Murder Inc.
What happens to people who are taught to kill? Once the switch is flipped, can it be turned off? Timothy McVeigh and John Muhammad had a hard time turning themselves off after they had been taugh to kill. So have many others.
The latest tragedy occured in Georgia, when soldiers recently returned from Iraq got into an argument after being ejected from a strip club. One was killed and his body burned by his "friends" in an effort to conceal it.
I came across this site today. I am glad that someone is thinking about this issue. Is Rumsfeld thinking about it? I doubt it. Conservatives are peddling anew the Saddam equals Osama line and the administration now says we will turn Iraq over to the Iraqis by June. A few weeks ago anyone who advocated turning over power so quickly was called a treasonous Dixie Chick.
Of course, we won't really be leaving. Lest we forget, this war was fought to give America a military presence in the region. We don't plan to go anywhere. The Iraqis will still be mad and will continue to shoot down American helicopters. By the way, more Americans have been killed in seven months in Iraq than were killed in the first two years of the Vietnam War.
Friday, November 14, 2003
Bush is the Front Runner
Read it and weep. Zev Chafets is a New York Daily News columnist whose opinions are rarely in sync with my own. But his column this week was sadly right on point.
"It's the electoral college stupid." That must become the mantra of the democratic party in 2004. Unfortunately the electoral map doesn't look good for us. The red states have gained electoral votes, and the blue states have lost. The exception is California and the republicans made a move with Schwarzenegger that helps Bush's chances there.
I sometimes wonder if I am the only one who remembers the debacle of November 2000. That was a civics lesson we should never forget. Democratic commentators either have amnesia or a bad case of denial. No one emphasizes the electoral college edge that Bush has. Polls showing Bush vulnerability don't mean much. Lest we forget, the popular vote doesn't count.
Bush can be defeated but the democratic nominee will be the underdog and we must never lose sight of that fact.
Read it and weep. Zev Chafets is a New York Daily News columnist whose opinions are rarely in sync with my own. But his column this week was sadly right on point.
"It's the electoral college stupid." That must become the mantra of the democratic party in 2004. Unfortunately the electoral map doesn't look good for us. The red states have gained electoral votes, and the blue states have lost. The exception is California and the republicans made a move with Schwarzenegger that helps Bush's chances there.
I sometimes wonder if I am the only one who remembers the debacle of November 2000. That was a civics lesson we should never forget. Democratic commentators either have amnesia or a bad case of denial. No one emphasizes the electoral college edge that Bush has. Polls showing Bush vulnerability don't mean much. Lest we forget, the popular vote doesn't count.
Bush can be defeated but the democratic nominee will be the underdog and we must never lose sight of that fact.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
You Read It Here First
Regular readers of Freedom Riders know that in a November 2nd post I declared that John Kerry's presidential bid is toast. His bread is burned because he voted in favor of the war in Iraq.
Well, well, well. Bigger names than mine have jumped onto the Freedom Rider's bandwagon. The Boston Globe and syndicated columnist Cynthia Tucker have proven that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. They have figured out what the Freedom Rider has been saying for a long time.
Voting against war in Iraq was not a liability. It was imperative for anyone who wanted to reach democrat voters sick of their leaders complacency and acquiescence to the Bush regime. Poor Kerry has now put on casual work day clothes and ridden a motorcycle onto the set of the Jay Leno Show. I think he was better off shooting pheasants in Iowa.
Regular readers of Freedom Riders know that in a November 2nd post I declared that John Kerry's presidential bid is toast. His bread is burned because he voted in favor of the war in Iraq.
Well, well, well. Bigger names than mine have jumped onto the Freedom Rider's bandwagon. The Boston Globe and syndicated columnist Cynthia Tucker have proven that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. They have figured out what the Freedom Rider has been saying for a long time.
Voting against war in Iraq was not a liability. It was imperative for anyone who wanted to reach democrat voters sick of their leaders complacency and acquiescence to the Bush regime. Poor Kerry has now put on casual work day clothes and ridden a motorcycle onto the set of the Jay Leno Show. I think he was better off shooting pheasants in Iowa.
Truth at Last
I could not believe my eyes. A major American newspaper, the Washington Post, actually published an op-ed about the one-sided pro-Israeli bias in American politics.
The authors, Cornel West and Michael Lerner, dispassionately make the case that the democratic party in particular, is too beholden financially to pro-Israeli interests. The smack down of Howard Dean, who merely said we should be "even handed" in the Middle East was apparently the last straw for the authors as it was for many others. Let's hope this is the beginning of a real debate about American policy regarding Israel.
Occupation
Despite Rumsfeld's recent denial (see yesterday's post) I recall being told that the Iraqis would welcome us with open arms. It was never true and the situation will only get worse when Arabs see photos of U.S. soldiers tying up Iraqi women and children.
I could not believe my eyes. A major American newspaper, the Washington Post, actually published an op-ed about the one-sided pro-Israeli bias in American politics.
The authors, Cornel West and Michael Lerner, dispassionately make the case that the democratic party in particular, is too beholden financially to pro-Israeli interests. The smack down of Howard Dean, who merely said we should be "even handed" in the Middle East was apparently the last straw for the authors as it was for many others. Let's hope this is the beginning of a real debate about American policy regarding Israel.
Occupation
Despite Rumsfeld's recent denial (see yesterday's post) I recall being told that the Iraqis would welcome us with open arms. It was never true and the situation will only get worse when Arabs see photos of U.S. soldiers tying up Iraqi women and children.
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
They ARE on Drugs
More than once I have asked myself if the Bushies are on drugs. It all began when they said that an Arab Muslim nation would want to be controlled by infidels. They certainly got that wrong.
They they tell me that Saddam and Osama are practically the same guy. They they denied saying it. Then they tell me that Iraqis will greet us with open arms. Then they deny saying it. They they said Saddam had WMDs. Then they denied that too. I began to wonder if they were on drugs or if they thought the rest of us were.
Well the mystery is solved. Colin Powell has opened up like an addict at an NA meeting. In an interview with a Saudi newspaper he admits to taking the sleep aide Ambien, which can be addictive. In the name of journalistic integrity I have to point out that several years ago I took Ambien. My doctor told me about the drug's habit forming potential when he prescribed it but would not give me a refill. I resolved whatever was bugging me at the time and got my z's without the help of any more pills, but back to Powell. I wonder if his doctor is as cautious as mine.
Powell does say he only uses them if he is changing time zones. That doesn't explain why he lied at the United Nations back in February. There is no time zone change between Washington and New York. So unfortunately he is claiming to have been clean and sober when he gave that speech that will live in infamy (October 15th posts).
Powell also said that "everyone" uses Ambien. Who is everyone? Is it Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice or all of the above? Frankly I hope they are all on drugs. It makes everything more logical and explains that pretzel incident too.
Jessica Lynch Topless
It seems that Jessica Lynch was incredibly friendly with her fellow soldiers. So friendly in fact that she felt comfortable being topless and posing for photos while in that state. Who else but Larry Flynt would have the pics.
