Sometimes an image just says it all...

thanks bartcop

Somedays it gets more bizarre than others...

Bizarre Death
1994 Urban Legend

At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, AAFS, President Dr. Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death. Here is the story: On March 23,1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to that effect, indicating his despondency. As he fell past the ninth floor his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window which killed him instantly. Neither the shooter nor the descender was aware that a safety net had been installed just below at the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned. "Ordinarily," Dr. Mills continued, "a person who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide." That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but probably would not have been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands. The room on the ninth floor, whence the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window, striking Mr. Opus. When one intends to kill subject A but kills subject B in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject B. When confronted with the murder charge the old man and his wife were both adamant. They both said they thought the shotgun was unloaded. Thed old man said it was his long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, the gun had been accidentally loaded. The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the fatal accident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus. Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the ten story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son had actually murdered himself so the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide. Thanks to Darwin Awards

Uh Oh

Uh Oh….

Rival Shia Groups Unite Against US after Mosque Raid· Baghdad officials end link with coalition in protest· Minister claims 37 victims were tied up and killed
by Jonathan Steele and Qais al-Bashir

"Senior ministers from the three main Shia factions united yesterday to denounce an American raid on a Baghdad mosque complex in which at least 20 people died, opening the biggest rift between the US and Iraq's majority Shia community since the toppling of Saddam Hussein..."
(Published on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 by the Guardian / UK)


I have a nasty feeling that this is the spark that launches the Shia against the U.S….bad enough we have been battling the Sunni groups mixed with other Islamic Fanatics, but at least the Shia has been nominally neutral, not now…I have a gut feeling that this incident is going to have big ramifications. Specifically, putting our troops in the middle of a civil war in which all sides hate us.

Henri Jacques in his article, Imperial Overreach is Accelerating the Global Decline of America, has said:

.. There is no evidence that we or anyone can guide from afar revolutions we have set in motion. We can more easily destabilize friends and others and give life to chaos and to avowed enemies than ensure outcomes in service of our interests and security."
(Published on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 by the Guardian / UK)

Jacques also goes on to point out that the Invasion of Iraq was a monumental error by the Neoconservatives because they failed to understand the real challenge to American Interests comes from the Far East, not the Middle East. The U.S. is in danger of becoming the second, over even the third, largest economy on the planet. China and India are coming along fast. This will represent a massive shift in power away from this country. The Bush Administration has completely misjudged the world and what is going on.

The tragedy of Iraq will mean a tragedy for the American People. George W. Bush, or Cheney, or Rice, or Rumfeld or any of those other psychopaths, won't feel a thing because the very rich have all the money and security they need. For the average American citizen, however, it will mean a catastrophic change in our economic wellbeing.

Our lives are suddenly going to get a lot harder.

Due to this tragic war and other ideologically driven insanity by the Bush Administration, the United STates is in a staggering debt situation. Consider what will happen when this enormous financial deficit comes due. We are TRILLIONS of dollars in debt! Someone is going to pay, and pay big. That someone is you and I. We will pay significantly higher taxes, fees, and prices. Count on it, you WILL be hit with monstrous tax increases in the near future. Why do you think the Corporations pushed their new anti-bankruptcy laws? They know what is coming. Couple this with the exhaustion of funding for pensions, Medicare, all Social programs for the poor, and the collapse of the entire Social Security Program and you will begin to understand. The Great Depression will seem like a mild case of overdraft compared to the staggering poverty that many will face.

I have a great sadness in my heart for our children, and our children's children. Sure we can point the finger at Bush and blame him, but our children will look into our eyes, and it is to them that we must answer.

These children will ask us, "How could let fanatics and the religiously insane take control our country this way? You could have stopped them with your vote, by demanding Congress do its job. By taking to the streets in protest. By rage and anger and writing letters, and showing up in your Congressman's (or Woman's) office and demanding they represent your interests not those of corporations!"

Instead, we were watching the final four on our big screen plasma television, ordering pizza on our impossibly complicated cell telephones, and pretending that the world is really as pleasant as our blind leaders tell us.

"It is not how you vote that counts, it is who counts the votes."

Stalin

American Elections...circa 2006

...I don't know, but I sure would like to give it a try.

911: History Redeaux

You know September 11, 2001 will go down in infamy. Not because Islamic Terrorists from Saudi Arabia high jacked American passenger Planes and flew them into the World Trade Center thereby creating only the second attack on American soil by a foreign enemy. No, this particular infamy is because this event marks another in a long chain of events in which the U.S. Government deliberately, and with malice of forethought, murdered innocent citizens. This time, over 3,000 American Citizens were killed in order to drive the country under the despotic fist of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

The real History of this country, as opposed to the propaganda pap dished up in high school history classes, is a brutal history of murder for political gain.

• We of course start with the genocide of the American Indian. This was a demonstrably premeditated action to obliterate the culture, religion, and the very lives of all native people on this continent by the U.S. Government.

• Then of course we have the Civil War, an economic struggle to place the Southern States under the despotic rule of the Northern corporations.

• Then we have the U.S. invasions of Cuba, Mexico, and the Philippines that were nothing short of naked grabs for more land and more riches. Do you know that in the Philippines, US. Troops were ordered to kill anyone over the age of 10 in the general population, and they did.

• World War I and World War II were classic examples of American Empire building, in that this country entered these wars solely because to do so would directly benefit both the national economy and would enhance the Hegemonic power of American rulers. In these wars, the American decision to deliberately bomb and kill innocent civilians was made from the very top of the power structure.

