he needed only to be doubly cynical to get into the White House. He just should have said that he depended on the president and gave him the benefit of the doubt. Silly me, thinking that the Democrats have any political sense.

Well that is all in the past. The biggest question is this, what does Bush have to do to get impeached? There is already plenty of evidence but the Democrats have declared impeachment "off the table. They are accessories to all of Bush's crimes. Nothing will come of this information and an attack on Iran will begin World War III. Maybe the fundies are right after all. We are living in the end times.

Dennis Kucinich Disappears

August 30th is International Day of the Disappeared. It is a day to remember those who have fallen victim to the worst human rights abuse of all. Thousands of people around the world have had their lives snuffed out by political violence. They haven't been imprisoned and they haven't died on a battle field. They are simply gone and are almost always gone forever.

In America we have political disappearances. Just ask Dennis Kucinich. The Democratic Congressman and presidential candidate is alive and well, but you wouldn't know that he is alive or that he is running for president if you depend on the corporate media for information. I dissect it all in this week's edition of Black Agenda Report.

Vacation Ends

I took a couple of trips in August and came home relaxed and refreshed. Of course I also returned to reading the news, and so my light hearted feeling came to end along with my vacation.

The Bush administration is about to start World War III by attacking Iran and no one with the power to stop him is willing to lift a finger. The president raves about a "nuclear holocaust" caused by Iran, when it is Iran's sworn enemy, Israel, that is the only nuclear power in the Middle East.

The House and Senate pass anti-Iran resolutions, letting us know that they will be silent when the bombs begin to fall. Press reports indicate that 1,200 bombing sites have already been chosen, which means that thousands of Iranian human beings will die.

While we watch and wait for the destruction to begin, we should at least listen to those brilliant, prescient voices that explain so much to us. One of my new favorite bloggers is Arthur Silber. Silber has been trying to warn us both about the Bush decision to start another war, about Democratic party complicity and the liberal naivete/stupidity that will make more killing inevitable.

Thanks to Arthur Silber, I now know about Chris Floyd, who explains it all so well.

It is, by any measure, a remarkable achievement, one of the greatest political feats ever. Despite Bush's standing as one of the most despised presidents in American history, despite a Congress in control of the opposition party, despite a solid majority opposed to his policies and his war, despite an Administration riddled with scandal and crime, despite the glaring rot in the nation's infrastructure and the callous abandonment of one of the nation's major cities to natural disaster and crony greed -- despite all of this, and much more that would have brought down or mortally wounded any government in a democratic country, the Bush Administration is now in a far stronger position than it was a year ago.

It does't make me happy to say it, but Floyd has hit the nail squarely on the head. As we slide towards destruction, we should at least know why this has happened. I will be making more recommendations in the days to come.

Vacation Time

No more posting until the end of the month. Of course, if Bush started a new war I would shake myself from my self-imposed stupor and put fingers to the key board.

Hot Ghetto Mess and White Celebrities

"The black kid was driving." - Lindsay Lohan

Ah yes, the black kid is always the guilty one. Lindsay Lohan's club hopping friend is lucky to be living at this particular moment in history. There was a time when a convenient lie told by a white woman resulted in the death of a black man.

Lohan is a druggie but she is better than Phil Spector. He is a killer. In my Black Agenda Report column I ask why the murdering Spector gets less press attention and vitriol than accused dog fighter Michael Vick. The question is rhetorical because the answer is obvious.

Bush Dictatorship

“Maybe the people who think there’s a conspiracy out there are right.” - Rep. Pete DeFazio

I recently wrote about Bush's new National Continuity Policy in my Black Agenda Report column. The new policy essentially lets the president use any event, incident, epidemic or natural disaster as an excuse for taking over all three branches of government.

The national corporate media paid no attention to this new policy and the Democratic presidential candidates did not utter a peep. Thankfully some members of Congress were concerned, but it doesn't help much if they are denied access to classified documents.

Pete DeFazio is a member of the House Homeland Security committee and he has the security clearance that goes along with that membership. No matter. The White House denied him access to the materials.

Yes, we conspiracy theorists are right. In fact we shouldn't call ourselves theorists anymore. Bush has given us too much ammunition and it is past time for impeachment. Too bad for us. The Democratic party is determined to do just the opposite of what we want.

Nazis Attack Iran

That is the title of my column in the current issue of Black Agenda Report. By a vote of 97 - 0 the U.S. Senate has joined the House in calling for the extermination of the Iranian people.

Of course no one ever says those words, but make no mistake about it. Mass murder of the Iranian people is the number one agenda item of the United States and Israeli governments. Americans are about to be turned into war criminals because of the power of the Israeli lobby and the blood thirstiness of the neo-cons.

The silence surrounding the impending holocaust is shameful. Most liberal bloggers won't touch the issue and the media is silent. Arthur Silber puts it beautifully.

The conclusion is stark and infinitely bleak: an attack on Iran would wipe every other issue and concern out of existence for the foreseeable future, probably for years to come if not much longer. Forget debates about global warming; nuclear clouds might be spreading across the globe. Never mind reforming our health care system; millions of people around the world, and possibly here at home, will be worried about survival of the most primitive kind. Nothing else will matter in the least.

The deck has been stacked, the lies are big enough and told often enough to be believed. The U.S. is about to bring about armageddon. Please speak out before it happens.

Photos: Marie DeBanville, Bruno Garcin-Gasser

Marianne Pearl is Black

The American media machine cannot digest Black life, and can only package its semblance of real life in white-face. Apparently, white people cannot stare "Others" in the face, and must tell stories that have their own made-up existence featured. - Black Agenda Report

How hard is it to understand? The woman in the photo and her mother are obviously people of African ancestry, yet Hollywood is having none of it. Marianne Pearl has been white washed, with her full permission. I for one don't care that she doesn't have the confidence or the consciousness to speak up for African people. She doesn't have the right to tell the rest of us that yet another removal from the pages of history is in any way permissible.

It is truly shameful that so many white people cannot bear to see a picture that doesn't have themselves at the center. Even the left succumb to the assumption that only whiteness is normative. David Corn dismisses the casting complaint out of hand.

The recent blog-driven fuss kicked up by the movie A Mighty Heart -- whether casting pale-skinned Angelina Jolie as darker-skinned Afro-Cuban-Dutch Mariane Pearl, the wife of murdered journalist Danny Pearl, was an act of racist dimensions -- seems irrelevant when you consider an important piece of evidence: the movie itself.

The casting outrage is irrelevant? It certainly isn't to the people who are told to keep quiet when their very likeness is erased. In this case Pearl's nationality is the excuse for putting Angelina Jolie in blackface. Sorry, race is the issue, not being Cuban and Dutch and born in France. Pearl should not be portrayed by a white person for the simple reason that she is not white. How hard is that to understand?

Happy Juneteenth

"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."
Major General Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865, Galveston, TX

If you benefitted from the free labor of enslaved people, and you found out they were free, would you say something or would you keep them in chains? Well, slave owners in Texas and other states said nothing. Surprising? Hell no!

In June of 1865, 4 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and 2 months after the confederacy was defeated, enslaved Texans found out they were no longer enslaved. It is a date well worth celebrating.

Happy Juneteenth!

Mitt Romney and the Jerusalem Post

First the good news. The Jerusalem Post won't do anymore political ads for Rudy. The bad news is that Giuliani isn't alone. Mitt Romney got the same treatment from the right wing Israeli paper. Read here and scroll down to the comments section.

In their respective fund raising screeds Giuliani took Democrats to task for being insufficiently easy on terrorists. Romney said we don't need the U.N.

The silence continues. There have been no mentions of this ought to be scandal in the press and there has been silence from Democrats. Is there an Israeli lobby? They certainly think so. My guess is that they are right.

