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    November 09

    back to blogging

     
    will try to make my blog interesting and to ster u to other interesting ones.
    so glad or crimminal pres. is out we'll see how the new one will be.  i await for his actions.  hope he incourages the Dem. congress to investigate bushys administration, free the men in Guantanamo, Cuba as well as have the guts to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba, Venazuela, and Boliva, Iran etc., and stop the spying on those countrys and get Anerica back as the greatest loved country in the world as it was after WWII, instead of trying to overthrough democratically electeed governments as we have done since Eisenhower started it in 1952- Guatamala.
     
    Iraq was invaded to controll the region and that should be enough to put Bushy in jail for live!!  All those people killed so Bushy could give his wealthy crimminal friends billions for there arms industries- u know, the military industrial complex. Same goes for his crimminal father.
    October 27

    adds under guise of being part of ur blog

    one of the bad things about Spaces is that they put in links at the top of ur blog that make them look like u are the author.  HOW CRUDE  shame on Spaces

    off of my space

     
    it took me awhile, but i am finally off of MS for good. i felt like a phony having that sight since it was sold to that right wing NAZI, Rupert Murdock.
    i'm sure he bought it to be able to get all the info that will help him get his NAZI friends into government sso they will, in turn, give him freedom to buy up as much media as he can- like he did with Pres. Reagan; read my blog on the lying right wing press. they actually have people believing that the large media are controlled by librals!!! LMAO
     
    but one must give them credit for fooling most americans with their lies and crimminal activity. Bushy took it to new heights!!! now we will see if the weak democrats will get some guts and impeach bushy and the crimminal republican pary
    January 12

    this is me/slow down

    slow me down

     

    SLOW  DOWN ALAN

    EASE THE POUNDING OF YOUR HEART

    BY THE QUITING OF YOUR MIND.

    STEADY Y0UR HURRIED PACE WITH A VISION OF

    THE ETERNAL REACH OF TIME.

    GIVE YOURSELF, AMID THE CONFUSION OF THE DAY,

    THE CALMNESS OF THE EVERLASTING HILLS.

    BREAK THE TENSIONS OF YOUR NERVES AND

    MUSCLES WITH THE SOOTHING MUSIC OF THE

    SINGING STREAMS THAT LIVE IN YOUR MEMERY.

    LEARN TO KNOW THE MAGICAL, RESTORING

    POWER OF SLEEP.

    TEACH YOURSELF THE ART OF

    TAKING MINUTE VACATIONS--

    OF SLOWING DOWN TO LOOK AT A FLOWER,

    TO CHAT WITH A FRIEND, TO PAT AN ANIMAL, TO

    READ A FEW LINES FROM A GOOD BOOK.

    SLOW  DOWN ALAN AND INSPIRE YOURSELF TO

    SEND YOUR ROOTS DEEP INTO THE SOIL OF

    LIFE'S ENDURING VALUES

    THAT YOU MAY GROW TOWARD

    THE STARS OF YOUR GREATER DESTINY.


    FROM THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE, HOLOGRAM (Alan)

    and try to remember for the sake of peace;

    Remember that the jerk who cut u off in traffic last
    night may have been a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to
    cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

    Remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young person who
    can't make change correctly may be a worried 19- year-old college student, balancing
    his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans
    for next semester.

    And, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot
    every day (who you said really ought to get a job!) may be a slave to addictions that we can
    only imagine in our worst nightmares.

    Remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through
    the store aisles and blocking ur shopping progress are savoring this! moment ,
    knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be
    the last year that they go shopping together.

    Remind yourself each day that, of all the gifts you give others, the
    greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold
    dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all
    humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy
    and love.

    Remember that you remembered to do this without the help of some god someone else thought up for you to follow, by using fear-- you did it on your own because your a good person. The bad comes from the hate of others that religions subtly teach; they are not as "good" as you and they are "evil." This is first step in the justification of violence and wars.

    It will never change, only u can, and anyway it's all like tears in the rain when you die. But, it's really hard to think that humans can be so hateful when all they really want is someone to love and love them!!!

    but, to each his own, or, c'iet la vie

    We are never happy with objects or accomplishments. We only think so. This is why the wealthy are always wanting more and we feel we must brag about "things." But, in fact happiness is always in front of us- it isn't the end but the means that satisfied us. As soon as the accomplishing is over there is always an empty sensation few recognize and try to overcome by the brag, which makes it all the worse. It's the doing, not the done that fulfills us.
    Forget about everything accept the "DO." What do you think of all that bullshit? We only gain wisdom when we stop listening to "me, me, me." I'm not so nieve as to think that that is easy after all we assimulate on the way to developing the personality.

    so much for hologram lectures. LMAO

    December 30

    bushy and his criminal friends

    The laws covering the ownership of TV, radio, newspapers, etc. were changed by Pres. Reagan and Bush so that there wealthy friends could buy them all up and control the information u get. That is way Murdock loved Reagan and now Bush. He and 2 others control ur info. And the wealthy republican televangelist religious fanatics that bushy has funneled millions of tax payer dollars to so they can buy all the TV and radio stations that bushy changed the law to let them own as many as they wanted so they can spread they're money making lies and hate for anyone not following their god.
    It's not Murdocks and companys fault, they just are greedy as most business men are. It was Reagan and the Bush family that sold out our nations freedom of the press and in that way sold out our democracy to the ones who would put them in office.
    One of the biggest crimes against American democracy. ever. Now all the old journalist are crying as they are let go for not doing what Murdock and friends tells them to, but where were they when the public needed to be informed of the changes so they could raise a fuss?
    t Americans sold out for flashy, no help, stupid "news."

    But u can still do something. Don't believe the right wing Republican lies. Vote them out, along with their spying "Homeland Security," scare tactics. This country use to be free of that NAZI propoganda, make it that way again. now bushy is making it very hard to get the evidence that would convict him and his criminal friends
    December 20

    bushy and his bandit friends, again

     

    Dedicated to bringing you what you won't find in the mainstream media.

    Thursday, December 13, 2007

    The Bill Of Rights Under Bush: A Timeline

    Note: If you are reading this post through Facebook, please click on the 'view original post' link

     

    Mondo Globo
    December 4, 2007
    Phil Leggiere

    2001

    January

    Presidential directive delays indefinitely the scheduled release of presidential documents (authorized by the Presidential Records Act of 1978) pertaining to the Reagan-Bush administration. Link

    Bush and Cheney begin process of radically broadening scope of documents and information which can be deemed classified. Link

    February

    The National Security Agency (NSA) sets up Project Groundbreaker, a domestic call monitoring program infrastructure. Link

    Spring

    Bush administration order authorizes NSA monitoring of domestic phone and internet traffic. Link



    May

    US Supreme Court rules that medical necessity is not a permissible defense against federal marijuana statutes. Link

    September

    In immediate aftermath of 9-11 terror attacks, Department of Justice authorizes detention without charge for any terror suspects. Over one thousand suspects are brought into detention over the next several months. Link (pdf)

    October

    Attorney General John Ashcroft announces change in Department of Justice (DOJ) policy. According to the new policy DOJ will impose far more stringent criteria for the granting of Freedom of Information Act requests. Link

    September-October

    NSA launches massive new database of information on US phone calls. Link

    October

    The USA Patriot Act becomes law. Among other things the law: makes it a crime for anyone to contribute money or material support for any group on the State Department’s Terror Watch List, allows the FBI to monitor and tape conversations between attorneys and clients, allows the FBI to order librarians to turn over information about patron’s reading habits, allows the government to conduct surveillance on internet and email use of US citizens without notice. The act also calls for expanded use of National Security Letters (NSLs), which allow the FBI to search telephone, email and financial records of US citizens without a court order, exempts the government from needing to reveal how evidence against suspected terrorists was obtained and authorizes indefinite detention of immigrants at the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities.

    NJ Superior court judge and civil liberties scholar Anthony Napolitano, author of A Nation of Sheep, has described the law’s assault on first and fourth amendment principles as follows, “The Patriot Act’s two most principle constitutional errors are an assault on the Fourth Amendment, and on the First. It permits federal agents to write their own search warrants [under the name “national security letters”] with no judge having examined evidence and agreed that it’s likely that the person or thing the government wants to search will reveal evidence of a crime… Not only that, but the Patriot Act makes it a felony for the recipient of a self-written search warrant to reveal it to anyone. The Patriot Act allows [agents] to serve self-written search warrants on financial institutions, and the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2004 in Orwellian language defines that to include in addition to banks, also delis, bodegas, restaurants, hotels, doctors’ offices, lawyers’ offices, telecoms, HMOs, hospitals, casinos, jewelry dealers, automobile dealers, boat dealers, and that great financial institution to which we all would repose our fortunes, the post office. Link 1 | Link 2

    November

    Executive order limits release of presidential documents. The order gives incumbent presidents the right to veto requests to open any past presidential records and supersedes the congressionally passed law of 1978 mandating release of all presidential records not explicitly deemed classified. Link

    2002

    Winter

    FBI and Department of Defense (DOD), forbidden by law from compiling databases on US citizens, begin contracting with private database firm ChoicePoint to collect, store, search and maintain data. Link

    Spring

    Secret executive order issued authorizing NSA to wiretap the phones and read emails of US citizens. Link



    Spring

    Transportation Security Adminstration (TSA) acknowledges it has created both a “No Fly” and a separate “Watch” list of US travelers. Link

    May

    Department of Justice authorizes the FBI to monitor political and religious groups. The new rules permit the FBI to broadly search or monitor the internet for evidence of criminal activity without having any tips or leads that a specific criminal act has been committed. Link

    June

    Supreme Court upholds the right of school administrators to conduct mandatory drug testing of students without probable cause. Link

    November

    Homeland Security Act of 2002 establishes separate Department of Homeland Security. Among other things the department will federally coordinate for the first time all local and state law enforcement nationwide and run a Directorate of Information and Analysis with authority to compile comprehensive data on US citizens using public and commercial records including credit card, phone, bank, and travel. The department also will be exempt form Freedom of Information Act disclosure requirements. The Homeland Security department’s jurisdiction has been widely criticized for being nebulously defined and has extended beyond terrorism into areas including immigration, pornography and drug enforcement. Link 1 | Link 2

    2003

    February

    Draft of Domestic Security Enhancement Act (aka Patriot Act 2), a secret document prepared by the Department of Justice is leaked by the Center for Public Integrity. Provisions of the February 7th draft version included:

    Removal of court-ordered prohibitions against police agencies spying on domestic groups.

    The FBI would be granted powers to conduct searches and surveillance based on intelligence gathered in foreign countries without first obtaining a court order.

    Creation of a DNA database of suspected terrorists.

    Prohibition of any public disclosure of the names of alleged terrorists including those who have been arrested.

    Exemptions from civil liability for people and businesses who voluntarily turn private information over to the government.

    Criminalization of the use of encryption to conceal incriminating communications.

    Automatic denial of bail for persons accused of terrorism-related crimes, reversing the ordinary common law burden of proof principle. All alleged terrorists would be required to demonstrate why they should be released on bail rather than the government being required to demonstrate why they should be held.

    Expansion of the list of crimes eligible for the death penalty.

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency would be prevented from releasing “worst case scenario” information to the public about chemical plants.

    United States citizens whom the government finds to be either members of, or providing material support to, terrorist groups could have their US citizenship revoked and be deported to foreign countries.

    Although the bill itself has never (yet) been advanced in congress due to public exposure, some of its provisions have become law as parts of other bills. For example The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 grants the FBI unprecedented power to obtain records from financial institutions without requiring permission from a judge. Under the law, the FBI does not need to seek a court order to access such records, nor does it need to prove just cause. Link 1 | Link 2

    March

    Executive order issued which radically tightens the declassification process of classified government documents, as well as making it far easier for government agencies to make and keep information classified. The order delayed by three years the release of declassified government documents dating from 1978 or earlier. It also allowed the government to treat all material sent to American officials from foreign governments — no matter how routine — as subject to classification, and expanded the ability of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to shield documents from declassification. Finally it gave the vice president the power to classify information. Link 1 | Link 2

    March

    In a ruling seen as a victory for the concentration of ownership of intellectual property and an erosion of the public domain, the Supreme Court in Eldred v. Ashcroft held that a 20-year extension of the copyright period (from 50 years after the death of the author to 70 years) called for by the Sonny Bono copyright Extension not violate either the Copyright Clause or the First Amendment. Link

    April

    In Demore v. Kim, the Supreme Court ruled that even permanent residents could be subject to mandatory detention when facing deportation based on a prior criminal conviction, without any right to an individualized hearing to determine whether they were dangerous or a flight risk. Link

    Fall

    The FBI changes its traditional policy of destroying all data and documents collected on innocent citizens in the course of criminal investigations. This information would, according to the bureau, now be permanently stored. Two years later in late 2005 Executive Order 13388, expanded access to those files for “state, local and tribal” governments and for “appropriate private sector entities,” which are not defined. Link 1 | Link 2

    Fall

    As authorized by the Patriot Act, the FBI expands the practice of national security letters. NSLs, originally introduced in the 1970s for espionage and terrorism investigations, enabled the FBI to review in secret the customer records of suspected foreign agents. This was extended by the Patriot Act to include permitting clandestine scrutiny of all U.S. residents and visitors whether suspected of terrorism or not. Link

    2004

    January

    The FBI begins keeping a database of US citizens based on information obtained via NSLs. Link

    Spring

    John Ashcroft invokes State Secrets privilege to forbid former FBI translator Sibel Edmunds from testifying in a case brought by families of victims of the 9-11 attacks. Litigation by 9-11 families is subsequently halted. Link 1 | Link 2

    June

    Supreme Court upholds Nevada state law allowing police to arrest suspects who refuse to provide identification based on police discretion of “reasonable suspicion.” Link

    2005

    January

    Supreme court rules that police do not need to have probable cause to have drug sniffing dogs examine cars stopped for routine traffic violations. Link 1 | Link 2

    June

    Supreme Court rules that the federal government can prosecute medical marijuana users even in states which have laws permitting medical marijuana. Link

    Summer

    The Patriot Act, due to expire at the end of 2005, is reauthorized by Congress. Link

    Winter 2005

    Senate blocks reauthorization of certain clauses in Patriot Act. Link

    2006

    March

    Senate passes amended version of Patriot Act, reauthorization, with three basic changes from the original including: recipients of secret court orders to turn over sensitive information on individuals linked to terrorism investigations are not allowed to disclose those orders but can challenge the gag order after a year, libraries would not be required to turn over information without the approval of a judge, recipients of an FBI “national security letter” — an investigator’s demand for access to personal or business information — would not have to tell the FBI if they consult a lawyer. New bill also said to extend Congressional oversight over executive department usage guidelines. Shortly after bill is signed George Bush declares oversight rules are not binding. Link 1 | Link 2

    June

    Supreme court rules that evidence obtained in violation of the “knock and announce” rules can still be permitted in court. Link

    September

    US Congress and Senate approve the Military Commissions Act, which authorizes torture and strips non- US citizen detainees suspected of terrorist ties of the right of habeas corpus (which includes formal charges, counsel and hearings). It also empowers US presidents at their discretion to declare US citizens as enemy combatants and subject to detention without charge or due process

    Link 1 | Link 2 | Link 3

    October

    John Warner Defense Authorization Act is passed. The act allows a president to declare a public emergency and station US military troops anywhere in America as well as take control of state based national guard units without consent of the governor or other local authorities. The law authorizes presidential deployment of US troops to round-up and detain “potential terrorists”, “illegal aliens” and “disorderly” citizenry. Link 1 | Link 2

    2007

    May

    National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51) establishes a new post-disaster plan (with disaster defined as any incident, natural or man-made, resulting in extraordinary mass casualties, damage or disruption) which places the president in charge of all three branches of government. The directive overrides the National Emergencies Act which gives Congress power to determine the duration of a national emergency. Link 1 | Link 2

    June

    In “Bong Hits for Jesus” case Supreme court rules that student free speech rights do not extend to promotion of drug use. Link

    July

    Executive Order 13438: “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq, issued. The order asserts the government’s power to confiscate the property “of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.”