• Recall Dresden, Germany? A non-military city jammed with refugee’s and inhabitants that was bombed so furiously that it created it’s own massive firestorm, killing thousands of innocent people.

• Then we have the prime examples of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two cities, neither one a military target, were wiped off the map by nuclear weapons solely for the purpose of demonstrating to the World, and in particular the Russians, that the United States had these murderous weapons and would use them if threatened. These cities were obliterated to prove a point and had nothing what so ever to do with forcing Japan to surrender. In fact, Japan was in the process of working out the details of their surrender and the Government of this country knew it.

This country has a rich history of murder for political gain and the examples I have given are only a very small accounting.

September 11, 2001 in another of these events.

Go to this website and watch the film. Well-presented evidence that the World Trade Towers were likely brought down by explosives, not airplanes. Who planted these explosives in unknown, but it had to be skilled demolition experts who had plenty of access to these building well in advance of September 11.

Then consider, “Who has the most to gain by destroying these buildings and murdering all of these people?”

See this video:

HOW DID THE TWIN TOWERS REALLY COLLAPSE?

Worst President Ever

I don’t know who put this together, but someone did a great job. Thanks to Lamar for sending it on to Bearded Ole Guy. If we had a genuinely free press, this historical account of Bush's Presidency would be front page news...but it ain't, and we don't.

"How will America's first appointed chief executive be remembered? Only time will tell, but here are a few highlights for the history books:

Bush begins his presidency in poor taste, making a quote that would foreshadow the expansion of executive power under his administration, "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." (Dec 00)
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0012/18/nd.01.html

While the Kyoto Protocol is considered largely symbolic by many, Bush rejects the treaty, alienating US allies. (Mar 01) http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/03/29/schroeder.bush/

Bush is given an intelligence report entitled Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US. The report outlines how Al-Qa'ida members in the United States are preparing for airplane hijackings and are conducting "surveillence on federal buildings in New York." This knowledge was not obtained through domestic spying on phone lines by the NSA or through a CIA rendition process, but by the domestic FBI investigating known Al-Qa'ida members inside the United States. One month later, roughly 3000 Americans are killed in the worst attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor. (Aug 01) http://www.cnn.com/2004/images/04/10/whitehouse.pdf

Bush spent an estimated 13 to 42 percent of his first 8 months in office on vacation, depending upon the source cited. 13 percent of 8 months is approximately 6 weeks and 5 days. http://moorelies.com/news/archives/display.cfm?newsID=119
, http://www.michaelmoore.com/warroom/f911notes/

Bush's treasury secretary Paul O'Neill resigns due to differences over Bush's irresponsible tax cuts and later claims Bush planned on invading Iraq "days after entering the White House." (Dec 02) http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/10/oneill.bush/

Mission Accomplished. Three years later, Bush states "I know we're going to win." (May 03) http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/05/01/bush.carrier.landing/
, http://www.cnncom/2005/POLITICS/12/06/dean.iraq/

Republicans cut benifits to the military at a time when soldiers are dying in Iraq at the rate of about one soldier per day. (Jul 03) http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292259-1989240.php

Bush calls for a constitutional ban on gay marriages. The language of the amendment could also prevent the later formation of civil unions. An MSNBC poll showed one month after the proposal that a majority of Americans approve of legal civil unions and dissaprove of a constitutional ban on gay marriages. (Feb 04) http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/02/24/elec04.prez.bush.marriage/
, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4496265/

Bush uses 911 as reelection material. (Mar 04) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26575-2004Mar3.html

The color-coded terror-alert system used by Bush's Department of Homeland Security is criticised as a political tool. Later, Tom Ridge admits that at times he was instructed by the Bush administration to raise the alertness level when little evidence was supplied indicating a forthcoming terrorist attack. (Aug 04/May 05) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37954-2004Aug3.html
, http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/04/cheney.dean/
, http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-10-ridge-alerts_x.htm

United Nations Secretary-General Koffi Annan describes the invasion of Iraq as "an illegal act that contravened the UN charter." (Sept 04) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661134.stm

The US military faces its deadliest month in Iraq approximately one year after Mission Accomplished. (Apr 04) http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june04/iraq_4-19.html

The Bush administration declares that it should be above international law. (Jun 04) http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/6/17/173027.shtml

No Child Left Behind is underfunded by at least 9.5 billion dollars. (Jul 04) http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2004/nr040714.html

Bush's education secretary, Margaret Spellings, effectively censors PBS for featuring lesbian parents in the show "Postcards From Buster." (Jan 05) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6869976/

Vice President Cheney's top aide, Scooter Libby, is indicted on 5 counts of perjury and making false statements with the investigation ongoing. (Oct 05) http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/28/leak.probe/

Bush endorses teaching the pseudo-science of intelligent design in school science classes despite the research of intelligent design being rebuked by nearly all members of the scientific community. (Aug 05) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8792302/

Cheney makes his "last throes" remark, describing the insurgency in Iraq. (Jun 05) http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/30/cheney.iraq/

Capitol Hill Blue, a blog that's been compared to Drudge, reported that Bush referred to the Constitution as a "goddamned piece of paper." (Dec 05) http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7779.shtml

Bush orders the NSA to conduct domestic eavesdropping on telephone lines. The NSA operates without warrants despite the existance of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court, which was created in part to issue such warrants in secrecy. The legality of these operations is still in disupte with a majority of Americans in favor of impeachment. (Dec 05 - Feb 06) http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/17/bush.nsa/
, http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=12528