Jerusalem Post Raises Money For Rudy Giuliani

You read that correctly. The right wing Jerusalem Post is sending out a fund raising email on behalf of Giuliani.

Hmmm. A foreign newspaper raises money on behalf of an American presidential candidate? Where is the outrage? Of course, none will be expressed. The Norman Finkelstein lesson has been learned. The tenure denial was akin to cutting off his head and sticking it on a pole.

Why is this email a big deal? Well, for starters, foreigners are not supposed to make contributions to American political campaigns. The fund raising letter doesn't bother to raise that point. Also, corporations are not supposed to make contributions to American political campaigns, even in kind donations like sending an email. The Democrats won't complain because they all feed from the same AIPAC trough. You will be able to hear a pin drop.

On the other hand, what does the Jerusalem post have to fear? Israeli "art students" end up at the FBI and DEA, Israeli "movers" celebrate as they take photographs of the burning twin towers and Congress said and did nothing.

So I take it all back. The Jerusalem Post should do whatever the hell it wants. They can get away with anything.

Sorry. I forgot myself.

Norman Finkelstein Denied Tenure

The fix was in long ago but still I hoped. I meditated good positive vibrations and sent them in the direction of Chicago. It didn't matter. Alan Dershowitz put critics of Israel and its lobby on notice. You will never work in any town again.

Norman Finkelstein is, for now, an assistant professor in the political science department at DePaul University. He is the author of one of my favorite books, The Holocaust Industry. As anyone can tell from the title, his insistence on honest scholarship made many enemies. Dershowitz was just the most persistent. He threatened to label DePaul anti-Semitic. He threatened to label all Catholics anti-Semitic. He won.

Academic freedom was the big loser. Actually, if the ADL and Dershowitz are happy, then the entire nation loses.

DePaul president Dennis Holtschneider ought to be ashamed of himself. It would be interesting to know how many faculty are personally denied tenure by the president after the members of their department gave the green light. I will go out on a limb and say the Finkelstein case is unique in that regard.

God bless Finkelstein. If you want to send your regards email him at normangf at hotmail.com.

Update

Finkelstein was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio today. Listen up.

Congressional Black Caucus and Fox News

I was happy to sign a letter to Democratic presidential candidates (Clinton, Obama, Edwards) who chose not to participate in a Fox News sponsored debate. It is a long, sad story, but some members of the Congressional Black Caucus are in favor of holding a presidential debate with Fox. Incredible, isn't it?

Color of Change has admirably led the charge on this issue. Here is the letter.

Dear Candidate,

Your decision last month not to attend the debate sponsored by Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus institute demonstrated truly principled leadership.

Now, a group of CBC members, led by Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), is asking you to reverse that decision. But the truth about Fox and its partnership with the CBC institute has not changed. A Fox-CBCI partnership will use the brand of the CBC—perhaps the most prominent and powerful Black political institution in America—to lend legitimacy to a propaganda network that regularly denigrates black people, black culture and black institutions. This partnership is bad for Black America, and it is a huge mistake.

Since before the debate partnership was announced publicly, Black bloggers, community newspapers, columnists, and radio hosts have expressed outrage that such a partnership would even be considered. Over 16,000 members of ColorOfChange.org reached out to individual CBC members and the CBC institute in hopes that they would be responsive and accountable to the community they purport to represent. But the leadership of the CBC institute has continued to willfully ignore the voices of Black Americans, and amazingly, also dismissed voices of dissent from within the CBC itself (nearly a quarter of CBC members have expressed opposition to the debate, either publicly or privately). Now, more than ever, it’s obvious that the CBC’s leadership is painfully out of step with Black America.

It has been suggested that by skipping this debate, you are missing a valuable opportunity to speak on issues of concern to Black Americans. However, the CBC institute debate broadcast by CNN as well as Tavis Smiley’s debates on PBS provide similar opportunities to address these issues without sending the message that you are willing to validate a network that is consistently hostile to Black Americans and Black political interests.

You did the right thing by rejecting Fox. We applaud your leadership and will continue to support your decision.

Brandon Quante White, The SuperSpade
Garlin Dorell Gilchrist II, The SuperSpade
Jill Tubman, Jack and Jill Politics
Wayne Bennett, Field Negro
Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report
Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report
Leutisha Stills, Sr. Correspondent & Chief Researcher, CBCMonitor
dnA, Too Sense
Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend
Chris Rabb, Afro-Netizen.com
Rikyrah, Mirror on America
Earl Dunovant, Prometheus 6
Margaret Kimberley, Freedom Rider
James Rucker, ColorOfChange.org

We are still looking for signers, particularly bloggers. If you are interested, please email Gabriel at gabriel AT colorofchange DOT org.

Jerry Falwell and the Savage Christians

"Christians perpetrated the crusades, the inquisition, the slave trade and imperial adventures too numerous to mention. It may be comforting to pat ourselves on the back and consign those behaviors to past centuries. We are living in the 21st century after all. Who would use the name of the Christian God to justify mass killing? A majority of modern day American Christians, that's who."

Who made this brilliant statement? Yours truly in this week's Black Agenda Report. The words are harsh, but I can back it all up. Let me know what you think.

Christian Terror Plot

"Christian Terrorist Arrested at Falwell Funeral"

That should have been the headlines in today's newspapers. Mark D. Uhl is a Liberty University student. I'm guessing that means he is a Christian. He was also arrested with homemade bombs in his possession. He says he wanted to keep protesters from disrupting the funeral. It isn't clear who he thought was going to disrupt or how they would do it, but making bombs is an indication of violent intentions and a very sick mind.

The right wing are going nuts because of a poll that showed 8% of American Muslims approving of suicide bombing in some cases. So, a majority of Muslims are opposed to terrorism. They certainly aren't like Christians. A majority of them are in favor of torture and a majority of them are in favor of deliberately targeting civilians in warfare.

Thank God for Muslims. Hopefully they will keep those crazy Christians in check.

Bush Plans Dictatorship

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
George W. Bush

Bush uttered those very unfunny words on December 18, 2000. On that day the president-elect went to capitol hill to meet with Congressional leaders and emerged from the meeting flipping them and the American people this rhetorical bird.

The president is making good on those words and there hasn't been a peep out of Congress or the press. In a document released on May 9, 2007 entitled "National Continuity Policy," Bush makes good on his sick fantasy. In case of “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function” Bush will control the entire U.S. government, not just the federal branch.

It isn't really surprising. Bush decides who is an enemy combatant, a person without legal rights, and who should be spied upon.

If ever there was a moment for conspiracy theories, this is it. Will there be a phony terror attack, or a declaration of war against Iran? We don't know what the trigger will be but it is time to be afraid.

Actually it is time for impeachment. Bush's unpopularity makes him particularly dangerous. So does the acquiescence of the media and the silence of the Democrats. State legislatures have the right to begin the impeachment process but they have been smacked down by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

We are screwed. The phrase may be inelegant, but it says it all. Maybe we will all end up in Guantanamo. Who knows? The National Continuity Policy contains "classified continuity annexes." WTF!? As I said, we are screwed.

Thanks to Crooks and Liars for the tip.

Obama and Affirmative Action

". . . if we have done what needs to be done to ensure that kids who are qualified to go to college can afford it, that affirmative action becomes a diminishing tool for us to achieve racial equality in this society."
Barack Obama

Was I right or what? In this week's Black Agenda Report I asked if black Americans ought to want a black president. If the would be president in question is Barack Obama, the answer is a definite no.

In his over rated speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, Obama declared that "there is no black America." What nonsense. Identity politics haven't disappeared for anyone else in the country. It would be ludicrous for black people to think that anything about their situation has changed because St. Barack says so.

Unfortunately, black politicians only get support from white voters when they deemphasize their blackness. That inevitable means not standing up for other black people or for their interests.

