2.08.2003
I'm still sick with the flu; headache stuff that precludes the few hours reading 'news' articles that allow me to build a web of links just isn't going to happen today.
Many of the links we have been sharing have to do with the difference between what the present administration says and reality, or at least what is reported to us, in a best case scenario. So here's a quote:
"If you are covering your ass, you're losing your ass"- LBJ, another Texan...
When compassion is extended only to people at the 'Pioneer' level of support ( big big money contributors, you know the folks able to take advantage of the last couple rounds of tax cuts) for Mr Bush's conservative voters you can see something is being lost in transmission. I got the above quotation from "Boy Genius" ' Karl Rove the Brains Behind the Remarkable Political Triumph of George W. Bush' Dubose, Reid, Cannon PublicAffairs Ny Ny- the book you need to read if Karl Rove was just some faceless bogeyman you had heard of but... it will color your view of Democracy lately.
Read the Patriot 2 stuff from yesterdays posting, please; download the text. Get familiar with it. Then balance what you know with what's presented to you by the mainstream media. Then you'll have a better understanding of why Democracy is at risk. Talk with people about it to gain more perspective. What is your vision of America, five, ten, or twenty years down the road. Further. Is this act consenant with your hopes and vision of the American dream?
2/08/2003
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2.07.2003
The Patriot Act getting a sweeping 'upgrade'?
This is America- please go to www.votetoimpeach.org, monied interests and media spin will keep this from getting far I guess; but it will start dialogue, it will get people thinking. Just what is it to be an American, what is freedom- what is totalitarianism, what is fascism in the 21st century and why would we as a people tolerate an idea so antithetical to what our country is based on ?
"We will not deny, we will not ignore, we will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, to other presidents, and other generations..."
Now there's a quote...
Well, in one of my favorite movies the 'all powerful' wizard says "Ignore the man behind the curtain" as his charade is exposed. Just another quote... The pre-war deficit will be one of many problems passed on to "...to other Congresses, to other presidents, and other generations." by this administration. The projected budget does not even include the costs of war. The attack on Iraq that is being fervently pushed for or 'the war on terrorism' that seems to have been left in the dust. Or a possible conflict with Korea. Or in Columbia- you remember how mainstream press called our presence there strictly drug interdiction; while more inquisitive press called it participation in Columbia's civil war as well as protection of US oil assets there? Well, now the involvement in their ongoing civil war is admitted to by our government, as well as protecting oil interests. More blood for oil.
The Government Accounting Office has given up in its bid to have Dick Cheney reveal just who he spoke to about energy policy... you do remember Mr Bushs' largest contributor Ken Lay (Ken squired Mr Bush around in Enron jets...) and his company Enron may have had input?
2/07/2003
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Way too sick to spend the necessary time to pull a post together...
Here is a photo essay on the war in Iraq under Bush 1. We are conditioned by movies and tv and some stories to think of war as dramatic and uplifting. The anecdotes of people who have lived through the carnage often have a different perspective.
Don't fall for the chickenhawk hype.
2/07/2003
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2.05.2003
Here is what Mr Powell had to say to the U.N Security Council today, hoping to bolster support for an attack on Iraq. The Iraqi ambassador called the testimony "a typical American show complete with stunts and special effects". Whatever the case, the majority seems to have found Mr Powells evidence lacking.
Here are two reports on dissent south of the equator, one on the stance of Mexico, another is a fact filled article from the Australian press.
This is a quick read about another soldier putting his morals above his orders in Isreal.
Are you familiar with the Ed Rosenthal medical marijuana case? He was convicted after after being deputized by the City of Oakland to grow plants for it's medical marijuana club. So much for the Republican stance on states rights... Here is some background on the California law, while this Village Voice article mentions pot as an antidote for brain damage caused by nerve gas...
Hats off to this teacher, OK, so I'm a reader...
Here is a RealAudio clip about Iraqi people, here and with family in Iraq. It is regular folks like us that pay the costs of war, no matter which side of the guns we are on.
2/05/2003
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2.04.2003
Here is a bit more about Hans Blix and what we hear from mainstream media about what he has to say, as opposed to what he really says. What Mr Bush says seems at odds with CIA and FBI information. Tony Blair says "no link" between Al Quaida and Iraq- also that a "no war" vote in the security council is worthless.
The U.S might actually use nuclear weapons in Iraq? Here's some perspective from The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
What do you think about sending nuclear rockets or rockets containing plutonium into space? This issue is covered well here. It mentions a 1 in 230 chance that an upcoming launch will disasterously release radioactivity into our environment.
Fox News Network putting big bucks into Saddam Husseins' pockets?
Are you familiar with Picasso's antiwar, antifascist work, 'Guernica'? You should be. Why is it covered up at the UN? Last week poetry, this week painting... it seems works that reveal thinking, conscious inner life are somehow dangerous. Talk to your friends, research the issues and figure out where you stand. Let the folks who represent you know.
2/04/2003
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2.03.2003
Here is a link to a really informative, well done site on the Bush/Iraq question. This is a follow up to the entry here concerning Depleted Uranium or DU as it is popularly called. It is a RealAudio link and really should be heard. Odds are that you haven't heard that a Nasa expert had called for a moritorium on Space Shuttle flights, 6 months ago... This too is a RealAudio clip from Democracy Now... It goes on to speak of the weaponization of space. Eye opening news.
2/03/2003
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2.02.2003
Why would Mr Bush and his administration mislead us about what Hans Blix had to say to the U.N? We should support Ted Kennedy in his attempt to get a vote on a resolution that would have Congress see some evidence supporting Bush's claims. Weeks instead of the months the inspectors say they need sounds unreasonable- why the rush to attack?.
Remember September 11th, the "War on Terror"?
Do you know where your gasoline comes from? Would you feel better not spending your money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia? Here is some info from Ruminate This.
You may have noted my distaste for fascism, (please read quotations as you scroll down sidebar) Orcinus linked to this writing on Fascism by Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose, Foucaults Pendulum are some of his popular works). You'll note that I linked to an archived page by Orcinus, rather than his current. I found this page engaging and it speaks to my posts of the last few days. Food for thought; I'll admit it may sound like a stretch - I am afraid Fascism is coming to the fore in the U.S.
2/02/2003
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