    October

    The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act passes the House of Representatives 400 to 6 (to be voted on in the Senate in 2008). The act proposes the establishment of a commission composed of members of the House and Senate, Homeland Security and others, to “examine and report upon the facts and causes of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States” and specifically the role of the internet in fostering and disseminating extremism. According to the bill the term `violent radicalization’ means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change, while the term ‘ideologically-based violence’ means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual’s political, religious, or social beliefs.”
    Link 1
    | Link 2 | Link 3

     

    Other research sources
    James Bovard, Attention Deficit Democracy, 2007 Palgrave Macmillan

    Elaine Cassel, The War on Civil Liberties: How Bush and Ashcroft Have Dismantled t…, 2004 Lawrence Hill Books

    Anthony Napolitano, A Nation of Sheep, 2007 Thomas Nelson

    Cooperative Research Commons

    Posted by Maasanova at 4:06 AM

    Labels:

    December 17

    bushy trying to turn USA into NAZI state

    The 7 most dangerous lies your doctor's telling you
    (even if he doesn't know it)


    OnTheWeb : Charles N. Davis Bio
    Email Article
    Email Us
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    Timely release of presidential records

    Presidential Records Act Amendment of 2007

     By OnTheWeb: Charles N. Davis  Tuesday, December 11, 2007

    If your holiday shopping this season finds you in a bookstore, take a moment and do me a favor.

    Ask for the section on presidential history, and go take a peek. I’ll hazard a guess you’ll find literally hundreds of works of presidential history, from the scholarly tomes with hundreds of footnotes to the downright sill works on presidential pets.

    Now, take a moment and imagine it’s 2033, and you’re looking for a nice downloadable e-book history of the Clinton or Bush presidency.

    What you find is truly disappointing: they look and feel like history, but sit down and read one for a moment, and the experience is wholly unsatisfying. Where is the background, the context provided by all of those once-classified memos detailing the West Wing intrigue that makes history truly come to life. Instead, we get the learned best guesses of the nation’s finest historians working without their tools: the primary documents that make history, well, history.

    Sounds like a nightmare, eh? It’s reality, for the moment, and it will rob us of our nation’s historical record unless We The People wake up and do something about it.

    A bit of history we do know: In November 2001, just as the National Archives was preparing to release a small portion of the records of the Reagan administration, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233. The order gives former presidents and their assignees the right to prevent the release of presidential papers—forever. It also allows a sitting president to block the release of a former president’s records, even after that former president has signaled his approval. It requires that those who challenge the action of either a former president or the sitting president seek redress in court.

    Historians, most of Congress and Americans who know that our history begets our future, howled in protest, and our elected representatives slowly but surely swung into action. The House passed The Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007 (H.R. 1255/S. 886) by a veto-proof margin (333-93) with 104 Republicans breaking ranks with the Administration. 

    The bill would nullify the Bush executive order and re-establish procedures to ensure the timely release of presidential records that the Presidential Records Act was designed to ensure. The bill also has broad bipartisan support in the Senate, and cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee by voice vote earlier this year.

    We were well on our way to reclaiming our history, when on September 24, 2007, Senator Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) objected to floor consideration of H.R. 1255/S. 886 under unanimous consent, holding up a vote on the bill. Despite repeated requests from a host of historical, news media and open government organizations, Senator Bunning has refused to state the reasons for his opposition to the bill. Recently, the White House reiterated its threat to veto the bill should it pass Congress.

    For the second time this year, a lone senator has acted in the least democratic way possible to commit an act of legislative hostage taking. You may recall Sen. Kyl’s secret hold on meaningful reforms to the federal Freedom of Information Act. Sen. Kyl, to his credit, ultimately chose to voice his objections and work to address them. No such luck with Sen. Bunning, who prefers his lawmaking be done in silence. The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body is neither great nor terribly deliberative in this instance.

    When the history this sad spectacle is written, it will note that the Presidential Records Act gutted by the president and aided and abetted by the callous silence of Sen. Bunning comes with a rather remarkable history of its own.

    It’s worth remembering that the Presidential Records Act of 1978 emerged from the tattered remnants of the Nixon presidency, in direct reaction to another presidential power grab. It’s a remarkably straightforward piece of legislation: Under the law, the U.S. government asserts complete “ownership, possession, and control” of all Presidential and Vice-Presidential records. Upon conclusion of the President’s term in office, the National Archivist is required to assume custody of the records, and to make them available to the public when permissible under the PRA. Access to the records can be denied after the end of the 12-year embargo only if a former or incumbent president claims an exemption based on a “constitutionally based” executive privilege or continuing national security concern.

    It’s simple, really: the Bush administration wants to write its own history. Future presidents, Republican or Democrat, will find that sort of control downright intoxicating. If this Executive Order is not overturned by Congress it will allow any president, their heirs, and – for the first time – the vice president and heirs, to deny the American people access to the full historical record of all future administrations.

    And that is guaranteed to produce some tired pickings at your local bookstore in the near future.

    Charles N. Davis, a member of SPJ’s Freedom of Information Committee, serves as the executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