George Stephanopoulos doesn't really care about the handful of black kids from double Ivy League households. He wants to get rid of affirmative action and he asked about Obama's kids as a convenient excuse. It just wouldn't do to 'fess up that George wants white guys to stay on top withouthaving to deal with pesky newcomers demanding a slice of the pie.

That is not surprising, but a black politicians have to give the answer that most whites want to hear. Bad news for us, for Obama and any other black presidential candidate.

Corruption in Nigeria

As I said in Black Agenda Report recently, Nigeria is a sea of corruption because of the crookedness of Andrew Young and others. Read it here.

Israel Shoots Peace Prize Laureate

". . . when Palestinians do engage in nonviolent protest, and are subjected to brutal repression as a result, how come the mainstream U.S. media don’t pay any attention?"
Common Dreams

The Palestinians can't win. Even when they and their supporters practice non-violence they can be killed and the American media won't report it at all.

If Mairead Maguire or any other Nobel peace prize winner was shot by soldiers from any country other than Israel, their would be a nation wide out cry. Of course, you can't cry out when you don't know what is happening. That is the whole point of shutting out inconvenient information.

No shut outs here. Watch the video.

"Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran" - John McCain

I posted these comments on the Huffington Post website. Don't know yet if they will appear.

"It is impossible to run for president without repeating every lying utterance of the Israel lobby. It is Israel that has the bomb, not Iran.

Hillary and Obama will say nothing about this disgraceful, ugly display. McCain will get a pass from them and from the media when in fact he is no better than the Virginia Tech gunman. Cho came by his murderous rage through pure insanity. McCain would kill on an even larger scale and make it all sound good and reasonable.

Once again we see the awful hypocrisy that is killing this nation. We recoil when individuals kill but sing songs to encourage government killing, which is always the most lethal. No terrorist group in history has ever killed on the scale of a government.

The fundies are right. The end is near."

It's Wednesday

Wednesday isn't just hump day. It is Black Agenda Report day. Don't miss it.

Does White America Love Imus?

The Don Imus debacle just gets worse. For years he has been the biggest purveyor of racist hate speech on the air waves. He is also very powerful, so even prominent liberals like Frank Rich will bow and scrape in order to stay in the very lucrative Imus circle.

After describing the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy headed ho’s” he first apologized and then had a two hour long come to Jesus meeting on Al Sharpton’s radio show. He was still slapped with a two week suspension. Clearly his bosses were not amused by his comments and were not impressed with his contrition. Thank God for small favors.

Now the truth is coming out. Don Imus is popular because he is so hateful. Like Howard Stern, he has a large white, male audience because he gets away with making the racist, misogynistic statements they wish they could get away with saying. It is at the very least impolite to call anyone a “ho” or to talk about a former first couple as “Bill Clinton and his fat ugly wife, Satan.”

Now the apologists are coming out of the wood work and some of them are black. Congressman Keith Ellison says that black people should think of "redemption and reconciliation" if Imus is truly contrite. Gwen Ifill, host of Washington Week on PBS, was herself a victim of Imus’ bigotry when he called her a “cleaning lady.” She criticized Imus, but in a strangely detached way. In a New York Times op-ed she asked, "Why do my journalistic colleagues appear on Mr. Imus’s program? That’s for them to defend, and others to argue about."

Ifill knows the real deal. Don’t complain too much about powerful white men. They can do what they want, including insult and offend, with impunity. Why shouldn't she ask about her colleagues who sully themselves to suck up to this misogynistic bigot? Ifill certainly knows her bread is buttered with the corporate media and that she had better not step out of line if she wants the spread to stay on the loaf.

Here is a good rule for everyone to follow. Don't trust anyone who apologizes for Imus. They are all believers in white male supremacy, whether they admit it or not. James Carville, Paul Begala, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani are all guilty. So is Frank Rich if he returns to the Imus fold.

Unfortunately, the Rutgers team has decided to meet with Imus. I see no reason why the subjects of his hatred should help dig him out of the hole he dug for himself. Of course they are being lionized for their decision, but that is to be expected. Black people are always told to forgive mistreatment. It is time for someone to say enough already. Imus should not be allowed to have a kumbyah moment with the objects of his scorn.

He believes in his ugly words. He shouldn't be allowed to pretend he doesn't. It is time for him to go and it is time for everyone of every race to say good riddance.

A Little Time Off

I'm going to take the rest of Holy Week off. No posting unless the news is really big, in which case you will have heard about it some where else.

Rosie O'Donnell

Right wingers have their pants in a twist because Rosie O'Donnelle questions the official 9/11 story and said it was "an inside job." They even say she should be fired.

Wrong. Rosie should have been fired for making fun of Asians with her "ching chong ching chong" routine. The right wing only care about subservience to their point of view. Racist jokes are no biggie. Not only did she offend many people but her so-called apology was anything but and just as offensive as her original comments.

BTW, if O'Donnell is going to delve into 9/11 conspiracy theories, she should stick with the only one worth mentioning, that Israel knew about the terror plot. Even an outspoken "liberal" won't touch that one.

Shout Outs

Many thanks to Counter Punch and Alternet for linking to my Black Agenda Report column.

Reuters

Harold Ford is Still a Joke

"We must finally emerge from the Jim Crow mentality that celebrated every Black grasp for the golden ring, no matter how loathsome the grasper." - Black Agenda Report

Progressives around the nation should have heaved a sigh of relief when Harold Ford lost his U.S. Senate race last year. The Senate went Democratic without him, but he is so dangerous that it would have been better for him to lose even if the Republicans had remained in the majority. One Joe Lieberman is enough.

But like a bad penny, Ford keeps showing up. First, God-awful Clintonite James Carville publicly used Ford to attempt a coup against Howard Dean, head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Howard Dean was the architect of the Democratic victory, but he isn't a Clintonite, so Carville stabbed him in the back. Mind you, past and future Clinton strategist Terry McAuliffe never won anything when he headed the DNC, yet Carville never uttered a peep against him when he got his butt kicked every November.

Now Ford is the new Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and he is as duplicitous, two-faced and stupid as ever. Yes, I said stupid. Ford would be a nobody if white liberals didn't get the vapors every time they laid eyes on a black ivy leaguer. He has always been nothing but a light weight and a rank oppportunist, and being an opportunist in the Democratic party means heading right.

He is stupid because he thought that dressing like Elmer Fudd and posing for a photo-op in front of the stars and bars would get rednecks to vote for him. He is stupid because he thought that lying and calling his black grandmother white would also get him votes from said rednecks. Yes, he lied about his own grandmother. How low can you go?

Like all other idiots Ford goes out of his way to prove his stupidity. Today he blogged at the Talking Points Memo Cafe and made himself look more foolish than ever. In his nonsensical tome, "In Search of Common Ground," Ford told progressives to stop being mean to him and his establishment friends. It could have been boiled down to "Just shut up."

Ford told those of us who ignore his utterances what he has been up to lately. (Sometimes ignorance is bliss). He recently gave a speech on what he thinks the Democratic party should be doing. Here is his silly agenda.
(1) Keeping America Safe; (2) Giving Americans the Tools to Compete; (3) Holding Government Accountable for Results; (3) Creating the Hybrid Energy Economy; (5) Making America the Most Pro-Family Country on Earth; and (6) Ending Poverty For All Who Work

No mention of Iraq, no mention of attacks on civil liberties, no mention of any legislative proposals and no mention of what on earth it means to hold government accountable for results. What trash.

Oh, and no mention of poor people who don't have jobs. If your out of work, screw you. Ford isn't even smart enough to talk about raising employment. Just in case anyone was confused, he made it clear that poor people will not be discussed while he is around.

So there you have it. Ford is a lying dog and he isn't even very smart. That means he will run for office again. Democrats should make it clear that he won't be welcomed.