I really am tired of ordinary people being turned into heroes because they accidentally find themselves in trouble. Enough already. By the way, this story first popped up several months ago in British newspapers. I wonder if it was mentioned in the televised biopic the other night? I wonder if it was mentioned in the current Time cover story? I haven't checked but my guess is that it doesn't come up at all.
More than once I have asked myself if the Bushies are on drugs. It all began when they said that an Arab Muslim nation would want to be controlled by infidels. They certainly got that wrong.
They they tell me that Saddam and Osama are practically the same guy. They they denied saying it. Then they tell me that Iraqis will greet us with open arms. Then they deny saying it. They they said Saddam had WMDs. Then they denied that too. I began to wonder if they were on drugs or if they thought the rest of us were.
Well the mystery is solved. Colin Powell has opened up like an addict at an NA meeting. In an interview with a Saudi newspaper he admits to taking the sleep aide Ambien, which can be addictive. In the name of journalistic integrity I have to point out that several years ago I took Ambien. My doctor told me about the drug's habit forming potential when he prescribed it but would not give me a refill. I resolved whatever was bugging me at the time and got my z's without the help of any more pills, but back to Powell. I wonder if his doctor is as cautious as mine.
Powell does say he only uses them if he is changing time zones. That doesn't explain why he lied at the United Nations back in February. There is no time zone change between Washington and New York. So unfortunately he is claiming to have been clean and sober when he gave that speech that will live in infamy (October 15th posts).
Powell also said that "everyone" uses Ambien. Who is everyone? Is it Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice or all of the above? Frankly I hope they are all on drugs. It makes everything more logical and explains that pretzel incident too.
Jessica Lynch Topless
It seems that Jessica Lynch was incredibly friendly with her fellow soldiers. So friendly in fact that she felt comfortable being topless and posing for photos while in that state. Who else but Larry Flynt would have the pics.
I really am tired of ordinary people being turned into heroes because they accidentally find themselves in trouble. Enough already. By the way, this story first popped up several months ago in British newspapers. I wonder if it was mentioned in the televised biopic the other night? I wonder if it was mentioned in the current Time cover story? I haven't checked but my guess is that it doesn't come up at all.
Sunday, November 09, 2003
Lori Piestewa, Shoshana Johnson and Jessica Lynch
Is it worse to sensationalize a soldier who is famous for being in a car accident in Iraq or a child kidnapped by a perverted religious fanatic? Tonight anyone who really cares about the answer will have to watch one and channel surf to the other. You can watch the Jessica Lynch story or the Elizabeth Smart story. At least Lynch chose to exploit her own story. Elizabeth Smart was done in by her own parents.
Let's rehash the history of Jessica Lynch. At first we were told that she had been shot and stabbed in a ferocious gun battle with Iraqi troops. Then we were told she was injured when her vehicle crashed and never fired her weapon. Shoshana Johnson and Lori Piestewa did in fact engage in battle. Both were shot. Piestewa, the mother of two preschool children, was killed. Johnson was captured by the Iraqis. Johnson was discharged from the army with a disability payment of $500 per month. Lynch is gettting $1,500.
Then we were told that commandos stormed the hospital where she was being held. Then we were told that no storming was necessary. The Iraqis just let them inside.
Last week we were told that a medical examination of Lynch showed evidence of anal rape. Now we are told by Iraqi doctors who cared for her that the rape story isn't true. What does Lynch say? Only that she has no memory of being raped. I wonder why someone who has no memory of her ordeal is getting a $1 million book deal.
When the rape story first surfaced I was skeptical. Not necessarily because I believed that the incident hadn't taken place but that the timing of the story was suspicious. You have to give it to the Bushies. They have a knack for propaganda. As soon as things go badly in Iraq they produce torture tapes, news of mass graves or rapes of blonde damsels in distress.
Jessica Lynch notwithstanding, it must be pointed out that the situation in Iraq grows worse by the day. Another helicopter was shot down and six were killed. The army retaliated by dropping 500-pound bombs in Tikrit. I wonder how many civilians were hit by them.
But don't worry your pretty little heads about it. The U.S. military says it has the upper hand. I don't know about anyone else but I don't feel any better when I hear rosy scenarios from this government. Do you remember words like "cake walk?" The cons, neo and otherwise, told us we would drop a few bombs and waltz into Baghdad with cheering throngs in our wake.
But I digress with war news. Let's get back to Jessica Lynch. It is true that if she were a man her story would not be in the news at all. If she weren't white she wouldn't be in the news. But white and blonde and cute was too much to be ignored. Did I mention that Elizabeth Smart is also white and blonde? So watch Jessica or Elizabeth and let me know your verdict. I will not be watching either one.
Is it worse to sensationalize a soldier who is famous for being in a car accident in Iraq or a child kidnapped by a perverted religious fanatic? Tonight anyone who really cares about the answer will have to watch one and channel surf to the other. You can watch the Jessica Lynch story or the Elizabeth Smart story. At least Lynch chose to exploit her own story. Elizabeth Smart was done in by her own parents.
Let's rehash the history of Jessica Lynch. At first we were told that she had been shot and stabbed in a ferocious gun battle with Iraqi troops. Then we were told she was injured when her vehicle crashed and never fired her weapon. Shoshana Johnson and Lori Piestewa did in fact engage in battle. Both were shot. Piestewa, the mother of two preschool children, was killed. Johnson was captured by the Iraqis. Johnson was discharged from the army with a disability payment of $500 per month. Lynch is gettting $1,500.
Then we were told that commandos stormed the hospital where she was being held. Then we were told that no storming was necessary. The Iraqis just let them inside.
Last week we were told that a medical examination of Lynch showed evidence of anal rape. Now we are told by Iraqi doctors who cared for her that the rape story isn't true. What does Lynch say? Only that she has no memory of being raped. I wonder why someone who has no memory of her ordeal is getting a $1 million book deal.
When the rape story first surfaced I was skeptical. Not necessarily because I believed that the incident hadn't taken place but that the timing of the story was suspicious. You have to give it to the Bushies. They have a knack for propaganda. As soon as things go badly in Iraq they produce torture tapes, news of mass graves or rapes of blonde damsels in distress.
Jessica Lynch notwithstanding, it must be pointed out that the situation in Iraq grows worse by the day. Another helicopter was shot down and six were killed. The army retaliated by dropping 500-pound bombs in Tikrit. I wonder how many civilians were hit by them.
But don't worry your pretty little heads about it. The U.S. military says it has the upper hand. I don't know about anyone else but I don't feel any better when I hear rosy scenarios from this government. Do you remember words like "cake walk?" The cons, neo and otherwise, told us we would drop a few bombs and waltz into Baghdad with cheering throngs in our wake.
But I digress with war news. Let's get back to Jessica Lynch. It is true that if she were a man her story would not be in the news at all. If she weren't white she wouldn't be in the news. But white and blonde and cute was too much to be ignored. Did I mention that Elizabeth Smart is also white and blonde? So watch Jessica or Elizabeth and let me know your verdict. I will not be watching either one.
Thursday, November 06, 2003
Haiti and the Louisiana Purchase
Today the U.S. Mint announced the creation of a new nickel to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. The announcement made me wonder if Americans are aware of the role that the Haitian revolution played in the transaction that doubled the size of the United States. This site is for kids, but it works for adults just as well. The loss of Haiti deprived Napoleon of the port of entry he planned to use for his American empire. It also deprived him of cash and forced him to take the money and run.
It is important to remember that the Louisiana Purchase encompassed not just Louisiana, but parts or all of present day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, an area of more than 800,000 square miles. Of course, if the land hadn't been purchased we would have found a way to go to war and take it from France, but it wasn't theirs to claim either. They stole it from the Indians before we had the chance to do it.
It is ironic that the Louisiana Purchase came about because of a slave revolt. In the end it hastened American expansionism which always meant the conquest of Indian lands and the further spread of slavery. Haiti's role in the history of the United States is one of many things I was never taught in school or college either for that matter.
It is too bad that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and company weren't taught the history of Iraq. They would have known that it was created by Winston Churchill and others who redrew the map of the Middle East after World War I. Can you imagine?
"Um Winston, do you think it's a problem putting the Sunnis in power when most of the people are Shiites?"
"No, don't worry about it. Put the lines there anyway."
I don't know if the conversation went like that but you get the idea. Ignorance of history has caused and will continue to cause great damage to our country.
Then again, they probably do know the history of Iraq. It just didn't matter to them.
Thou Shalt Think for Thyself, Part II
In an October 13th post I noted an increase in the levels of ignorance, intolerance and just plain stupidity among the faithful. Well, the situation appears to be getting worse. Christians are helping atheists make their case that religion is the opiate of the masses. In Passaic, New Jersey crowds are visiting a vacant lot because they claim to see the Virgin Mary in a tree stump. (You may have to register, but you can read the story for free.) I recently joked that I could start my own religion and have members within one week. If people think they see the Virgin on a piece of wood I am probably right. If I weren't afraid to mock the Lord I would do it just to prove a point.
As a Protestant I don't fully understand the veneration of the Virgin, but I do know that the way to go about is to attend mass, not hang around a tree stump in a parking lot. The Catholic church is apparently no longer in the business of declaring that the Virgin was seen as in Lourdes and Fatima. Americans declare for themselves that they saw the Virgin only to be told by a Diocese that it isn't true. Protestants can't laugh too much. We recently experienced worship of a piece of stone in Alabama because the Ten Commandments were written on it. I guess the worshippers forgot that idolatry is seriously frowned upon in the bible.
As I said before, I don't know why people think they have to suspend common sense and the thought processes they use every day when religion enters the picture. Unfortunately, religious belief is still inspired by fear at this late date in history. We hedge our bets when it comes to religion. We don't really see the Virgin in a tree stump but what the heck. If we say we do we are covered. We know that forwarding an email promising blessings is really cheapening religious belief, but suppose it works. Better not chance it. Send it anyway.
If we call ourselves believers we should remember that God knows all about us and is still merciful. We don't have to be perfect. He loves us in spite of our foibles. If you don't go to heaven it won't be because you deleted a chain email or admitted you didn't see the Virgin in Passaic. Jesus brought us Good News, not delusion in vacant lots.
Today the U.S. Mint announced the creation of a new nickel to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. The announcement made me wonder if Americans are aware of the role that the Haitian revolution played in the transaction that doubled the size of the United States. This site is for kids, but it works for adults just as well. The loss of Haiti deprived Napoleon of the port of entry he planned to use for his American empire. It also deprived him of cash and forced him to take the money and run.
It is important to remember that the Louisiana Purchase encompassed not just Louisiana, but parts or all of present day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, an area of more than 800,000 square miles. Of course, if the land hadn't been purchased we would have found a way to go to war and take it from France, but it wasn't theirs to claim either. They stole it from the Indians before we had the chance to do it.
It is ironic that the Louisiana Purchase came about because of a slave revolt. In the end it hastened American expansionism which always meant the conquest of Indian lands and the further spread of slavery. Haiti's role in the history of the United States is one of many things I was never taught in school or college either for that matter.
It is too bad that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and company weren't taught the history of Iraq. They would have known that it was created by Winston Churchill and others who redrew the map of the Middle East after World War I. Can you imagine?
"Um Winston, do you think it's a problem putting the Sunnis in power when most of the people are Shiites?"
"No, don't worry about it. Put the lines there anyway."
I don't know if the conversation went like that but you get the idea. Ignorance of history has caused and will continue to cause great damage to our country.
Then again, they probably do know the history of Iraq. It just didn't matter to them.
Thou Shalt Think for Thyself, Part II
In an October 13th post I noted an increase in the levels of ignorance, intolerance and just plain stupidity among the faithful. Well, the situation appears to be getting worse. Christians are helping atheists make their case that religion is the opiate of the masses. In Passaic, New Jersey crowds are visiting a vacant lot because they claim to see the Virgin Mary in a tree stump. (You may have to register, but you can read the story for free.) I recently joked that I could start my own religion and have members within one week. If people think they see the Virgin on a piece of wood I am probably right. If I weren't afraid to mock the Lord I would do it just to prove a point.
As a Protestant I don't fully understand the veneration of the Virgin, but I do know that the way to go about is to attend mass, not hang around a tree stump in a parking lot. The Catholic church is apparently no longer in the business of declaring that the Virgin was seen as in Lourdes and Fatima. Americans declare for themselves that they saw the Virgin only to be told by a Diocese that it isn't true. Protestants can't laugh too much. We recently experienced worship of a piece of stone in Alabama because the Ten Commandments were written on it. I guess the worshippers forgot that idolatry is seriously frowned upon in the bible.
As I said before, I don't know why people think they have to suspend common sense and the thought processes they use every day when religion enters the picture. Unfortunately, religious belief is still inspired by fear at this late date in history. We hedge our bets when it comes to religion. We don't really see the Virgin in a tree stump but what the heck. If we say we do we are covered. We know that forwarding an email promising blessings is really cheapening religious belief, but suppose it works. Better not chance it. Send it anyway.
If we call ourselves believers we should remember that God knows all about us and is still merciful. We don't have to be perfect. He loves us in spite of our foibles. If you don't go to heaven it won't be because you deleted a chain email or admitted you didn't see the Virgin in Passaic. Jesus brought us Good News, not delusion in vacant lots.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Talk to CBS
Do you want to register your disgust with CBS? I don't know how much good it will do, but sign the online petition here. It might make you feel better.
Do you want to register your disgust with CBS? I don't know how much good it will do, but sign the online petition here. It might make you feel better.
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
CBS Pulls the Plug
Why did CBS pull the plug on the Reagan bio-pic? Because they don't want to antagonize Republican politicians. Federal Communication Commision rules regulating the networks are about to change. If the Republicans smile on CBS and their cohorts they will be able to own more stations in one market than they are currently permitted. By the way, if the networks get their way more and more of the media will be in fewer and fewer hands. Wonderful.
Linda Tripp
Why did John Ashcroft's Justice Department settle Linda Tripp's lawsuit and give her nearly $600K? To make Clinton look bad my dears. Tripp lied on a Defense Department security clearance form and didn't report being arrested for theft. She claims the Clinton administration gave this information to the media. Actually it was her own stepmother who told a reporter. Read the real story here. Read lazy reporting from CNN here. They didn't even bother to fact check.
Both stories prove that the media is anything but liberal.
Why did CBS pull the plug on the Reagan bio-pic? Because they don't want to antagonize Republican politicians. Federal Communication Commision rules regulating the networks are about to change. If the Republicans smile on CBS and their cohorts they will be able to own more stations in one market than they are currently permitted. By the way, if the networks get their way more and more of the media will be in fewer and fewer hands. Wonderful.
Linda Tripp
Why did John Ashcroft's Justice Department settle Linda Tripp's lawsuit and give her nearly $600K? To make Clinton look bad my dears. Tripp lied on a Defense Department security clearance form and didn't report being arrested for theft. She claims the Clinton administration gave this information to the media. Actually it was her own stepmother who told a reporter. Read the real story here. Read lazy reporting from CNN here. They didn't even bother to fact check.
Both stories prove that the media is anything but liberal.
Klansman with a Conscience
"The Klan is needed today as never before."
Senator Robert Byrd in 1946
"I should rather die a thousand times and see old glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again than see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen of the wilds."
Senator Robert Byrd, late 1940s, on the impendind desegregation of the U.S. military
"There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word."
Senator Robert Byrd in 2001
"Indeed, we may have sparked a new international arms race as countries move ahead to develop WMD as a last ditch attempt to ward off a possible preemptive strike from a newly belligerent U.S. which claims the right to hit where it wants. In fact, there is little to constrain this President. Congress, in what will go down in history as its most unfortunate act, handed away its power to declare war for the foreseeable future and empowered this President to wage war at will."
Senator Robert Byrd in 2003
Yesterday the Senate voted to approve President Bush's request for $87 billion in aid for the Iraq war effort. In true cowardly fashion only six Senators were present and the vote was by voice only. There will be no record of how Senators voted.
Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia has been the most eloquent voice in American politics against the war in Iraq. His voice was the only one to shout "Nay" when the vote was taken. He is also the only member of the Senate, as far as we know, who once belonged to the KKK. He calls his Klan membership a "youthful mistake" although he was a less than youthful 29 when he uttered the 1946 quote. Byrd filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights Act for 14 hours straight. He voted against the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court.
Where were the liberals on the Iraq debate? My Senators, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, are allegedly liberal. Both voted in favor of the war with Iraq. The most they can do now is talk about the President's bad planning and say that we must support the troops and we can't cut and run and we must stand firm and the terrorists can't win and blah, blah, and blah.
Robert Byrd is no smarter than Clinton or Schumer. They knew what he knew, that this war was a sham perpetrated on the American people. But they supported it anyway because they were afraid. They were afraid to be called soft on terror. They and other democrats were afraid to face the public after an American military victory. They were afraid to to say that the President and his staff were all liars.
They knew that Iraq would erupt in righteous anger over American occupation. They knew that jihadists from around the world would converge on Iraq to kill American soldiers. They knew that the embargo of the last ten years had rendered Saddam Hussein's weapons capability useless and that he was no danger to us. But they still voted yes.
The democratic party is a sham. The most outspoken voice against the madness of militarism is an 86 year-old Dixiecrat racist. Ivy League educated liberals stick their fingers into the wind to decide how to cast their votes. Their cynicism is going to destroy our nation. I have always felt that war in Iraq would damage our country terribly. It may spark a wider war, or terror attacks beyond the scale of 9/11. Byrd said the following in a speech on May 21st.
Truth has a way of asserting itself despite all attempts to obscure it. Distortion only serves to derail it for a time. No matter to what lengths we humans may go to obfuscate facts or delude our fellows, truth has a way of squeezing out through the cracks, eventually.
But the danger is that at some point it may no longer matter. The danger is that damage is done before the truth is widely realized.
If the democrats continue to cower in fear when they should stand in fight then Byrd will be proven correct. The damage to our nation will be dreadful before anything is done to stop the mad men and women who have put us in this awful situation.
Debtors Prison
The term debtors prison conjures up images of Charles Dickens' novels set in Victorian England. Apparently debtors prison is alive and well in America for those uninsured who can't pay their hospital bills. The Wall Street Journal, a notoriously left wing publication, tells the story of hospitals, including Yale University, that have debtors arrested if they don't show up for court hearings. The process is known as "Body Attachment." The term sounds like either a medical procedure or the title of a bad horror movie.
It is appalling to me that hospitals of all places can be so callous. If they are concerned about the uninsured why don't they lobby for change in our health care system instead of rounding up people who are sick and poor. Unfortunately, the failure of health care reform in the Clinton administration has frightened every other presidential hopeful from taking on the issue.
The lack of compassion in American society is growing and becoming uglier by the day. I would hope that legislators in the states where this practice takes place would pass regulations making body attachment illegal. But I won't hold my breath. The hospitals lobbyists will appear at state capitals as if by magic, and not to discuss reform. Those of us who have health insurance can only pray we don't lose it and those without can only pray they don't get sick. We certainly can't depend on our political leaders for help.
"The Klan is needed today as never before."
Senator Robert Byrd in 1946
"I should rather die a thousand times and see old glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again than see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen of the wilds."
Senator Robert Byrd, late 1940s, on the impendind desegregation of the U.S. military
"There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word."
Senator Robert Byrd in 2001
"Indeed, we may have sparked a new international arms race as countries move ahead to develop WMD as a last ditch attempt to ward off a possible preemptive strike from a newly belligerent U.S. which claims the right to hit where it wants. In fact, there is little to constrain this President. Congress, in what will go down in history as its most unfortunate act, handed away its power to declare war for the foreseeable future and empowered this President to wage war at will."
Senator Robert Byrd in 2003
Yesterday the Senate voted to approve President Bush's request for $87 billion in aid for the Iraq war effort. In true cowardly fashion only six Senators were present and the vote was by voice only. There will be no record of how Senators voted.
Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia has been the most eloquent voice in American politics against the war in Iraq. His voice was the only one to shout "Nay" when the vote was taken. He is also the only member of the Senate, as far as we know, who once belonged to the KKK. He calls his Klan membership a "youthful mistake" although he was a less than youthful 29 when he uttered the 1946 quote. Byrd filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights Act for 14 hours straight. He voted against the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court.
Where were the liberals on the Iraq debate? My Senators, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, are allegedly liberal. Both voted in favor of the war with Iraq. The most they can do now is talk about the President's bad planning and say that we must support the troops and we can't cut and run and we must stand firm and the terrorists can't win and blah, blah, and blah.
Robert Byrd is no smarter than Clinton or Schumer. They knew what he knew, that this war was a sham perpetrated on the American people. But they supported it anyway because they were afraid. They were afraid to be called soft on terror. They and other democrats were afraid to face the public after an American military victory. They were afraid to to say that the President and his staff were all liars.
They knew that Iraq would erupt in righteous anger over American occupation. They knew that jihadists from around the world would converge on Iraq to kill American soldiers. They knew that the embargo of the last ten years had rendered Saddam Hussein's weapons capability useless and that he was no danger to us. But they still voted yes.
The democratic party is a sham. The most outspoken voice against the madness of militarism is an 86 year-old Dixiecrat racist. Ivy League educated liberals stick their fingers into the wind to decide how to cast their votes. Their cynicism is going to destroy our nation. I have always felt that war in Iraq would damage our country terribly. It may spark a wider war, or terror attacks beyond the scale of 9/11. Byrd said the following in a speech on May 21st.
Truth has a way of asserting itself despite all attempts to obscure it. Distortion only serves to derail it for a time. No matter to what lengths we humans may go to obfuscate facts or delude our fellows, truth has a way of squeezing out through the cracks, eventually.
But the danger is that at some point it may no longer matter. The danger is that damage is done before the truth is widely realized.
If the democrats continue to cower in fear when they should stand in fight then Byrd will be proven correct. The damage to our nation will be dreadful before anything is done to stop the mad men and women who have put us in this awful situation.
Debtors Prison
The term debtors prison conjures up images of Charles Dickens' novels set in Victorian England. Apparently debtors prison is alive and well in America for those uninsured who can't pay their hospital bills. The Wall Street Journal, a notoriously left wing publication, tells the story of hospitals, including Yale University, that have debtors arrested if they don't show up for court hearings. The process is known as "Body Attachment." The term sounds like either a medical procedure or the title of a bad horror movie.
It is appalling to me that hospitals of all places can be so callous. If they are concerned about the uninsured why don't they lobby for change in our health care system instead of rounding up people who are sick and poor. Unfortunately, the failure of health care reform in the Clinton administration has frightened every other presidential hopeful from taking on the issue.
The lack of compassion in American society is growing and becoming uglier by the day. I would hope that legislators in the states where this practice takes place would pass regulations making body attachment illegal. But I won't hold my breath. The hospitals lobbyists will appear at state capitals as if by magic, and not to discuss reform. Those of us who have health insurance can only pray we don't lose it and those without can only pray they don't get sick. We certainly can't depend on our political leaders for help.
Monday, November 03, 2003
Israeli Knowledge of Terror Attacks before 9/11?
Did the Israeli government have advance knowledge of the terror attacks that took place on September 11, 2001? I first became aware of the story of Israelis posing as art students at U.S. government facilities. If I were selling art it wouldn't be at a DEA office. Even FOX news reported this story, but later backed down.
This story from a Scottish newspaper asks this question. Did Israel know about the terror attacks and do nothing to stop them? Were they so eager to have the U.S. do their bidding in the Middle East that they allowed 3,000 Americans to die? What does our government know about this? Was the Bush administration really surprised on 9/11?
None of these articles conclusively provide answers, but they provide us with a lot of important questions. September 11th will unfortunately be like the assassination of JFK. We will never know the truth. We have a craven press and Congress who will never ask how Israeli "students" who followed Mohammed Atta later ended up in New Jersey filming the burning towers. They will never ask why Bin Laden's relatives were escorted out of the country without being interrogated. Before we call Bush the villain we should ask why Tom Daschle caved on the President's request not to investigate 9/11.
It is a shame that Imiri Baraka didn't write a poem about this but instead wrote about an internet based urban legend that Israelis and other Jews were warned not to go to the World Trade Center. If he was going to be villified it should have been over a legitimate news story.
The kid glove treatment of the Israeli government by American politicians and media spells doom for both countries. Israel is poised to build a wall separating Palestinians from Israel, from their families, from their lands and from employment. There are also plans to make Palestinians carry ID a la passes in South Africa under apartheid. Unfortunately no one dares speak. The lack of criticism of Israel only emboldens American hawks who have a kindred spirit in Ariel Sharon, who continues to stick his fingers in America's eye without so much as a peep out of the Congress or the media.
Both the U.S. and Israeli are now ruled by their worst elements and supported by fundamentalists. Is it any wonder that Tom DeLay and other right wing Christians are strong supporters of the Israeli government? Both believe in control and aggression masked as righteousness. The truly righteous in both nations must speak out against them.
Both Israel and the U.S. endanger the entire world with their arrogance and aggression. Senator Trent Lott said of Iraq, "Honestly, it's a little bit tougher than I thought it was going to be. If we have to we should just mow the whole place down, see what happens." How telling. We stupidly think that we can invade and occupy a country under the guise of liberating it from a tyrant (although when Saddam Hussein was our tyrant we didn't care), insult the people who live there because we know jack about their culture, and then express surprise when some of them want to kill us because they don't like being occupied.
The attack on the Army helicopter that killed 16 Americans will not be the last. We can't open Baghdad's airport because there are thousands of missing shoulder fired missiles. Lovely. Yesterday's New York Times asked the question, "Who Botched the Occupation?" The author makes good points but never acknowledges that the effort was doomed from the start.
It is truly terrifying that we are ruled by a clique so drunk with power that they thought this ill fated venture was going to work. Did they really believe that Shiites oppressed by Saddam Hussein would gain freedom but want to be ruled by infidels? Did they know that the holy places of the Shiite faith are in Iraq? If they knew did they understand the significance of that fact? Probably not. You can't be empathetic and imperialistic. The two just don't go together.
Did the Israeli government have advance knowledge of the terror attacks that took place on September 11, 2001? I first became aware of the story of Israelis posing as art students at U.S. government facilities. If I were selling art it wouldn't be at a DEA office. Even FOX news reported this story, but later backed down.
This story from a Scottish newspaper asks this question. Did Israel know about the terror attacks and do nothing to stop them? Were they so eager to have the U.S. do their bidding in the Middle East that they allowed 3,000 Americans to die? What does our government know about this? Was the Bush administration really surprised on 9/11?
None of these articles conclusively provide answers, but they provide us with a lot of important questions. September 11th will unfortunately be like the assassination of JFK. We will never know the truth. We have a craven press and Congress who will never ask how Israeli "students" who followed Mohammed Atta later ended up in New Jersey filming the burning towers. They will never ask why Bin Laden's relatives were escorted out of the country without being interrogated. Before we call Bush the villain we should ask why Tom Daschle caved on the President's request not to investigate 9/11.
It is a shame that Imiri Baraka didn't write a poem about this but instead wrote about an internet based urban legend that Israelis and other Jews were warned not to go to the World Trade Center. If he was going to be villified it should have been over a legitimate news story.
The kid glove treatment of the Israeli government by American politicians and media spells doom for both countries. Israel is poised to build a wall separating Palestinians from Israel, from their families, from their lands and from employment. There are also plans to make Palestinians carry ID a la passes in South Africa under apartheid. Unfortunately no one dares speak. The lack of criticism of Israel only emboldens American hawks who have a kindred spirit in Ariel Sharon, who continues to stick his fingers in America's eye without so much as a peep out of the Congress or the media.
Both the U.S. and Israeli are now ruled by their worst elements and supported by fundamentalists. Is it any wonder that Tom DeLay and other right wing Christians are strong supporters of the Israeli government? Both believe in control and aggression masked as righteousness. The truly righteous in both nations must speak out against them.
Both Israel and the U.S. endanger the entire world with their arrogance and aggression. Senator Trent Lott said of Iraq, "Honestly, it's a little bit tougher than I thought it was going to be. If we have to we should just mow the whole place down, see what happens." How telling. We stupidly think that we can invade and occupy a country under the guise of liberating it from a tyrant (although when Saddam Hussein was our tyrant we didn't care), insult the people who live there because we know jack about their culture, and then express surprise when some of them want to kill us because they don't like being occupied.
The attack on the Army helicopter that killed 16 Americans will not be the last. We can't open Baghdad's airport because there are thousands of missing shoulder fired missiles. Lovely. Yesterday's New York Times asked the question, "Who Botched the Occupation?" The author makes good points but never acknowledges that the effort was doomed from the start.
It is truly terrifying that we are ruled by a clique so drunk with power that they thought this ill fated venture was going to work. Did they really believe that Shiites oppressed by Saddam Hussein would gain freedom but want to be ruled by infidels? Did they know that the holy places of the Shiite faith are in Iraq? If they knew did they understand the significance of that fact? Probably not. You can't be empathetic and imperialistic. The two just don't go together.
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Note to the AP
MEMO
To: Associated Press
From: Freedom Rider
Subject: Bush Delusions of Grandeur
I know that George W. Bush thinks he is called directly by the Almighty. However, the rest of us don't have to agree with him. It is especially important that a news organization not agree with him. It was bad enough when you portrayed him as an angel, but now you have portrayed him as God. Please cease and desist from portraying him as an angel, God, or as anything else which gives the impression that he is a sacred being.
Thank you.
Frequent readers will remember my October 13th post regarding an AP photo showing Bush as an angel. So much for the liberal media.
MEMO
To: Associated Press
From: Freedom Rider
Subject: Bush Delusions of Grandeur
I know that George W. Bush thinks he is called directly by the Almighty. However, the rest of us don't have to agree with him. It is especially important that a news organization not agree with him. It was bad enough when you portrayed him as an angel, but now you have portrayed him as God. Please cease and desist from portraying him as an angel, God, or as anything else which gives the impression that he is a sacred being.
Thank you.
Frequent readers will remember my October 13th post regarding an AP photo showing Bush as an angel. So much for the liberal media.
John Kerry Implodes
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry should put himself out of his misery and end his campaign for president. In yesterday's New York Times we see Kerry manage to both contradict himself and look foolish in an ill advised photo-op, all in a losing effort to sink Howard Dean, the Democratic front runner.
It wasn't too long ago that Kerry was the front runner, at least the right wing thought he was. Rush Limbaugh took to making fun of his looks and calling him "Lurch." One Republican said that he looked, "French." Mon Dieu! But Kerry snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by voting in favor of the resolution allowing Bush to go to war against Iraq. He has tried to get out of it by saying he only wanted to threaten Saddam Hussein but it just doesn't wash. The resolution gave the President the authority to strike Iraq militarily and not tell Congress so much as the time of the day for an additional 48 hours. Kerry knows this of course, but he blew his chances for the nomination with that one vote.
Kerry is Exhibit A in demonstrating the political dangers of listening to the conventional wisdom. In the case of Iraq the conventional wisdom said that Bush was popular, so popular that anyone who confronted him was dead meat before he even got started. It said that we were going to beat Saddam Hussein and that any politician with common sense didn't want to explain a vote against the war after American troops marched triumphantly into Baghdad. The candidates who voted in support of the war, Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards, and Lieberman can only sit back and watch Howard Dean run away with the nomination because they voted to back the President on Iraq. Despite his supposed anti-war credentials Wesley Clark initially supported the Bush effort as well.
Actually the collective bad decision making goes back to November 2000. After Bush was selected the victor by the Supreme Court we were told by the press and punditry that most people didn't care and had in fact "gotten over it." I never got over the theft of democracy and I knew I was not alone. Millions of Americans are still angry about the selection of George W. Bush and more than anything else want a democratic candidate who is unafraid to take Bush on.
Unfortunately none of the remaining anti-war candidates, Kucinich, Sharpton, and Moseley-Braun has a serious chance of getting the nomination. Although I have to point out that Moseley-Braun has replaced her previous lame debate statement, "I come from a law enforcement background," with " We can't just cut and run," in discussing the ludicrous and grotesque request for $87 billion in tax payer money to bail out the Bush failure.
Kerry has now resorted to shooting pheasants in Iowa. His point, if indeed he has one, is to prove that he is not anti-gun owner. At the same time he chides for Dean for seeming to side with the NRA on the issue of regulation of hand guns. How important is the issue of gun control in determining the nominee and winner next November? It isn't important at all, so Kerry's emphasis only emphasizes his desperation.
John Kerry doesn't look quite as silly as Dukakis in a tank, but he comes close. The issue for Democrats desperate to defeat is Bush is very simple. The nominee has to be someone who was willing to speak out against the Iraq war, the act which most embodied all that is wrong with the Bush administration. It saddens me that Kerry and most of other democratic candidates were so craven, cynical or both that they missed an opportunity to lead the nation away from the lure of militarism.
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry should put himself out of his misery and end his campaign for president. In yesterday's New York Times we see Kerry manage to both contradict himself and look foolish in an ill advised photo-op, all in a losing effort to sink Howard Dean, the Democratic front runner.
It wasn't too long ago that Kerry was the front runner, at least the right wing thought he was. Rush Limbaugh took to making fun of his looks and calling him "Lurch." One Republican said that he looked, "French." Mon Dieu! But Kerry snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by voting in favor of the resolution allowing Bush to go to war against Iraq. He has tried to get out of it by saying he only wanted to threaten Saddam Hussein but it just doesn't wash. The resolution gave the President the authority to strike Iraq militarily and not tell Congress so much as the time of the day for an additional 48 hours. Kerry knows this of course, but he blew his chances for the nomination with that one vote.
Kerry is Exhibit A in demonstrating the political dangers of listening to the conventional wisdom. In the case of Iraq the conventional wisdom said that Bush was popular, so popular that anyone who confronted him was dead meat before he even got started. It said that we were going to beat Saddam Hussein and that any politician with common sense didn't want to explain a vote against the war after American troops marched triumphantly into Baghdad. The candidates who voted in support of the war, Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards, and Lieberman can only sit back and watch Howard Dean run away with the nomination because they voted to back the President on Iraq. Despite his supposed anti-war credentials Wesley Clark initially supported the Bush effort as well.
Actually the collective bad decision making goes back to November 2000. After Bush was selected the victor by the Supreme Court we were told by the press and punditry that most people didn't care and had in fact "gotten over it." I never got over the theft of democracy and I knew I was not alone. Millions of Americans are still angry about the selection of George W. Bush and more than anything else want a democratic candidate who is unafraid to take Bush on.
Unfortunately none of the remaining anti-war candidates, Kucinich, Sharpton, and Moseley-Braun has a serious chance of getting the nomination. Although I have to point out that Moseley-Braun has replaced her previous lame debate statement, "I come from a law enforcement background," with " We can't just cut and run," in discussing the ludicrous and grotesque request for $87 billion in tax payer money to bail out the Bush failure.
Kerry has now resorted to shooting pheasants in Iowa. His point, if indeed he has one, is to prove that he is not anti-gun owner. At the same time he chides for Dean for seeming to side with the NRA on the issue of regulation of hand guns. How important is the issue of gun control in determining the nominee and winner next November? It isn't important at all, so Kerry's emphasis only emphasizes his desperation.
John Kerry doesn't look quite as silly as Dukakis in a tank, but he comes close. The issue for Democrats desperate to defeat is Bush is very simple. The nominee has to be someone who was willing to speak out against the Iraq war, the act which most embodied all that is wrong with the Bush administration. It saddens me that Kerry and most of other democratic candidates were so craven, cynical or both that they missed an opportunity to lead the nation away from the lure of militarism.
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
The Horrors of Slavery
"Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence. There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world."
Southern Slavery, As It Was
I read an article in the October 28th New York Times that literally kept me from falling asleep. You may have to register to read the article, but it is free.
The article tells the story of Dr. J. Marion Sims, called the father of gynecology. In the 1840s he developed a surgical treatment for vaginal fistulas, which formed because of prolonged labor. Dr. Sims developed his treatment by operating on slave women, without anesthesia. One woman endured the procedure 30 times, without the anesthesia which had then become available.
In his October 28th post, David Neiwert writes in his blog Orcinus about white supremacist efforts to sugar coat slavery and in one case to threaten the life of black Mississippian who plans to establish a museum dedicated to the history of slavey.
I am long overdue in giving David kudos for Orcinus. Before Freedom Rider existed I would email him in response to his posts about fascism. He printed some of my first efforts and in the process encouraged me to keep writing. You can give him partial thanks or blame for Freedom Rider. David performs a great service by writing about white supremacist groups operating throughout the country, a much neglected subject. I also have to thank him for helping me write about Dr. Sims. I didn't know how to channel the pain reading about him caused me.
Do yourself a favor and check out all the links that David gives in his article. By the way, according to the Times there is a monument to Dr. Sims in Central Park. I certainly hope that it will come down.
Democrats.com
I am a little tardy in thanking democrats.com. Yesterday they provided a link to my October 23rd post on Orrin Hatch's antics in the Senate Judiciary Committee. I had also neglected to provide a link to that great site. Better late than never.
"Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence. There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world."
Southern Slavery, As It Was
I read an article in the October 28th New York Times that literally kept me from falling asleep. You may have to register to read the article, but it is free.
The article tells the story of Dr. J. Marion Sims, called the father of gynecology. In the 1840s he developed a surgical treatment for vaginal fistulas, which formed because of prolonged labor. Dr. Sims developed his treatment by operating on slave women, without anesthesia. One woman endured the procedure 30 times, without the anesthesia which had then become available.
In his October 28th post, David Neiwert writes in his blog Orcinus about white supremacist efforts to sugar coat slavery and in one case to threaten the life of black Mississippian who plans to establish a museum dedicated to the history of slavey.
I am long overdue in giving David kudos for Orcinus. Before Freedom Rider existed I would email him in response to his posts about fascism. He printed some of my first efforts and in the process encouraged me to keep writing. You can give him partial thanks or blame for Freedom Rider. David performs a great service by writing about white supremacist groups operating throughout the country, a much neglected subject. I also have to thank him for helping me write about Dr. Sims. I didn't know how to channel the pain reading about him caused me.
Do yourself a favor and check out all the links that David gives in his article. By the way, according to the Times there is a monument to Dr. Sims in Central Park. I certainly hope that it will come down.
Democrats.com
I am a little tardy in thanking democrats.com. Yesterday they provided a link to my October 23rd post on Orrin Hatch's antics in the Senate Judiciary Committee. I had also neglected to provide a link to that great site. Better late than never.
Sunday, October 26, 2003
Presidential Prayer Team
In yesterday's post I should have explained more fully why I think the Presidential Prayer Team is fascist. In their FAQs they claim that their goal is to pray for leaders of future administrations as well as for Bush. Sounds good, but I see no prayer requests for Al Sharpton, Howard Dean or John Kerry. The only requests are for Bush cabinet members.
There is also a profile of Lt. Gen. William Boykin. Boykin has been in the news for saying that God put Bush in the White House and that his God is bigger than Allah. I guess size does matter. The Prayer Team thinks Boykin is OK.
Let's see. We have a group that requests prayers for one political party and not the other, and extols the virtues of political leaders who insult millions of people around the world. It gets better.
Their Adopt Our Troops Campaign asks us to pray for the President and "his troops." I didn't know that the U.S. military belongs to George W. Bush. They are my troops just as much as they are the President's. This is a democracy, at least for now. But it still gets better.
The goals of Adopt Our Troops are to insure that every member of the armed services is prayed for and to "...counteract the negative aspects of anti-war protests and anti-American sentiment."
I know that calling a group fascist is a serious charge to make, but if that group uses a religious pretext to favor one political party over another, claims that troops in a democratic nation belong to the leader of the spiritually favored party and feels it necessary to elicit prayers to counteract the exercise of our free speech rights then I have to say that the shoe fits and the Presidential Prayer Team should wear it.
In yesterday's post I should have explained more fully why I think the Presidential Prayer Team is fascist. In their FAQs they claim that their goal is to pray for leaders of future administrations as well as for Bush. Sounds good, but I see no prayer requests for Al Sharpton, Howard Dean or John Kerry. The only requests are for Bush cabinet members.
There is also a profile of Lt. Gen. William Boykin. Boykin has been in the news for saying that God put Bush in the White House and that his God is bigger than Allah. I guess size does matter. The Prayer Team thinks Boykin is OK.
Let's see. We have a group that requests prayers for one political party and not the other, and extols the virtues of political leaders who insult millions of people around the world. It gets better.
Their Adopt Our Troops Campaign asks us to pray for the President and "his troops." I didn't know that the U.S. military belongs to George W. Bush. They are my troops just as much as they are the President's. This is a democracy, at least for now. But it still gets better.
The goals of Adopt Our Troops are to insure that every member of the armed services is prayed for and to "...counteract the negative aspects of anti-war protests and anti-American sentiment."
I know that calling a group fascist is a serious charge to make, but if that group uses a religious pretext to favor one political party over another, claims that troops in a democratic nation belong to the leader of the spiritually favored party and feels it necessary to elicit prayers to counteract the exercise of our free speech rights then I have to say that the shoe fits and the Presidential Prayer Team should wear it.
Saturday, October 25, 2003
Scary and Funny
Being a web surfer can be a curse. Sometimes you discover things you would rather not have known about. The Presidential Prayer Team is one such item. Be sure to stay on the site long enough to see your 2003 President Prayer Team Christmans Ornament pop up ad. I suppose that means there are ornaments for other years as well. On my October 7th post "Pray for Rush and Bush" and on October 9th "Nitwits?" I discussed this very frightening move towards fascism. Worshiping a political leader is fascist. Period.
I now feel obligated to give my readers a cheap laugh. I hope you enjoy it.
Being a web surfer can be a curse. Sometimes you discover things you would rather not have known about. The Presidential Prayer Team is one such item. Be sure to stay on the site long enough to see your 2003 President Prayer Team Christmans Ornament pop up ad. I suppose that means there are ornaments for other years as well. On my October 7th post "Pray for Rush and Bush" and on October 9th "Nitwits?" I discussed this very frightening move towards fascism. Worshiping a political leader is fascist. Period.
I now feel obligated to give my readers a cheap laugh. I hope you enjoy it.
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Orrin Hatch, Stunt Man
Despicable! Americans dying in Iraq five months after the mission was supposedly accomplished? Outrageous! Workers loosing their livelihoods because their jobs have been sent to India? Offensive! Disparities in drug sentencing that give Limbaugh rehab for using and distributing but 65-year old Tommy Chong jail time and a fine for selling bongs? The hyperbole is not directed at any of these situations, but at a political cartoon.
During yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Senator Orrin Hatch used theatrics to throw Democrats off stride during Janice Rogers Brown's confirmation hearing by using a cartoon from blackcommentator.com. Read Black Commentator's article on the hearing fireworks and on Judge Brown's scary background. If you have a media player you can see the two and a half hour hearing on C-Span. The anti-cartoon demagoguery starts almost at the very beginning of the hearing.
Just to set the record straight, 165 Bush judicial nominees have been confirmed, only three did not make it to a vote on the Senate floor. Two percent of Bush nominees have been rejected. How many Clinton nominees were never voted upon? A total of 63, 20% of his nominations were left without resolution.
Hatch and other conservatives accused Democrats of being anti-Hispanic when they rejected Miguel Estrada. They called their colleagues anti-Catholic when William Pryor was not confirmed (see my September 24th post). This time around anyone who questions Judge Rogers Brown will be labeled a racist discriminating against a conservative because she is black. Hatch and friends displayed the cartoon prominently during the hearing and watched gleefully as democratic senators out did one other in coming up with adjectives to decry the evils of a political cartoon.
Conservatives are terribly thin skinned. They can't take the Boondocks, Black Commentator, or made for tv movies about their idol Ronald Reagan. Now they are once again claiming persecution because a judge rated as less than qualified is nominated as a lifetime appointee to the federal judiciary. God forbid anyone question them.
As usual this is the real issue with the right wing. The rest of us are supposed to be quiet and let them have their way with us, sort of like the women groped by Governor-elect Schwarzenegger. In the case of judicial appointments Bush and company prove their strategic mettle by choosing nominees they know will not be confirmed. They then use the rejection as a means of attacking democrats and making it appear that the right are being treated unfairly.
When will Democrats wake up and smell the coffee? When Bush is inaugurated again in January 2005? I don't even know if that will do it. Is their a Democrat who will take Hatch on the next time he uses a political cartoon, or race baiting, or faith baiting to smear Democrats? Will the Democrats ever create vacancies on the federal bench the way Republicans did when Clinton was President?
We know the answers to these questions. I am still trying to figure out if democratic acquiescence is a matter of stupidity, expediency, or fear. Are we like the deer caught in headlights who sees the oncoming car but freezes in its tracks? Well, we aren't deer. We are human beings with the capacity to think and hopefully learn from our experiences. Our experiences on the senator Judiciary Committee should teach us to give no quarter to Orrin Hatch the next time he tries to pull another political stunt.
Despicable! Americans dying in Iraq five months after the mission was supposedly accomplished? Outrageous! Workers loosing their livelihoods because their jobs have been sent to India? Offensive! Disparities in drug sentencing that give Limbaugh rehab for using and distributing but 65-year old Tommy Chong jail time and a fine for selling bongs? The hyperbole is not directed at any of these situations, but at a political cartoon.
During yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Senator Orrin Hatch used theatrics to throw Democrats off stride during Janice Rogers Brown's confirmation hearing by using a cartoon from blackcommentator.com. Read Black Commentator's article on the hearing fireworks and on Judge Brown's scary background. If you have a media player you can see the two and a half hour hearing on C-Span. The anti-cartoon demagoguery starts almost at the very beginning of the hearing.
Just to set the record straight, 165 Bush judicial nominees have been confirmed, only three did not make it to a vote on the Senate floor. Two percent of Bush nominees have been rejected. How many Clinton nominees were never voted upon? A total of 63, 20% of his nominations were left without resolution.
Hatch and other conservatives accused Democrats of being anti-Hispanic when they rejected Miguel Estrada. They called their colleagues anti-Catholic when William Pryor was not confirmed (see my September 24th post). This time around anyone who questions Judge Rogers Brown will be labeled a racist discriminating against a conservative because she is black. Hatch and friends displayed the cartoon prominently during the hearing and watched gleefully as democratic senators out did one other in coming up with adjectives to decry the evils of a political cartoon.
Conservatives are terribly thin skinned. They can't take the Boondocks, Black Commentator, or made for tv movies about their idol Ronald Reagan. Now they are once again claiming persecution because a judge rated as less than qualified is nominated as a lifetime appointee to the federal judiciary. God forbid anyone question them.
As usual this is the real issue with the right wing. The rest of us are supposed to be quiet and let them have their way with us, sort of like the women groped by Governor-elect Schwarzenegger. In the case of judicial appointments Bush and company prove their strategic mettle by choosing nominees they know will not be confirmed. They then use the rejection as a means of attacking democrats and making it appear that the right are being treated unfairly.
When will Democrats wake up and smell the coffee? When Bush is inaugurated again in January 2005? I don't even know if that will do it. Is their a Democrat who will take Hatch on the next time he uses a political cartoon, or race baiting, or faith baiting to smear Democrats? Will the Democrats ever create vacancies on the federal bench the way Republicans did when Clinton was President?
We know the answers to these questions. I am still trying to figure out if democratic acquiescence is a matter of stupidity, expediency, or fear. Are we like the deer caught in headlights who sees the oncoming car but freezes in its tracks? Well, we aren't deer. We are human beings with the capacity to think and hopefully learn from our experiences. Our experiences on the senator Judiciary Committee should teach us to give no quarter to Orrin Hatch the next time he tries to pull another political stunt.
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