    Posted 12/11 at 08:52 AM   Email  (Permalink

     This piece is in Category: American Politics

    December 11

    free press?/plus /war got time to read all this and learn

    Are they your airwaves? F.C.C. Chair Kevin Martin penned a column for a paper, New York Times, earlier this week. In it he shoveled a lot of everything but facts and truth. He is pushing for further de-regulation but trying to mask it in terms of 'competition.' Those of us who remember the destruction that followed the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, should be alarmed. This is a very serious issue. F.C.C. Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have issued a PDF statement that I will retype below so that no one has the excuse of, "PDF freezes my computer." Read their statement. "JOINT STATEMENT BY COMMISSIONERS COPPS AND ADELSTEIN ON CHAIRMAN MARTIN'S CROSS-OWNERSHIP PROPOSAL" This is portrayed as a moderate proposal, but it is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Don't let the wool be pulled over your eyes. The proposal could repeal the ban in every market in America, not just the top twenty. Any city, no matter how small, could be subjected to newspaper broadcast ownership combinations under a very loose standard. Under Chairman Martin's plan, all markets will be open to one company combining broadcast properties with cable, the newspaper (already a monopoly in most places), even the Internet Service Provider. His proposal could propel a frenzy of competition-stifling mergers across the land. He can try to characterize his plan as affecting only the "largest markets," but consider: * The top 20 markets account for over 43% of U.S. households. Even on its face, this proposal directly affects over 120 million Americans. * The Chairman then creates a loophole that Big Media will drive a truck through, permitting a newspaper-broadcast combination in any market in the country. We have seen how loosely the Commission has granted waivers in the past. If this proposal goes through, the FCC could grant cross-ownership applications in such small towns as Meridian, Mississippi and Bend, Oregon. When big conglomerates can't get their way in a general rule, they press for loopholes that swallow the rule, and they would succeed with this approach. * The non-top four stations that major newspapers will now be competing for are preciously the stations more likely to be owned by small, independent broadcasters. If we ever got serious about women and minority ownership, these are also the stations most available to them. Chairman Martin's rule pretty much reserves these outlets for the big guys. So this proposal actually perpetuates the shamefully low levels of minority and female media ownership. The Martin rules are clearly not ready for prime time. Under the Chairman's timetable, we count 19 working days for public comment. That is grossly insufficient. The American people should have a minimum of 90 days to comment, just as many Members of Congress have requested. More importantly, the Commission has yet to finish its Localism proceeding, teed up four years ago, or to forward comprehensive ideas to increase women and minority ownership of broadcast outlets. There is still time to do this the right way. Congress and the thousands of American citizens we have talked to want a thoughtful and deliberate rulemaking, not an alarming rush to public comment, flawed studies and a tainted peer review process -- all designed to make sure that the Chairman can deliver a generous gift to Big Media before the holidays. For the rest of us: a lump of coal. We realize there is some urgency with respect to the Tribune transaction. The Chairman, however, has refused to act on Tribune's waiver requests that would permit the transaction to close. Let us be clear: it is important to hold the Tribune hostage in order to force a vote on media ownership before the end of the year. We are preapred to vote on the Tribune waiver requests within three working days after the Chairman circulates a draft decision. There is simply no excuse for using Tribune as a human shield. In my October 28th report, I provided some links for background. In addition, I noted the following: The F.C.C.'s contact page reproduces these e-mail addresses: Chairman Kevin J. Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate: dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov You can contact Commissioners Martin, Tate and McDowell to let them know you are opposed to this latest attempt at deregulation. You should also contact your Congressional representatives in the House and Senate. The airwaves are supposed to be a public good that belong to all of us. Chairman Martin wants to have a tag sale on our front yards. This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for today: Wednesday, November 14, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the Green Zone is targeted, the US military announces deaths, an army captain who went AWOL turns himself in, news due out from Canada's Supreme Court, and more. Indybay Media has posted an (audio) interview with war resister Brad McCall conducted by Courage to Resist. Brad McCall is the war resister who self-checked out and attempted entry into Canada only to be arrested (September 19, 2007) crossing the border. McCall explains in the interview that he applied for CO status and waited ("and begged and begged and begged") before realizing it wasn't happening. Brad McCall: I made, the final decision, I made it one night. I found out -- or one day. I talked to a friend of mine in Colorado Springs and he told me about these GIs that were running to Canada and I was like, 'Wow, this is cool.' . . . I went to another one of my friends' house and got on my laptop at her house and we both looked and saw that it's very possible. And we found Resisters.ca on the internet and that night I made the choice that a week later we would leave. She traveled with me as just a friend and that we'd leave in a week which, as a matter of face, was payday. So I knew I would need some cash to get on the road and get moving." Courage to Resist: So you drove to British Columbia? Brad McCall: Yes. Courage to Resist: And did you connect immediately with other resisters up there? Brad McCall: Well, initially the first thing that happened to me up there when I got to British Columbia was I was arrested at the border. For that week that I was still in Fort Carson, I had e-mail contact with Canada and with people that were willing to help me and I didn't realize that my parents actually had my e-mail password and they were watching all of this go down. And they were e-mailing all these e-mails to my commander and first sergeant so they knew I was going to Canada. Courage to Resist: Well I guess I don't need to ask about support from your family for this decision? Brad McCall: Oh, oh, God, no. I've been disowned. But that's why I love Canada. I have nothing to go back to in the United States so I'm very content with staying here for the rest of my life. Courage to Resist: So you were arrested at the border? Brad McCall: Yes, I was arrested at the border on the command of the US army by Canadian Border Services Agency -- not by US services, but Canadian services -- put into a Canadian jail for two days until my lawyer showed up and got me. Courage to Resist: Now this was a Canadian lawyer, yes? Brad McCall: Yes. Courage to Resist: From a Canadian support committee for GI resisters? Brad McCall: No, he's just a, uh, young lawyer. He supports the cause. He's an immigration lawyer. And he said -- the first thing he told me -- he said. "Me helping you guys out is a no-brainer." He said, "I'm not associated with the War Resisters Support Campaign or the War Resisters League or any anti-war group. I'm a lawyer by myself and I'm helping you guys out. And he's really an awesome guy. Courage to Resist: An unsung hero. Brad McCall: Yes, very much so. Courage to Resist: So he got you out of the clink -- Brad McCall: Yes. Courage to Resist: And then what did you do next? Brad McCall: Well, um, while I was in jail, I filed refugee claim stating that I was requesting to be a refugee from the United States on ground that if I go back to the United States, I will be persecuted or legally prosecuted for my beliefs -- politically, morally and spiritually. Courage to Resist: Right. Brad McCall: And so that's what I've done. I've started my refugee claim, working on that -- Courage to Resist: And what's the status of that claim right now? Where are you in the process? Brad McCall: Right now it's just a claim. It has to come under review by the Refugee Board of Canada and they will determine whether or not I am liable for refugee status. . So far there's only been two that have come up to the Refugee Board, only two claims by war resisters, and they have both been denied. They're in the appeals process right now. Courage to Resist: This is Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey. Brad McCall: Exactly. Courage to Resist: Exactly. They're going to the Supreme Court I understand? Brad McCall: Exactly. So me I'm not really expecting a victory in the way of getting refugee status. I'm not expecting that so I'm having to go ahead and prepare for other plans. Hinzman and Hughey are waiting to hear whether or not Canada's Supreme Court will grant a hearing to their appeal over the Immigration and Refugee Board (really one person) denying them refugee status. Hinzman was the first resister during the Iraq War who went to Canada to go public with his resistance. He became the first to apply for refugee status (January 2004). He lives there with his wife Nga Nguyen and their son Liam. Prior to making the decision, Hinzman applied for CO status and was denied. Hughey went to Canada in March 2004. McCall's stories of conflicts with his family are echoed in the early reaction of Brandon Hughey's father. However, at the 2005 Veterans for Peace conference held in Texas, David Hughey delivered an amazing speech explaining the conflicts and how they had been resolved concluding with "I just thought I'd come up and introduce myself. I do support my son." The War Resisters Support Campaign announces: Supreme Court decision on Hinzman & Hughey expected on THURSDAY NOV. 15th, 2007 The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to post its decision on whether or not it will hear the appeal by US war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey THIS THURSDAY at 9:45 am. The decision will be posted at . . . [click here] (the case number for Jeremy Hinzman is 32113, and for Brandon Hughey it is 32111). If the decision is negative, join protests in cities across the country. Check the take action page for listing of protests locations. If the decision is positive, we will celebrate right across the country -- but there will still be much work to do to ensure that US soldiers who refuse to fight in Iraq have refuge in Canada. In TORNOTO, join us at 7 p.m. at Grossman's Tavern, 379 Spadina Avenue (at Cecil Street) for a 'Leave to Appeal' party. That is tomorrow. On Iraq, McCall declared, "I want people to realize this is new era of war and Iraq is not going to -- if we don't stop Iraq, Iraq is not going to be the last step, not going to be the last frontier or whatever that the United States tries to take, it's just the beginning of a long series of wars that I can see in the future. It's not going to be pretty. And we've got to do something about it now. We have to do something about it now." There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Carla Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. The voice of war resister Camilo Mejia is featured in Rebel Voices -- playing now through December 16th at Culture Project and based on Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States. It features dramatic readings of historical voices such as war resister Mejia, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcom X and others will be featured. Zinn will take part in the November 18th presentation (the official opening night -- but performances are already taking place) and musician Allison Mooerer will head the permanent cast while those confirmed to be performing on selected nights are Ally Sheedy (actress and poet, best known for films such as High Art, The Breakfast Club, Maid to Order, the two Short Circuit films, St. Elmo's Fire, War Games, and, along with Nicky Katt, has good buzz on the forthcoming Harold), Eve Ensler who wrote the theater classic The Vagina Monologues (no, it's not too soon to call that a classic), actor David Strathaim (L.A. Confidential, The Firm, Bob Roberts, Dolores Claiborne and The Bourne Ultimatum), actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, Clueless -- film and TV series, Gregory and Chicken Little), actress Lili Taylor (Dogfight, Shortcuts, Say Anything, Household Saints, I Shot Andy Warhol, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, State of Mind) and actor, director and activist Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Beloved, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rainmaker, Places In The Heart, Dreamgirls, Shooter and who appeared on Democracy Now! Friday addressing the US militarization of Africa) The directors are Will Pomerantz and Rob Urbinati with Urbinati collaborating with Zinn and Arnove on the play. Tickets are $21 for previews and $41 for regular performances (beginning with the Nov. 18th opening night). The theater is located at 55 Mercer Street and tickets can be purchased there, over the phone (212-352-3101) or online here and here. More information can be found at Culture Project. Meanwhile IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event: In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently. Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth. Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan. Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers. In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear. Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan IVAW's announcement above will be in tomorrow and Friday's snapshot and then it will appear summarized in each snapshot until the March testimony begins. Turning to the topic of AWOL, Robert Przbylski (noted here and here and here) is no longer missing. The Army captain was stationed in Germany, due to deploy to Iraq early next year and has disappeared last month. From the beginning, Stars and Stripes' John Vandiver has owned the story because no one else could show interest. Sunday Vandiver reported the Przbylski turned himself in last Friday: "When Przylski turned himself in Friday night he was on the brink of being declared a deserter, a designation that can take effect after 30 consecutive days of unauthorized absence. Officials said Przybylski was still in AWOL status when he turned himself in. It is unclear whether the prospect of being classified a deserter was a fact in Przybylski's return. It also remains unclear what prompted him to depart in the first place." What is known is that he went missing last month (October 10th -- if not before), that his unit had learned they were deploying to Iraq in March, that he comes from a military family (his father is a retired army Lt. Col.) and that Przybylski had already served one tour of duty in Iraq. Vandiver reports that the absence is under investigation and Przybylski is currently "restricted to Baumholder barracks and [will] be given a temporary assignment while the case is investigated." Turning to the topic of Turkey and northern Iraq, Paul Schemm (AP) reports, "Kurdish guerillas watch the border for any signs that Turkey's military will carry out threats to sweep across. But other rumblings are coming from inside Iraq: a new ambivialence among Iraq's Kurds about support for their rebel cousins holed up in the mountains. The fear -- expressed by Kurdish officials and on the streets -- is that the showdown could threaten the relatively peaceful and prosperous enclave that Kurds have carved out since 1991 after generations of poverty and oppression." Meanwhile, following reports of the Turkish attacks on northern Iraq Monday and yesterday, China's Xinhua reports Aydogan Babaoglu (the commander of Turkey's air force) has declared it didn't happen stating: "None of the aircraft of Turkish Air Forces conducted a cross-border operation, and such reports are groundless." Bay Fang (Chicago Tribune) tries to track it down noting the following are on record stating attacks took place: Fouad Hussein (spokesperson for Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq) states two airplanes flew in and "dropped flares on five villages" on Monday, Iraqi army Col. Hussein Tamir ("who supervises border guards") states "helicopters opened fire on abandoned Iraqi villages". Damien Cave (New York Times) cited Iraqi officials for a "Turkish military aircraft" attack in northern Iraq Tuesday and noted, "Officials from Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region could not agree on whether helicopters or planes had been used" while also quoting Fouad Hussein. Today's Zaman, citing "[u]nnamed Kuridsh officials," report "that the villages" were "Pirbela, Birsaka, Avashin and the Norgole area". In addition, eye witnesses have reported what they saw and heard. Patrick Cockburn (Independent of London) quotes Ibrahim Mazori stating, "I was on the other side of the mountain when I heard huge explosions and could smell TNT powder all over the area" while . Meanwhile CBS and AP note that Jala Talabani, Iraq's Kurdish president, declared today, without any further comment, that, "The crisis with Turkey has passed." Similar statements have been made before. Turning to some of today's reported violence . . Bombings? Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing ("targeted an American patrol") that claimed the lives of 2 civilians and left three more wounded (this was the bombing that targeted the Green Zone -- a second Baghdad roadside bombing targeting "an American patrol" had no reported casualties) and a Babil car bombing targeting "a host tent for Sheikh Ammar Al-Gurtani" claimed the lives of 3 civilians and left eight more wounded. CNN notes, "The sheiks and the al-Kardani tribe are part fo the 'Iskandairya Awakening,' one of Iraq's emerging 'awakening' movements -- the grass-roots citizen groups opposing al Qaeda in Iraq." And, left unstated, taking money from the US. Shootings? Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 Iraqi soldier shot dead in Hawija and, when police reported on the scene, 1 police officer was shot dead. Kidnappings? Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a farmer was kidnapped "between Hawija and Abassiyah". Corpses? Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses were discovered in Iraq. Today, the US military announced, "A Multi-National Corps - Iraq Soldier was killed today during military operations near the city of Mosul. The Soldier was mortally wounded by gunfire while providing security to a Police Transitional Team training mission near an Iraqi Police Station." And they announced: "Two Multi-National Division -- North Soldiers died as a result of an explosion while conducting operations in Diyala Province, Nov. 13. Additionally, four MND-N Soldiers were wounded and evacuated to a coalition hospital." Reuters count is 3863 US service members have died thus far in the illegal war. ICCC's total is also 3863 with 19 for the month thus far. (Neither total includes the 4 US service members who are known to have died from the physical wounds they received in Iraq after leaving Iraq: Jack D. Richards, Gerald J. Cassidy, John "Bill" Smith and Raymond A. Salerno III.) And Paul Tait and Missy Ryan (Reuters) report that the roadside bombing "targeting a passing American military convoy, killed a U.S. soldier and a civilian and wounded seven people including five soldiers, the U.S. military said. . . . The explosion in Baghdad was close to a checkpoint where hundreds of Iraqis who work inside the sprawling complex queue every morning." The US military announcement reads: "An explosively formed penetrator detonated in Central Baghdad Nov. 14, killing a Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier and wounding five others. Also, one Iraqi civilian was killed and two others were wounded." Another attack on the Green Zone? Guess it will be harder to spin that as "safety" -- but give the Operation Happy Talkers time, give them time. Meanwhile the central government in Iraq continues to be in shambles. AP reports: "Iraqi troops seized the west Baghdad headquarters of a powerful Sunni Muslim group Wednesday, cordoning off the building and ordering employees out, the group said. Iraqi security forces dispatched by the Sunni Endowment, a government agency that cares for Sunni mosques and shrines, surrounded the mosque complex where the group is based at 9 a.m. and demanded that the building be evacuated before noon, the Association of Muslim Scholars said in a statement posted on its Web site." CBS and AP note the Association of Muslim Scholars' spokesperson Mohammed Bahsar al-Faydi is of the opinion that the forces "were not government forces but the personal guards of Ahmed Abdul-Ghafoor al-Samarraie, the head of the Sunni Endowment". Reuters notes that they were Sunni Endowment security guards and that in addition to everyone being kicked out of the building "a radio broadcast from the mosque had been stopped." Paul Tait and Missy Ryan also note that a de-de-Baathification bill is being hailed as 'progress' even though it's just been given to parlaiment (from Nouri al-Maliki's cabinet) and "[o]fficals had previously said the bill had already been given to parliament." As Damien Cave (New York Times) notes, this follows yesterday's call by the Sadr bloc for Parliament to be dissolved. On the issue of the displaced Iraqis, nothing's being done. Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted today, "The leading refugee-advocate group Refugees International has issued a scathing critique of the Bush administration's treatment of displaced Iraqis. In a new report, Refugees International says the U.S. has been 'unforgivably slow' in resettling Iraqi refugees. Almost five million Iraqis are believed to have been displaced since the U.S. invasion. The U.S. is admitting more than three times as many Iranian immigrants as it is Iraqis." Hannah Allam (McClatchy Newspapers) quotes the report's co-author, Kristele Younes, declaring, "The first reason for this is the lack of political will. Until very recently, the Bush administration never even acknowledged the humanitarian crisis because they were concerned that it would be interpreted as acknowledging failure in Iraq. And President Bush still has yet to acknowledge that there are now almost 5 million Iraqis who've had to leave their homes." Younes co-authored the report with Jake Kurtzer and it includes the following policy recommendations: 1. The U.S. immediately appoint a senior PRM official to be based in the region and charged with coordinating both the assistance and resettlement components of its response; 2. The U.S. immediately appoint an ambassador level diplomat to be based in Syria; 3. The U.S. and other donors provide earmarked bilateral assistance to countries hosting large numbers of Iraqi refugees, either directly or through a Trust Fund established by the UN or the Arab League; 4. The U.S. fund all pending UN appeals at a level of 50% or more; 5. The UN country teams make responding to Iraqi refugees needs a priority, with the UN resident representatives acting as coordinators of the overall national UN response and as liaisons with the diplomatic and donor communities. In mercenary news, David Johnston and John M. Broder (New York Times) report that the FBI investigation into Blackwater's slaughter of 17 Iraqis on September 16th have not released a report but reportedly "have found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq, according to civilian and military officials briefed on the case." In peace activism news, more activity in Olympia. On Monday, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) noted, "In Olympia Washington, 15 anti-war demonstrators were arrested over the weekend while attempting to block a military convoy carrying Stryker vehicles. The protests were organized by the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance which aims to stop the U.S. military from using the Port of Olympia to ship equipment to Iraq. Protest organizers also accused police of brutalizing dozens of peaceful demonstrators and journalists. On Saturday police dressed in riot gear repeatedly used pepper spray and batons to break up the protest." The actions have continued and AP reports, "Police wearing riot gear fired pepper spray bullets into a crowd of more than 150 protesters Tuesday night at the Port Olympia and several military convoys eventually moved out" with approximately 50 activists arrested. Jeremy Pawloski (The Olympian) reports, "Olympia police in riot gear wore gas masks as they prepared to remove protesters from the main entrance about 11 p.m. At the same time, military convoys left for Fort Lewis from the port exit to Marine Drive" and that in addition to the pepper spray and pepper spray bullets, there are reports that "police also threw two concussion grenades into the crowd." And last week, Morton West High School students learned that their protest -- following the guidelines the school imposed -- against the illegal war was resulting in suspension and possible expulsion. The Columbia College Chicago chapter of SDS has started an online petition: We are writing in defense of the students who now face excessive disciplinary actions at the hands of various Morton West school administrators. Our sympathies lie with the courageous and moral struggle that the students have taken up, and with their parents who still support them. The struggle for a peaceful and just society absent of war should not be met with punishment, but should be supported by the community as a whole, especially from within the educational setting. Furthermore, It is our firm belief that an injury to freedom for students anywhere is an injury to freedom for students everywhere. This is why we urge all Morton West administrators to drop all disciplinary action against the said students, and to remove any indications of said events from their permanent records. We urge you to respect these students right to free expression now and in the future. (Written by Columbia College Chicago Students for a Democratic Society) At Consortium News, Robert Parry's "Why We Write" explains the basics of the site, yes, but also explains the very real need for Consortium News. He and his sons Nat and Sam will be speaking at Busboys and Poets in Arlingtion, Virginia Saturday Nov. 17th from four p.m. to six p.m. discussing their new book Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush. Sam and Nat Parry have established their own journalist skills at Consortium News and they and Robert Parry can discuss any of the topics pertaining to the current administration but remember that Robert Parry has been doing investigative journalism for years -- long enough to have had neocon Daniel Pipes insult his reporting long, long before the Iraq War -- a sure sign his investigations cause discomfort. iraq brad mccall jeremy hinzman brandon hughey robert przybylskijohn vandiver democracy nowamy goodman anthony arnovehoward zinn robert parry bay fang patrick cockburn hannah allemmcclatchy newspapers the new york timesdamien cavemichael kramerdavid johnstonjohn m. broder Posted by Ruth at 5:16 PM Newer Post Older Post
    December 07

    WGA strike

    strike is so writers can get residuals for their hard work and overtime pay-14 to 18 hr days and weekends. we just won a case in court for the overtime!!! they offer .8% residuals we want 2.5% and no less- not much out of the $ and they say internet doesn't count. lol lol it's is where everything is going. bastards want it all. Rupert Murdock and friends with bushy support.
    November 19

    WGA/SAG MARCH

    For your information You're subscribed to this mailing list. Unsubscribe Hollywood Guild Members: WGA Strike Locations for Monday, Nov. 19 plus Rally & March Location for Tuesday, Nov. 20‏ From: Screen Actors Guild (memmail@sag.org) Sent: Fri 11/16/07 6:24 PM Reply-to: Screen Actors Guild (memmail@sag.org) To: SAG Members (memmail@sag.org) Security scan upon download Trend Micro ® logo Attachments: image001.jpg (24.1 KB) file:///C:/Documentum/Checkout/119378761242625330010/eblast_logo.jpg WGA Strike Locations and Rally Information for Monday, Nov. 19 and Tuesday, Nov. 20 - March & Rally Scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 20 on Hollywood Blvd. - Dear Guild Member: We encourage you, on your own time, to walk any picket line that has been set up by the WGA to show your solidarity. If you are not working (or are on break or lunch) and want to come out to support the WGA picket line, please come to one of the following locations. When you arrive at the location, please look for the designated Screen Actors Guild staff member. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19: PARAMOUNT STUDIOS/RALEIGH STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 5555 Melrose Avenue & 5300 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90038 Meeting Point: Windsor Gate Parking Option: Streets south of Melrose STAFF CONTACT: Mark Friedlander WARNER BROS. STUDIOS 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 4000 Warner Boulevard Burbank, CA 91522 Meeting Place: Gate 2-3 on Olive Parking Option: Street parking around studio STAFF CONTACT: Leslie Slomka and Niki Nakagawa Please Note: At this location SAG Performers with Disabilities will be on the line in support of the WGA, joined by WGA members with disabilities. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20: LABOR SOLIDARITY WITH WRITERS – MARCH AND RALLY DOWN HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD 1 p.m. – Assemble at Hollywood Blvd. and Ivar Ave. 1:30 p.m. – March down Hollywood Blvd. Help write a chapter in Hollywood history. Join thousands of WGA members in support as they begin week three of the WGA strike against the AMPTP. March down Hollywood Boulevard with your fellow SAG members, writers, musicians, Teamsters, Service Employees and other unions in this fight for justice. REMINDER: * Please stay at studio locations, and do not join picketers at on-location sites. Screen Actors Guild is not condoning or participating in disruption and/or attempts to shut down location shoots. * It is critical that SAG picket signs not be displayed at any locations other than the appropriate sites at the studios and networks. * If you are contracted to work on a television series or motion picture that continues to produce while the WGA is on strike, you are obligated by your personal service agreement and the “No Strike” clause in our collective bargaining agreements to go to work. You can continue to audition for work and accept new work if you choose to do so. * Screen Actors Guild members should not perform the duties covered by WGA contracts. Simply stated, you should not write anything normally written by striking WGA writers. * Finally, and most importantly, we must support our fellow SAG members on every set even if they have to cross a picket line to get to work. They are simply following the advice of their union and honoring their contract. It is not reasonable to expect SAG cast members to risk the potentially enormous personal liability that may flow from refusing to work in the absence of a SAG strike. Please note, the WGA contract includes a similar “No Strike” clause and writers would be bound to the same rules as you are if another union were striking. IMPORTANT NOTE: We have also set up a toll-free Screen Actors Guild WGA strike information hotline number for questions regarding work rules and picket line locations. Through this hotline number, you can get up-to-the-minute information on work rules, picket line locations and help with other questions.
    November 17

    no mail

    i'm feeling funny. friends son't write to even cuse me out. i must be worthless. lol or is it that u think i'm crazy. well, maybe baby, u might be right! what is "pelit?" now u have reason to write. lol
    October 28

    what ever u want to call it/how about delusions

    if there actually was a jc he wasn't thinking of anyone; he was thinking of how much the crucifixion hurt and how much it was going to hurt when they broke his legs, if he were still alive. the legs were always broken. there is no devine being, just ur fears. check my profile and view george carlin's video and "GOD," the view his "who controls america, ie the NAZI right wing religious fanatics. actually the ones how use this none thinkers for their greedy controlling purposes. they are really as religious as i am, but they are smart enough to use it to control americans with all their fear and hate mongering. and we've went for it all these years, and it's peeking with bushy. read up on how the NASIS started and it is a text book case of the reagan/bush eras. use ur critical thinking and not the propagada u were raised with as were the muslims and jews and hindus, etc. the reagan mindless and bushys have made america look like fools. remember father bushy said the atheist and muslims should not be aloud to vote, and was probably thinking the same about jews.
    October 19

    share ur feelings on http://groups.myspace.com/4thestate

    the laws covering th e# of TV, radio, newspapers, etc. were changed by Pres. Reagan and Bush so that there wealthy friends could buy them all up and controll the information u get. That is way Murdock loved Reagan and now Bush. He and 2 others control ur info. And the wealthy republican televangelist religious fanatics anre buying TV and radio to spreed there money making capacity. It's not Murdocks and companys fault, they just are greedy as most business men are. It was Reagan and the Bush family that sold out our nations freedom of the press and in that way sold out our democracy to the ones who would put them in office. One of the biggest crimes against American democracy. ever. Now all the old journalist are crying as they are let go for not doing what Murdock and friends tells them to, but where were they when the public needed to be informed of the changes so they could raise a fuss? You were sold out Americans for flashy, no help, stupid news. But u can still do something. Don't believe the right wing Republican lies. Vote them out, along with their spying "Homeland Security," scare tactics. This country use to be free of that NAZI propoganda, make it that way again.
    October 16

    algore.com GET AL GORE TO RUN FOR USA PRESIDENT AND SAVE AMERICA FROM RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS

    Come on AL GORE, don't allow these Democrats to let the right wing Republicans keep the government! Obama can't win as our country is too racist now, and Hillary Clinton can't as she can't get the conservative vote, even though she would sell out to get it. Obama is too vain to concede, but knows his run will end in right wing victory but No thought of how his run may keep right wing in, The only thing of importance to him is that HE is in the race. Vanity strikes again.
 For those who are not familiar with Al Gore; (there are a few) Al Gore's Nobel Prize has somewhat boosted the American public's perception of him -- with the public holding a more favorable view of Gore than at any time since the fall of 2000. 40% percent of Americans surveyed say they'd like to see him run for president again, and that's is without campaining! Most Americans say Gore deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize by a large margin.Gallup reports: "The most visible effect of Gore's win is in the public's overall opinions of him. The Oct. 12-14 poll finds 58 percent of Americans saying they have a favorable view of Gore, up from 50 percent in the prior reading taken in August. That is Gore's high favorable rating for the year, and his best in any Gallup Poll since September 2000. Gore's favorable rating had been around 50 percent most of the year, aside from a brief period in the mid-50 percent range following his Academy Award victory. "Gallup has tracked opinions of Gore since 1992, and his favorable rating peaked at 64 percent on two occasions -- immediately following the Democratic National Conventions in 2000 (at which he was nominated for president) and 1992 (at which he was nominated for vice president)"Democrats have very positive views of Gore, and these views are improved following his Nobel Peace Prize award. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats now have a positive opinion of Gore, compared with 73 percent in the August survey. Gore's favorable rating among Democrats is even with that of Sen. Hillary Clinton, for whom 84 percent of Democrats have a favorable opinion, again, even without campaining. But Gore now has a better favorable rating than Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, who were viewed similarly to Gore by Democrats prior to last week. OCTOBER 12, 2007 Al Gore wins the Nobel, campaign draft calling by William Neikirk
Video by Sabrina Fang Al Gore is now a Nobel laureate. But will he be a presidential candidate, too? Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize today for his efforts in highlighting the global warming issue and put himself back into the presidential picture if he is so inclined. The announcement was made in Oslo. He shared the award with the International Panel on Climate Change. They were cited for their efforts in warning the world of the dangers of climate change. The former vice president has dedicated much of his time since his narrow 2000 loss to President Bush to warn the nation—indeed the world—that the planet is headed toward a potentially catastrophic warming. 
Nobel Peace Prize Committee Chair Ole Danbolt Mjoes on announcement that former Vice President Al Gore is co-winner of the prestigious award. Photo by Daniel Annum Lauten-AFP/Getty Images. Continue reading "Al Gore wins the Nobel, campaign draft calling" » GORE!, if republicans stay in, this keeps happening, and they are just bears, think of our people.. Study: Two-thirds of polar bears threatened by William Neikirk Two-thirds of the world's polar bear population could be wiped out by the mid-21st century because of changes of sea-ice conditions, the U.S. Geological Survey projects in a new study. As a result of the federal agency's study, the polar bear could soon be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. A final decision on that designation is due in January. A scientific team investigating the future of polar bears and their habits took six months to analyze the direct relationship between the presence of Arctic sea ice and the health of polar bears, according to the USGS. The bears "depend on sea ice as a platform to hunt for seals, their primary food," according to the agency. Continue reading "Study: Two-thirds of polar bears threatened" » Posted by Bill Neikirk at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) AUGUST 20, 2007 Bush's new hunting order conjures up Cheney 
Vice President Cheney quail hunting in 2002. AP Photo/David Bohrer, White House by Frank James I'm not among those who see the invisible hand of Vice President Cheney behind everything that happens at the White House. But I have to admit, as soon as I learned about this executive order President Bush recently signed, ordering federal agencies to enhance hunting opportunities on federally managed lands, my suspicions did run in the direction of one of our nation's most famous hunters. Here part of the executive order: Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of this order is to direct Federal agencies that have programs and activities that have a measurable effect on public land management, outdoor recreation, and wildlife management, including the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities and the management of game species and their habitat. Sec. 2. Federal Activities. Federal agencies shall, consistent with agency missions: (a) Evaluate the effect of agency actions on trends in hunting participation and, where appropriate to address declining trends, implement actions that expand and enhance hunting opportunities for the public; (b) Consider the economic and recreational values of hunting in agency actions, as appropriate; Continue reading "Bush's new hunting order conjures up Cheney" » Posted by Frank James at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (28) AUGUST 8, 2007 AND THEN THERE ARE DEMOCRATIC IDIOTS LLIKE DINGELL OF MICH. who would make it harder on the not so wealthy as he, with higher gas prices! (an he calls himself an environmentalist, RIGHT) Dingell's energy plan would hike gas taxes by William Neikirk Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) has a plan for combating global warming. He would slap a 50-cent per gallon tax on gasoline, end the mortgage tax deduction for so-called "McMansions," and tax and put a cap on carbon dioxide emissions. Proposals by a single congressman are usually not so noteworthy, but Dingell happens to be the powerful chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and accustomed to getting his way in Congress. But the question is whether the House Democratic Leadership will go this far. He and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are often at odds on energy policy. But when Congress comes back this fall, legislation to combat climate change will be considered by the House. He outlined his ideas in a town hall meeting in Ann Arbor Tuesday, according to a story in today's Detroit Free Press. 45th Vice President of the United States In office January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 United States Senator from Tennessee In office January 3, 1985 – January 2, 1993 Preceded by Howard Baker Succeeded by Harlan Mathews Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 6th district In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th district Website algore.com Nobel Prize in Peace (2007) Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) was the forty-fifth vice president of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He is also a prominent environmental activist and shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Prior to the vice presidency, Gore served in the U. S. House of Representatives (1977–85) and the U. S. Senate (1985–93), representing Tennessee. Gore was the Democratic nominee for president in the 2000 election in which he won the popular vote by a small majority. A legal controversy over the Florida election recount, ultimately settled in favor of George W. Bush by the Supreme Court, made the election one of the most controversial in American history.[1] [2] Today, Gore is president of the American television channel Current TV (which won the award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Television at the 2007 Primetime Emmys[3]), chairman of Generation Investment Management, a director on the board of Apple Inc., an unofficial advisor to Google's senior management, and chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection. As an environmental activist, Gore lectures widely on the topic of global warming, which he calls "the climate crisis."[4] In 2006, he starred in the Academy Award-winning documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, discussing global warming and the environment. Under his leadership, one of Gore's organizations, Save Our Selves, organized the July 7, 2007 benefit concert Live Earth in an effort to raise awareness about climate change. While Gore has frequently stated that "I'm not planning to be a candidate again,"[5] there are continuing efforts[6] to convince him to run for the 2008 Democratic presidential Albert A. Gore, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C., to Albert Arnold Gore, Sr., a U.S. Representative (1939–1944, 1945–1953) and Senator (1953–1971) from Tennessee and Pauline LaFon Gore, one of the first women to graduate from Vanderbilt University Law School. He divided his childhood between Washington, and Carthage, Tennessee:[7] as a boy, during the school year, the family lived in a hotel in Washington and during summer vacations, Gore worked on the family farm in Carthage, where hay and tobacco were grown and cattle raised.[8] Gore attended St. Albans School where he ranked 25th (of 51) in his senior class.[9] In preparation for his college applications, Gore scored a 1355 on his SAT (625 in verbal and 730 in math). [9] Al Gore's IQ scores, from tests administered at St. Alban's School in 1961 and 1964 (his freshman and senior years) respectively, have been recorded as 133 and 134. [9] In 1965, Gore enrolled at Harvard College, the only university to which he applied. He scored in the lower fifth of the class for two years in a row[10] and, after finding himself bored with his classes in his declared English major, Gore switched majors and found a passion for government and graduated with honors from Harvard in June 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government. [9] After returning from the military he took religious studies courses at Vanderbilt and then entered the university's law school. He left Vanderbilt without a degree to run for an open seat in Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District in 1976. Gore served as a field reporter in Vietnam for five months. Gore opposed the Vietnam War and could have avoided serving overseas by accepting a spot in the National Guard that a friend of his family had reserved for him, or by other means of avoiding the draft. Gore has stated that his sense of civic duty compelled him to serve in some capacity.[11] He enlisted in the United States Army on August 7, 1969. After basic training at Fort Dix, Gore was assigned as a military journalist writing for The Army Flier, the base newspaper at Fort Rucker. With seven months remaining in his enlistment, Gore was shipped to Vietnam, arriving on January 2, 1971. He served for four months with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa and for another month at the Army Engineer Command in Long Binh. Gore said in 1988 that his experience in Vietnam: "didn't change my conclusions about the war being a terrible mistake, but it struck me that opponents to the war, including myself, really did not take into account the fact that there were an awful lot of South Vietnamese who desperately wanted to hang on to what they called freedom. Coming face to face with those sentiments expressed by people who did the laundry and ran the restaurants and worked in the fields was something I was naively unprepared for."[12] As his unit was standing down, he applied for and received a non-essential personnel honorable discharge two months early in order to attend divinity school at Vanderbilt University.[13] Gore left Vanderbilt after completing the required one-year Rockefeller Foundation scholarship for students returning to secular work.[14] In 1970, Gore married Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson (known as Tipper), whom he had first met at his high school senior prom in Washington, D.C. Gore then spent five years as a reporter for The Tennessean, a newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. His investigations of possible corruption among members of Nashville's Metro Council resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two councilmen for separate offenses.[15] Gore then took a leave of absence from the paper to try law school. Before he could finish, he learned that his local congressman planned to retire in 1976.[citation needed] Political career (1976–2000) Congressional service When Congressman Joe L. Evins announced his retirement after 30 years, Gore quit law school in March 1976 to run for the United States House of Representatives, in Tennessee's fourth district. Gore defeated Stanley Rogers in the Democratic primary, then ran unopposed in the general election and was elected to his first Congressional post. He was re-elected three times, in 1978, 1980, and 1982. In 1984, Gore successfully ran for a seat in the United States Senate, which had been vacated by Republican Majority Leader Howard Baker. Gore served as a Senator from Tennessee until 1993, when he became Vice President. While in Congress, Gore was a member of the following committees: Armed Services (Defense Industry and Technology Projection Forces and Regional Defense; Strategic Forces and Nuclear Deterrence); Commerce, Science and Transportation (Communications; Consumer; Science, Technology and Space — chairman 1992; Surface Transportation; National Ocean Policy Study); Joint Committee on Printing; Joint Economic Committee; and Rules and Administration. On March 19, 1979, Gore became the first person to appear on C-SPAN, making a speech in the House chambers.[16] In the late 1980s, Gore introduced the Gore Bill, which was later passed as the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991. The bill was one of the most important pieces of legislation directly affecting the expansion of the Internet. Opposition to U.S. government support of Saddam Hussein While Senator, Gore twice attempted to get the U.S. government to pull the plug on support to Saddam Hussein, citing Hussein's use of poison gas, support of terrorism, and his burgeoning nuclear program, but was opposed both times by the Reagan and Bush administrations. In the wake of the Al-Anfal Campaign, during which Hussein staged deadly mustard and nerve gas attacks on Kurdish Iraqis, Gore cosponsored the Prevention of Genocide Act of 1988, which would have cut all assistance to Iraq. The bill was defeated in part due to intense lobbying of Congress by the Reagan-Bush White House and a veto threat from President Reagan.[17] Gore's positions as a Senator with regard to Iraq would later become an issue in his 1992 campaign for Vice President.[18] 1988 Presidential election Main article: Al Gore presidential campaign, 1988 Gore ran for President in the 1988 United States presidential election, but failed to obtain the Democratic nomination, which went to Michael Dukakis. During the campaign, Gore's strategy involved skipping the Iowa caucus and putting little emphasis on the New Hampshire Primary in order to concentrate his efforts on the South. He won Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee in the Super Tuesday primaries but dropped out of the presidential race in April after a poor showing in the New York primary.[16] On April 3, 1989, Gore's six-year-old son Albert was nearly killed in an automobile accident while leaving the Baltimore Orioles' opening day game. Because of the resulting lengthy healing process, his father chose to stay near him during the recovery instead of laying the foundation for a 1992 presidential primary campaign. Gore started writing Earth in the Balance, his book on environmental conservation, during his son's recovery. It became the first book written by a sitting Senator to make The New York Times bestseller list since John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. Vice Presidency Vice President Gore talking with President Clinton as the two pass through the Colonnade at the White House. Bill Clinton chose Gore to be his running mate for the 1992 United States presidential election on July 9, 1992. Gore was inaugurated as the 45th Vice President of the United States on January 20, 1993. Clinton and Gore were re-elected to a second term in the 1996 election. According to the U.S. government, the U.S. economy expanded for all eight years of the Clinton/Gore administration.[19] One factor was the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, for which Gore cast the tie-breaking vote. The Administration worked closely with the Republican-led House to slow federal spending and eventually balance the federal budget. One of Gore's major works as Vice President was the National Performance Review,[20] which pointed out waste, fraud, and other abuse in the federal government and stressed the need for cutting the size of the bureaucracy and the number of regulations. Gore stated that the National Performance Review later helped guide President Clinton when he down-sized the federal government.[21] In 1993, Gore debated Ross Perot on CNN's Larry King Live on the issue of free trade, with Gore arguing for free trade and the passage of NAFTA, and Perot arguing against it. Public opinion polls taken after the debate showed that a majority of Americans thought Gore won the debate and now supported NAFTA[22]. The bill subsequently passed 234–200 in the House of Representatives.[23] Gore while Vice President In 1997, Gore became the highest elected official to have run a marathon while in office. He ran the 1997 Marine Corps Marathon in 4:54:25 (an 11:14 mile pace).[24] In 1998, Gore began promoting a NASA satellite that would provide a constant view of Earth, marking the first time such an image would have been made since The Blue Marble photo from the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. The "Triana" satellite would have been permanently mounted in the L1 Lagrangian Point, 1.5 million km away.[25] Also in 1998, Gore became associated with Digital Earth.[26] In 1999, Gore became the subject of criticism by AIDS activists. According to a June 18, 1999 article in the Washington Post the activists said that "Gore, in talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki, has threatened trade sanctions if South Africa permits the widespread sale of cheaper, generic drugs that would cut into U.S. companies' sales." Gore responded by stating, "I love this country. I love the First Amendment [...] Let me say in response to those who may have chosen an inappropriate way to make their point, that actually the crisis of AIDS in Africa is one that should command the attention of people in the United States and around the world." [27] 2000 Presidential election Main article: Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000 Gore/Lieberman 2000 campaign logo After two terms as Vice President, Gore ran for President again in the 2000 United States Presidential election, selecting Senator Joe Lieberman to be his vice-presidential running mate. The election was one of the closest and most controversial presidential elections in the history of the United States. Gore's daughter, Karenna Gore Schiff, worked on her father's campaign during the election as Youth Outreach Chair.[28] Together with her father's former Harvard roommate Tommy Lee Jones, [29] Schiff officially nominated Gore as the presidential candidate during the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. [30] She also introduced her father during the launching of his campaign.[31] During the entire campaign, Gore was neck-and-neck in the polls with Republican Governor of Texas George W. Bush. On Election Day, the results were so close that the outcome of the race took over a month to resolve, highlighted by the premature declaration of a winner on election night, and an extremely close result in the state of Florida. On election night, news networks first called Florida for Gore, later retracted the projection, and then called Florida for Bush, before finally retracting that projection as well. The race was ultimately decided by a margin of only 537 votes in Florida. Florida's 25 electoral votes were awarded to Bush only after numerous court challenges. Gore publicly conceded the election after the Supreme Court of the United States in Bush v. Gore ruled that the Florida recount was unconstitutional and that no constitutionally valid recount could be completed by the December 12 deadline, effectively ending the recounts.[32] Gore strongly disagreed with the Court's decision, but decided "for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession."[33] Gore became the fourth candidate in American history to win the popular vote (by half a million more votes than his opponent) but lose the electoral vote.[34] Gore ultimately received 267 electoral votes to Bush's 271.[35] Gore himself attributed positive economic results to his and Clinton's policies[37] — more than 22 million new jobs, the highest homeownership in American history (up to that time), the lowest unemployment in 30 years, the paying off of $360 billion of the national debt, the lowest poverty rate in 20 years, higher incomes at all levels, the conversion of the hitherto largest budget deficit in American history into the largest surplus, the lowest government spending in three decades, the lowest federal income tax burden in 35 years, and more families owning stocks than had up to that point. Post Vice-presidency 2004 election activities As the first major speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Gore presented himself as a living reminder that every vote counts. "Let's make sure not only that the Supreme Court does not pick the next president, but also that this president is not the one who picks the next Supreme Court," said Gore. Gore directed remarks to those who had abandoned the Democratic Party four years ago to support third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, asking them, "Do you still believe that there was no difference between the candidates?"[39] Initially, Al Gore was touted as a logical opponent of George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidential Election. "Re-elect Gore!" was a common slogan among many Democrats who felt he had been cheated out of the presidency, on the grounds of his winning the popular vote and the Florida voting controversies. On December 16, 2002, however, Gore announced that he would not run in 2004, saying that it was time for "fresh faces" and "new ideas" to emerge from the Democrats. When he appeared on a 60 Minutes interview, Gore said that he felt if he had run, the focus of the election would be the rematch rather than the issues. Gore's former running mate, Joe Lieberman quickly announced his own candidacy for the presidency, which he had vowed he would not do if Gore ran. Despite Gore taking himself out of the race, a handful of his supporters formed a national campaign to "draft" him into running. However, that effort largely came to an end when Gore publicly endorsed Governor of Vermont Howard Dean (over his former running mate Lieberman) weeks before the first primary of the election cycle. There was still some effort to encourage write-in votes for Gore in the primaries by Patriots for Al Gore who were separate from the draft movement. Although Gore did receive a small number of votes in New Hampshire and New Mexico, that effort was halted when John Kerry pulled into the lead for the nomination. On February 9, 2004, on the eve of the Tennessee primary, Gore gave what some consider his harshest criticism of the president yet when he accused George W. Bush of betraying the country by using the 9/11 attacks as a justification for the invasion of Iraq. Gore also urged all Democrats to unite behind their eventual nominee proclaiming, "Any one of these candidates is far better than George W. Bush." In March 2004 Gore, along with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, united behind Kerry as the presumptive Democratic nominee. On April 28, 2004, Gore announced that he would be donating $6 million to various Democratic Party groups. Drawing from his funds left over from his 2000 campaign, Gore pledged to donate $4 million to the Democratic National Committee. The party's Senate and House committees would each get $1 million, and the party from Gore's home state of Tennessee would receive $250,000. In addition, Gore announced that all of the surplus funds in his "Recount Fund" from the 2000 election controversy that resulted in the Supreme Court halting the counting of the ballots, a total of $240,000, will be donated to the Florida Democratic Party. Gore stressed the importance of voting and having every vote counted, foreshadowing the 2004 United States election voting controversies. In the late 1990s, Gore strongly pushed for the passage of the Kyoto Treaty, which called for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.[68][69] He was opposed by the Senate, which passed unanimously (95-0) the Byrd-Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98),[70] which stated the sense of the Senate was that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing as well as industrialized nations or "would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States".[71] On November 12, 1998, Gore symbolically signed the protocol. Both Gore and Senator Joseph Lieberman indicated that the protocol would not be acted upon in the Senate until there was participation by the developing nations.[72] The Clinton Administration never submitted the protocol to the Senate for ratification. In recent years, Gore has remained busy traveling the world speaking and participating in events mainly aimed towards global warming awareness and prevention. His keynote presentation on global warming has received standing ovations, and he has presented it at least 1,000 times according to his monologue in An Inconvenient Truth. His speaking fee is $100,000.[73] In 2004, he launched Generation Investment Management. This firm, which he chairs, seeks out companies which take a responsible view on global issues such as climate change. It was created to assist the growing demand for an investment style that can bring returns by blending traditional equity research with a focus on more intangible non-financial factors such as social and environmental responsibility and corporate governance. Gore is a vocal proponent of carbon neutrality, buying a carbon offset each time he travels by aircraft.[74] Gore and his family drive hybrid vehicles.[75] In "An Inconvenient Truth" Gore calls for people to conserve energy, but the Gore family mansion in Nashville consumes 12 to 20 times more energy than the average family home, and its consumption has risen since the film was produced in 2005. [76] Gore's supporters, however, counter that the Gore Family has done much to offset their carbon footprint and electrical usage, such as through the installation of solar panels. Interest in Al Gore's speeches reached such a point that a public lecture at University of Toronto on February 21, 2007, on the topic of global warming, led to a crash of the ticket sales website within minutes of opening.[77] A few weeks later, he spoke at another event in the same city and, for the first time, made the argument that employers have a significant role to play in mobilizing their employees to take action on climate change.[78] During Global Warming Awareness Month, on February 9, 2007, Al Gore and Richard Branson announced the Virgin Earth Challenge, a competition offering a $25 million prize for the first person or organization to produce a viable design that results in the removal of atmospheric greenhouse gases.[79] On July 7, 2007, Live Earth benefit concerts were held around the world in an effort to raise awareness about climate change. The event was the brainchild of both Gore and Kevin Wall of Save Our Selves. On July 21, 2007, he announced teaming with actress Cameron Diaz for a TV climate contest 60 Seconds to Save the Earth to gain people's support in solving the climate crisis.[80] Gore starred in the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth, which won the 2007 Academy Award for Documentary Feature.[81] The Oscar was awarded to director Davis Guggenheim, who asked Gore to join him and other members of the crew on stage. During this time, Gore gave a brief speech: "My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue; it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it."[82] The film, released on May 24, 2006, documents the evidence for anthropogenic global warming and warns of the consequences of people not making immediate changes to their behavior. In late July, it surpassed Bowling for Columbine as the third-highest-grossing documentary in U.S. history.[83] Gore also published a book of the same title, which became a bestseller. In reference to the use of nuclear power to mitigate global warming, Gore has stated, "Nuclear energy is not the panacea for tackling global warming." [84] 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Gore was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which was shared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, headed by Rajendra K. Pachauri (Delhi, India).[85] The award was given "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change" on October 12, 2007.[86] Response to the award was largely positive. Some praised the decision, such as founder of the Green Belt Movement, Professor Wangari Maathai, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. Inuit Activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier stated, "The Planet Earth is a winner today and that is what counts for me."[87][88] Some, such as Czech President Vaclav Klaus and meteorologist William M. Gray, criticized awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Gore. Claude Allègre, French geochemist and climate skeptic, dubbed the award "a political gimmick".[89][90] Gore made the following statement after receiving the prize: I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis—a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level. My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.[91] Internet and technology Main article: Al Gore's contributions to the Internet and technology Gore at the Ansari X Prize Executive Summit, October 19, 2006 Al Gore was involved in the development and mainstreaming of the Internet as both Senator and Vice-President. Campbell-Kelly and Aspray note in Chapter 12 of their 1996 text, Computer: A History of the Information Machine, that up until the early 1990s, public usage of the Internet was limited. They continue to state that the "problem of giving ordinary Americans network access had exercised Senator Al Gore since the late 1970s" leading him to develop legislation that would alleviate this problem.[92] Gore thus began to craft the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991 which was passed on Dec. 9, 1991 and led to the National Information Infrastructure (NII)[93] which Gore referred to as the "information superhighway". In 1999, various media outlets suggested that Gore claimed that he "invented the Internet"[94][95] in reference to a CNN interview in which he said, "During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system."[96] In response to this controversy, Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn wrote a 2000-09-29 article (originally sent via email) that described Gore's contributions to the Internet since the 1970s, including his work on the Gore Bill:[97] [A]s the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time. Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his role. He said: "During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet." We don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he "invented" the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is timely to offer our perspective. As far back as the 1970s Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept. Gore has been a member of the board of directors of Apple Inc. since 2003 and serves as a Senior Advisor to Google Inc.[98] On 06 June 2005, Gore was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award "for three decades of contributions to the Internet" at The Webby Awards. In giving him the award, Tiffany Shlain (the awards' founder and chairwoman) stated that she "wanted to set the record straight [...] it's just one of those instances someone did amazing work for three decades as Congressman, Senator and Vice President and it got spun around into this political mess."[99] Gore, during his acceptance speech (limited to five words according to Webby Awards rules), joked: "Please don't recount this vote".[100] On May 4, 2004, INdTV Holdings, a company co-founded by Gore and Joel Hyatt, purchased cable news channel NewsWorld International from Vivendi Universal. The network was relaunched under the name Current TV on August 1, 2005. On September 16, 2007, Current TV won the Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Television award at the 2007 Primetime Emmys[101] for its use of online technologies with television. In his acceptance speech, Gore stated, "we are trying to open up the television medium so that viewers can help to make television and join the conversation of democracy and reclaim American democracy by talking about the choices we have to make. More to come. Current.com. Next month."[102] Family Gore had an elder sister, Nancy Gore Hunger. She died of lung cancer in 1984.[113] Gore is married to Tipper Gore. They have four children: Karenna (born August 6, 1973), married to Andrew "Drew" Schiff[114]; Kristin Cusack (born June 5, 1977), married to Paul Cusack; Sarah Lee (born January 7, 1979), married to Taiwanese-American businessman Bill Lee[115] (李君偉)[116]; and Albert III (born October 19, 1982). The Gores also have two grandchildren: Wyatt Gore Schiff (born July 4, 1999) and Anna Hunger Schiff (born August 23, 2001).[117] Sarah is currently a medical student at University of California, San Francisco.[118] Albert works as associate publisher of the philanthropic Good magazine. The Gores reside in Nashville, Tennessee, and own a small farm near Carthage; they attend New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Carthage. In late 2005 the Gores bought a condominium at San Francisco's St. Regis. WRITE TO AL GORE AND DEMAND THAT HE SAVE OUR GOVERNMENT FROM THE RIGHT WIN REPUBLICANS algore.com
    October 02

    THE GOD DELUSION

    Belief in a God and religion, qualifies as a delusion,; a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion. Religion subverts science, fosters fanaticism, encourages bigotry against homosexuals, and influences society in other negative ways. Examples are cases where blasphemy laws have been used to sentence people to death, and when funerals of gays or gay sympathisers have been picketed. Preachers in the southern portions of the United States used the Bible to justify slavery by claiming Africans were descendants of Noah's sinful son Ham. During the Crusades, "pagans" and "heretics" who would not convert to Christianity were murdered. The religious indoctrination of children by parents and teachers in faith schools amount to a form of mental abuse. People should cringe every time somebody speaks of a “Muslim child” or a “Catholic child”, wondering how a young child can be considered developed enough to have such independent views on the cosmos and humanity’s place within it. By contrast, Dawkins observes that no reasonable person would speak of a "Marxist child" or a "Republican child". Skeptic Michael Shermer, writing in Science, stresses the consciousness raising messages of the book, "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, in particular, he cites Dawkins's message that atheism can be healthy and intellectually fulfilling. He briefly outlines the book and praises the latter part, saying the closing chapter is a tribute to the power and beauty of science, which no living writer does better. He concludes that "Dawkins's latest book deserves multiple readings, not just as an important work of science, but as a great work of literature."[46] Joan Bakewell reviewed the book for The Guardian, stating "Dawkins comes roaring forth in the full vigour of his powerful arguments, laying into fallacies and false doctrines", and suggesting that it is a timely book: "These are now political matters. Around the world communities are increasingly defined as Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and living peaceably together is ever harder to sustain....Dawkins is right to be not only angry but alarmed. Religions have the secular world running scared. This book is a clarion call to cower no longer."[47] The Economist praised the book: "Everyone should read it. Atheists will love Mr Dawkins's incisive logic and rapier wit and theists will find few better tests of the robustness of their faith. Even agnostics, who claim to have no opinion on God, may be persuaded that their position is an untenable waffle." The rest of the review essentially outlines Dawkins's arguments without much commentary of its own, focusing on Dawkins's critiques of the influence of religion upon politics and the use of religion to insulate political positions from criticism. "The problem, as Mr. Dawkins sees it, is that religious moderates make the world safe for fundamentalists, by promoting faith as a virtue and by enforcing an overly pious respect for religion."[57] To those who claim that Dawkins misrepresents religious people and argue that fanatics are a small minority, Dawkins replies that this is not true, and that intolerant fanatics have huge influence in the world.[19] Dawkins has been described as an "atheist fundamentalist". He says that fundamentalism is defined by a refusal to acknowledge facts whilst his atheism is entirely based on the facts. He says that, if all of the facts pointed to creationism, then he would believe in creationism.[19]
    September 25

    Why did the chicken cross the road?

    ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road. BUDDHA Asking this question denies your own chicken nature. THE BIBLE: And God came down from the heavens and He said unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road and there was much rejoicing. PAT BUCHANAN: To steal a job from a decent, hardworking American. GEORGE W. BUSH I don't think I should have to answer that question. BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What do you mean by chicken? Could you define "chicken" please? DARWIN: Chickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in such a way that they are now genetically dispositioned to cross roads. EINSTEIN: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chicken is a matter of relativity. RALPH WALDO EMERSON: The chicken did not cross the road. It transcended it. JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's what "they" call it: the "other side." Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side." That chicken should not be free to cross the road. It's as plain and simple as that. LOUIS FARRAKHAN: The road, you will see, represents the black man. The chicken 'crossed' the black man in order to trample him and keep him down. FREUD: The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity. BILL GATES: I have just released the new eChicken 2000, which will not only cross roads, but will also lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook; and Internet Explorer is an inextricable part of eChicken 2000. GRANDPA: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Someone told us that the chicken had crossed the road, and that was good enough for us. ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die. In the rain. Alone. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question. CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK: To boldly go where no chicken has gone before. MACHIAVELLI: The point is that the chicken crossed the road. Who cares why? The end of crossing the road justifies whatever motive there was. KARL MARX: It was a historical inevitability. FOX MULDER You saw it cross the road with your own eyes. How many more chickens have to cross before you believe it? RICHARD M. NIXON: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did NOT cross the road. RONALD REAGAN: What chicken? JERRY SEINFELD: Why does anyone cross a road? I mean, why doesn't anyone ever think to ask, "What the heck was this chicken doing walking around all over the place, anyway?" DR. SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes! The chicken crossed the road but why it crossed, I've not been told. KEN STARR: I intend to prove that the chicken crossed the road at the bequest of the President of the United States in an effort to distract law enforcement officials and the American public from the criminal wrongdoing our highest elected official has been trying to cover up. As a result, the chicken is just another pawn in the President's ongoing and elaborate scheme to obstruct justice and undermine the rule of law. For that reason, my staff intends to offer the chicken unconditional immunity provided he cooperates fully with our investigation. OLIVER STONE: The question is not, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Rather, it is, "Who was crossing the road at the same time, whom we overlooked in our haste to observe the chicken crossing?" COLONEL SANDERS: I missed one???
    August 28

    do u think bushy will put me in Guantanamo?/food for though

    WHY IS MY BLOG ALL RUN TOGETHER? IT CAN'T BE READ THAT WAY EASILY/DUMB!!!! i had a cattle ranch, that was once my grandfather's, right over the small mountain about 10 miles from where the first atomic bomb was tested in N M. he saw it and thought the world was ending. remember that no one even knew what an atomic bomb was then. must have been some experience! it's now called white sands missile range. Did the atomic bomb destroy the ranch? I would say that was an experience. I probably would have thought the same thing. Me too It only destroyed the tower it was on AND brought unnecessary fear to a fearful world that the politcians and preachers us for their own pocket books. and to control u FEAR, the word even gives one the creeps. Reject fear, it's a LIE, A BIG LIE! Do something for urslf, will u? read a little history, neutral, on the history of osama bin laden, and why he did what did and does. Not from american press or government propaganda. try some foreign documentaries and biographies whose counties are not involved in this bushy/chaney/rove war, u have a computer it's all there; if u can open ur mind to a new understanding u may be very surprised. start by thinking, "what would i like to do if some foreign government invaded my country or bush let a foreign army into the US to wage war on Canada from US soil. would i be a hero to our nation if i attacked their country in retaliation." i think u would surely make future US history books and be a later day US saint to kids in all American schools. ask urslf why, why did he get so much praise from aothe people. Why do to peoples of the world, that once looked to us for guidance, now hate us? we were the light to the dark part of the world and now we are the devil, why? Our media and politicians would say they are jealous of us and all we have. why didn't they think that way before? food for thought any time ur told to hate someone, make sure u look for how the spouter of that hate is going to make money from it; always follow the money, honey this has been the most lucrative war in US history. fifty ways to leave ur lover Life Dumb show what's all the uproar about the "Secret" on talk shows that i've heard about etc. (don't watch them but hear about their only funnier than shit, topics) makes me think, "Where are peoples minds?" and "Americas educational system is sure messed up!" big secret for a minds that want someone, or something to tell them where to go and when to run, because they missed the staring gun. it was just another way of saying, think positive and feel it, or "Karma" etc., etc. but i learned, or was reinforced, that i'm glad i went back to school and love to learn, learn, learn. a never ending process that gets more involve the more u think uv learned and then get ur vanity crushed (unless u fall into denial) when u find that great theory or god u imbrassed is all wrong. hologram, the great intellect. LMAO i love this fantasy we call living. what a trip. all these thousands of yrs to learn about the laser so we could discover how vanity twists us into making gods in our own image when we my only have an image in our electrical impulses and call them reality. Reality? whose and what for? got me, people. i know only one thing, i think (i think? u know what i mean. don't u?) life is a joker, so laugh at it's routine or suffer its wrath. and it can get real mad at anyone that doesn't have a sense of hummer. hiway 66 revisited Life U think i'm crazy, baby. you know you Might be right! SLOW ME DOWN Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace. Give me, amidst the day's confusion, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking "minute vacations" ...slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me of the fable "The Hare and the Tortoise"; that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than measuring its speed. Let me look up at the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew slowly and well. Inspire me to send my own roots down deep into the soil of life's endearing values ...that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny and I remember a few of my favorite things; Maalox and nose drops and her knittin' my mittens Walkers and handrails and new dental fittin's, Bundles of magazines tied up with string. These are a few of my favorite things Cadillacs, contacts, hearing aids, glasses Polident, Fixodent, false teeth in glasses. Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings. These are a few of my favorite things. When the pipes leak, when the bones creek, When the knees go bad, Then I remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad. Hot tea and crumpets, corn pads for bunions, No spicy food and food with onions. Bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring, These are a few of my favorite things. Back pains, confused brains and no fear of sinnin', Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin', And we won't mention our short shrunken frame, When we remember our favorite things. When me joints ache, when the hips break, When the eyes grow dim, Then I remember the great life i've had. And then I don't feel so bad. THEN I REMEMBER THE GREAT LIFE I'VE HAD. AND THEN I DON"T FEEL SOO BAAAD! YEA Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body; but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting; Hot Damn! What a Ride and [don't fret some day these days will be like tears in the rain, it's just that with bushy it now seems like a long drought!!] U think i'm crazy, baby. you know you Might be right! Poor George. He cant help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth," the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards Get Together/Youngbloods Dreams and the Supernatural If y'al out dar is interusted in dim intellectual tangs dat cloud me mind to off'n din feast ur eyeballs on dis piece of mind bogl'n blog'n. Chech this out to broaden ur mind. Go to google.com, put in holographic model, then click "The Holographic Universe-Crystalinks" and after uall read as much as use mind can take go to the bottom and click on "creation index" for all u may want to know (and probably didn't want to know) about creation meths and especially where they originated. After that, in the same bottom of page, click Alphabetical index of all files to really find more than u may ever thought existed in the field of the holographic principle and much, much more. Good luck and here's to the broadening of the mind At the University of Paris a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect performed what may turn out to be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century. You did not hear about it on the evening news. In fact, unless you are in the habit of reading scientific journals you probably have never even heard Aspect's name, though there are some who believe his discovery may change the face of science. Aspect and his team discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. It doesn't matter whether they are 10 feet or 10 billion miles apart. Somehow each particle always seems to know what the other is doing. The problem with this feat is that it violates Einstein's long-held tenet that no communication can travel faster than the speed of light. Since traveling faster than the speed of light is tantamount to breaking the time barrier, this daunting prospect has caused some physicists to try to come up with elaborate ways to explain away Aspect's findings. But it has inspired others to offer even more radical explanations. University of London physicist David Bohm, for example, believes Aspect's findings imply that objective reality does not exist, that despite its apparent solidity the universe is at heart a phantasm, a gigantic and splendidly detailed hologram. To understand why Bohm makes this startling assertion, one must first understand a little about holograms. A hologram is a three- dimensional photograph made with the aid of a laser. To make a hologram, the object to be photographed is first bathed in the light of a laser beam. Then a second laser beam is bounced off the reflected light of the first and the resulting interference pattern (the area where the two laser beams commingle) is captured on film. When the film is developed, it looks like a meaningless swirl of light and dark lines. But as soon as the developed film is illuminated by another laser beam, a three-dimensional image of the original object appears. The three-dimensionality of such images is not the only remarkable characteristic of holograms. If a hologram of a rose is cut in half and then illuminated by a laser, each half will still be found to contain the entire image of the rose. Indeed, even if the halves are divided again, each snippet of film will always be found to contain a smaller but intact version of the original image. Unlike normal photographs, every part of a hologram contains all the information possessed by the whole. The "whole in every part" nature of a hologram provides us with an entirely new way of understanding organization and order. For most of its history, Western science has labored under the bias that the best way to understand a physical phenomenon, whether a frog or an atom, is to dissect it and study its respective parts. A hologram teaches us that some things in the universe may not lend themselves to this approach. If we try to take apart something constructed holographically, we will not get the pieces of which it is made, we will only get smaller wholes. Anyway, you may want to find out about this. Way to loooong? I may look stupid, and act same, but trying hard to smarten up, while now listening to "Know One Told Me About Her" the slow version from "Kill Bill" great song. Now some Dylan "Hiway 61" and "Desolation Row" my personal favorite.Don't forget to comment, as i need mind stimulus in my old age as I've finely lost it. Here i am at 10:30 PM, outside the library so I can pick up wifi to get on a high speed connection for the internet. all to check mail etc. but I forgot eyes so i can hardy see what I'm doing. Senility, sure. I'm a goner, what I need is a woman right now. That's it! Women are the greatest. I must have grand ideas deep in my mind; vanity strikes again! Or is it "dirty old man ism? Saw a kid being loaded into the back of a pick up along with his twisted bike, wonder how many kids are put in the back of pick ups in Iraq and anywhere else there is a war? Check out the CIA documentary about "Blowback" (I think there is a movie by that name also) and u may come to understand our part in the world's troubles. just a thought. I have a few friends on MS but only receive comments from five but no expansions on what I blog. Just two negative ones that were sent in messages but not in comments so I could not post their side on my blog. u guys, send ur neg or pos comments. They're all appreciated. Being an X(?) journalist and, unlike most American media, I'm willing to show my detractor's side next to mine, not once in a while, buried in the back pages on the weekend, when every one is watching some stupid sport, getting drunk and arguing about their so important game, or beating their wives because they lost the rent money on that game. C'eit la vie; I would have put lol, but that last part isn't funny at all. Got to go. even a dummy like me knows when it's too cold at 1am. lol - random electrical impulses swirling in brain I'm not sure if i'm dreaming so I won't say, "I woke up this morning." Let me put it this way, I keep nodding in and out of the holographic universe that we live in but don't know of, so we can't take advantage of in a holographic way. What is that you say? What's that? It's a proven mathematical fact, demonstrated in many physics, chemical and biological labs. The funny thing about these experiments is that only a few of the researchers realized what they discovered, and worse than that, many are so indoctrinated in their fields they won't believe what they discovered; that would entail changing their old set ways. Anyway, how does one explain what has just been realized since the invention on the laser? That's right, the laser has many more uses than star wars and computers. By accident man proved that everything is part of everything else. Some take this to extremes, as usual, by saying things like, "destroy one thing and you are helping destroy everything. Nonsense. it only allows the creation of something else. There is no more room in the universe so things must end to start again. The universe would explode if something outside of it tried to input so much as an atom that was not of our universe. Physics. There are many articles in science mags and books that will explain this concept, and it is fantastic. Check them out. With an open mind one can see how things that seemed ridiculous make sense when viewed by the light of the holographic principle. spirits, UFO's, deja vu, future predictions, seeing the past, etc. and I will write on the subject when i am in an intellectual frame of mind. So, don't hold breath! lol What do u think of that random all around the block blog? fox news aaaaagghhhh News and Politics Starve The Beast by News Corpse Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 02:59:38 PM EST The problem with Fox News is not that it's a right-wing platform for war, intolerance, and greed; it isn't that it's spreading propaganda in support of an out-of-control White House that is hoarding unprecedented levels of power; it isn't that they engage in relentless and unfounded attacks on Democrats, progressives, and the rest of the 72% of Americans that Fox portrays as unpatriotic because they disapprove of Mr. Bush and his war; it isn't even that it sits at the center of a politically charged media empire run by Rupert Murdoch, a monopolistic ideologue with no allegiance to country or the common good. Certainly any one of those things would reasonably explain a sharp increase in chronic anxiety, and the combination could set off an epidemic of cerebral aneurysms. But these are not the problems with Fox News. Brought to you by... News Corpse, The Internet's Chronicle Of Media Decay. The problem with Fox News is that people care about Fox News. What I hope to prove here is that it isn't necessary or useful to do so. They are a constituency whose currency has been devalued by a deliberately constricted field of political viewpoints. In economic terms, the Fox dollar has crashed and it's time to divest. The partisan perspective at Fox is not so much a slant as it is a vertical incline. They themselves make little attempt to disclaim their bias. The network adopted its slogan, "Fair and Balanced," not to signal a practice of evenly weighted reporting, but to indicate their intention to counter a news media that they believed was predominantly liberal. Fox News' president and chief executive officer, Roger Ailes, even admitted that, "Anybody who says bias does not exist is either lying or stupid." Not wishing to be cast as either, I'll take Mr. Ailes at his word and concede that Fox News is biased. Any evaluation of the social or political impact of that bias is, or course, dependent on the composition of the viewing audience. It would be safe to say that if Sean Hannity broadcast his program into a convention of the Feminist Union Members Against Global Warming, his words would have negligible influence. Obviously, that crowd would be less than receptive to Hannity's factless fatuousnous. However, he would be equally as ineffectual before an audience of the Pro-life Caucus of the National Rifle Association. While he would be well received, it's impossible to persuade people to adopt a point of view that they already hold. Consequently, his appearance would produce a net gain of nothing. And the same is true for any Democrat who hopes to profit from appearing on Fox News. Let's take a look at the make-up of Fox's audience. One of the more foreboding characteristics of this group is that they appear to be more loyal to Fox than to Republicans or conservatism. This is a malady that I previously described in The Cult Of Foxonality. Here are three surveys that paint a consistent picture of Fox viewers as a devout congregation of true believers, incapable of critical thought. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press just completed a study that shows that Republicans are more likely to find fault with the media than non-Republicans. But Republicans for whom Fox is their primary source of news, the number is even higher. World Public Opinion conducted a study in 2005 that proved that Fox viewers were significantly more likely to have misperceptions about the war in Iraq. And viewers who paid more attention were even more misinformed. The Mellman Group's research revealed that Fox viewers supported George Bush over John Kerry by 88% to 7%. Only Republicans were more united in supporting Bush. Conservatives, white evangelical Christians, gun owners, and supporters of the Iraq war all gave Bush fewer votes than did regular Fox News viewers. What is there in that assembly that holds value for politicians or pundits of the progressive stripe, save for disdain and abuse? The potential for comrades or converts is so small as to be virtually nonexistent. It is long past time for Democrats to recognize this simple fact and resolve to stop allowing themselves to be used for target practice by disingenuous pseudo-journalists whose purpose is to defame and defeat them in politics and public opinion. The Democrats that recently declined to participate in a Fox-sponsored primary debate proved that there are no discernible repercussions for exhibiting such moral fortitude. The sole consequence of their defiance was that the agents of Fox set about to disparage them - again. But Fox would have gone on the attack even if they had agreed to participate. Observe the sample of fairness and balance in the video here, and ask yourself whether John Edwards would be justified in shunning Fox News. So if going on Fox News can't help Democrats, and staying off can't hurt them, why is there still a debate about the future course of action? Here's why..... Fox News touts itself as the 1 cable news network. On the surface, that's a plausibly accurate assertion that creates the illusion that an appearance on Fox is potentially advantageous. But, as shown above, it is not. The other cable news networks, and even the broadcast and newspaper outfits, are intimidated by Fox's perceived girth. Apparently this turns them into raging imbeciles who conclude that the way to compete with Fox is by emulating them. This behavior is emblematic of an industry that thrives on plagiarism whether it be inspired by a hit movie, a sitcom, or a pop tune. But you cannot beat Fox by copying it. Fans of Fox's brand of sludge know good slime when they are wallowing in it and they will not settle for cheap imitations. To make matters worse, competing networks have misunderstood the nature of Fox's success and are, thus, copying the wrong components. It is not conservatism that draws viewers to Fox - It is conflict. Fox's strategy was to dress up news as entertainment, employing a formula that includes drama, humor, sentimentality, suspense, sex, and visual and aural cacophony. All the elements of a good, escapist movie-of-the-week. And entertainment has always been a better ratings magnet than news. However... The ratings story is a fraud. By accepting the premise of an all-powerful Fox Dynasty, everyone from their competitors to their critics to their guests, and even their hosts, are falling prey to a myth. While Fox is indeed the leader in average audience share, when measured by cumulative audience, CNN still beats Fox by delivering more unique viewers (see more here and here). Additionally, the relative performance of cable news is still far below that of its broadcast cousins. Even SpongeBob SquarePants has a bigger audience than Fox's 1 show, the O'Reilly Factor. So there goes the only remaining weapon in Fox's arsenal. It should now be clear that Fox is neither a gateway to valuable audience exposure, nor a hospitable port for wayward Democrats. The way is now clear to steer wide of Fox News altogether. This new course can lead to a number of considerable benefits. The O'Reilly Interview 101 Ask direct yes or no questions where one answer is clearly reprehensible and the other is totally meaningless, and bully your guest into responding. "Do you want the U.S. to lose in Iraq? Well, do you?" Create an association with an unpopular (preferably mischaracterized) opinion with the broadest attribution possible. "Do you agree with Harry Belafonte, and the rest of the liberal establishment, that Venezuela should take over America?" Never concede on substance, even if your arguments are demonstrably false. "Saddam Hussein did too meet with Osama Bin Laden at Michael Moore's compound in Libya - Twice." Employ ad hominims liberally. "Why should anyone listen to a radical, Kool-Aid drinking, far-left loon like you?" Shout louder than your guests and interrupt frequently, especially when they are making a good point. Stop the Masochism First and foremost, it would put an end to the unnecessary submission to assaults from disreputable smearcasters with demonstrably hostile intentions. Bill O'Reilly is the premium model for such encounters. It is impossible to win a debate with him because he doesn't care about winning. He is only concerned with generating the sort of heat that fuels his ego and his ratings. He only books three types of guests: Those who agree with him; those he can dominate; and those he can exploit. Don't be one of them. The Sinking of Fox The loss of Democrats as foils would transform the character of Fox's conflict-driven programming, resulting in less controversy and, hence, lower ratings. Viewers would quickly become bored with repeated appearances by Fred Barnes, Michelle Malkin, Dick Morris, and Geraldo Rivera. Minus the shoutfests, and the potential for on-air meltdowns, there is no reason to watch Fox. Neil Cavuto is already whining about his inability book A-list Democrats, and O'Reilly has made it a staple of his program to lambaste no-shows as cowards. That's a desperation move on his part because he knows he can't force guests into his inquisitor's lair. When the entertainment value of Fox disappears, so will its audience, its ratings, and its cache in the media. Deprive Fox of Bragging Rights One of the most galling traits of Fox personalities is the way they use their ratings to validate their disinformation agenda. But even if the ratings story weren't a myth as described above, they still have a flawed argument. McDonald's is the 1 restaurant in America. I don't think that anyone interprets that to mean that they have the best food. What they have is the cheapest crap that is loaded with filler and seasoning to appeal to the largest number of consumers with the least sophisticated taste (Hey, that's a pretty good description of Fox News). Absent their ratings victories, however, they can't even make this flawed argument. Affirm Fox's Lack of Credibility The mere act of not showing up sends a message that Fox is not deserving or reputable. By sequestering Fox they will be left to themselves and their minions to dispense their McNews. It will make it that much more obvious to observe how they are attempting to denigrate their ideological opponents and to manipulate popular opinion. Encourage More Responsible Journalism By using discretion when formulating a media strategy, Democrats can strike a blow in favor of a more honest and independent press. It does not further the goals of ethical journalism to accommodate deceitful practitioners. Conversely, it does advance such goals to purposefully engage media who adhere to higher standards. What's bad for Fox is good for journalism. Rupert Murdoch and his rightist platform for propaganda must not be be further appeased. All previous efforts to abate the influence of Fox News have failed because they generally reserved a place for Fox in the effort. This has to stop. It's time to go cold turkey. Starve The Beast The solution is obvious. Democrats and progressives have got to swear off Fox News. They must decline all interviews. They must stay off of that tainted air. They must avoid the Stuttering Jesse's (Watters, O'Reilly's producer) that are resorting to ambush interviews. They must continue to refuse to participate in Foxic events like debates or forums. And if they find themselves trapped in an appearance from which they cannot escape, they must be certain to pepper their remarks with the truth about Fox. Let the audience know that this network is degrading public discourse and leading viewers astray. And don't let the bullies steer the dialog. Progressive politicians and pundits must be called upon to heed this advice. It is more than just a request. It is an obligation. Every time one of our representatives appears on Fox, they are setting back our agenda. They are not just wasting a little time trying to confront the enemy in its lair. They are literally causing harm to the efforts of the rest of us who are fervently struggling to repair and improve our country. Anyone in our political provinces who betrays our mission by succumbing to the Fox siren should be firmly scolded and educated as to the damage they are inflicting. I propose that we have a routine response to the weak and the fraternizers. If you should spot one of them across enemy lines, send them a link to this article with this introduction: Please stop hurting our cause by appearing on Fox News. Rupert Murdoch and his media megaphone is openly hostile to our agenda and our representatives. They will only use your appearance to distort your message and derail our mission. Studies have proven that their audience is unreceptive, and even antagonistic, to us. Your appearance will be rewarded more with ridicule than respect. I therefore request that you refrain from such appearances in order that you not do further damage to the goals we share by helping to strengthen the foremost advocate of our defeat. If we can build a united front against the lies and insults that are the daily repast on Fox, we can also start to reform the broader media landscape that is bewitched by Fox's aura. And it is long past time that we break this sorcerer's spell. listening to "Darkness, Darkness" Remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children. Remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19- year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester. And, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who you said really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares. Remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this! moment , knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together. Remind yourself each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love. Remember that you remembered to do this without the help of some god someone else thought up for you to follow-- you did it on your own, but, to each his own, or, c'iet la vie. Dixie Chicks/only good western group and i'm no westrn fan By the way is there anyone out there who saw a docuementary about a man with cancer who had six months to live and went to the north to see the eskimo way of living. They gave him some rotten meat as a desert, so he ate it not to offend. The next day he felt good for the first time- put 2+2 together and as long as he keeps eating the spoiled meat he stays well. If you know the name of this video or where I can find it or the program it was on, please contact me-you may save a great persons life. Oh God; LMAO tweeter and the monkey man Religion and Philosophy "you got to serve somebody?"LMAO 1st of all "to each 's own" My distaste for religions knows no bounds along with the god concept. We are trained to NOT follow our deepest natural thoughts as they have been pushed so far back into our mind by the propaganda of the society we live in and the religion we're trained to that rarely can one escape it. This is why some don't understand that all I'm saying is that we are instilled with all the moral, admirable, logical, etc., traits that allow us to live a decent life in this (the USA) society, and only when religions (and lately fears instilled in us by our leaders for their own gain) add to that, with illogical callings and demands, that troubles start mounting up higher than we thought possible. By doing what others say for no reason other than the unwillingness to think the problem out and where it came from originally, (because we're trained not to think but to seek answers from the minister or talk show host) so there isn't any reason to do all that research on important questions like war, peace, who to elect (and what are they really like when they're walking and not talking) that all the trouble starts; hate, condemning when odious traits come to bare on our logic. We'll let some book that's hardly ever read, much less studied by ourselves, be interpreted for us by, usually, people that are only interested in controlling us along with our money. The study of this phenomena, i feel, would lead to the answers we all seek about who we are, where are we going, etc. think about it, there are a few leaders, positive and negative, and the rest followers without a clue to who they should follow, and they haven't the time to find out (work, family, etc.) yet act as if that were the most important thing in their lives!!! I take no time condeming and a lot of time congratulating myself for trying to be positive, there is always something positive about most things. I just need to train myself not to let the negative influence me. Or, put another way, "yada, yada, yada." My God I am my own God in this life. I don't leave my acts and responsibilities up to a fantasy by saying, "I'll let God take care of my life" RIGHT! Why is it so strange to our mind set to realize there is no other god but you, or the one you make up because you've been taught that you aren't good enough. Could it be that we have an invisible wall created by our common societies mores? Break down that wall only if u can handle a different way, an open way of thinking and living. We're taught two things – regardless of where or when we're born : 1) there is a god 2) we're not it. This is ground into our little brains and bodies, day after day; often backed up with emotional (shame/humiliation) and physical pain (beatings). That god is often punitive; we don't measure up; we must to please him; not annoy him. This is a way found by others to control us cheaply. Know what he wants and just comply is all that God wants according to those who want us to follow what they say/ and they say, very openly, "Give me your money." God needs it. Yet, this god seems to have done alright before money was ever invented!! Open your eyes, cast down that invisible wall and enjoy yourself, your life. I reject this training. I refuse to live always seeking some authority outside of myself: parents (i'm a grown man), teacher, priest/minister, etc. that someone to ensure that we pause and look for a leader, before daring to try and put our thoughts into actions that include self expression in this short life. Not daring to move without first checking with an authority, an external reference, to be sure that it's ok. It is ingrains in us (during a time in our lives when we are totally dependent on those training us into this world view) not to question this god or it will punish us, surely. Ours is not to ask questions, ours is to follow instructions and seek outside of ourselves for the rules to proceed. We are taught that there is a higher athority. That means the job is taken. It means the best we will ever be is less than a god. They actually say, "serve and follow the direction of his love, or die" and in one breath! They just don't (or won't) see the contradiction. Creating this notion of the 'one god' necessitates and demands personification. Doing so then teaches us to be amenable to following the direction of the 'one' in 'authority'. Without giving it this sense of a unique and powerful being, there is nothing for us to identify with. As much as we're taught that this god is not like us, (yet man made god in his own image) and that way make it easier to follow political leaders blindly. It's all related. Like something put in motion eons ago, long forgotten originators, and having simply become habit to all that followed. This intergenerational habit now has a life of its own. It just goes on and on….. most of it outside any kind of conscious thought or selection. This habit of a god is a massive charade that we willing play. It seems essential to the world that we've created. BUT IT'S NOT. It has caused more pain and suffering than all the political wars (which they were usually involved with or used for). Terrified by there threats? Such are the nasty consequences that we're so propagandized with that we have an auto (Pavlovian) response, fear of this punishing god, and, "if he's not punishing then he will be if I think like this" It is so ingrained that it is virtually impossible for us to question our conditioning; to recognize what struggles to grow in our lives; US. This makes it almost impossible for us to wake up and see who we are. And so we struggle in our lives looking for "HIM" to guide us, when it is the U that wants to live life to its fullest. From one conversation to the next; from one person to the next, I see the waste that I went though before coming to myself and believing in ME. That we are small, puny, helpless from natural disasters is only a greater reason to believe in ones self, for what we need, and have the power to improve our abilities in lifes struggles. The degree to which we refuse to consider anything else to be the essence of what we are is our greatest weakness and growth stopper. Most of us have eyes and minds with which to see. If I keep my eyes closed, along with my mind I live in a darkness as great as they in the dark ages. I must simply choose and open my eyes, along with my mind Life changes, dramatically and profoundly when we open our eyes. You got to serve somebody, so why not yourself. Partly from another blog but i can't remember whose. Enlighten me if u know. But, c'est la vie, and as it has always been, so it will always be. So i just try to duck around it. I try to be a good ducker. lol OR if u insist, then join my RELIGION; Pay ur dues (only 9%, unlike the bibles 10%) and enjoy life. u don't even have to play the hyprcrite on Sundays. Now where can u beat that? We are never happy with objects or accomplishments. We only think so. This is why the wealthy are always wanting more and we feel we must brag about "things." But, in fact happiness is always in front of us- it isn't the end but the means that satisfied us. As soon as the accomplishing is over there is always an empty sensation few recognize and try to overcome by the brag, which makes it all the worse. It's the doing, not the done that fulfills us. Forget about everything accept the "DO." What do you think of all that bullshit? We only gain wisdom when we stop listening to "me, me, me." I'm not so nieve as to think that that is easy after all we assimulate on the way to developing the personality. And if u insist on being the boss-that things go ur way, remember; When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said, "I should be boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions." The feet said, "We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go." The hands said, "We should be the boss because we do all the work and earn all the money." And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs, and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss. So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered. Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the boss, so the motion was passed. All the other parts did all the work while the boss just sat and passed out the shit! Moral of the story: You don't need brains to be a boss - any asshole will do. From the holographic universe, Hologram
    July 25

    the ones i could get over from my MS site

    Darkness, darkness take the things that cannot be SLOW ME DOWN Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace. Give me, amidst the day's confusion, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking "minute vacations" ...slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me of the fable "The Hare and the Tortoise"; that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than measuring its speed. Let me look up at the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew slowly and well. Inspire me to send my own roots down deep into the soil of life's endearing values ...that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove 1:56 PM - 10 ways ti tell if ur a christian fundamentalist/Gonzales and administration Current mood: apathetic Category: u got to serve somebody & bad moon rising Religion and Philosophy 10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours. 9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt. 8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God. 7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees! 6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky. 5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old. 4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving." 3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity. 2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God. 1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian. or an easier way is to like bushy. I keep wondering why more people aren't pissed off about Alberto Gonzales and the disregard of his position and his responsibility to the American people that he has shown. The following was written be one of the people fired. I think he makes some excellent points. 'Cowboy up,' Alberto Gonzales A fired U.S. attorney calls on the attorney general to serve the people, not politics. By David C. Iglesias, DAVID C. IGLESIAS was the U.S. attorney for New Mexico from October 2001 to February 2007. May 23, 2007 WHAT HAPPENS in a presidential administration when loyalty, to borrow a phrase from "Star Trek," becomes the "prime directive"? What happens when its all-encompassing fog obscures all other values — such as fealty to the Constitution, the rule of law or simple humanity? What happens is that terrible decisions are made, repeated and then justified by this shibboleth. That's just one of the lessons that has emerged from the U.S. attorney scandal. This week, the Senate is threatening to vote on a resolution of no-confidence in U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales. Today, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony from Monica Goodling, the attorney general's former aide, who will be asked why at least eight U.S. attorneys, including me, were put on a list to be forced from office. What has become clear already is that the "loyalty uber alles" mentality has infected a wide swath of the Bush administration. Simple notions like right and wrong are, in their eyes, matters of allegiance, not conscience. The chilling congressional testimony given by former Deputy Atty. Gen. James B. Comey last week provided a graphic example of loyalty run amok. Comey recounted how, in 2004, former White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and then-White House counsel Gonzales visited a hospitalized Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, who had undergone surgery for pancreatitis. Undoubtedly under the influence of powerful painkillers, Ashcroft had just enough presence of mind to refuse, as Comey already had, to approve the extension of the illegal warrantless wiretap program. Comey was right there in the darkened hospital room but was ignored by Card and Gonzales, even though both knew he was the acting attorney general while Ashcroft was critically ill. Where was the compassion, conservative or otherwise, in that dark, silent room? Where was the humanity? Subsumed by loyalty. Loyalty is a virtue with limits. That was one of the many hard lessons from Watergate. In that scandal, some of President Nixon's staffers carried their loyalty to the president all the way to federal prison. All federal prosecutors take a public oath when they assume office. I personally swore in about 30 new federal prosecutors during my tenure as U.S. attorney for New Mexico. The oath is to the U.S. Constitution, not to the president or his Cabinet. Somehow Goodling did not understand this keystone concept. She appears to have placed her loyalty to the Bush administration and the Republican Party above any allegiance to the Constitution — which may have led her to believe that Bush acolytes would make the best federal prosecutors. Paradoxically, she knew enough of the Constitution to claim the protections afforded by the 5th Amendment—the right against self-incrimination. I trust she now understands what is at stake in the U.S. attorney scandal: the rule of law, the independence of the prosecutor and the apolitical calculus of who should be prosecuted. Now, her immunity deal secured, she needs to seek redemption by clearly testifying about how my colleagues and I came to be placed on the to-fire list. It will demand moral courage, but she must name the political operatives regardless of where they sit in the West Wing of the White House. She needs, in the words of Isaiah the prophet, to "maintain justice and do what is right." And what of the embattled attorney general? Will Gonzales stay on to be the only Cabinet officer to receive a no-confidence vote? I once said that I found Gonzales to be a personal inspiration. No one can deny him his life's story, which is the American dream writ large. It began in Humble, Texas, born of impoverished Mexican American parents. He, like me, is a veteran of the U.S. military. He went to some of the best schools in America, including Harvard Law. Yet, somewhere along the line, he drank the loyalty Kool-Aid. Watching him testify before the Senate and House was painful for me. He had been a trailblazer for the Latino community, and then, in the space of a few hours of tortured testimony, he became just another morally rudderless political operative. Will he "cowboy up," as we say in New Mexico — that is, find the courage to do the right thing? Or will he make the Senate go right up to the precipice of a no-confidence vote? To be sure, the Justice Department is "dysfunctional," in the words of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), but it is also in desperate need of leaders who place loyalty to the Constitution on a higher level than politics. We don't need latter-day Haldemans, Ehrlichmans or Colsons going to jail. The nation needs leaders who take ultimate responsibility for the wrongful actions of their subordinates; leaders who do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. Mr. Attorney General, it's time for you to cowboy up and do what's best for the American people you serve. Hay, fundamentalist, u have to serve somebody, as u have no faith in urslfs. 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove July 21, 2007 - Saturday 1:56 PM - always on top Current mood: mellow Category: "Fever" by Peggy Lee Life U think i'm crazy, baby. you know you Might be right! SLOW ME DOWN Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace. Give me, amidst the day's confusion, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking "minute vacations" ...slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me of the fable "The Hare and the Tortoise"; that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than measuring its speed. Let me look up at the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew slowly and well. Inspire me to send my own roots down deep into the soil of life's endearing values ...that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny and I remember a few of my favorite things; Maalox and nose drops and her knittin' my mittens Walkers and handrails and new dental fittin's, Bundles of magazines tied up with string. These are a few of my favorite things Cadillacs, contacts, hearing aids, glasses Polident, Fixodent, false teeth in glasses. Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings. These are a few of my favorite things. When the pipes leak, when the bones creek, When the knees go bad, Then I remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad. Hot tea and crumpets, corn pads for bunions, No spicy food and food with onions. Bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring, These are a few of my favorite things. Back pains, confused brains and no fear of sinnin', Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin', And we won't mention our short shrunken frame, When we remember our favorite things. When me joints ache, when the hips break, When the eyes grow dim, Then I remember the great life i've had. And then I don't feel so bad. THEN I REMEMBER THE GREAT LIFE I'VE HAD. AND THEN I DON"T FEEL SOO BAAAD! YEA "Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body; but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting; Hot Damn! What a Ride and [don't fret some day these days will be like tears in the rain, it's just that with bushy it now seems like a long drought!!] U think i'm crazy, baby. you know you Might be right! "Poor George. He cant help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth," the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove July 20, 2007 - Friday 2:29 PM - blogging when u don't want to make a mistake Current mood: tired Category: "Amusement Ride" by Kitty I Blogging i have something to say but i can't get it together perfectly so why mess up? If there is one thing im aware of it's that words much be put down in a logical way or u will say things that u didn't intend or didn't mean. that s about the only thing i learned while getting my degree in communications. and even if it comes out perfect some non intellect will swear u said something else. those u can do nothing about except to ask them to take their meds. i thought maybe if i just started typing it would flow as it sometimes does. good try, no action. i'll try another time, after i read SLOW ME DOWN many, many x. 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove July 19, 2007 - Thursday 2:43 PM - thinking Current mood: touched Category: u got to serve somebody & bad moon rising Life [don't fret some day these days will be like tears in the rain, it's just that with bushy it now seems like a long drought!!] When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. He poured the coffee in and it was absorbed by the sand. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend." 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove July 5, 2007 - Thursday 1:14 AM - The Bible Current mood: amused Category: listing to "you got to serve somebody" Religion and Philosophy Check out this video: Penn & Teller - The Bible Add to My Profile | More Videos 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove June 29, 2007 - Friday 4:27 PM - memories/mind trip/playing Johnny Winter Current mood: accomplished Category: listening to "The Future" + some "B Life one night i was told by a voice in my head to go forth my son and photograph wars and all the carnage people like bushy and reagan families perpetrate. this is so i would realize that anything i show will be lost (just like everything else that has gone before and will come again), like tears in the rain. but i persevere, as i got over myself long ago. for what happens today is just a prelude to what will happen for the worst, if possible, tomorrow. because people on the whole are just trying to live for today, not learn from the past. and so what, it is all lost like tears in the rain. the rains of millions of years past and future. happiness comes with getting over yourself. darling. if u must interfere do it in ur own country not another. dig? u only make the extremely wealthy more powerful and more controlling. and thinking about it wont help, one must study it, u know, it's called gaining knowledge so u can FORM a CRITICAL opinion. they make u work longer hours for less money so u buy more for more because there is more THEY have to sell u. there would have been no 9/11 if we hadn't put troops in Saudi Arabia to guard the big oil profits of the super wealthy and so american arms merchants could clean up. we would cheer if an american did it to the Saudis for putting troops in america. think on the subject of fear, i could hitch hike (remember when people were nice enough to pick others up? until the politicians, with the medias help, scared everyone into voting for them by saying they would protect them from all the bad people of this country) most anywhere in the '60s and 70s. now i would get strange looks and cars that speed up, if ever tried now. hitch hiking was a way of travel before most of u grew up, but the media and politicians use fear to sell papers and get votes. that is why the right wing bushy and Reagan nazis types got in power and why u see few, maybe hookers, hitch hiking, as most people won't pick them up because they think they are killers or something awful, yet the crime rate is actually down! too bad. that is also why we have that stupid 3 strikes law, but people don't think it through or they would realize that they are paying much more money than they would ever lose in a lifetime of thefts by having to pay for all the court cost and especially the HUGE prison system- the largest in the world by far. (what a great brag for our country; the land of the free!) ah, brave americans scared by bushy types into putting up with long lines at the metal detector. adding to this because of ? from every nice friend that i received today; the metal detectors, are everywhere, along with long lines at the airports because bushy and his NASI advisors ( cheney, condi etc.) screwed up when they were too busy figuring how much money they could make while in power, to listen to the hired help at the CIA & FBI. their incompetence led to the Trade Center being destroyed! (he was always drilling dry holes with the Ben Lauden's money) So, he closed the barn door after the horse was long gone, then scared the U.S. into accepting all these dumb new "terrorist laws" to distract from his own stupidity. He was so good at it that he was reelected! WHAT DOES THAT SAY FOR THE AVERAGE U.S. CITIZEN? Of course there was a lot more illegalities on bushy and friends part in that win(?). yeh, are schools do a great job teaching the citizens to be "diligent" when it comes the their government; always remember that all governments are coercive institutions by their very nature and will always progress towards their own best interests, and not those they are suppose to serve. (check out the bulletins about the congress and Social Security). Our founding fathers created this government with an eye on those basic facts. they knew how men use governments for their own purposes and tried to stop it. they also knew they could only try to slow that phenomena, by separating church and state, and writing the bill of rights, (which were fought against by the conservatives but was won by one representative saying something like, do u think it will use to much paper?) that was a smart man who knew how to stop stupid reasons prevailing. but, alas, those great men are long gone and hard to elect, or even find. lol. wish i wasn't so lazy for i always can think of a great song to go with my blogs, but, don't know how to put in a "podcast." and too lazy to figure it out, for i tried once and failed utterly. thk i'll start a blog and call it; "hologram's sniffling" part of this blog bares repeating; hitch hiking was a way of travel before most of u grew up, but the media and politicians now use fear to sell papers and get votes so that is why the right wing nazis got in power and why u see few, maybe hookers (u know, whose great helpful wonderful ladies), hitch hiking, as most people won't pick them up because they think they are killers or something awful, yet the crime rate is actually down! too bad, that is also why we have that stupid 3 strikes law, but people don't think it through or they would realize that they are paying much more money than they would ever lose in a lifetime of thefts by having to pay for all the court cost and especially the HUGE prison system- the largest in the world by far. and ur paying for it!!!! ur tax dollars at work. lol 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove June 26, 2007 - Tuesday 4:12 PM - George Carlin - Who Controls America (not you or me) Current mood: accomplished Category: listening to "The Future" like u r News and Politics George Carlin - Who Controls America Add to My Profile | More Videos 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove June 25, 2007 - Monday 2:12 PM - George Carlin - (get well, get some) Germs Current mood: ecstatic Category: Life George Carlin - Germs Add to My Profile | More Videos 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove 1:55 PM - (get shell shocked) George Carlin - Soft Language Current mood: determined Category: Life George Carlin - Soft Language Add to My Profile | More Videos 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove 1:44 PM - George Carlin - The Planet Is Fine (so leave it the fuck alone) Current mood: cheerful Category: crazy man, great man Life George Carlin - The Planet Is Fine Add to My Profile | More Videos 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove June 20, 2007 - Wednesday 10:57 PM - Check out this video: george carlin Current mood: creative Category: learn something Movies, TV, Celebrities george carlin Add to My Profile | More Videos 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove 10:43 PM - gulf war syndrome Current mood: relaxed Category: U think i'm crazy, baby. Maybe ur right! Life Remember "Gulf War Syndrome?" There was little reporting about the true cause. And it was not unanium. The troops were given immunity vaccinations and were not told they had a choice not to take them. The drug companies, through Chaney, were able to sell all this poison to the services at HUGE profits. the after effects have been hushed up thanks to the control of the media by the same people who own large portions of the drug companies. The media pursued it as Uranium poisoning to deflect the cause and the millions that these drug dealers would have to pay for putting out bad drugs not to mention the trouble it would bring to the papa bush people who orchestrated this crime. don't believe the "uranium depletion" propaganda. it was just another slick cover up by your friendly government. the bushys and even the clintons. u got to give them credit for becoming the greatest thieves in the history of the world, 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
    May 01

    only in US

    1. Only in America......can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance. 2. Only in America......are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink. 3. Only in America......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front. 4. Only in America......do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke. 5. Only in America......do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters. 6. Only in America......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage. 7. Only in America......do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place. 8. Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight. 9. Only in America......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures' . 10. Only in America......do they have drive-up ATM's with Braille lettering. EVER WONDER Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin? Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed? Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"? Why is "abbreviated" such a long word? Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"? Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food? When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it? Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes? Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?? Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress? If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal? ------------------ In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods: On a Sears hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping. ( that's the only time I have to work on my hair). On a bag of Fritos:! ..You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside. (the shoplifter special)? On a bar of Dial soap: "Directions: Use like regular soap." (and that would be how???....) On some Swanson frozen dinners: "Serving suggestion: Defrost." (but, it's "just" a suggestion). On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom): "Do not turn upside down." (well...duh, a bit late, huh)! On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: "Product will be hot after heating." (...and you thought????...) On packaging for a Rowenta iron: "Do not iron clothes on body." (but wouldn't this save me more time?) On Boot's Children Cough Medicine: "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication." (We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.) On Nytol Sleep Aid: "Warning: May cause drowsiness." (and.. .I'm taking this because???....) On most brands of Christmas lights: "For indoor or outdoor use only." (as opposed to...what?) On a Japanese food processor: "Not to be used for the other use." (now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious.) On Sunsbury's peanuts: "Warning: contains nuts." (talk about a news flash) On an American Airlines packet of nuts: "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts." (Step 3: maybe, uh...fly Delta?) On a child's superman costume: "Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly." (I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.) On a Swedish chainsaw: "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals." (..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?) Now that you've smiled at least once, it's your turn to spread the stupidity and send this to someone you want to bring a smile to (maybe even a chuckle)...in other words, send it to everyone. We all need to smile
    April 29

    bushy laws

    It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing. A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed. It is unlawful for a person to consume an alcoholic beverage while operating a motor vehicle upon a public roadway, if the person is observed doing so by a peace officer. The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home. When two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone. It is illegal to drive without windshield wipers. You don’t need a windshield, but you must have the wipers. You can be legally married by publically introducing a person as your husband or wife 3 times. A city ordinance states that a person cannot go barefoot without first obtaining a special five-dollar permit. It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel. It is illegal to milk another person’s cow. Abilene It is illegal to idle or loiter anyplace within the corporate limits of the city for the purpose of flirting or mashing. Austin Wire cutters can not be carried in your pocket. Beaumont Collegiate football is banned at Lamar University. Borger It is against the law to throw confetti, rubber balls, feather dusters, whips or quirts (riding crop), and explosive firecrackers of any kind. Clarendon It is illegal to dust any public building with a feather duster. El Paso Churches, hotels, halls of assembly, stores, markets, banking rooms, railroad depots, and saloons are required to provide spittoons "of a kind and number to efficiently contain expectorations into them." Houston Beer may not be purchased after midnight on a Sunday, but it may be purchased on Monday. It is illegal to sell Limburger cheese on Sunday. Galveston It is illegal to drive a motor car down Broadway before noon on Sundays. Jasper Dogs must be on a leash at ALL times. Fine of 100 dollars. LeFors It is illegal to take more than three swallows of beer while standing. Lubbock County It is illegal to drive within an arm’s length of alcohol - including alcohol in someone else’s blood stream. Mesquite It is illegal for children to have unusual haircuts. Port Arthur Obnoxious odors may not be emitted while in an elevator. Richardson It is now illegal to place a "for sale" sign on a car if it visible from the street. It is illegal to do "U Turns". San Antonio It is illegal for both sexes to flirt or respond to flirtation using the eyes and/or hands. It is illegal to urinate on the Alamo. Temple No one may ride a horse and buggy through the town square. You can ride your horse in the saloon. Cattle thieves may be hanged on the spot. Texarkana Owners of horses may not ride them at night without tail lights.