Black Women Need Abortion Rights

Black women would be the biggest losers of all if Roe v. Wade were to be over turned. In this week's Black Agenda Report, I make the case that black people must stop being shy about sex, and afraid of religiosity. Abortion and reproductive rights are an essential part of American civil rights law, and we shouldn't be squeamish about saying so.

Also, we need to stop paying attention to people like Alveda King, a recipient of right wing think tank money. She is Dr. King's niece, and she uses her family name to advocate for the bad old days when abortion was illegal. The Christian right are now setting up "pregnancy crisis" centers in black neighborhoods, despite the fact that abortion doesn't rank very highly on the list of black Americans' concerns.

Unfortunately, that lack of concern is bad news. It means that the continuing onslaught against abortion rights does not get the approprite response from the people who would be most affected if Roe is overturned. Silence will be seen as consent and the days of the coat hanger will return.

"I Miss Iraq, I Miss My War, I Miss My Gun"

When I got up this morning I had never heard of Brian Mockenhaupt. I was better off that way. He is a pathetic loser and a sadistic SOB.

In an awful tome entitled, "I Miss Iraq, I Miss My War, I Miss My Gun," Mockenhaupt waxes sentimental about having the power to kill people. That is the long and the short of it, but he covers his bloody urges with nonsense about missing the adrenaline rush. If all he wanted was a rush he could take up sky diving.

I will do my best to translate through Mockenhaupt's BS. It is a tough job but someone has to do it.

But war twists and shifts the landmarks by which we navigate our lives, casting light on darkened areas that for many people remain forever unexplored. And once those darkened spaces are lit, they become part of us.

Translation: I was an ordinary asshole before, but in Iraq I had the power to make good on my secret desire to be a killer.

War is exciting. Sometimes I was in awe of this, and sometimes I felt low and mean for loving it, but I loved it still. Even in its quiet moments, war is brighter, louder, brasher, more fun, more tragic, more wasteful. More. More of everything. And even then I knew I would someday miss it, this life so strange.

Translation: I am such a loser. I have no clue how to bring joy or excitement to my life, so having the power to kill filled up my worthless life.

We often raided houses late at night, so people awakened to soldiers bursting through their bedroom doors. Women and children wailed, terrified. Taking this in, I imagined what it would feel like if soldiers kicked down my door at midnight, if I could do nothing to protect my family. I would hate those soldiers. Yet I still reveled in the raids, their intensity and uncertainty.

Translation: I don't give a fuck about other people, especially if they are not white. I know what I do is wrong, but I couldn't care less.

I didn't have any Iraqi friends, save for our few translators, and I'd rarely been invited into anyone's home.

Translation: I am so stupid. I actually think an occupier would be welcome.

Leaving the war behind can be a letdown, regardless of opportunity or education or the luxuries waiting at home. People I'd never met sent me boxes of cookies and candy throughout my tours. When I left for two weeks of leave, I was cheered at airports and hugged by strangers. At dinner with my family one night, a man from the next table bought me a $400 bottle of wine. I was never quite comfortable with any of this, but they were heady moments nonetheless.

Translation: I was an ordinary guy and then I was important and got attention I didn't deserve. I still want the attention I had when I walked around with a big dick, um, gun.

There are no electric bills or car payments or chores around the house. Just go to work, come home alive, and do it again tomorrow. McCarthy calls it pure and serene. Indeed. Life at home can be much more trying.

Translation: I hate my life. It is filled with quiet desperation, so much desperation that I find serenity in terrifying women and children.

I'm glad Mockenhaupt took the time to tell the world what an awful piece of crap he is. He didn't tell me anything I didn't know already, but if I had written the same thing, I would have been dismissed out of hand. We should give him credit for telling the truth about why some men love war. That truth is ugly and Mockenhaupt thankfully let the cat out of the bag.

Lies, More Lies and Iraq

Did an Iraqi suicide bomber use two children to get through a check point and then kill the children in the detonation? So the headlines say.

My first reaction was that this was truly awful. The Iraqis have actually sunk to the level of the Israelis, who routinely use minors as human shields. Yes, the Geneva Conventions frown on that sort of thing but what do Israelis have to worry about when Uncle Sam lets them do whatever they want.

But seriously, I thought it was just horrible and unbelievable. After thinking about it for a few moments, it became less and less believable. In fact, I didn't believe it at all.

When I looked for the story in the New York Times, my reaction was somewhat vindicated.

"Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a top American military spokesman in Baghdad, said late Tuesday that his office had no record of the bombing but that it was researching it. 'I don’t know what event he’s talking about,”'Colonel Garver said."

It seems that Sears doesn't talk to Roebucks before spinning tall tales. I don't think anyone should believe this report unless it is verified by an independent source.

Martin Luther King and Israel

Did King equate criticism of Israe with anti-Semitism? Contrary to often cited quote, he did not. There is no evidence that he ever made the the statement. The story is here in an essay entitled, "The Use and Abuse of Martin Luther King Jr. by Israel's Apologists." It is well worth reading.

Michelle Malkin Sucks

That is my Black Agenda Report column in a nutshell. Dinesh D'Souza sucks too. My thanks to Counter Punch and Smirking Chimp for reprinting.

Malkin and D'Souza are "people of color" who make a living bashing other people of color whenever it is convenient and profitable. For D'Souza that means , black Americans are always responsible for the discrimination that continues to be practiced against them. Malkin also makes the case that Japanese American internment was right and righteous. Of course she is in favor of interning Arabs and Muslims now. What a coincidence. The two of them are part of the vast right wing conspiracy who make a fortune spreading vicious, hateful ideology. It is time they were called out.

Congress Will Approve an Attack on Iran

". . . advocates of Israel's interests have prevailed on the Democratic leadership to strip any prohibition on the President taking military action against Iran without prior congressional approval. . ."

The United States is heading towards war with Iran. I'm afraid there is no other conclusion to reach. There is another inescapable conclusion. AIPAC and the rest of the pro-Israel lobby are behind it all. Why else would members of Congress with few or no Jewish constituents jump onto the bandwagon of nuking Iran?

It is a disgrace that the new Democratic majority in Congress can't put together a decent bill, even if vetoed, that will end the occupation of Iraq. Now they have completely chickened out and given Bush permission to attack Iran.

Mark my words. They will all line up and vote to approve attacking Iran, just like they did back in 2002 when they voted to attack Iraq. Hillary and Obama will be very eloquent, but when the rubber meets the road, they will say yes to killing thousands of Iranians.

Speaking of AIPAC, they have reached such a low point that they will promote a crazy Christianfascist preacher who wants to see Israel destroyed in a nuclear war. John Hagee gets invited to the annual AIPAC conference and gets applause. Why?

"What matters more to AIPAC and its allies -- all that matters perhaps -- is that you back the hardline Israeli government without reservation, support the institutionalized dehumanization of Palestinians and offer crucial moral support for the illegal usurpation of Palestinian land. "

Any more questions?

Mayans Say "Bush Has Cooties"

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture."
Juan Tiney

I had intended to take Friday off but sometimes a good story changes my plans. It seems that Mayan Indians in Guatemala have better sense than Christians. They are galled, offended and just plain pissed off that George W. Bush has the nerve to set foot on their sacred ground.

After Bush pays a visit to an archaeological site at Iximche, Mayan priests will cleanse the area of Bush's "bad spirits." Are you listening Christians? Get a clue.

Don't let Bush into your sanctuary in the first place. If you do, get busy with reconsecration. Remember what the bible says. Don't give a place to the devil.

Porn Free

There are so many Republicans in the closet, their symbol shouldn't be an elephant; it should be a moth!
Bill Maher

Why do gay porn stars and/or prostitutes gravitate to the Republicans? Damned if I know. The latest conservative porn king is Matt Sanchez.

Sanchez is a former Marine. Come to think of it, so was Jeff Gannon, another conservative former escort and pin up. Gannon had a friend in the White House who helped get him press credentials with the phony Talon News Service, which no longer exists. Those leather necks are certainly into leather, or so it would seem.

I digress. Last week Sanchez was honored at the CPAC convention. Of course, no one ever forgets their favorite porn star, so Sanchez was immediately outed as a gay man who made money by filming sex acts.

Sanchez explains himself, sort of, in Salon. He whines as the right wing always do. He is Latino so liberals should like him, he is a student at an Ivy League school, so liberals should like him. Porn was just a summer job and oh so long ago, everyone should just forget about it.

Of course the self-hatred and love for white supremacy is right below the surface. Anyone who shows up at a CPAC convention is automatically suspect in that regard. I do give Sanchez credit for actually having served in the military, unlike the rest of the flag wavers, but that is all.

No where does Sanchez mention that the CPAC conventioneers are opposed to him getting married to a man he loved. Actually, Sanchez doesn't have anything to say about being gay, about gays serving in the military, or why conservatives mobilize voters by demonizing him and people like him. What an opportunistic hypocrite.

If Sanchez won't support gay marriage rights as much as supports the right of the American military to kill, he should just shut up and disappear.

Love Letter to Eric Oemig

Eric Oemig is a Washington state Democrat, a freshman state senator. Oemig is sponsoring a bill, S8016, which would call on the United States Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Bush. It turns out that some of the founding fathers were thinking about something useful after all. They gave state legislatures the authority to begin impeachment proceedings if Congress refused to do the job.

Sounds good, but D.C. insiders, Democratic insiders, are standing in the way. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already said that impeachment is "off the table." Now U.S. Senator Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee are telling their fellow Washingtonians in that state's legislature to kill Oemig's bill. They are worried about "divisiveness" that would "impede" the Dems agenda.

The Democratic party is truly corrupt. The same people who could have gotten rid of Joe Lieberman are now showing us why they didn't. They didn't want to. They have no interest in fighting the Republicans, none what so ever. Now they are working to squelch any efforts by anyone else who isn't afraid of the Republicans.

It seems there is "zero chance" that the full Washington state senate will vote on the measure. That is truly criminal.

In the meantime tell Eric how much you love him. You can email him at oemig.eric@leg.wa.gov. Keep it tasteful please.

Praise the Lord

You can't fool all of the people all of the time. Praise God! Ted Haggard's New Life Church has lost members and money ever since his relationship with a gay prostitute was made public.

I have no desire to join a church with 14,000 other people, so I never understood the megachurch appeal. I do understand not wanting to be treated like a sucker. It is good to know that megachurch fundies, or a healthy percentage anyway, don't either.

New Life has had to lay off some of its staff because of the defections. I do wonder if the lost members have thought about the real Haggard story. Have they considered that their homophobic rhetoric is a sham? Have they thought that they need to stop bashing gays? Have they realized that gay people are also Christians and that demonizing them is wrong? Probably not but I can hope.

I hope they have also realized that megachurches are all about the money. They are businesses and the Haggards among them are the CEOs. Haggard was all about getting rich and I hope they realized it.

Now that is too much to ask.

Hillary's Fake, Black, Southern, Preacher Accent

Someone must tell her that she must never, ever, ever speak like this again. She just sounds like an idiot.

I do feel for her in a way. Her husband could pull this sort of thing off very easily. But she does not have his charisma, so she shouldn't try it. Ever.

Another Thing About Oprah

I am not a fan of Oprah Winfrey. In fact I am always glad when her efforts to market nonsense to gullible people are exposed.

Today we have to thank Salon for revealing the latest insanity from Oprahland. It is a land ruled by a cult leader. She rules by entertaining people and using the resulting happy feeling to sell stuff that no one really needs. That is pretty much what every other CEO does.

She differs because she is selling the intangible. If you buy a car that turns out to be a lemon, you swear not to buy from that manufacturer again. If you buy an idiotic idea that is perceived as being positive, the lemon qualities are a little harder to discover.

Change is easy in Oprahland. Just change your thoughts and presto, you have more money, love, or muscle mass. Of course everyone's experience is just the opposite. If change were easy we wouldn't need rehab, AA or Weight Watchers. Thank goodness we have them but unfortunately their very existence inspires stupid people to think that every issue in life can be resolved with a few positive thoughts.

Books like The Secret, the current cult leader favorite, are extremely dangerous. They teach that misfortune is our fault. Poverty, illness, and family problems only exist because we don't have the right thoughts. These are especially dangerous ideas to sell to black people. We have less because our ancestors were never compensated for their labor and because racism hasn't disappeared.

White people aren't buying property more often because their thoughts are positive. They buy property because their families have more wealth. If mom and dad hand you money for a down payment, it doesn't really matter if your thoughts are positive, negative or in between.

The Secret even lies about the bible, telling us that it promotes prosperity.

Mat 19:16
And behold, one came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?"
Mat 19:17
And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
Mat 19:18
He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19
Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Mat 19:20
The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?"
Mat 19:21
Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
Mat 19:22
When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
Mat 19:23
And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Oh well, so much for The Secret. Oprah couldn't do the damage she does if American weren't so stupid. Any practicing Christian should know the story of the rich young man. Jesus didn't tell him to think positive and get more cash. He told him to give it all away and follow Him.

I'm guessing that The Secret doesn't mention this story.

Thanks Tom Paine

I just noticed that Tom Paine reprinted my latest Black Agenda Report column. Thanks.

Kill Liberals

While he never comes right out and says that Americans should kill liberals, D'Souza's book shuttles his reader swiftly to that conclusion. By defining liberals as a "hidden" second front of terrorism, D'Souza's book invokes a very simple, widely held idea in America: that "War on Terror" means first and foremost, "kill terrorists." Thus, The Enemy at Home gives intellectual legitimacy to a widely accepted, rapidly growing Republican tendency to frame national security in terms of killing Democrats.
Jeffrey Feldman

Sorry for the short post, but time is at a premium these days. Instead I will take the easy way out and quote someone else. Jeffrey Feldman tells us why Dinesh D'Souza and the right wing are so dangerous. It is because they want to kill you if you are not on the right wing.

There is no mystery here. They keep saying the same thing over and over again. They want to eliminate anyone who stands in their way. Words should not be minced any longer. These are very dangerous people and we should be very afraid of them.



The right wing is on a mission, a mission to kill anyone who dares disagree with them.

How to Choose a President

Just check out this week's Black Agenda Report. If you are disgusted by Hillary or bamboozled by Obama, then read my column on choosing a presidential candidate. In just 10 east steps you will be on your way to doing the right thing.

It is too bad that Russ Feingold decided not to run. He is the only Senator who voted against the Patriot Act. He is now keeping tabs on his Senate colleagues who are set to pass a bill so weak that it looks like a "second authorization for war." Even Carl Levin, who like Feingold voted against the use of force, is falling for the canard of not abandoning the troops. That means continuing to fund the war and the occupation.

The Democratic majority in Congress is a huge disappointment and in large part we can blame Holy Joe Lieberman. He threatens to become a Republican if Dems don't continue funding the Bush plan for an American empire. I say cut him loose. Lieberman is a no good lying bastard. He won his election because he claimed he would remain a Democrat. The Democrats can accomplish something in the minority if they use the power of the filibuster. It is time to call Lieberman's bluff and tell him to get the hell out. Good-by Joe and don't let the door hit you.

Thanks

Thanks to Counter Punch and Smirking Chimp for posting my latest Black Agenda Report column.

(Christian) Fascism Watch

"I am here to ask the Southern Baptist Convention, and all of you in this room, for your help."
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

Alberto Gonzales is the man who is snooping on your email. He thinks that American citizens can be held indefinitely without trial. Just ask Jose Padilla.

Now he tells us he is concerned about our freedoms, our religious freedoms that is. Yes, Gonzales is in league with the Southern Baptists (yikes) to protect our religious freedoms. A denomination that is joined at the hip with government power would not be my choice to protect anything important to me.

Well this Baptist says no way. There is enough fascism blooming like fungus without getting help from creepy fundies.

If Gonzales offers to protect your relgious freedom tell him no thanks. Then ask him why Padilla is still being tortured.

Defend Science

As I pointed out in today's issue of Black Agenda Report, Americans are getting dumber by the second. Even some scientists don't believe in science. Hard to believe isn't it?

The University of Rhode Island recently conferred a doctorate in geosciences to a creationist. Yes, Marcus Ross believes the earth is no more than 10,000 years old. Wimpy scientists at the university felt they would have engaged in religious discrimination if they had rejected him. Spare me please. It will be interesting to see their reaction when Ross says that dinosaurs rode on Noah's Ark and uses the good name of URI to defend himself. It will serve them right.

Fortunately there are a few brave souls who aren't afraid to speak up for science. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has taken up the challenge. Only 40% of Americans believe that evolution is a fact. That is why the AAAS has to give advice on running for school board elections. Yes, we need to know lobbying techniques to keep fundies from miseducating any more Americans than they have already.

A commitment to teach science should be a litmus test for anybody who is running for president. It will be interesting to see if Hillary and Obama, panderers in chief, will stand up for scientific inquiry. I wouldn't bet on it.

Evolution Sunday

Thank you Jesus! I knew I wasn't the only Christian who was unafraid of science. It seems I have a lot of friends out there from more than 600 congregations. Sunday, February 11, 2007 is Evolution Sunday. February 12th will be the 198th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. Happy birthday Chuck!

Tip of the hat goes to Cosmic Log.

Free Mordechai Vanunu

It is rarely acknowledged that Israel has nukes, about 300 of them. No one knows for sure because that nation is not part of the Non Proliferation Treaty. Funny that Iran is, but is threatened with nuclear destruction. Israel isn't and threatens to nuke Iran. Following the rules doesn't help unless Uncle Sam is on your side.

Huffington Post must be congratulated for being one of the few media outlets who have dared to acknowledge that Israel is a nuclear power. Mordechai Vanunu was the first person to give the world proof that Israel is very well armed. He paid a terrible personal price for his convictions. Vanunu was imprisoned for 18 years and is now living under house arrest, just like banned dissidents in South Africa. Desmond Tutu certainly has no qualms about linking Israel to apartheid era South Africa. He has nominated Vanunu for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Vanunu's suffering isn't over. He defied the ban against him by speaking to reporters and he is once again on trial. If Israel is a democracy, it has a funny way of showing it.

A Girl Like Me

A Girl Like Me is a 10 minute film created by a 17 year old New Yorker, Kiri Davis. Ms. Davis interviews other black teens who quite articulately discuss how they see themselves as black females and how those images are created. It is heart breaking to see beautiful young women describe feeling unattractive because of skin color and hair texture.

More heartbreaking is Kiri's recreation of Dr. Kenneth Clark's experiments done in the early 1950s. Clark's test played a key role in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, showing how separation inherently led to feelings of inequality. Just as in Dr. Clark's day, in Kiri's test 15 out of 21 black children chose the white doll as being "nice" or "pretty" and the black doll as "bad."

I do object to the film maker showing the children's faces, they and the families may be embarassed or feel exploited. Aside from that I hope that the film is widely circulated. The teens do give us some measure of hope with their insight and wisdom. It makes the juxtaposition of the small children who believe they are bad or ugly all the more poignant.

Happy Anniversary Colin

Powell effectively de-legitimized the war’s opponents and turned the major U.S. news media into a virtual monolith of misguided consensus for the invasion.

Four years ago today, Colin Powell went to the floor of the United Nations and ruined his reputation, hopefully forever. Colin Powell should never be forgiven for telling bald faced lies about non-existent WMDs in Iraq. He now calls it a "blot" on his record. I'll say.

Powell is no dummy. I'm sure he rues the day he went to work for Bush. He would have been better off running for president and losing. Oh well, couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Making deals with the devil never works out.

Time Off

Pressing family business will keep me from posting for the next two weeks.

Support Spocko

Who is Spocko's Brain? He is an anonynous blogger in San Francisco. He is also a very good citizen. He has undertaken a campaign to notify advertisers on KSFO radio that they are supporting hate speech.

Of course the good deed did not go unpunished. ABC/Disney, owner of KSFO, pressured his ISP to shut him down. He is back up and running, but his story needs to be told.

In this week's Black Agenda Report I tell his story and why it is so important. You see, KSFO radio hosts joke about lynching, castration and burning people alive. The corporate media support them and by association also support lynching, castration and burning people alive. Thanks to Media Matters for bringing Spocko to public attention.

An Open Letter to Judea Pearl

Yesterday Judea Pearl, father of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times opposing al-Jazeera television. Mr. Pearl shouldn't worry. It is almost impossible for Americans to receive al-Jazeera television. No cable company will carry it. For what it is worth, here is my response to him.

Dear Mr. Pearl,

I first want to convey my deepest condolences to you and to your family. Your son's murder was an awful crime and I hope that someday you receive justice.

Yesterday I read your op-ed in the New York Times and I have to say that I disagree quite strongly. Americans live in a bubble of ignorance with no clue about why they are hated around the world, but particularly in the Arab and Muslim world.

I hope that more Americans do see al-Jazeera. It is nearly impossible to get an accurate accounting of world affairs from the U.S. media. Bush administration lies are printed and broadcast as fact. When the president lies and says that Saddam Hussein kicked out WMD inspectors, the networks and newspapers quote him verbatim and never point out that he is telling a blatant falsehood. I see nothing wrong with al-Jazeera pointing out that the war on terror is a phony one. It has been used to eliminate our civil liberties and to bring death to the people of Iraq.

Americans are now living under the abuses of the Patriot Act and crony capitalism. The so-called war on terror is being used to justify these and every other outrageous act committed by our government since 2001.

I understand that you are an Israeli citizen, so I will take great pains to tell you that I do not want Israel to be destroyed or its citizens to be harmed. I am an advocate of non-violence. I say this because critics of Israeli policy are always branded as anti-Semites. While I do make factual but highly critical comments about that government, I also want you to know that those accusations of bigotry do not apply to me.

I mentioned Israel because America's relationship with that nation is the cause of much of the hatred against our country. Israel receives $15 million per day from the U.S. taxpayer. When Israel invades Lebanon, and violates the Geneva conventions by inflicting collective punishment on a civilian population, the U.S. is seen as having also invaded Lebanon. If Israel drops nukes on Iran, then the U.S. has dropped nukes on Iran.

It is a disgrace that the American media rarely point out that Israel is already a nuclear power. If Iranians develop a nuclear weapons capability in the 5 to 10 years that experts estimate, they will still not have as many nukes as Israel. Why is this information never conveyed to us? How can Americans be expected to make judgements about military and other actions if we aren't given simple information, in this case that Israel is estimated to have between 100 and 300 nuclear warheads? If Americans see al-Jazeera they may just get important information that they do not now have.

If more Americans see al-Jazeera they will learn that all Arabs and Muslims are not just crazy fanatics out for blood. They will instead learn that there are many legitimate grievances against the U.S. That knowledge will be helpful to us all and will help the entire world.
You should not be afraid that Americans will get information from outside this country's media. We should fear that Americans do not. We have deliberately been kept ignorant and ignorance is quite dangerous.

Thank you.