The now infamous lobbyist Jack Abramoff agrees to fully cooperate with federal authorities on charges that he may have bribed or had otherwise illegal dealings with as many as two dozen Washington officials. Three quarters of those investigated are Republicans. Bush donates $6000 of the $100,000 donated to his campaign by Abramoff to charity. Other officials take similar actions, including former House Majority Leader Tom Delay, who was indicted on conspiracy charges in September. (Jan 06) http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/04/lobbyist.fraud.ap/
, http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/05/abramoff.fallout.ap/
, http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/28/delay.indict/

The Bush administration was forewarned about the potential deadliness of hurricane Katrina but did not act on the information. (Hmmm... deja vu?) Currently, the administration is holding up papers that are important to the Katrina investigation. (Jan 06) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-01-24-katrina-warnings_x.htm
, http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-01-24-katrina-congress_x.htm

"A political party, in order to be viable, is one that professes peace, in my judgment, in order that it will keep the peace," the President said, after an apparently strong showing by Hamas in Palestinian parliamentary voting. Apparently "spreading freedom" for this self-described "wartime" president = peace OR the current Republican party is not viable. I'll go with the latter. (Jan 06) http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=127432006

Torture continues, and is in fact sanctioned, despite the fallout surrounding the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The Defense Department created the special military unit to operate in secrecy and allows its members to forge identifing documents, impeding any investigation. A placard from Camp Nama in Iraq, where some detainees were used as paintball targets proclaims, "No blood, no foul." (Jan 06 - Mar 06)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/international/middleeast/19abuse.html?_r=1&t h&emc=th&oref=slogin
, http://www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/gen/23442prs20060112.html
, http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10833342/from/RL.5/

That's all for now. We still have 2 years left with this president (maybe), so I'm sure there will be more posted later. Until then, hang in there. Oh, and urge your representatives to do something about this stuff. Not a single one of the items mentioned has been corrected, apologized for, or officially and publicly been admitted to as wrongdoing. The Democrats are just as much to blame if this administration is allowed to get away with this crap. :-)"

Outsourcing

Increase in Contracting Intelligence Jobs Raises Concerns
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff WriterMonday, March 20, 2006; Page A03

“AllWorld Language Consultants Inc., a Rockville firm, is seeking experienced military interrogators to work in Iraq for $153,500 a year plus bonuses, with proficiency in Arabic "preferred but not required," according to Yahoo's Hot Jobs listings.
The U.S. Army element of the Multi-National Force-Iraq is looking for a private contractor to provide airborne surveillance over that country that will "provide situational awareness of the entire area of operations," according to another Web announcement.

Lockheed Martin Corp. is seeking a counterintelligence analyst to work for the Pentagon's newest intelligence agency, the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), in its Colorado Springs facility to "create and deliver briefings, write reports, and represent Counterintelligence Field Activity," according to a Web classified ad.

These positions and thousands like them are part of a growing trend at the Pentagon to contract out intelligence jobs that were formerly done primarily by service personnel and civil service employees.

But, by using contract employees, government agencies lose control over those doing this sensitive work and an element of profit is inserted into what is being done. Also, as investigations have revealed, politics and corruption may be introduced into the process…”
================================

Outsourcing our intelligence services.

"The Washington Post writes that the U.S. government is increasingly relying on contractors to carry out intelligence duties. As a result, government agencies lose control over those doing this sensitive work and instill profit-making motives into the work being done..."
=====================================

Pentagon hired contractor to advise on collecting information on churches, mosques, other U.S. sites

By Jonathan S. Landay. Knight Ridder Newspapers”03/20/06 "Knight Ridder" -- --

"WASHINGTON - A Pentagon intelligence agency that kept files on American anti-war activists hired one of the contractors who bribed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., to help it collect data on houses of worship, schools, power plants and other locations in the United States. MZM Inc., headed by Mitchell Wade, also received three contracts totaling more than $250,000 to provide unspecified "intelligence services" to the White House, according to documents obtained by Knight Ridder. The White House didn't respond to an inquiry about what those intelligence services entailed…”

Do ya sense a trend here?

Bush Administration just tried to outsource mangement of 6 of our most important seaports to a country with demonstrable ties to terrorist organizations. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Mercenaries from Black Water, fresh from Iraq, were locked and loaded in New Orleans streets. The Internal Revenue Service is outsourcing tax claims processing to India. Special Operations Soldiers are quiting the military to join up with private mercenary groups becuase the pay and benefits is spectacular.

I dunno, but it seems to me that the best way to run a Fascist state is to have people do what you tell them to do without question or contradiction. No one looking over your shoulders. No pesky Constitution, Bill of Rights, or any other legal mumbo jumbo to clutter up the chain of command. These will be private contractors to the Bush Administration, not to Congress, the Supreme Court, or the American People.

Yeah, I think that would serve Fascism rather well, don't you? But wait, while we are at it, lets just take a peak at what our 'regular' homeland police are up to...

Death Raises Concern at Police Tactics
by Matthew Davis

“…Peter Kraska, an expert on police militarisation from Eastern Kentucky University, says that in the 1980s there were about 3,000 Swat team deployments annually across the US, but says now there are at least 40,000 per year…”

“…"The problem is that when you talk about the war on this and the war on that, and police officers see themselves as soldiers, then the civilian becomes the enemy." (emphasis mine)

So, in addition to the private armies and intel collectors of Bush, we also have the state represented by heavily armed, armored, police who respond more like an invading army than they do a police force.

Yeah, I think that fits Fascism as well, doesn't it?

Notice any RED States around here? I don't pretend to be the brightest guy around, but I knew in every way that George W. Bush was, and is, a complete disaster...how come the rest of these assholes couldn't figure it out?

I think that Americans deserve the government they got. The problem is, they have drug the rest of us into the shit pit with 'em.

America, love it or leave it.

"...Americans, the brave…..George Gerbner, who headed the Annenberg School for Communication for 25 years: "Fearful people are more dependent, more easily manipulated and controlled, more susceptible to deceptively simple, strong, tough measures and hard-line postures. … They may accept and even welcome repression if it promises to relieve their insecurities."

So Far, No Good
By Molly Ivins, AlterNet. Posted March 16, 2006

Nothing makes one more insecure than being told our ports are porous to terrorist invasion, they can detect kitty litter, but not nuclear explosives; our airports, after millions of dollars in upgrades and a dedicated effort to board only shoeless people couldn't find a fart in a gas mask; we are all going to die horrible choking deaths from Bird Flu; Our planet is turning on us due humanity pissing in its face; We are overcrowded, over fed, over stimulated, our politicians have set new lows in thuggery and theft; finally we are facing an economic meltdown of our entire society, due to the fact that cheap oil is just about gone..so yeah, I guess we are little insecure.

=============================

I saw a car yesterday, newer model of some American made piece of tin and plastic. Older couple inside. On their back bumper they had a small sticker. Showed an American Flag and it said, “America, Love it or Leave it.”

There is an irony here. These words reflect the exact opposite of everything this country stands for. Diametrically opposite. The statement of ‘Love it or Leave it’, is a statement of repression. It is a statement in which people are to shut up and just do what they are told. Don’t express an opinion contrary to the mob belief or you will be branded a traitor. Don’t ask questions. Don’t question, period.

The irony is that this couple, if asked, would tell you that they are very Patriotic and proud of their Country. He may have fought in Korea, too young for World War II, too old for Vietnam. But who knows. This couple saw themselves as Patriotic Americans, defending the flag and honoring the troops.

What horseshit.

This statement is a statement of totalitarian madness and nothing more. It is only Patriotic for Hitler’s Germany, or Bush’s America.

Patriot Act...murder, inc.

Y’all gonna love this….

Bone Thugs: Bush Puts America on Death Row
By Chris FloydPosted: March 17, 2006

“….In yet another of those momentous degradations of public morality that go unremarked by the ever-vigilant watchdogs of the national media, Bush slipped a measure into the revamped "Patriot (sic) Act" he signed last week that will allow him to expedite the death penalty process across the land, the Austin American-Statesman reports…”

It would seem that ‘The Great Christian” just can’t get enough of killing people. He kills foreigners and well as Americans. Dosen’t matter. Dead is dead.

“…strips the judiciary of its supervision over state-devised "fast track" procedures to speed up the execution process…”

Do you know that Bush has deliberately killed 152 people when he was lord and master of Texas? Some of em’ he didn’t even bother to read the appeals before denying them life. That makes Bush one of the most prolific mass murders in U.S. history, then you add to that the thousands and thousands he has slaughtered in the dubious name of Democracy in Iraq and you may have one of the great mass murders in modern World History. I know, “there are worse murders”, but frankly, Bush will qualify until another comes along.

Do you know that since 1976 when the U.S. reinstated the death penalty that one in eight people murdered by the state turned out to be innocent? One in Eight of the people on death row were eventually exonerated for the crimes that brought them to the death penalty. Many of them, of course, were posthumously innocent. Oh well, dead is dead. Under normal conditions of human decency this would raise alarm bells about capital punishment. Not in this Administration. It only sparks an urge to speed up the killing. "Kill 'em before they can be found innocent!" Bush Screams.

“…The backdoor measure in the Patriot Act decrees that responsibility for awarding fast-track death-penalty status to the states will now be the sole prerogative of the U.S. Attorney General – one Alberto Gonzales. Yes, the fawning minion whose perversions of law on behalf of his boss have abetted murderous war, systematic torture, mass corruption, assassination, abduction, rendition, dictatorship – and the slipshod Texas death machinery – will now decide if states are legally scrupulous enough to resume lickety-split executions..."

"But, wait, ya say, this dosen't have anything to do with terrorism!" Got that straight there chingo. Ya see, there isn't any brakes on these blood thirsty, power obsessed christians. Any excuse to brutalize people, subjugate them, imprison them, torture them, humiliate them will be taken by these evangelical hypocrites.

This is the leadership of America today: a Brutal Dictatorship that controls with the iron fist of propaganda and punishment. A leadership that knows no restraint to its power over life and death. These are men and women so far beyond the boundaries of everything Christianity stands for that they are on another planet entirely. One where Jesus Christ preached madness, hatred, violence, brutality, and slavery. A wild eyed predatory Christ, bejeweled and hosted by cringing slaves, who screams in spittle spray that anyone who disobeys his word will be crushed. A 'god' that tortures the innocent just to hear them scream. That is the Christ that these evangelicals worship.

Brace yourself, conservatives and progressives alike, we haven't seen anything yet. This despotic rule will get worse. It is the way of corruption and power, once these infect your soul there is no moderation. It is the way of madness. It is the way of descent into souless depravity. It was seen in Caesers' Rome, in Hitlers' Germany, in Ide Amins' Africa in countless cultures and societies when their leadership gained absolute power. Power leads to brutal corruption. It is a one-way street. Bush and his entire Administration will build to a crescendo of violence and death until they are forceably removed from power.

You think there is going to be another election now that Bush has gained ultimate power?

You think that a 33% approval rating, or more accurately, a 67% Disapproval rating means anything to these thugs?

No. The people, and for that matter the political system we have, means nothing. These people will not stop until they are forceable stopped. It may take an armed rebellion, it may take the consequences of disasterous global warming and the end of cheap oil. It may even be something as little as a bird flu virus. But Bush & Company are not going to give up the reins of power willingly. Bet on it. Look for another 'terrorist attack' and soon. Look for more Americans to be senselessly slaughtered by George W. Bush because it maintains his power by rule of fear...and I suspect, he likes it.

Thanks, Bartcop...

I just don't know wether to laugh or cry...

Ma Bell was broken up for a reason...we are shortly going to re-learn that reason.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

CNN TO AIR SPECIAL ON PEAK OIL SIX TIMES THIS WEEKEND – We Were Warned: The Coming Oil Crisis

"We Were Warned: The Coming Oil Crisis" a new 1hr special that will air:

Three times on Saturday at 5PM 8PM and 11PM,

And three times on Sunday (same times).

(From the wilderness)

This may be the start when Americans finally, finally begin to realize that the oil crisis that is looming is really serious.

I get so sick of Americans claiming to have the 'best nation in the world' when Americans don't have a fucking clue what is going around them. Ignorance is epidemic. The rest of the world knows, but not here. Maybe even the so called "Evening News" will broadcast something..if they get the script from the White House.

There is a phrase in the Declaration of Independence, "we the people..". It is put there for specific reasons. The basis for freedom in this or any country is when the PEOPLE take responsibility to safeguard their own liberty, not politicians and political parties. Freedom comes from you and I, it is not a fucking gift given to us by the Government. It is not a hand-me-down. It is not a conditional object. Liberty means that the people of a country decide who runs the government and how the government does its job. The People decide what Government should do or not do.

The very first step for people to take charge of their own country is for them to become educated. To read, to discuss, to understand, to learn what is actually happening.

Ignorance is not an accident, it is a deliberate action.

Subject: wisdom at last

On March 1st, 2006, in Annapolis at a hearing on the proposed Maryland Constitutional Amendment
to prohibit gay marriage, Jamie Raskin, professor of law at Amercan University, was requested to testify.

At the end of his testimony, Republican Senator Nancy Jacobs said: "Mr. Raskin, my Bible says
marriage is only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?"

Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you swore to uphold
the Constitution. You did not swear to uphold the Bible."

The room erupted into applause.
GG Soul

Saw this on Bartcop.

The selling of America

After all the fuss and anguish, rending of garments, accusations of treachery, finger pointing and proclaimations of doom and gloom, the Deal to allow Dubai to control 6 of America’s busiest port was thought to be dead…well, that is what the American News Media reports. Then they just sort of drop it. Move on to other news. “Move along there ladies and gentlemen, nothing to see here, go on about your business, move along.”

But, what if the Dubai deal is not dead?

Dubai Firm Accused of Breaking Pledge to Divest Itself of US Port Operations
By Doreen Hemlock The South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tuesday 14 March 2006

“The weeks-long saga of Dubai Ports World's purchase of operations in Miami and five other US seaports took another turn Monday, when the company's Fort Lauderdale nemesis publicized a private e-mail and charged the note shows the Arab company has no intention of selling its US assets…”
“..Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said a Dubai purchase could still go through. If a US buyer is not found, and a 45-day review finds no security risks, "I don't see how the deal would have to be canceled," Frist said on ABC's This Week.


What if there was never any intention of killing this deal? What if Cheney and the puppet masters that control george w. (he dosen’t deserve capitalization) just want Americans to think this is the case? What if the real powers in this country have a strongly vested interest, both politically and financially, in having the UAE run American ports?

Remember that george w. has spent over $1 Billion dollars last year alone in producing propaganda to support his insanity. (That is $1 Billion of our own tax dollars and is another issue that was dropped like a hot rock by the media) Surely this much money bought him a lot of journalists who will shut up when told to, and print what they are given.

Additionally, Carlyle Group is looking into this deal. You know about them? They are the investment group that is just chock a’block with old Reagan and ‘Bush the senior’ players (Scowcraft, et al) This group also includes Saudia Arabia.

Carlyle Group Explores Acquisition of Port Operations
By Ben Hammer
The Washington Business Journal

I don’t doubt for one moment that Haliburton is also neck deep in this nefarious heap o’ treachery.

Curious, ain’t it?

Lessons of Iraq War Start With US History
By Howard Zinn
The Progressive

Tuesday 14 March 2006

"...If we don't know history, then we are ready meat for carnivorous politicians and the intellectuals and journalists who supply the carving knives. But if we know some history, if we know how many times presidents have lied to us, we will not be fooled again..."

For those of you with a somewhat limited hardrive, this is a good overview of the whole Dubai Port circus.

Quoth the Raven, 'Evermore'
By William Fisher
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Monday 13 March 200

(I am in the process of reading, Howard Zinn's, Peoples History of the United States . Do yourself a favor and read the real history of this country. American leaders have maintained a consistent perspective that lying to the citizens is a good thing and should be done whenever possible. Zinn's approach is that the political formation called Democracy is nothing more than a shame, created to insure that a small minority of very rich people control this country and that every move by every President has been to either: 1) Increase wealth and power to this elite. 2) Stablize the system so that it will continue to grow. Good book.

Bar Story

Some things are just tooo bad to not print.

Bar Story

A blind man enters a Ladies Bar by mistake. He finds his way
to a bar stool and orders a drink. After sitting there for
awhile, he yells to the bartender, "Hey, you want to hear a blonde
joke?"

The bar immediately falls absolutely quiet. In a very deep,
husky
voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke,
sir,
I think it is just fair - giving that you are blind - that you
should know
five things:

1 - The bartender is a blonde girl.

2 - The bouncer is a blonde girl.

3 - I'm a 6 feet tall, 220 lb. blonde woman with a black belt in
karate.

4 - The woman sitting next to me is a blonde professional weight
lifter.

5 - The lady to your right is a blonde and is a professional
wrestler.

Now think about it seriously, mister. Do you still wanna tell
that joke?

The blind man thinks for a second, shakes his head, and
declares,

"Nah, not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times."


(Thanks Brother Bill...YOU are the guy who insisted we put this on the webblog! No me, I'm just the technition.)

More news....

News of the world…as ignored by the U.S. mainstream press.


Death of the World's RiversDisaster warning from UN as investigation reveals half of the planet's 500 biggest rivers are seriously depleted or polluted
by Geoffrey Lean
Published on Sunday, March 12, 2006 by the lndependent/UK

"The world's great rivers are drying up at an alarming rate, with devastating consequences for humanity, animals and the future of the planet.
The Independent on Sunday can today reveal that more than half the world's 500 mightiest rivers have been seriously depleted. Some have been reduced to a trickle in what the United Nations will this week warn is a "disaster in the making".
From the Nile to China's Yellow River, some of the world's great water systems are now under such pressure that they often fail to deposit their water in the ocean or are interrupted in the course to the sea, with grave consequences for the planet..."


There are serious consequences for ignorance too.

We are moving into a time of simply living. We are moving into a time that resources are going to be extremely finite and each of us will understand what that means.

Think about water, it is the lifeblood of the planet. And there is only so much of it to go around. If you poison it, then it carries its poison to every part of the being. If you deliberately poison it, then you are a damn fool, because you only poison yourself. There are a lot of corporate industry types out there that know beyond a shadow of a doubt that their manufacturing processes, their run off problems, their leaking pipes problems, their dumping habits all pour massive amounts of toxins into the fresh water supplies of this world. They are polluting the very water that keeps all of us alive, and they know it. They may not think about it, or say it, but they know it. But profit wins over intelligence every time.

The rest of us don't excape notice either. WE are all using too much water and contributing to the poisoning of the entire planet. Would you guys cut it out!

This just seemed appropriate....

"In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported
by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so
large shipments of manure were common.

It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than
when
wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but
the
process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane
gas. As the
stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and
did)
happen.

Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came
below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM! Several ships were destroyed
in this manner before it was determined just what was happening.

After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term
"Ship
High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high
enough
off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would
not
touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T " , (Ship High In Transport) which has
come
down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

You probably did not know the true history of this word. Neither
did I.

I had always thought it was a golf term."

(attribution unknown)




(Thanks Lamar)

They aren't gonna rebuild...

“…Much of the oil and natural gas production still shut-in after last year's hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico will stay offline because it would not be economical for companies to rebuild the production platforms, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman told Congress today…’
The Oil Drum

At a time when every single one of the major oil companies in this country have announced world record profits, when oil products are at their highest prices ever, they aren’t going to rebuild the petroleum infrastructure because it is ‘uneconomical’?

This only makes sense if you accept that Peak Oil is present. These Oil Companies know that gas and oil are going to be harder and harder to find and deliver. Therefore, they are not rebuilding, they are not exploring, and they are not drilling. The Oil and Gas Companies are not going to waste their profits on building an infrastructure if there is little or no oil to deliver.

Think about it.

The easy life style of America is about to change and change in a drastic way because the easy and cheap oil is just about gone. The Oil Companies know this. The Oil and Gas Companies and the U.S. Government will not tell you until it is too late, but they know what is coming.

The only way for Americans to effectively deal with the coming shortages of oil and petroleum products is to downsize your life needs. Make do with less. Depend less on petroleum products by buying reusable items that are not made of oil.

Drive less; plan your trips more economically. Buy a cheap car that gets good gas mileage. Do NOT buy an expensive hybrid vehicle unless you have lots of money to burn and more petroluem to waste. Consider that most of a vehicle is plastic, and plastic is made from Petroleum. The metal parts are also dependent on petroleum to create. Therefore, each new care made is massively wasteful of the precious energy we have left. Buy a cheap used car and drive it until it dies. This is far more economical both from the stand point of not paying new car prices, and because every new car sold represents a substantial waste of primary energy, such as oil. It takes a lot of energy to make vehicles.

Buy a bicycle and ride it. Learn to walk for distance.

All of the nonsense you hear about ‘alternative’ energy made from switch grass, corn, and other plants is a non-started due to the fact that it takes energy to make these products. Gonna have to use farm machinery to grow all that corn! But if gas and diesel is in short supply, or rationed, or just not available, this stops this little plan in its tracks. Additionally, we have so depleted our soils in this country, that it requires a major investment in petroleum based chemicals such as Fertilizer, Pesticides, and Herbicides.

In fact, every time you hear about new alternative energy sources ask yourself, “How much energy is it going to take just to make this new alternative energy source?” “What is the real cost of this new energy?” Also, realize that every slick promotion by "Lyin George" is so disconnected from reality that it is questionable which planet he lives on. There are no easy and reliable answers. As inventive as humanity is, we are facing a complex of forces that may be the most devastating of all modern disasters: Global Warming; Environmental Pollution; Peak Oil.

Iraq is but the first of the Resource Wars and there will be more. There will also be massive dislocation of human beings, excaping from massive natural disasters, severe water and food shortages, and crumbling economies.

The lifestyles of Americans is going to change. How much it changes for you will depend on how ready you are, Psychologically as well as physically.

Face it, time to simplify.

Random bits of tyranny for the day

Ever wonder why so many of the troops in Iraq still believe that Saddam was responsible for, or at minimum participated in, 911?

Well, it appears that lying is more important than truth.

Wonkette has uncovered the facts about what information is heard in Iraq by our troops. It seems that only the extreme fanatic right wing commetators are allowed to air their sleaze do our military troops:

“Wonkette – "Forbidden, this page (http://www.wonkette.com/) is categorized as: Forum/Bulletin Boards, Politics/Opinion."

Bill O’Reilly (www.billoreilly.com) – OK

Air America (www.airamericaradio.com) – "Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion."

Rush Limbaugh (www.rushlimbaugh.com) – OK

ABC News "The Note" – OK

Website of the Al Franken Show (www.alfrankenshow.com) – "Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion."

G. Gordon Liddy Show (www.liddyshow.us) – OK

Don & Mike Show (www.donandmikewebsite.com) – "Forbidden, this page (http://www.donandmikewebsite.com/) is categorized as: Profanity, Entertainment/Recreation/Hobbies."

Liars, drug addicts and criminals... OK! (Wonkette)



Here is some curious observations….. What happens when bulk ammunition, primarily 7.62, but also 9mm and others, is in very short supply? What happens when MRE’s ( Meals Ready to Eat) are also hard to find.

Not a worry you say? Not really into stock piling ammo and ready to eat food?

Apparently both bulk ammunition of several popular calibers and emergency food supplies are getting harder to buy in the U.S.. It may be a temporary shortage. It may be nothing at all. But perhaps it is something.....?

Consider this, perhaps this signals two things, both related. Suppose that the War in Iraq is going very badly, so our troops suddenly needs lots of ammo, and the standard ammunition manufacturers can't supply enough. So they grab it from civilian supplies. But, perhaps a more sinister move is that there is to be another war, perhaps in Iran, and a lot of ammo is going to be needed for that debacle. Gonna need to stockpile a lot of ammo and eats.

Is the U.S. Government buying up huge bulk orders of ammo and MRE’s to supply the military for a long bloody war? Or Wars?

The second part of this paranoid mind trip is that suppose the U.S. Government is buying up ammo because they specifically do not want U.S. Citizens to have it? Martial law is a whole lot harder when the citizens are well armed, have plenty of ammo, and can hole up with MRE’s.

Just a thought. But remember, Marital Law is not just a whimsy, it is on the books and ready to be implemented by the Bush Junta, and they really mean it. They have have the plans already made, they have the concentration camps set up, and the Posse Comitatus Law is near death. It really isn't so great a leap. And, couple this with the clearly deteriorating situation of the Bush Administration, we have the makings of desperate tyrants. Desperate tyrants will do whatever it takes to hang on to power.

Think about...and try to get some 7.62 ammo and MRE's while your at it.

Go to Urban Survival, good site. They reported the information about ammunition and MRE shortages:

• "At Cabelas (www.cabelas.com) I found when I tried to order 7.62 X 39 154 grain soft points in the 500 round bulks pack (Item IG-215187) they were on back order. So were the 1,000 round boxes. Also, the 7.62 X 39 hollow point rounds in quantity (500 and up) are back ordered.


• No problem, I thought - I'll just go to Cheaper Than Dirt (www.cheaperthandirt.com) and buy some there. Anything in quantity (and some special use) 7.62 has the "check status" warning - indicating back ordered.


• At Sportsman's Guide (www.sportsmansguide.com) I was able to find some sealed cans of 7.62 full metal jacket (FMJ),..." But then he found out that there were long long waiting times for this ammunition.

Also go to "What Really Happened", Web site, good one too.

And now this…


Pay too much and you could raise the alarm
By BOB KERRThe Providence Journal 28-FEB-06

“…They, (the Soehnge’s, a retired couple in Rhode Island) paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.

And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable….”
“…They were told…, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified…”

That is the story. If you pay too much on your credit cards, Homeland Security will be notified to check your ass out. After all, pay off those credit card debts and you are a direct threat to the Banking Industry. This is another example of how far the U.S. has fallen from its promise of hope, freedom, and democracy. Face it people, we are captives of an economic system that absolutely rewards a tiny minority of uber-rich at the top, and locks the rest of us into bondage with shackles of debt. It is Economic Slavery. No less vicious, no less dehumanizing, no less horrific than slavery in the cotton fields of the South. It is just slightly more subtle.

So be careful about paying off your credit cards too quickly, you could wind up in some remote 're-education' camp...

More Redneck stuff

Sometimes, after a day of reading bleak news of political/religious/environmental/financial/military/and every thing else kind of bad news, it is good to have the truth:

So here it is…..

You are an EXTREME Redneck when:

1. You let your 14-year-old daughter smoke at the dinner table in front of her kids.

2. The Blue Book value of your truck goes up and down depending on how much gas is in it.

3. You've been married three times and still have the same in-laws.

4. You think a woman who is "out of your league" bowls on a different night.

5. You wonder how service stations keep their rest-rooms so clean.

6. Someone in your family died right after saying, "Hey, guys, watch this."

7. You think Dom Perignon is a Mafia leader.

8. Your wife's hairdo was once ruined by a ceiling fan.

9. Your junior prom offered day care.

10. You think the last words of the "Star-Spangled Banner" are "Gentlemen, start your engines."

11. You lit a match in the bathroom and your house exploded right off its wheels.

12. The Halloween Pumpkin on your porch has more teeth than your spouse.

13. You have to go outside to get something from the fridge.

14. One of your kids was born on a pool table.

15. You need one more hole punched in your card to get a freebie at the House of Tattoos.

16. You can't get married to your sweetheart because there's a law against it.

17. You think loading the dishwasher means getting your wife drunk.

Bonus Comment: An East Texas couple, both real-life rednecks, had 9 children. They went to the doctor to see about getting the husband "fixed". The doctor asked them why, after nine children would they choose to do this. The husband replied that they had read in a recent article that one out of every ten children being born in North America was Mexican and they didn't want a Mexican baby because neither of them could speak Spanish.

(Thanks Lamar)

Secrecy of Government

Patrick Henry: “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers [representatives] may be concealed from them.”

THE NATION TODAY
Archives seek to halt agencies' culling of files
March 4, 2006

"Archives seek to halt agencies' culling of files
Intelligence officials will meet with the county's top archivist early next week to discuss the withdrawal of historical documents from the National Archives' public shelves.."

White House Trains Efforts on Media Leaks
By Dan Eggen The Washington Post
Sunday 05 March 2006
The Bush administration, seeking to limit leaks of classified information, has launched initiatives targeting journalists and their possible government sources. The efforts include several FBI probes, a polygraph investigation inside the CIA and a warning from the Justice Department that reporters could be prosecuted under espionage laws.

Documents Reveal the Stories of Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay
By Greg Miller, Mark Mazzetti and Josh Meyer The Los Angeles Times
March 04 March 2006

"Washington - Forced by a federal court to lift the cloak of secrecy that had long shrouded the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Pentagon released thousands of pages of documents Friday containing names and other details for hundreds of detainees scooped up after the Sept. 11 attacks..."

A National Disgrace: Scandalous State of Affairs at Gitmo
By Thomas P. Sullivan The Chicago Tribune
Wednesday 01 March 2006

"Tantamount to torture" is how an inspection committee of the International Committee of the Red Cross recently described detention practices at Guantanamo Bay. More than 400 men have been detained for more than four years in virtual solitary confinement at the military detention center in Cuba. The prisoners, whom the U.S. government has denominated "enemy combatants," are foreign citizens taken into custody from various countries.

Panel to Expand Inquiry on Surveillance
By Eric Lichtblau The New York Times
Friday 03 March 2006

"Washington - Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee agreed Thursday to expand their inquiry into the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program, but Republicans rejected a broader effort by Democrats for President Bush to turn over detailed White House records on the operation..."

Link this up with the fact that one week into his first term of office, Bush signed a law that kept secret all of the Presidential Papers and Administrative documentations for every President from Ronald Reagan to Shrub, himself. An unprecidented move that will keep hidden the lies, manipulations, distortions, and unscrupulous manuevers of these past and present presidents. Also add that in every single way, this Bush Administration has been the most secretive and hidden government in U.S. history, working in the shadows to scheme and ruin the lives of millions of human beings.

The fact is, that you only hide stuff you are ashamed of. That sums up the entire Bush Administration precisely.

And how have the American People responded to these revelations?

Nothing.
==========================

....and finally we have this little ditty from the Salt Lake City Tribune, a bastion of right wing republican sentiment…

Seeing is believing: Federal government still not connecting the dots.
KATRINA BRIEFING

"Three days after Katrina laid waste to the Gulf Coast and drowned New Orleans, President Bush appeared on TV and said, among other things, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." Now, the Associated Press has turned up videotape of the president being briefed on the hurricane the day before it hit The Big Easy. In it, federal disaster officials warn the president and his homeland security chief, Michael Chertoff, that the monster storm could overtop the levees and trap tens of thousands of people in the city.

In one sense, this is not news. Transcripts of the tape had reported months ago that the president was warned of the possible disaster in advance. But in the video age, seeing it on tape has more impact than reading a transcript. At this point, we are less interested in whether the president lied about the briefing, didn't remember it correctly or simply misspoke…”
(emphasis mine)

Let me see if I really understand this….This newspaper, the Salt Lake City Tribune, is saying that it dosen’t matter that the President of the United States Lied to the American People about what was known of this horrendous disaster? This, after one of the most devastating disasters ever to befall this country? It doesn’t matter that the leader of this country couldn’t undertand the gravity of the situation, or even that he couldn’t formulate the correct words to describe the sitation? NONE of this matters? Than what the fuck does matter?

Any society, any country, that accepts this premise does not deserve freedom. I say this now, the American people are just such a people.

The Bush Administration has been caught in so many lies and have yet to pay the price of these lies. