Remember in 1984 when the CIA mined the harbors of Nicaragua?
"Between 1981 and 1984 the Reagan administration... approved placing 300 pound mines of C4 explosives in three Nicaraguan harbours. Several ships were hit, including British and French vessels, and the Nicaraguan fishing industry was devastated. In April 1984, the CIA’s role in the mining of Nicaragua’s harbours was publicly disclosed...."
From http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/nicaragua-no-pasaran/clip2/
In fact, the mining of Nicaraguan harbors was in the alternative press for nearly 8 months before the British ship was hit with a mine causing an international scandal. Yet, when the mines were discovered to have been placed by the USA, Congress pretended to know nothing whatsoever about it. It was all very shocking news to them. Then it was revealed that Congress had approved the funds for the mines. Congress was playing the "ignorant" game.
We have a very similar situation today. Our economy is totally depleted of funds as well as the means of production of new wealth, and Congress is shocked. As foreclosure rates skyrocket, industries collapse, unemployment rises, and high school drop-out rates approach 40%, Congress is again playing the "ignorant" game.
When Congress approved $581,406,113,674 for the war in Iraq, they supposedly couldn't imagine that it would impact the homeland economy.
When Congress dropped their priorities for domestic spending to improve the American infrastructure, provide a social safety net, fund education, shift energy from fossil fuels to renewable sources, protect the environment, all for the common People, and instead fund private militias to wage foreign wars on our behalf, they couldn't imagine that it would negatively impact the American economy.
When Congress approved tax cuts for the wealthy while waging expensive wars overseas, Congress couldn't imagine that reducing revenues while increasing expenses would negatively impact the American economy.
When Congress approved the unfunded No Child Left Behind Act which caused the high school drop out rate to double in turn causing the literacy rate in American to drop significantly, they couldn't imagine that an illiterate workforce might erode America's manufacturing prowess.
When Congress approved the addition of kidney dialysis to MediCare, and a prescription drug plan that prohibits bargaining for lower rates based on economies of scale, they had no inkling that it would bankrupt MediCare.
And now that we are in the worst depression since 1929, Congress is totally shocked as if depleting the national treasury and mortgaging our expensive foreign wars to our unborn grandchildren wasn't going to effect the economy. Yet, the alternative press has been publishing pieces on the inevitable results of all of these policies for over a decade.
Either our elected representatives in Congress are total fools, or they are collaborators in the destruction of America. I am thoroughly convinced of the latter. The number of representatives in Congress who actually protect and defend the Constitution as well as serve the common People can be counted on one hand. The rest, both Democrat and Republican, are collaborators in the rape and pillage of the American economy.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Bush & Cheney were not idiots
Friend B.M. wrote:
I heard something amazing on the radio the other day. It was an editorial on KMUD, but the guy quoted Dick Cheney as saying, he thought they did pretty well, considering the conditions they had to work in. He doesn't seem to recognize they were the CAUSE of those conditions. Boy, talk about, DUH!
My reply:
If their goal was to embezzle the public funds and transfer public wealth into private hands, I think they did spectacularly well.
If their goal was to deplete the strength of American troops and demoralize them as well as maiming the best to disempower them against any future defense, while enriching and arming a massive private militia and have it stationed on American soil, I think they did quite well.
If their plan was to destabilize the Middle East, they did quite well with that, too.
If their goal was to entrench right-leaning governments all over the world like a domino effect, they have succeeded very well.
If their goal was to destroy America to weaken it at the core to open the way for a well-armed private militia to move in and take over the country, they again succeeded quite well in bludgeoning the leading world nation to its knees now powerless to defend ourselves.
Hitler succeeded in the precision removal of all people of Jewish descent by performing massive data collection programs during peacetime before invading a country. Like Hitler, the Bush cabal have initiated massive data collection programs in which they have destroyed the conservative notion of privacy on the pretense of national security. Now they know everything there is to know about us, and when their private militia arrives, they will remove the opposition with efficiency to rival no one.
It is you who are the fool for judging them to be idiots. They have succeeded stupendously well. They have paved the way for their old buddy Osama bin Laden to move in at a moment's notice. Their private militias will be able to march right in and overpower our spent troops in a heartbeat.
And they are still trying to squeeze more and more public funds into the private sector right up to the very last moment.
Get down off your high horse and acknowledge their successes. I've only mentioned a few.
In Peace, Bodhi
I heard something amazing on the radio the other day. It was an editorial on KMUD, but the guy quoted Dick Cheney as saying, he thought they did pretty well, considering the conditions they had to work in. He doesn't seem to recognize they were the CAUSE of those conditions. Boy, talk about, DUH!
My reply:
If their goal was to embezzle the public funds and transfer public wealth into private hands, I think they did spectacularly well.
If their goal was to deplete the strength of American troops and demoralize them as well as maiming the best to disempower them against any future defense, while enriching and arming a massive private militia and have it stationed on American soil, I think they did quite well.
If their plan was to destabilize the Middle East, they did quite well with that, too.
If their goal was to entrench right-leaning governments all over the world like a domino effect, they have succeeded very well.
If their goal was to destroy America to weaken it at the core to open the way for a well-armed private militia to move in and take over the country, they again succeeded quite well in bludgeoning the leading world nation to its knees now powerless to defend ourselves.
Hitler succeeded in the precision removal of all people of Jewish descent by performing massive data collection programs during peacetime before invading a country. Like Hitler, the Bush cabal have initiated massive data collection programs in which they have destroyed the conservative notion of privacy on the pretense of national security. Now they know everything there is to know about us, and when their private militia arrives, they will remove the opposition with efficiency to rival no one.
It is you who are the fool for judging them to be idiots. They have succeeded stupendously well. They have paved the way for their old buddy Osama bin Laden to move in at a moment's notice. Their private militias will be able to march right in and overpower our spent troops in a heartbeat.
And they are still trying to squeeze more and more public funds into the private sector right up to the very last moment.
Get down off your high horse and acknowledge their successes. I've only mentioned a few.
In Peace, Bodhi
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Summary of the Bush Crime Family History from Tarry Faster
Summary Of The Bush Crime Family* History
For any civilized endeavor to maintain its civility, there must be enforceable laws and/or rules; without which, there is anarchy. So, before we find ourselves struggling to regain our lost freedoms, like those tragic heros in Burma/Myanmar, perhaps we should take a strategic review of how we arrived at this alarming state, honestly apprise our current status, and as we approach another major election, cast about for viable options for now as well as the foreseeable future.
Any objective observer with the barest awareness of contemporary history should be able to readily trace the rise of this powerful movement that has taken control of the reins of power in the United States. The most blatant initial historical record is when Grandpa Prescott Bush and some of his cronies tried to entice General Smedley Butler to muster enough World War I veterans to take over the Presidency of The United States in 1933. Then again, in 1942 (a year after the U.S. joined World War II), Prescott Bush and this same cabal -- in their drive toward fascism -- were finally forced by the "Trading With the Enemy Act" to terminate their extensive business dealings with Hitler.
After WWII, this American branch of the Nazis didn't lose the war, they just transformed the battleground. They expanded their "connections" with Hitler's intelligence networks from The War into the formation of our own CIA. It is also this same group that President Eisenhower opaquely identified as the "Military Industrial Complex," in his dark farewell speech to us. Later, it was Poppy George H.W. Bush who sat on a boat (named Barbara) off-shore and directed the Cuban Bay Of Pigs fiasco. As a direct consequence of that largely unsolicited action, John Kennedy banished him and his CIA brothers from his administration, albeit only temporarily, as George H.W. Bush, then an active CIA agent, was later photographed in Dealey Plaza that sunny November day in 1963.
From FDR to today, the Bush Crime Family and their fixated core of corporate fascists have, using unbridled corporate power, been tightening their grip on the throats of the American political, legal, economic and media systems -- as the following excerpt from the Democratic Underground so well outlines:
"A Pocket History of the Bush Organized Crime Family Crime Line
Hitler's "Angel" -- Prescott Bush and his Wall Street cronies helped finance and arm the Third Reich.* Some continued trading with the enemy even after Germany declared war on America.
Bay of Pigs -- Bush the Oilman and his Cuban and Mafia friends raise hell in Miami, New Orleans and Houston. Nice fellahs. LBJ called their organization "A regular Murder Inc in the Caribbean."
22 November 1963, Dallas* -- George DeMohrenschildt the "White Russian geologist" is friends with both Lee Harvey Oswald and George Herbert Walker Bush. Small world, as the coincidences get bigger. Almost 40 years later, FBI memos surface that detail how George Herbert Walker Bush fingered a young conservative the day of the assassination and "Mr. George Bush of the Central Intelligence Agency" cleared the anti-Castro Cubans in Miami days later.
Vietnam -- OK for poor kids to fight an illegal war started over the phony Gulf of Tonkin Incident, just as long as "W," the drunken coke-whore dim son, "destined" to become preznit some day, or the rest of his rich frat brothers don't have to go. Meanwhile Poppy's rich friends became very, very, very rich.