Freedom Rider

Rewarding the Evildoers

Robert Scheer used to write for the Los Angeles Times. He was one of the leading critics of the occupation of Iraq. He was right about everything. The L.A. Times fired him and replaced with warmongering cheerleader Jonah Goldberg. He was wrong about everything.

Over and over again the evildoers have been rewarded with better gigs, more cash, and bigger speaking fees. Radar Online tells the sad story. It is sad, but not at all surprising. The ruling class want war, their friends at Halliburton and other corporations are making plenty of cash. So the war will go on to make sure that they keep getting rich. The riches extend to the corporate media and their cheerleaders. No wonder Scheer got the pink slip.

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman always had a lust for other people's blood and he didn't try to hide it in 2003. He has a closet full of Pulitzer prizes but it isn't clear why. He must have a relative on the panel. He is also one of the big winners in the pundit clean up sweep stakes. His writingss are an absolute waste but that hasn't stopped him from making a fortune.

Take a look at this interview from C-Span's Book TV in 2005. At about 24 minutes into the program a caller asks about the neocons push for war because Israel wanted it. Friedman pretended not to understand the question and the wimpy interviewer let him off the hook. The caller hit the nail on the head. We went to war in large part because Israel wanted it and Friedman thinks that is fine. Just don't bother to ask him about it.

Why should he bother answering? He isn't beholden to any of us. He can keep writing crap and keep making millions.

Arnold for President?

"He clamped his right hand over my boob and was wrestling with me... He wouldn't let go. I fought him. The size of his biceps coming across my chest, they were enormous. I couldn't get away from him... Any time you make a woman feel that vulnerable or that overpowered, it changes you forever."
Schwarzenegger assault victim


Have you noticed that the media are giving Arnold Schwarzenegger more attention than usual? Last week the New York Times felt compelled to tell readers that his broken leg still hurts. The announcement of his universal health care plan is newsworthy, but he has no way to pay for it. It probably won't go anywhere. Let's see if he gets the same kind of scrutiny that the Clintons got over their attempt to create a national single payer plan.

The attempt to get Arnold in the White House has never abated. There is a big problem, however. He wasn't born in the U.S., so there is now an effort to change the constitution so that he can run. Make no mistake about it. This effort will be about putting Arnold in the White House.

And what is up with the Golden Globe awards? Why was Schwarzenegger a presenter last night? Oh, I forgot what I just wrote. It is all an effort to put him in the White House.

Happy King Day!

"...the gallows were built to international standards ...

Poor Martin is rolling in his grave today. As usual, this man of peace must suffer the indignity of having pro-war politicians claim to honor his memory. This year is even worse.

Barzan Ibrahim, Saddam Hussein's half-brother, was decapitated when he was hanged today.
“In a rare incident, the head of the accused Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan was separated from his body during the execution,” said a government spokesman. Well, I guess it is hard to get those nooses just right, not too loose and not too tight either. Bummer.

King risked so much to speak against the war in Vietnam. He risked the support of the Johnson administration, he faced the wrath of the media. His outspoken opposition probably cost him his life.

This year the U.S. prepares to go to war or allow Israel to go to war against Iran. Yes, our tax dollars will be used to incinerate Iranians because Israel wants to be the only nuclear game in that part of town.

Happy King Day. May next year's be better.

Barbara Boxes with Condi

Ay caramba! What is a feminist, black nationalist, peace and justice advocate to do? Surely not defend Condi Rice. During Senate hearings yesterday, Democrat Barbara Boxer of California had this to say to the Secretary of State.

"The issue is, who pays the price? I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with an immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families."

I don't know why Boxer had to get personal, about her family or Rice's. It is enough to say that a small segment of the population is represented in the military and is paying the price for the occupation of Iraq. Who cares if she or Rice has kids to send?

Well, that is what happens when the personal substitutes for the substantive. At any rate there is a debate going on among feminists about the propriety of Boxer's comments. Of course we also have to contend with phony right wing concern for feminism. Please!

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I will just repeat what I said in a letter to Salon.

"Tony Snow and the rest of the right wing had nothing to say when Laura Bush dissed Condi. The first lady opined that Condi couldn't run for president because she didn't have a spouse to lean on. The right wing said nothing about this obvious insult.

I have to say that Boxer's comments were a great disappointment to me. As a single, childless woman myself, I have experienced first hand the innuendo and derision directed Rice. I am also a fierce opponent of the Bush regime, so I don't let any supposed loyalties, I am also African American, keep me from denouncing true believing neocons like Rice and her ilk.

So, I think Boxer was wrong to phrase her concern the way she did. Should she apologize? Well, when Rice apologizes for lying about mush room clouds, Barbara Boxer should apologize too."

To repeat, Boxer was wrong, but until she kills 600,000 Iraqis, she doesn't owe Rice anything.

Reuters/Jim Young

Bush in Tears

The prez boo-hooed at the post-humous medal of honor ceremony for Marine Corporal Jason Dunham. Gee, I recall another historical figure who wept for his troops. His name was Hitler.

What a cynical bastard. The ceremony took place the night after Bush gave us all the finger and declared that he would keep on killing. The rest of us ought to be crying our eyes out.

Bush to U.S.:Go F_ _ k Yourselves!

These are the words of Scott Thill in Huffington Post. Like Thill, I didn't bother to watch the president last night. I never do.

What does it take to wake everyone up around here? Who has to suck W.'s cock to get him impeached in this country?

I dont' know what it will take, Miss Nancy has said that she won't impeach him. The Republicans used a magazine article to impeach Clinton. Bush can lie to Congress, open our mail and take our civil liberties but the namby pamby Dems won't lay a finger on him. Too bad.

By the way, if you wanted to know what the Dems said in response, you didn't find out from any of the networks. None of them bothered to show it. Only PBS and cable gave up the air time.

Uncle Sam and Saddam

"The missing pages implicated twenty-four U.S.-based corporations and the successive Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. administration in connection with the illegal supplying of Saddam Hussein government with myriad weapons of mass destruction and the training to use them."

Saddam Hussein could never have developed a chemical weapons program without the help of the United States. Of course the media will never tell you this, but the Bush administration removed over 8,000 pages from a report that detailed the extent of Iraq's chemical weapons capabilities. Why the editing? Well, without it Reagan and Bush (41) administration officials could be charged as war criminals.

The Bush administration is now doing serious damage control, after having managed to make the tyrant look heroic. How coincidental that the trial of Saddam's co-defendants now includes tapes of conversations that included ordering WMD attacks on the Kurds.

Nice try. The Bushies have been busy tap dancing since the hanging took place. First reminding us that Saddam was really, really bad and then twisting Maliki's arm and getting him to claim that it was he who hurried up the Saddam Swing.

Sometimes damage cannot be undone. In this case it keeps getting worse. Not only is there a video showing what looks like a masked street gang taunting Saddam before he died, there is a new video showing his bloody corpse.

Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century

Those poor stupid Arabs. They hate Israel because they believe the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. They mindlessly soak up any anti-Semitic screeds because well, they just hate Jews and their stupid.

If you watched the new PBS documentary Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century without knowing any of the history of the Middle East, that is what you would think. Arabs have legitimate grievances against Israel. In July 1948 the Israelis massacred Palestinians at Deir Yassin and sent thousands more to their deaths in the desert. Israel now inflicts collective punishment on civilian populations, a no-no in the Geneva Conventions, and is planning to kill millions of Iranians in order to make sure that no other nation in that region has the bomb. (Israel has been 100 and 300 nukes.)

Thanks for nothing PBS. Americans will remain stupid thanks to you.

Israel Plans Genetic Germ Warfare

Tonight PBS will tell us that anti-Semitism is increasing and the Arabs just hate the Jews, etc. I wonder if they will ever get around to telling the world that Israel tried to develop a chemical weapon that would target only Arabs? Of course that will never happen. I'll watch tonight's documentary, if I can stomach it, and review tomorrow.

Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: the Resurgence, is part of an ongoing campaign to shut up critics of Israel. Norman Finkelstein said it best regarding the controversy surrounding his book Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History. Finkelstein stated that the controvery took place because of "...Israel's horrendous human rights record in the Occupied Territories and the misuse of anti-Semitism to delegitimize criticism of it."

Amen brother Finkelstein, who debated Jimmy Carter's book on Democracy Now. Finkelstein is always worth listening to.

Saddam Hangs, Rumsfeld Doesn't

"But perhaps most importantly, the missing pages contain information that could potentially make a case for war crimes against officials within the Reagan and the Bush Sr. administrations. This includes the current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — for his collaboration with Saddam Hussein leading up to the massacres of Iraqi Kurds and acting as liaison for U.S. military aid during the war between Iraq and Iran."

If you read this blog you probably already know that Rummy and Reagan gave Saddam all of the chemical weapons he used against the Kurds and Iranians. You may not know that the Bush administration removed 8,000 pages from a UN report that not only said the same thing, but detailed how many U.S. corporations helped in the dirty work.

The story of the edited UN document was among the Project Censored top 25 stories of 2002. It is a righteous but sad list. By their nature all of the stories are important, but if they made the list it means that few know about them.

I will have more in next week's Black Agenda Report.

Colin Powell's Pants are on Fire

Colin Powell, the ultimate political survivor, is back in the news. In response to recent suggestions that troop levels in Iraq should be increased, he replied that the U.S. army is "about broken."

No one should thank Powell for telling us what has been obvious for a long time. Any ideas of increasing the numbers of troops in Iraq are pure fantasy, unless of course the Bushies go along with Congressman Charles Rangel's proposal to bring back the draft.

Anyway, Powell is a gigantic liar. Sam Husseini, who you probably never heard of, was the only member of the press to ask Powell hard questions after a Face the Nation appearance last week.
Sam Husseini: Do you know that Hussein Kamel said that there were no WMDs? Did you know that?
Colin Powell: What’s that?
Husseini: You cited Hussein Kamel in your UN testimony. Did you know that he said that there were no WMDs, did you know that at the time?
Powell: I only knew what the intelligence community told me.
Husseini: But did you know that fact?
Powell: Of course not!
Husseini: You didn’t know that he said that, even though it was reported?
Powell: I -
Husseini: You didn’t know -
Powell: I’ve answered your question.
Husseini: You didn’t know that he said there were no WMDs.

As Powell attempts to resurrect himself from the ashes of the Bush team, he should be asked these questions again and again. He lied and those lies had horrific consequences. Maybe Husseini can do us all a favor and clone himself. Any puncturing of the American bubble of ignorance is a good thing.

The Onion

Al Gore Caught Warming Globe

Jimmy Carter vs. Israeli Apartheid

At long last the New York Times (registration required) has decided to mention that former president Jimmy Carter has written a new book that is on the Times bestseller list. For some strange reason, the only mention is in the Arts section and only the book's critics are quoted.

The book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, has gotten little attention in the print media. The American media routinely ignore or excoriate critics of Israeli government policy. It is a little harder to do if the critic is a former president and prolific author. So the Times finally covers a book that deals with a critical national and foreign policy issue but only in the Arts section.

Carter has done the American people a great service by writing this book and by adamantly and unapologetically using the word apartheid. My two cents is in this weeks Black Agenda Report.

Christmas in Seattle

"Threatening a lawsuit, I feel, violates the Jewish principle known in Hebrew as Kiddush HaShem, interpreted in the Talmud, part of ancient Jewish wisdom, as an action that encourages people to admire Jews. One need only read the comments on the Internet following the news accounts of the tree removal, to know that most people are feeling indignant and hurt. They certainly are not feeling more warmly toward Jews as a result of this mess."
Rabbi Daniel Lapin

Lapin hits the nail on the head. When Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky threatened to sue Seattle's airport if they didn't add a menorah to its holiday display, he in effect asked for the Christmas trees to be removed. As Lapin said, ". . . when one throws a punch (which is what bringing a lawyer and threatening to sue is equivalent to) and one gets decked in return, one cannot plead that one didn’t intend that outcome."

Sea-Tac airport should have told the litigious clergyman, "See you in court," and waited for a judge to instruct them on how to respond. Instead they took the wimpy way out and caused great resentment among Christians, whose opinions apparently don't count for much.

Because of vociferous complaints, the trees are back up, but what will happen next December? I don't really care if there is a menorah at Sea-Tac, but knowing how it came to be there will leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Black people are always told to accept our status as a minority. When we are outnumbered at election time and can't get black officials in office, well it is just too bad. If Jews chafe in December because theirs is the minority religion, it is just too bad. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander too.

Jews Against Israel

" . . .'the underlying cause of strife and bloodshed in the Middle East, namely the state known as Israel, [should] be totally and peacefully dissolved'. "
Rabbi Aharon Cohen

Yes, there are anti-Zionist Jews. They are such anti-Zionists that they will show up in Iran and participate in President Ahmedinajad's Holocaust Conference. They don't question that the Jewish holocaust took place, but that it has been used as a "tool of commercial, military and media power". Ouch! Sounds like they read The Holocaust Industry by Norman Finkelstein. If you haven't read this or other Finkelstein works, you should.

Of course, I don't deny that the Jewish holocaust happened, I do deny that it gives Israel the right to commit a holocaust against the people of Iran. Unfortunately, inviting David Duke to a conference is not a way to win friends or influence people. It makes it easy for stupid and/or blood thirsty Americans to advocate killing.

Gay Fundies

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Fundies are busting out of the closet. This article appeared in today's New York Times, but I have linked to the International Herald Tribune because there is no registration required.

The article tells us what we already knew, that gay people follow every religious, political and ideological belief system on earth. The individuals profiled in this story don't believe that the earth is 4 billion years old. They take the bible literally, except for what it says about them.

Hopefully, they will become more open minded in their religious world view too. If they don't believe what the bible says about homosexuality, they should consider that humans evolved and that the earth is older than the bible says it is.

Iraq Study Group

The title sounds like a group of college kids studying for a test, but it is far more serious. Today Bush's baby sitter, James Baker, essentially said that occupying Iraq was a very bad idea.

Occupying Iraq was morally wrong and without justification. More than 600,000 people are dead and the rest of world hates America more than ever.

The Study Group proposals don't really amount to much. A plan for withdrawal is the only way to save lives. A plan to compensate the Iraqi people for their suffering is the only moral thing to do.

By the way, the American media has said little about what the Iraqis want. CNN actually took a step towards behaving like a news organization when it reported that Iraqis say, "Get the hell out of our country." Only 1 out of 20 believe that security is better now than under Saddam Hussein, 9 out of 10 are afraid of American troops and 2 out of 3 will feel better when U.S. troops get out. Too bad the press isn't hanging on to their every word. It is the only opinion that ought to count.

Apartheid

"But there‘s no doubt that within the Occupied Territories—Palestinian land—that there is a horrendous example of apartheid. The occupation of Palestinian land, the confiscation of that land that doesn‘t belong to Israel, the building of settlements on it, the colonization of that land, and then the connection of those isolated but multiple settlements—more than 200 of them—with each other by highways, on which Palestinians can‘t travel and quite often where Palestinians cannot even cross."
Jimmy Carter

When a former president of the United States writes a book, it gets attention. Well, not if the book criticizes Israel. Jimmy Carter's latest work, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, has received no attention from the national print media. The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times have all ignored the book.

The Israeli government was one of the few governments on earth that advocated for the occupation of Iraq. It is the only other nation on earth that wants nuclear war against Iran. Unless full and open debate about Israeli policies are permitted to take place, this country will suffer. If New York or another city is attacked it will be because of hatred of America's unqualified support of Israel.