Watergate -- Nixon was willing to throw anyone and everyone to the wolves -- except George Herbert Walker Bush and "The Texans" because "They'll do anything for our side." Gee. Would "murder" qualify as "anything." Think so, especially seeing how Nixon got the ziggy and Bush ended up in the clear.
October Surprise -- Carter probably would've beat Reagan, but Bush and his buddies in INTEL and the military-industrial complex cut a deal with the Ayatollah to hold the hostages clear through the election. On inauguration day, they got to leave Tehran. A couple of weeks later, Israel starts sending US-supplied weapons. It proves so "profitable," that Ollie North cuts out the Israelis and decides to sell them US-direct.
Reagan survives assassination attempt --Just a couple of months after Reagan is sworn in, Reagan is ALMOST taken out and Bush stood ready to take charge. His son Neil was ready to have dinner that night with John Hinckley's brother, Scott. Odd how these "One Degree of Separation" coincidences always happen to Poppy.
INSLAW/Promis -- The turd Ed Meese and cronies stole software that enabled the Justice Department to track criminal prosecutions, had their INTEL buddies add a trap door, and then sold it around the world, making it possible to track what every BFEE-connected dictator or friend from Saddam to d'Aubission is up to -- in Freedomª's name.
Iraq-gate / Banca Nazionale del Lavoro arms -- Just how do you think Iraq managed to run its war against Iran for all those years? Saddam had to be getting juice from somebody, so they found a low-level banker in Miami to take the fall. US taxpayers floated Saddam $5 billion in loans. Meanwhile the Iran-Iraq war is prolonged by years and several hundreds of thousands of lives are lost.
BCCI International Money Laundering for Terrorists & Intelligence Community -- The terrorists' favorite bank, used by among others Abu Nidhal, Osama bin Laden, Ollie North, CIA, SIS and KGB. The Reagan and Bush administrations and friends on both sides of the aisle in Congress did all they could to keep it open. John Kerry got it shut down.
Savings & Loan Scandal -- Legalized robbery in the form of "loans" made to the politically connected, Mafia and INTEL-huggers. Odd how even Neil Bush, who made millions while Silverado, the S&L he helped direct, lost billions in bad loans to Bush cronies, never spent a day in jail. Kid from Detroit steals a pair of shoes from the mall and it's OK to shoot him dead. Meanwhile, after the bailout "fixes" everything, Poppy's very, very, very rich friends become ultra-rich.
Iran-Contra -- Neo-con Michael Ledeen, Munacher Ghorbanifar and Adnan Khashoggi bend over backward to sell arms the Ayatollah and use the profits to arm the terrorist Contras. Most of the players should be in prison, but, thanks to Poppy's pardon, remain free to roam the streets, let alone corridors of power, and continue the terror.
Arbusto, HARKEN, Spectrum-7, Aloha -- Every company the crazy monkey's ever touched, he's run into the ground. Yet Poppy's family and friends, including James R Bath, the bin Mahfouz and bin Ladens, always help him out. No wonder the dim bulb went off thinking of ENRON, Kenny Boy and all the possibilities.
Gulf War I -- Poppy Bush gives April Glaspie the signal to greenlight Saddam's "border dispute" and push into Kuwait. No wonder Saddam felt betrayed when Cheney ordered the extermination of tens of thousands of fleeing Iraqi conscripts heading north on the "Highway of Death." Meanwhile, Poppy's ultra-rich friends become ultra-ultra-ultra rich.
Selection 2000 Shreds US Constitution -- After fixing things up so that 70,000 likely Democratic votes and voters are turned away or disenfranchised, the 2000 Florida Presidential "election" results in a "tie." Associate Justice Antonin Scalia gets the idea that maybe the GOP-packed Supreme Court should grant petitioner George W Bush's request for taking the Oval Office, anyway. Someone on DU wrote: "You don't steal elections to do good things." Prophetic words, those.
ENRON Energy Policy -- Sneering Dick Cheney meets with Kenny Boy Lay to discuss ways of helping ENRON rip-off California and the rest of America. There were others there, like Chevron and EXXON, because they need oil, too. Besides, the ultra-, ultra-, ultra-rich can never have enough.
9-11 -- After ignoring the warnings of outgoing President Bill Clinton, former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, anti-Terror Chief Richard Clarke, and Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, George W Bush ignores a report titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S." A month later, 3,000 innocent people are murdered. Two ways of looking at this one: 1.) Criminal Negligence, at best; 2.) Treason, most likely.
Gulf War II -- George W Bush, Sneer, and most of "the bureaucracy" make a case for going to war in Iraq, stating there are clear-cut connections between 9-11* and Saddam Hussein, who planned to use his arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons on America. (So far, the only bioweapon used on America was Anthrax that came from a US Army lab grown from a batch of the University of Iowa Strain.) Anwyay, it's not really odd to see how attacking Iraq was the Administration's number 1 priority, according to former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and anti-Terror Chief Richard Clarke, from January 2001. The reason? There's money to be made there and power to be gained at home."(end of excerpt)
* links added to text by T.F.--
So much for a historical perspective; where do we currently stand? Well, our political, legal, governmental, military and medical systems as well as our unions have all been thoroughly compromised. Financially, since we are deeply in debt (mostly to Japan and China) "they" are selling off our corporate and country assets and now simply "appropriating" cash to pay off their bad gambling debt to the tune of over $850 billion in a "Bailout," our tax system and the Federal Reserve Banking system are beyond any controls, the demoralized and frightened middle class is being rapidly dissolved, our worldwide reputation is sullied more than at any time in our history and the value of the dollar continues to fall. Our infrastructure and environment are deteriorating while corporate and political corruption are rampant, bigotry and racism -- while receding -- still covertly abound, our traditional news sources have become cheering profit centers for the administration and our voting processes are, at best, unreliable. Not the healthy picture of progress and hope that used to be the norm, prior to the sixties -- before someone started killing off the Kennedy brothers and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
--
This may sound like a broken record, but the next election is truly going to be critical to the survival of our democratic way of life -- and thus the world. Perhaps we should begin to think of these individuals that support this administration as bloated, self-absorbed and out-of-control addicts, in need of intervention. Now, in an intervention, the first thing that has to happen is that the addict must be subjected to the facts of reality until their wall of denial is first exposed and then accepted. The initial indication that that has occurred is when the addict admits that there is a problem and then becomes actively motivated to do something about it. It appears that the 2006 midterm elections demonstrated that a growing majority of Americans think things are broken and want a change. Now, is the time to educate and motivate our fellow citizens to seek out and regain their lost sense of morality.
The next step -- and this is at the heart of the matter -- is what can/should be done to correct our dire situation. It is going to take some very strong, passionate, wise, emotional and motivating leadership. Emphasis here should be on "motivating," because our next leader(s) must circumvent the biased media outlets and bring to the voting polls enough voters to overwhelm whatever roadblocks are preventing the large population of apathetic voters from active participation, while also drawing on the new voting power of those who have been mislead and want to help change our current course. Consider what occurred in the 2006 elections, in that the various bag of "election tricks" that Karl Rove cooked up for that election were simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the voter turnout. All that he and his crew of crooks could salvage were enough Senators to block any meaningful political efforts to right our ship of state from the many storms it has been (and is being) subjected to.
When considering new Democratic leadership, the primary consideration MUST be electability -- because if not elected, all other issues are moot! In this regard, all indications are that in a head-to-head face-off with McCain, Obama will win this extremely critical race. Attention must also be paid to the various congressional races, as well. For if we don't provide a new president with a congress that will support him, then gridlock will again prevail.
Elaborating on a phrase from the beginning of this statement, "... there must be enforceable laws and/or rules ..." ESPECIALLY in our electoral and financial systems. Even though Rove and his ilk may seem to have left Washington, we mustn't let our guard down. They are still practicing their nefarious deeds, somewhere. Keep in mind that the thing about laws and rules is that they are usually created, modified and put into effect AFTER the fact. Since we don't know what booby traps await our votes in 2008 and since the only demonstrated method of assuring any success through the electoral process is by shear volume of votes (a la 2006) -- our best option is to turn out to vote in massive numbers -- even so, this will be dubious.
Finally, should we work our way out of this madness, one of our first imperatives, as we repair the damage done, should be to prosecute ALL of the criminal acts that this ruthless group of international thugs has committed. This statement is not made with a sense of vengeance, but with an eye toward setting such a strong example with these individuals that they, and their minions, will forever give up on any future attempts to corrupt this, our enlightened struggle for universal, renewable, human freedom.
*Thanks to Mike Malloy for naming -- "The Bush Crime Family"
Tarry Faster taryfast@sonic.net
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The neocon goal is accomplished: Democracy in the USA is dead
It was there for the whole world to see. One week President Bush criticizes China for repressive tactics that denies a free press, free assembly, the detention of political dissidents, and human rights activists. Three weeks later, we see armies of police arresting journalists for recording the repression of peaceful protesters and the jailing of political dissidents and human rights activists right in St. Paul.
The juxtapositions of Bush's rhetoric in China against the backdrop of massive strong-arm repression in St. Paul affirms to the world that the US government is completely hypocritical. It also enables repressive regimes all over the world to follow America's lead to speak pretty words while repressing their opposition.
Amendment 1 of the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." I presume that the arrest of members of the press with clearly visible press passes doesn't violate the First Amendment because it was not Congress but the city of St. Paul as well as the State of Minnesota that abridged the rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free assembly, and petitioners for redress of grievances guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Everyone in the world sees the true stripes of the American government. There is no moral authority left when strong-arm tactics are used to repress Democracy. Now that the city of St. Paul has repressed the free press and detained news reporters and producers, the resulting chill among the remaining journalists will drive the final nails into the coffin of Democracy.
The neocon goal is accomplished. Democracy is dead in the USA.
The juxtapositions of Bush's rhetoric in China against the backdrop of massive strong-arm repression in St. Paul affirms to the world that the US government is completely hypocritical. It also enables repressive regimes all over the world to follow America's lead to speak pretty words while repressing their opposition.
Amendment 1 of the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." I presume that the arrest of members of the press with clearly visible press passes doesn't violate the First Amendment because it was not Congress but the city of St. Paul as well as the State of Minnesota that abridged the rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free assembly, and petitioners for redress of grievances guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Everyone in the world sees the true stripes of the American government. There is no moral authority left when strong-arm tactics are used to repress Democracy. Now that the city of St. Paul has repressed the free press and detained news reporters and producers, the resulting chill among the remaining journalists will drive the final nails into the coffin of Democracy.
The neocon goal is accomplished. Democracy is dead in the USA.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Obama is Not the Anti-War Candidate
Obama cautiously speaks of withdrawing our combat troops from Iraq, but don't expect our troops to come home anytime soon. The next corporate profiteering war on the American Agenda will be in Afghanistan. Barak Obama welcomes corporate war profiteers to Afghanistan. There will be no end to war profiteering as long as the big corporations own our politicians. Barak Obama is already bought and paid for by the big corporations. American Democracy is no more than a veil of myth to disguise the corporate fascism.
Response to question: Why Isn't Kucinich President?
You ask why we aren't making Dennis Kucinich president?
It is because the corporate owned media prohibited him from participating in the debates. The corporate owned media pre-selected our candidates for us. He would not collaborate with the big corporations. That is why we are not making Dennis Kucinich president.
When the corporate media prohibited Kucinich from the debates, all the other candidates should have refused to get up on to the stage for the debate. If they had any courage, they would have boycotted the debates. Since the remaining candidates didn't boycott the debates, it became obvious that only the corporate collaborators would be allowed to speak on our public airwaves.
Kucinich took it to court saying that the airwaves belong to the public and therefore the corporations that control the media don't have the legal right to exclude him. The neocon judge ruled against him.
Debate is a misnomer because debate implies that there is an opposition with which to debate. Since the corporate media excluded the opposition voices like Kucinich, it was a forum and not a debate.
Kucinich is not president because the neocon propaganda convinces people to vote against their own best interests.
Kucinich is not president because he is not a charismatic leader but a funny looking vegan.
Kucinich is not president because he has a populist platform instead of a vague promise of "change."
I ask, change from what to what?
We just had 7 years of a president that lied every step of the way. Kucinich is not president because the American public prefers liars.
Kucinich is not president because he refuses to play the pretend game that the majority of members of Congress like to play.
Kucinich is not president because the fascists already rule the USA and make billion dollar election campaigns and conventions as a veil of myth to keep the American public drowning in lies. Only liars and neocon collaborators can be president at this stage of American history. Democracy is dead.
Bitter and discouraged but always in Peace
It is because the corporate owned media prohibited him from participating in the debates. The corporate owned media pre-selected our candidates for us. He would not collaborate with the big corporations. That is why we are not making Dennis Kucinich president.
When the corporate media prohibited Kucinich from the debates, all the other candidates should have refused to get up on to the stage for the debate. If they had any courage, they would have boycotted the debates. Since the remaining candidates didn't boycott the debates, it became obvious that only the corporate collaborators would be allowed to speak on our public airwaves.
Kucinich took it to court saying that the airwaves belong to the public and therefore the corporations that control the media don't have the legal right to exclude him. The neocon judge ruled against him.
Debate is a misnomer because debate implies that there is an opposition with which to debate. Since the corporate media excluded the opposition voices like Kucinich, it was a forum and not a debate.
Kucinich is not president because the neocon propaganda convinces people to vote against their own best interests.
Kucinich is not president because he is not a charismatic leader but a funny looking vegan.
Kucinich is not president because he has a populist platform instead of a vague promise of "change."
I ask, change from what to what?
We just had 7 years of a president that lied every step of the way. Kucinich is not president because the American public prefers liars.
Kucinich is not president because he refuses to play the pretend game that the majority of members of Congress like to play.
Kucinich is not president because the fascists already rule the USA and make billion dollar election campaigns and conventions as a veil of myth to keep the American public drowning in lies. Only liars and neocon collaborators can be president at this stage of American history. Democracy is dead.
Bitter and discouraged but always in Peace
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Addicted to Oil
Before Katrina (BK), the Coastal Commission and the State of California refused the Bush administration to extend 36 leases for offshore oil drilling between Oxnard and San Luis Obispo. The skyrocketing price of oil is now pressing these filthy oil-addicted opportunists to exploit more resources to fulfill their habit. A significant part of what they call “energy” was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. Yet it was the carbon dioxide residue produced by the burning of fossil fuel that heated the Gulf of Mexico so hot that it accelerated Katrina from a Category 1 storm over Miami, to a Category 5 storm by the time it reached Louisiana and Mississippi.
They are desperate to prolong their obscene profits among their oil industry kit and kin. There are those in Washington trying to score political points off this tragedy by calling for the opening of California’s coastline to more oil and gas drilling. The 2005 underhanded energy bill signed by President Bush, gives those voices the tools to begin to do just that. That same bill also opened the door for private companies to buy out (“privatize”) Public Utilities, which have until now been protected by Public Utilities Commissions. A Public Utility is an industry said to be “affected with a public interest” and therefore subject to a degree of government regulation. Private companies serve only themselves with as much profits as they can get away with irregardless of the consequences to the public or the environment.
By building bigger and stronger gas-guzzling cars, and the widespread replacement of natural renewable products with those made from petroleum byproducts, the oil industry has hooked America, and soon, all of the world, on the myth that “high class” means obscenely consuming petroleum products. From no-iron shirts to Nylon tents, to plastic laundry baskets, we have become addicted to petroleum products. And the billion Chinese in the PRC are striving fast to keep up with the Joneses.
Do you know plastic was originally made of cotton? That Diesel invented his internal combustion engine to burn vegetable oil? That the best engine lubricant before motor oil was hemp oil? That sails used to be made of hemp, as well as paper and clothing? That laundry baskets used to be made of wicker? That rayon and Dacron are made from tree fiber? That Saran Wrap used to be made from vegetable fibers? That cars can run on ethanol, which can be fermented out of biomass instead of edible corn? But instead our petrochemical industry brings in record profits as the whole world becomes more and more dependent on their products while petrochemical wastes are contaminating our planet and make it uninhabitable for living things.
Bush and his cronies are coveting the “energy resources” lying off the California coast. Don’t be fooled anymore. Buy a high efficiency car and only use your truck when you are moving freight. Get a pair panniers for your bike and pedal your way to shopping. Carpool. Take public transportation. The lesson of Hurricane Katrina is to stop burning fossil fuel.
They are desperate to prolong their obscene profits among their oil industry kit and kin. There are those in Washington trying to score political points off this tragedy by calling for the opening of California’s coastline to more oil and gas drilling. The 2005 underhanded energy bill signed by President Bush, gives those voices the tools to begin to do just that. That same bill also opened the door for private companies to buy out (“privatize”) Public Utilities, which have until now been protected by Public Utilities Commissions. A Public Utility is an industry said to be “affected with a public interest” and therefore subject to a degree of government regulation. Private companies serve only themselves with as much profits as they can get away with irregardless of the consequences to the public or the environment.
By building bigger and stronger gas-guzzling cars, and the widespread replacement of natural renewable products with those made from petroleum byproducts, the oil industry has hooked America, and soon, all of the world, on the myth that “high class” means obscenely consuming petroleum products. From no-iron shirts to Nylon tents, to plastic laundry baskets, we have become addicted to petroleum products. And the billion Chinese in the PRC are striving fast to keep up with the Joneses.
Do you know plastic was originally made of cotton? That Diesel invented his internal combustion engine to burn vegetable oil? That the best engine lubricant before motor oil was hemp oil? That sails used to be made of hemp, as well as paper and clothing? That laundry baskets used to be made of wicker? That rayon and Dacron are made from tree fiber? That Saran Wrap used to be made from vegetable fibers? That cars can run on ethanol, which can be fermented out of biomass instead of edible corn? But instead our petrochemical industry brings in record profits as the whole world becomes more and more dependent on their products while petrochemical wastes are contaminating our planet and make it uninhabitable for living things.
Bush and his cronies are coveting the “energy resources” lying off the California coast. Don’t be fooled anymore. Buy a high efficiency car and only use your truck when you are moving freight. Get a pair panniers for your bike and pedal your way to shopping. Carpool. Take public transportation. The lesson of Hurricane Katrina is to stop burning fossil fuel.
Friday, May 30, 2008
In Response to a German's point of view on Islam
A Mother's point of view on corporate fanatics running our government.
Once upon a time, our government was of the People, by the People, and for the People. Then the railway profiteers, fondly know as the "Railroad Barons," or "Robber Barons," found ever more creative ways to bilk the government, the settlers, the investors, and the indigenous people out of all their assets. Many ruined families lay in their wake.
The Robber Barons got a Supreme Court decision, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad in 1886, to give "personhood" under the 14th Amendment to corporations in order to have legal standing in court and be taxed. I read that Supreme Court ruling several times. It was not, in fact, the ruling itself that gave "personhood" to corporations, but, rather, an entry in the court reporter's headnotes on the case. Since that time, the mega corporations have exploited that single court reporter's note, and layers of statutes have built upon it.
We now have a government of extremist ideologues who believe that windfall energy profits and war profiteering are of higher value than the People. Having preplanned their wars and boldly posted their manifesto on the website of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) in 1998, corporate extremists rigged the 2000 election to put their man in office. They tried to create a threat big enough to install martial law with the distribution of anthrax through the mail to Congress, but it wasn't enough. They blamed it on Muslim extremists until the strain of anthrax was traced to a government lab in Maryland.
The neo-con corporate extremists contracted with their Saudi friends to finance a bunch of Saudis, and a few more from Pakistan, and fly hijacked planes into the WTC and the Pentagon on 9/11/01. They planted explosives in the WTC towers in order to destroy the entire buildings, and then cleaned up the evidence before the forensic investigators could piece things together.
Conveniently, Cheney was safely in a bunker at the time, Bush was in Florida, and the Strategic Defense Command was on exercises in Canada. I realized this truth when I saw the look on W's face when they told him what had occurred. The look said to me, "I didn't expect it to happen like this," as if he had been expecting it all along.
Our CEO President, who avoided his own military service to our country, transformed himself into the Commander and Chief, and ordered a war on Afghanistan, even though the hijackers were Saudi and Pakistani. We moved our troops into Afghanistan just in time to guard the areas where the Central Asian oil and gas pipeline was proposed to cross the country. In less than a year, our President ordered the preplanned invasion of Iraq, and made the Saudis and Pakistanis our best allies in the region. Saudi Arabia is a kingdom where capital punishment by beheading is still state sanctioned and rape victims are stoned to death. Pakistan was run by a repressive dictator, Musharraf. Something was clearly wrong with this picture.
Why do freedom-loving Americans become allies with repressive dictatorships like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan while vilifying democratically elected leaders like Hugo Chavez, Avo Morales, Mohammed Mossadegh, Jacobo Arbenz, Salvador Allende, Ho Chi Minh, Jose Valasco, Patrice Lamumba, Juan Bosch, Joao Goulart, Sukarno, Juan Torres, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and Daniel Ortega?
Why do freedom-loving Americans tolerate the corporate contamination of our air, soil, and water for private profit? How many people in the world have died as a direct result and indirect result of corporate pollution? Why do we sit passively and let it happen? Why haven't the corporate polluters who are ruining our American way of life been brought to task for the damage they have wrought to Americans, the American environment, and the rest of the people in the world? How many have died from Global Climate Change? How many more will die?
Then came the NSA information gathering operation that rivals the œberefficient census data Hitler gathered with the help of IBM. I wonder if IBM currently assists the NSA with data processing? The information gathering began in 2001 before 9/11. Pretty soon, the corporatist government began gathering intelligence on Peace activists within the USA. The Peace activists remained silent and allowed the secret domestic spy program to continue.
A month after 9/11 came the Patriot Act, which eroded the Bill of Rights and legalized the NSA spy program. By 2005, after holding thousands of enemy combatants in detention for half a decade without charges, the Supreme Court ruled in Rasul v. Bush, that even non-Americans must have their day in court. In response, the Democratic led Congress passed legislation that stripped enemy combatants of the rights awarded to them by the Supreme Court as well as laws that have been on the books since King Henry II (1133-1189), with an amendment to a defense spending bill which removed the right of habeas corpus from anyone designated by the President as an enemy combatant. Soon, Peace activists were being accused of being enemy combatants.
The extremists kill whomever gets in their way: Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lennon, Paul Wellstone (the only Senator the voted against the resolution to go to war with Iraq). They killed (or disappeared) Ken Lay before he could be sentenced. They killed our delegate to the 2004 Democratic convention by driving him off one of our steep mountain roads.
The neo-con corporate extremists that now lead our government have used the tragedy of 9/11 perform the hugest transfer of wealth in history from the US Treasury to Halliburton, Bechtel, KRB, Blackwater, and more. At the same time, they have destabilized the Middle East and turned Iraq into a breeding ground for terrorists. We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that the wars are to spread Freedom and Democracy to subjugated peoples. Instead, they have perfected Orwellian Doublespeak and spread state sponsored terror in the name of Freedom and Democracy just like the medieval Crusaders did in the name of Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Our American way of life is in jeopardy. Our free elections are tainted by partisan voting machine manufacturers who boast victory for their candidates no matter which way the People vote. The checks and balances between the three houses of government are destroyed. The public can no longer visit their executive in the White House, and the executive branch creates secret policies in secret meetings. Our President holds himself and his cabal of cronies above the law and prohibits his cronies from appearing before Congress even when subpoenaed. No habeas corpus, no checks and balances, no right to assembly freely and dissent, Peace activists being accused of being enemy combatants, courageous dissenters being mysteriously killed without any investigation. What has happened to our American way of life? The freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Oh, now don't get me going about the pursuit of happiness!
Before the advent of the neo-cons, America was the richest country on Earth, had the largest middle-class, had thriving trade unions, a large manufacturing base, the finest schools, and was the breadbasket of the world. The neo-cons have stripped this country of all its wealth and left a battered nation in its wake, worse than the 19th century Robber Barons.
"...we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life." We must all pass this message on to everyone we know wake them up to take action and peacefully remove the corporations from the US government and return it to the benefit of the People. Let's get the Supreme Court to overturn Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad and all subsequent statutes. We must reverse every law enacted by this illegitimate fanatical President who says he is carrying out God's will in order to save our nation. Let's see if we can reverse the damage done by the neo-con corporate extremists before it is too late.
My sister wrote to me:
Dr. Emanuel Tanay is a well known and well respected psychiatrist.
A German's point of view on Islam.
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War ll owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything, I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. The fact is that fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor killing. The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority," the "silent majority," is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet Stalin was responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering number of people. The average Japanese individual prior to World War ll was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of millions Chinese and Filipino civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghanis, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Lastly, at the risk of offending, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this message on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world wide, read this - think about it - and send it on.
Emanuel Tanay, M.D.
2980 Provincial St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-997-0256
(Although Dr. Tanay's name is on this post, he actually is not the author.)
Once upon a time, our government was of the People, by the People, and for the People. Then the railway profiteers, fondly know as the "Railroad Barons," or "Robber Barons," found ever more creative ways to bilk the government, the settlers, the investors, and the indigenous people out of all their assets. Many ruined families lay in their wake.
The Robber Barons got a Supreme Court decision, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad in 1886, to give "personhood" under the 14th Amendment to corporations in order to have legal standing in court and be taxed. I read that Supreme Court ruling several times. It was not, in fact, the ruling itself that gave "personhood" to corporations, but, rather, an entry in the court reporter's headnotes on the case. Since that time, the mega corporations have exploited that single court reporter's note, and layers of statutes have built upon it.
We now have a government of extremist ideologues who believe that windfall energy profits and war profiteering are of higher value than the People. Having preplanned their wars and boldly posted their manifesto on the website of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) in 1998, corporate extremists rigged the 2000 election to put their man in office. They tried to create a threat big enough to install martial law with the distribution of anthrax through the mail to Congress, but it wasn't enough. They blamed it on Muslim extremists until the strain of anthrax was traced to a government lab in Maryland.
The neo-con corporate extremists contracted with their Saudi friends to finance a bunch of Saudis, and a few more from Pakistan, and fly hijacked planes into the WTC and the Pentagon on 9/11/01. They planted explosives in the WTC towers in order to destroy the entire buildings, and then cleaned up the evidence before the forensic investigators could piece things together.
Conveniently, Cheney was safely in a bunker at the time, Bush was in Florida, and the Strategic Defense Command was on exercises in Canada. I realized this truth when I saw the look on W's face when they told him what had occurred. The look said to me, "I didn't expect it to happen like this," as if he had been expecting it all along.
Our CEO President, who avoided his own military service to our country, transformed himself into the Commander and Chief, and ordered a war on Afghanistan, even though the hijackers were Saudi and Pakistani. We moved our troops into Afghanistan just in time to guard the areas where the Central Asian oil and gas pipeline was proposed to cross the country. In less than a year, our President ordered the preplanned invasion of Iraq, and made the Saudis and Pakistanis our best allies in the region. Saudi Arabia is a kingdom where capital punishment by beheading is still state sanctioned and rape victims are stoned to death. Pakistan was run by a repressive dictator, Musharraf. Something was clearly wrong with this picture.
Why do freedom-loving Americans become allies with repressive dictatorships like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan while vilifying democratically elected leaders like Hugo Chavez, Avo Morales, Mohammed Mossadegh, Jacobo Arbenz, Salvador Allende, Ho Chi Minh, Jose Valasco, Patrice Lamumba, Juan Bosch, Joao Goulart, Sukarno, Juan Torres, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and Daniel Ortega?
Why do freedom-loving Americans tolerate the corporate contamination of our air, soil, and water for private profit? How many people in the world have died as a direct result and indirect result of corporate pollution? Why do we sit passively and let it happen? Why haven't the corporate polluters who are ruining our American way of life been brought to task for the damage they have wrought to Americans, the American environment, and the rest of the people in the world? How many have died from Global Climate Change? How many more will die?
Then came the NSA information gathering operation that rivals the œberefficient census data Hitler gathered with the help of IBM. I wonder if IBM currently assists the NSA with data processing? The information gathering began in 2001 before 9/11. Pretty soon, the corporatist government began gathering intelligence on Peace activists within the USA. The Peace activists remained silent and allowed the secret domestic spy program to continue.
A month after 9/11 came the Patriot Act, which eroded the Bill of Rights and legalized the NSA spy program. By 2005, after holding thousands of enemy combatants in detention for half a decade without charges, the Supreme Court ruled in Rasul v. Bush, that even non-Americans must have their day in court. In response, the Democratic led Congress passed legislation that stripped enemy combatants of the rights awarded to them by the Supreme Court as well as laws that have been on the books since King Henry II (1133-1189), with an amendment to a defense spending bill which removed the right of habeas corpus from anyone designated by the President as an enemy combatant. Soon, Peace activists were being accused of being enemy combatants.
The extremists kill whomever gets in their way: Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lennon, Paul Wellstone (the only Senator the voted against the resolution to go to war with Iraq). They killed (or disappeared) Ken Lay before he could be sentenced. They killed our delegate to the 2004 Democratic convention by driving him off one of our steep mountain roads.
The neo-con corporate extremists that now lead our government have used the tragedy of 9/11 perform the hugest transfer of wealth in history from the US Treasury to Halliburton, Bechtel, KRB, Blackwater, and more. At the same time, they have destabilized the Middle East and turned Iraq into a breeding ground for terrorists. We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that the wars are to spread Freedom and Democracy to subjugated peoples. Instead, they have perfected Orwellian Doublespeak and spread state sponsored terror in the name of Freedom and Democracy just like the medieval Crusaders did in the name of Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Our American way of life is in jeopardy. Our free elections are tainted by partisan voting machine manufacturers who boast victory for their candidates no matter which way the People vote. The checks and balances between the three houses of government are destroyed. The public can no longer visit their executive in the White House, and the executive branch creates secret policies in secret meetings. Our President holds himself and his cabal of cronies above the law and prohibits his cronies from appearing before Congress even when subpoenaed. No habeas corpus, no checks and balances, no right to assembly freely and dissent, Peace activists being accused of being enemy combatants, courageous dissenters being mysteriously killed without any investigation. What has happened to our American way of life? The freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Oh, now don't get me going about the pursuit of happiness!
Before the advent of the neo-cons, America was the richest country on Earth, had the largest middle-class, had thriving trade unions, a large manufacturing base, the finest schools, and was the breadbasket of the world. The neo-cons have stripped this country of all its wealth and left a battered nation in its wake, worse than the 19th century Robber Barons.
"...we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life." We must all pass this message on to everyone we know wake them up to take action and peacefully remove the corporations from the US government and return it to the benefit of the People. Let's get the Supreme Court to overturn Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad and all subsequent statutes. We must reverse every law enacted by this illegitimate fanatical President who says he is carrying out God's will in order to save our nation. Let's see if we can reverse the damage done by the neo-con corporate extremists before it is too late.
My sister wrote to me:
Dr. Emanuel Tanay is a well known and well respected psychiatrist.
A German's point of view on Islam.
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War ll owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything, I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. The fact is that fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor killing. The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority," the "silent majority," is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet Stalin was responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering number of people. The average Japanese individual prior to World War ll was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of millions Chinese and Filipino civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghanis, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Lastly, at the risk of offending, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this message on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world wide, read this - think about it - and send it on.
Emanuel Tanay, M.D.
2980 Provincial St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-997-0256
(Although Dr. Tanay's name is on this post, he actually is not the author.)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
19th Century Robber Barons Paved the Way
I just finished reading Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow by Dee Brown. It was a painstaking report of how the frontier was settled by the railroads. It began with a few honest visionaries who failed to get enough backers to fund a railroad project. Then big business got involved. They wrapped the railroads in the American flag and made it a patriotic duty. They convinced Congress of the necessity of connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific oceans, which then passed legislation that granted cash money and tens of thousands of acres of land for every mile of track that was laid. The corporate profiteers laid track on the longest routes possible to reap ever more money and land from Congress. Congress took federally granted lands from the Native Americans and transferred it to the railroad companies without notifying the tribes. Then they sent Civil War generals Sherman and Sheridan to wipe out the Indians that were blocking the railroad from entering tribal lands.
The railroad companies then subdivided the land grants and sold them for a huge profit. There was more profit in subdividing the land than in the RR itself. The railroad companies gave Congress doubly inflated estimates of the cost of building the railroads bilking the Treasury of huge amounts of grants. A couple of railroad companies even set up shell holding corporations to siphon off the biggest profits. They additionally sold stocks and bonds in the railroads; if your town didn't buy RR bonds, then the tracks didn't come your way.
Once the Native Americans were crushed and the land grants were subdivided, the RR companies sent solicitors all over Europe to bring whole communities to their dream of new hope in America. Europeans would give their life savings to the RR companies for the lots in the prairies and mountains of the west and get 3-year mortgages on their houses. Just like the sub-prime mortgage debacle of today, most of the European immigrants ended up broken and penniless. The railroads effectively ruined the lives of generations of settlers as well as generations of Native Americans from whom the land was stolen.
After all the tracks were all laid, and the immigrants were settled in the subdivided lots, then the RR monopolies charged enormous fees from farmers to transport their produce to markets. The high transportation fees made farming a money losing endeavor.
The Supreme Court ruled twice within 15 years against the railroad companies taking federally appropriated tribal lands. Yet, Congress ignored the Supreme Court. Many members of Congress were also involved in the RR profiteering. The railroads of the 19th century were akin to the war profiteers and oil companies of the 21st century. Both sets of profiteers own Congress on both sides of the aisle. Even our esteemed president Abraham Lincoln reaped profits from railroad land speculation. Don't forget, it was Democrat John Kerry who amassed the largest profits of anyone in Congress from his investments in Iraq.
In addition, a Supreme Court ruling in 1886, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, gave "personhood" under the 14th Amendment to the RR corporations in order to have legal standing in court and be taxed. I read that Supreme Court ruling several times. It was not, in fact, the ruling itself that gave "personhood" to corporations, but, rather, the railroad barons got human rights for corporations inserted in the court reporter's headnotes on the case. Since that time, the mega corporations have exploited that single court reporter's note, and layers of statutes have built upon it.
After all the profits were tidily secured in the private pockets of about 70 RR barons, the house of cards fell and the railroads went bankrupt. RR stocks and bonds became worthless. Tracks were left unused. Towns were laid waste without the RR to connect them to markets. The profiteers anticipated the fall and sold their stocks and bonds at a profit before the prices plummeted. It took two decades for the American public to notice the monumental rip off. Congressional investigations exposed the fraud, but they didn't want to go too deep into the details, since too many members of Congress had an embarrassing history of involvement.
One of the lessons I learned from this story was that the neo-cons have a longer history in America than the massive mid-20th century post-war immigration that I know about. Another lesson I learned is that corporate profiteers like Jay Gould, Durant, and Henry Villner can get ever more creative to invent ways to separate innocent victims from their money. Very Rovian. The third lesson was that fascists care nothing for the sanctity of life; they kill not only the enemies, but also kill their women, children and elders. Sherman and Sheridan killed whole villages of undefended Native peoples on tribal lands tantamount to genocide. Warriors would leave their villages undefended because they couldn't imagine that unarmed innocents would become targets. Nowadays, state-sponsored terrorism like the occupation of Iraq doesn't hesitate to kill everyone whether they are insurgents or not. What Che Guevara taught us was that protecting the innocents and only fighting the armed warriors wins the popular sentiment to your side. Batista killed anyone, which led to his defeat by the popular revolution.
The railroad companies then subdivided the land grants and sold them for a huge profit. There was more profit in subdividing the land than in the RR itself. The railroad companies gave Congress doubly inflated estimates of the cost of building the railroads bilking the Treasury of huge amounts of grants. A couple of railroad companies even set up shell holding corporations to siphon off the biggest profits. They additionally sold stocks and bonds in the railroads; if your town didn't buy RR bonds, then the tracks didn't come your way.
Once the Native Americans were crushed and the land grants were subdivided, the RR companies sent solicitors all over Europe to bring whole communities to their dream of new hope in America. Europeans would give their life savings to the RR companies for the lots in the prairies and mountains of the west and get 3-year mortgages on their houses. Just like the sub-prime mortgage debacle of today, most of the European immigrants ended up broken and penniless. The railroads effectively ruined the lives of generations of settlers as well as generations of Native Americans from whom the land was stolen.
After all the tracks were all laid, and the immigrants were settled in the subdivided lots, then the RR monopolies charged enormous fees from farmers to transport their produce to markets. The high transportation fees made farming a money losing endeavor.
The Supreme Court ruled twice within 15 years against the railroad companies taking federally appropriated tribal lands. Yet, Congress ignored the Supreme Court. Many members of Congress were also involved in the RR profiteering. The railroads of the 19th century were akin to the war profiteers and oil companies of the 21st century. Both sets of profiteers own Congress on both sides of the aisle. Even our esteemed president Abraham Lincoln reaped profits from railroad land speculation. Don't forget, it was Democrat John Kerry who amassed the largest profits of anyone in Congress from his investments in Iraq.
In addition, a Supreme Court ruling in 1886, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, gave "personhood" under the 14th Amendment to the RR corporations in order to have legal standing in court and be taxed. I read that Supreme Court ruling several times. It was not, in fact, the ruling itself that gave "personhood" to corporations, but, rather, the railroad barons got human rights for corporations inserted in the court reporter's headnotes on the case. Since that time, the mega corporations have exploited that single court reporter's note, and layers of statutes have built upon it.
After all the profits were tidily secured in the private pockets of about 70 RR barons, the house of cards fell and the railroads went bankrupt. RR stocks and bonds became worthless. Tracks were left unused. Towns were laid waste without the RR to connect them to markets. The profiteers anticipated the fall and sold their stocks and bonds at a profit before the prices plummeted. It took two decades for the American public to notice the monumental rip off. Congressional investigations exposed the fraud, but they didn't want to go too deep into the details, since too many members of Congress had an embarrassing history of involvement.
One of the lessons I learned from this story was that the neo-cons have a longer history in America than the massive mid-20th century post-war immigration that I know about. Another lesson I learned is that corporate profiteers like Jay Gould, Durant, and Henry Villner can get ever more creative to invent ways to separate innocent victims from their money. Very Rovian. The third lesson was that fascists care nothing for the sanctity of life; they kill not only the enemies, but also kill their women, children and elders. Sherman and Sheridan killed whole villages of undefended Native peoples on tribal lands tantamount to genocide. Warriors would leave their villages undefended because they couldn't imagine that unarmed innocents would become targets. Nowadays, state-sponsored terrorism like the occupation of Iraq doesn't hesitate to kill everyone whether they are insurgents or not. What Che Guevara taught us was that protecting the innocents and only fighting the armed warriors wins the popular sentiment to your side. Batista killed anyone, which led to his defeat by the popular revolution.
Myanmar Military Junta does a New Orleans
Many people in the world have been wondering why the military junta in Myanmar refused to accept foreign aid to its cyclone and monsoon victims. The answer is simple. They were following the lead of the most powerful neo-cons on the planet. George Bush showed them how to celebrate birthday parties and play guitar while the impoverished masses perished in New Orleans. Such a disaster is a golden opportunity for corporatists to make profits. Once the flood waters receded, the rif-raf will be either dead or in shelters far away, and the prime real estate will be free for corporate development with no-bid contracts. Remember, lobbyists for the Myanmar military junta have been helping run McCain's campaign. The Myanmar military junta doesn't have the hubris to call themselves neo-cons; they are old cons.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Some thoughts about Ernesto Che Guevara
I recently finished “reading” the biography of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson. I chose the book on tape from our local public library while escaping from the spate of murder mysteries into the non-fiction section. It was the thickest set of cassettes on the shelf and I was anticipating a long 2 hr/day commute for at least six weeks.
I was amazed at the portrait of a learned prince of the Argentine upper crust driven to fight to the end of his life to defend social justice against corporate imperialism. It was nothing like the unlearned impression that I previously had of an insane, radical revolutionary. He reminded me of the characters my sons embody in their video games who fight overwhelming odds to defend the good.
When I sought to share my insights about Guevara, people would glare at me at the mention of Che’s name like I must be a pinko red communist armed revolutionary. I am shocked at the spontaneous negativity immediately generated at the sound of his name more than 40 years after his death.
Ernesto Guevara took a motorcycle journey in 1953 in his first year of college and saw the plight of the exploited masses in their own lands. It touched him to the core. He saw a pattern of colonial governments granting Latin American and African nations their independence, only to have North American or European corporations move into the wake. Che called the phenomenon “Neo-colonialism.”
He met Fidel after the popular uprising in Guatemala which ended the pro-corporate regime of General Jorge Ubico. The general elections that followed resulted in the socialist government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzán. After a year of sweeping land reform acts that antagonized the U.S.-based multinational company United Fruit Company, Arbenz was assassinated in a CIA-backed coup. Over the next four decades, the succession of military rulers would wage counter-insurgency warfare destabilizing Guatemalan society. The violence caused the deaths and disappearances of more than 140,000 Guatemalans, and some human rights activists put the death toll as high as 250,000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d'%C3%A9tat
The short-lived success of Arbenz followed by CIA backed assassination left an indelible impression on the young revolutionaries, Ernesto and Fidel. Time and again they witnessed the same pattern: as soon as corporate interests were threatened, the democratically elected leader was assassinated with the help of the CIA, and replaced by a corporate friendly dictator.
Che reasoned that if you convinced the peasants that they could achieve self-determination, they would join the revolution. Castro and Guevara achieved this dream in Cuba where they overthrew the pro-corporate dictator, Batista, nationalized the natural resources, and have managed to maintain their sovereignty from neo-corporate invasion for over 50 years.
Guevara was a man of strong principles. He insisted on marital fidelity and treating women with respect. Rapists faced the firing squad after being tried in a court of their peers. He used to read Pablo Neruda poems out loud to his wife for entertainment. He was a Renaissance Man. Whatever he couldn’t do, he learned (except dancing). He was a military strategist, an economic strategist, a master chess player, as well as a medical doctor, healer, and philosopher. He was a published author and ran several newspapers and magazines. He was anything but a thug.
Like the heroes of old, Che sought to defend the lives of the common people which were being threatened by the evil of North American corporate exploitation. He led a revolution to free the people. Was Che any different than George Washington or Thomas Jefferson who were also products of the upper crust who took up arms to free their own country from the imperialist exploitation of Great Britain? Our founding fathers were militant revolutionaries inspired by radical philosophers like John Locke, Thomas Paine, and Frenchmen Voltaire and Rousseau. Che was driven by the philosophy of Carl Marx. Both our founding fathers and Guevara were militant armed revolutionaries driven by philosophies of social justice.
Today, as we watch the decline of American democracy guided by pro-corporate neo-con philosophy, the erosion of the Bill of Rights, and the government protection of corporate interests at the expense of the people, it becomes apparent that Ernesto Che Guevara predicted it all. He was a man before his time. He tried to nip the economic and political monster we face today in the bud. But with the help of our CIA, he was eliminated.
What really surprised me about reading his biography, was the powerfully negative reactions I encountered at the mention of his name. If I mention Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, I got responses imbued with positive energy. When I mention Che, I am assaulted with incredible negative energy. The propaganda machine that convinces people to vote against their own best interests has had a lasting legacy in the case of smearing the name of Ernesto Che Guevara, defender of the common people.
I was amazed at the portrait of a learned prince of the Argentine upper crust driven to fight to the end of his life to defend social justice against corporate imperialism. It was nothing like the unlearned impression that I previously had of an insane, radical revolutionary. He reminded me of the characters my sons embody in their video games who fight overwhelming odds to defend the good.
When I sought to share my insights about Guevara, people would glare at me at the mention of Che’s name like I must be a pinko red communist armed revolutionary. I am shocked at the spontaneous negativity immediately generated at the sound of his name more than 40 years after his death.
Ernesto Guevara took a motorcycle journey in 1953 in his first year of college and saw the plight of the exploited masses in their own lands. It touched him to the core. He saw a pattern of colonial governments granting Latin American and African nations their independence, only to have North American or European corporations move into the wake. Che called the phenomenon “Neo-colonialism.”
He met Fidel after the popular uprising in Guatemala which ended the pro-corporate regime of General Jorge Ubico. The general elections that followed resulted in the socialist government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzán. After a year of sweeping land reform acts that antagonized the U.S.-based multinational company United Fruit Company, Arbenz was assassinated in a CIA-backed coup. Over the next four decades, the succession of military rulers would wage counter-insurgency warfare destabilizing Guatemalan society. The violence caused the deaths and disappearances of more than 140,000 Guatemalans, and some human rights activists put the death toll as high as 250,000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d'%C3%A9tat
The short-lived success of Arbenz followed by CIA backed assassination left an indelible impression on the young revolutionaries, Ernesto and Fidel. Time and again they witnessed the same pattern: as soon as corporate interests were threatened, the democratically elected leader was assassinated with the help of the CIA, and replaced by a corporate friendly dictator.
Che reasoned that if you convinced the peasants that they could achieve self-determination, they would join the revolution. Castro and Guevara achieved this dream in Cuba where they overthrew the pro-corporate dictator, Batista, nationalized the natural resources, and have managed to maintain their sovereignty from neo-corporate invasion for over 50 years.
Guevara was a man of strong principles. He insisted on marital fidelity and treating women with respect. Rapists faced the firing squad after being tried in a court of their peers. He used to read Pablo Neruda poems out loud to his wife for entertainment. He was a Renaissance Man. Whatever he couldn’t do, he learned (except dancing). He was a military strategist, an economic strategist, a master chess player, as well as a medical doctor, healer, and philosopher. He was a published author and ran several newspapers and magazines. He was anything but a thug.
Like the heroes of old, Che sought to defend the lives of the common people which were being threatened by the evil of North American corporate exploitation. He led a revolution to free the people. Was Che any different than George Washington or Thomas Jefferson who were also products of the upper crust who took up arms to free their own country from the imperialist exploitation of Great Britain? Our founding fathers were militant revolutionaries inspired by radical philosophers like John Locke, Thomas Paine, and Frenchmen Voltaire and Rousseau. Che was driven by the philosophy of Carl Marx. Both our founding fathers and Guevara were militant armed revolutionaries driven by philosophies of social justice.
Today, as we watch the decline of American democracy guided by pro-corporate neo-con philosophy, the erosion of the Bill of Rights, and the government protection of corporate interests at the expense of the people, it becomes apparent that Ernesto Che Guevara predicted it all. He was a man before his time. He tried to nip the economic and political monster we face today in the bud. But with the help of our CIA, he was eliminated.
What really surprised me about reading his biography, was the powerfully negative reactions I encountered at the mention of his name. If I mention Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, I got responses imbued with positive energy. When I mention Che, I am assaulted with incredible negative energy. The propaganda machine that convinces people to vote against their own best interests has had a lasting legacy in the case of smearing the name of Ernesto Che Guevara, defender of the common people.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Che Guevara and Manifest Destiny
I have been listening to the biography of Che Guevara on tape as I drive an hour to and from work each day. Che’s life, even so many decades ago, sounded very modern and little different than the lifestyle we enjoy in this United States. The author portrays Che, and his buddy Fidel, as products of their environment. Both were descendants of the wealthy, privileged class, and were bothered by the social injustices brought about by the invasion of Europeans to the Americas. The European settlers confiscated the land from the indigenous people and treated them worse than dirt. In addition, the United States came in and exploited the natural resources for their own exclusive profit at the expense of the citizens of each country.
The United Fruit Company, and companies that owned the coffee plantations, the mines, and the forest products made huge profits and collaborated with oppressive militias to enrich themselves and keep the locals in servitude. Beginning with Guatemala in 1953, every time a populist leader was elected, the CIA would assassinate him and install a dictator who protected the North American industrialists. A few Caucasian locals who collaborated with the North American companies got filthy rich while the rest of the population lived in squalor. Both Che and Fidel descended from such wealthy landed families.
I mentioned this to T.A., an acquaintance of mine at the post office the other day. He replied that if the indigenous people weren’t organized enough to manage their own natural resources, it is only right that the North Americans would come in and take the natural resources, just like they did with the Native Americans. I am aware that T.A. is a Christian and I supposed he was referring to the Christian belief of “manifest destiny” which justified the robbery and exploitation of Native Americans in the USA.
I didn't reply to this at the time because I am slow on the uptake and try to think about things before I speak. The more I think about what T.A. said, the more I realize how immoral it is to take what someone else has just because I am bigger, stronger, more organized, or believe it is my manifest destiny. T.A. was partly referring to historical patterns; when rich natural resources exist, historically someone comes in to exploit it. But, just because the historical record illustrates the pattern, that doesn’t make it right.
The United Fruit Company, and companies that owned the coffee plantations, the mines, and the forest products made huge profits and collaborated with oppressive militias to enrich themselves and keep the locals in servitude. Beginning with Guatemala in 1953, every time a populist leader was elected, the CIA would assassinate him and install a dictator who protected the North American industrialists. A few Caucasian locals who collaborated with the North American companies got filthy rich while the rest of the population lived in squalor. Both Che and Fidel descended from such wealthy landed families.
I mentioned this to T.A., an acquaintance of mine at the post office the other day. He replied that if the indigenous people weren’t organized enough to manage their own natural resources, it is only right that the North Americans would come in and take the natural resources, just like they did with the Native Americans. I am aware that T.A. is a Christian and I supposed he was referring to the Christian belief of “manifest destiny” which justified the robbery and exploitation of Native Americans in the USA.
I didn't reply to this at the time because I am slow on the uptake and try to think about things before I speak. The more I think about what T.A. said, the more I realize how immoral it is to take what someone else has just because I am bigger, stronger, more organized, or believe it is my manifest destiny. T.A. was partly referring to historical patterns; when rich natural resources exist, historically someone comes in to exploit it. But, just because the historical record illustrates the pattern, that doesn’t make it right.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Pawn Fodder for Endless War
What amazes me is that the American public all realize that we were led into a war on false pretenses, and they all want the illegal war to end, but they vote for warmonger candidates and consider the peace candidates not viable.
Another thing that amazes me is that the Democrats continue to vote to fund the illegal occupation of Iraq. That they all know that the war funding is being drained into mercenary expenses yet choose not to discuss it. That they pretend that having voted to authorize the use of force, that they didn't know force was going to be used. And that the war in Afghanistan was obviously to protect the natural gas pipeline that now crosses Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq was to get control of Iraqi oil, yet our Congress pretends the wars were to apprehend terrorists.
I am amazed again and again at how the neo-cons can force their spin of the issues, and the Democrats and the American public accept the neo-con definitions of the issues as if carved in stone.
For example, the immigrant issue. This issue, from the start, has been for greedy businesses to be able to undercut minimum wage laws and worker rights and protections. The same folks who wink winked and looked the other way while millions of undocumented sweat shop and agricultural workers poured across the border to be exploited by the greedy businesses, are now using the very same issue that they created to be their bigoted hate-fomenting campaign issue. At the same time that their greedy policies have kept American food prices artificially low, the factories and farms have become dependent on undocumented immigrant labor. As the neo-cons talk about building border walls to keep the undocumented laborers out, factories and farms are going out of business due to the inability to pay legal wages to legal workers and still sell their products at a competitive price. It leaves the only survival strategy being to relocate their business over the border.
Our dear neo-cons who seem intent on collapsing the American economy are delighted when businesses move abroad. That furthers their agenda to eliminate birth control, education, and jobs in order to breed an endless supply of youths who have no other recourse than to join the military. The neo-cons want more pawn fodder for endless wars.
Another thing that amazes me is that the Democrats continue to vote to fund the illegal occupation of Iraq. That they all know that the war funding is being drained into mercenary expenses yet choose not to discuss it. That they pretend that having voted to authorize the use of force, that they didn't know force was going to be used. And that the war in Afghanistan was obviously to protect the natural gas pipeline that now crosses Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq was to get control of Iraqi oil, yet our Congress pretends the wars were to apprehend terrorists.
I am amazed again and again at how the neo-cons can force their spin of the issues, and the Democrats and the American public accept the neo-con definitions of the issues as if carved in stone.
For example, the immigrant issue. This issue, from the start, has been for greedy businesses to be able to undercut minimum wage laws and worker rights and protections. The same folks who wink winked and looked the other way while millions of undocumented sweat shop and agricultural workers poured across the border to be exploited by the greedy businesses, are now using the very same issue that they created to be their bigoted hate-fomenting campaign issue. At the same time that their greedy policies have kept American food prices artificially low, the factories and farms have become dependent on undocumented immigrant labor. As the neo-cons talk about building border walls to keep the undocumented laborers out, factories and farms are going out of business due to the inability to pay legal wages to legal workers and still sell their products at a competitive price. It leaves the only survival strategy being to relocate their business over the border.
Our dear neo-cons who seem intent on collapsing the American economy are delighted when businesses move abroad. That furthers their agenda to eliminate birth control, education, and jobs in order to breed an endless supply of youths who have no other recourse than to join the military. The neo-cons want more pawn fodder for endless wars.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Presidential Candidates for War Profiteering
Now that all the progressive peace candidates have been eliminated from the presidential primaries by the war profiteering big media companies, I was pondering on which corporate sell-out candidate I would choose to support in the upcoming primary, Clinton or Obama. Although I would love to see a woman president, Clinton is a warmonger and neo-con Democrat. Therefore, my heart goes toward Obama.
Obama has charisma but lacks a platform. He is walking a narrow line, self-censuring lest he rub anyone the wrong way with any definitive statements. His track record has voted unanimously for every war resolution and war-funding package that has passed through Congress. His platform of change was the exact same platform that George Bush ran on in 2000. We are all now reeling in shock with all the anti-democratic changes that George Bush has put through which has brought the 232 year-old American experiment to its knees. Can we tolerate more change? Change from what to what?
I looked into the future today and gagged with nausea at what I saw. If Barak Obama wins the Democrat (I hate to call it “Democratic” since it is anything but democratic when it excludes the voices of peace candidates and sabotages its own members) Party nomination, then the neo-con Republicans will play the race card and foment race hatred to frenzy levels to win the White Supremacist votes. And our neo-cons on the Supreme Court will ignore or eliminate penalties for hate crimes. The hate-mongering neo-cons will successfully divide the non-white majority of the population so that the White Supremacist minority will overpower the people of color majority. Although McCain isn’t necessarily a racist, he will collaborate with the neo-con racists to fulfill his need for power. He just can’t wait to be the new neo-con front man. We then may see another neo-con Republican having stolen the White House with a platform of hate and division.
If Clinton wins the Democrat Party nomination, the macho-chauvinist card won’t have as much weight with white voters as the race card. Dirty politics will ensue but Clinton will have a better chance of beating a neo-con Republican. If Clinton wins the presidency, she might consult with Bill to help pull the nation out of the economic pit the neo-cons have left it in. He has already successfully done this the last time the neo-conservatives left our nation deep in debt. Beside the chance of pulling the nation out of an economic slump, the rest of business will be as usual set in the precedent of the Bush presidency. I wonder how many signing statements Hillary might compose? Clinton is a neo-con, corporate sell-out. Under Clinton we still have more wars and more war profiteering at the expense of the people of our nation.
That leaves me and the American public in a real quandary as to which candidate to support in the upcoming primary. I still don't know who to vote for....
Obama has charisma but lacks a platform. He is walking a narrow line, self-censuring lest he rub anyone the wrong way with any definitive statements. His track record has voted unanimously for every war resolution and war-funding package that has passed through Congress. His platform of change was the exact same platform that George Bush ran on in 2000. We are all now reeling in shock with all the anti-democratic changes that George Bush has put through which has brought the 232 year-old American experiment to its knees. Can we tolerate more change? Change from what to what?
I looked into the future today and gagged with nausea at what I saw. If Barak Obama wins the Democrat (I hate to call it “Democratic” since it is anything but democratic when it excludes the voices of peace candidates and sabotages its own members) Party nomination, then the neo-con Republicans will play the race card and foment race hatred to frenzy levels to win the White Supremacist votes. And our neo-cons on the Supreme Court will ignore or eliminate penalties for hate crimes. The hate-mongering neo-cons will successfully divide the non-white majority of the population so that the White Supremacist minority will overpower the people of color majority. Although McCain isn’t necessarily a racist, he will collaborate with the neo-con racists to fulfill his need for power. He just can’t wait to be the new neo-con front man. We then may see another neo-con Republican having stolen the White House with a platform of hate and division.
If Clinton wins the Democrat Party nomination, the macho-chauvinist card won’t have as much weight with white voters as the race card. Dirty politics will ensue but Clinton will have a better chance of beating a neo-con Republican. If Clinton wins the presidency, she might consult with Bill to help pull the nation out of the economic pit the neo-cons have left it in. He has already successfully done this the last time the neo-conservatives left our nation deep in debt. Beside the chance of pulling the nation out of an economic slump, the rest of business will be as usual set in the precedent of the Bush presidency. I wonder how many signing statements Hillary might compose? Clinton is a neo-con, corporate sell-out. Under Clinton we still have more wars and more war profiteering at the expense of the people of our nation.
That leaves me and the American public in a real quandary as to which candidate to support in the upcoming primary. I still don't know who to vote for....
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Clinton vs. Obama
I would love to see a woman president. But not Clinton. She is the second most conservative Democrat in the Senate. Diane Feinstein is first; she has replaced Joe Lieberman as the swing vote. Neither Clinton nor Feinstein make good Democratic leaders. If we want to end the endless wars, get the big corporations out of bed with the politicians, withdraw from Iraq, restore our civil rights, rebuild our infrastructure, and bring in an era of Peace and growing prosperity, while balancing the budget, Clinton is not the candidate. She sold-out to the big corporations long ago.
In 2001, Madeleine Albright's name appeared on the PNAC website as a signer. By late 2003, all those signatures had been removed. Some people say that Madeleine Albright was as ruthless as Henry Kissinger. Yet, there she was standing right next to Clinton in Iowa in 2008. Bush came in with the old guard; so will Clinton. The destruction of Democracy will continue unhindered if Clinton wins the White House in 2008.
I believe Obama has sold-out to the big corporations also. The media seems to measure the candidates by the amount of money they raise rather than by their platforms. Anyone who wants peace and democracy won't even be included in the debates.
In 2004, we had a choice of one rich white male graduate of Yale member of Skull and Bones in favor of the Iraq war, or another rich white male graduate of Yale member of Skull and Bones in favor of the Iraq war. Where was the choice?
Now the media portrays the choice between a black man, a woman, a Mormon, a Baptist preacher, or Nostradamus. Yet the Constitution states that there be no religious test for president. Should there be a racial test or a gender test for president? Are we voting for a religious leader or a president? What are their platforms? The media doesn't exactly answer that.
Change? George Bush brought about a lot of change. In fact, George Bush brought so much change, we would like to reverse a lot of his changes in order to rescue Democracy. "Change" is a very flimsy platform.
Those who have clear platforms, like Kucinich, Ravel, and Paul, are excluded from the debate. I guess change means to keep trouble-makers who talk about real issues away from the leading candidates in order not to embarrass them. Any candidate worth their pluck would have boycotted the debates in which the more forthright candidates were excluded. They should have said it was anti-Democratic to exclude some candidates, and they should have refused to talk. But, in fact, the "change" touters were GLAD not to have Kucinich, Ravel and Paul on the stage with them. The leading contenders are all cowards.
Once again, the corporate media are choosing our presidential candidates for us. And we are letting them do so. I am so sick of talk about black man, woman, preacher, Mormon, corporate campaign contributions, etc. It is only a cut above the latest front-page slut gossip. Maybe Britney should run for president; no one would expect a platform from her.
In 2001, Madeleine Albright's name appeared on the PNAC website as a signer. By late 2003, all those signatures had been removed. Some people say that Madeleine Albright was as ruthless as Henry Kissinger. Yet, there she was standing right next to Clinton in Iowa in 2008. Bush came in with the old guard; so will Clinton. The destruction of Democracy will continue unhindered if Clinton wins the White House in 2008.
I believe Obama has sold-out to the big corporations also. The media seems to measure the candidates by the amount of money they raise rather than by their platforms. Anyone who wants peace and democracy won't even be included in the debates.
In 2004, we had a choice of one rich white male graduate of Yale member of Skull and Bones in favor of the Iraq war, or another rich white male graduate of Yale member of Skull and Bones in favor of the Iraq war. Where was the choice?
Now the media portrays the choice between a black man, a woman, a Mormon, a Baptist preacher, or Nostradamus. Yet the Constitution states that there be no religious test for president. Should there be a racial test or a gender test for president? Are we voting for a religious leader or a president? What are their platforms? The media doesn't exactly answer that.
Change? George Bush brought about a lot of change. In fact, George Bush brought so much change, we would like to reverse a lot of his changes in order to rescue Democracy. "Change" is a very flimsy platform.
Those who have clear platforms, like Kucinich, Ravel, and Paul, are excluded from the debate. I guess change means to keep trouble-makers who talk about real issues away from the leading candidates in order not to embarrass them. Any candidate worth their pluck would have boycotted the debates in which the more forthright candidates were excluded. They should have said it was anti-Democratic to exclude some candidates, and they should have refused to talk. But, in fact, the "change" touters were GLAD not to have Kucinich, Ravel and Paul on the stage with them. The leading contenders are all cowards.
Once again, the corporate media are choosing our presidential candidates for us. And we are letting them do so. I am so sick of talk about black man, woman, preacher, Mormon, corporate campaign contributions, etc. It is only a cut above the latest front-page slut gossip. Maybe Britney should run for president; no one would expect a platform from her.
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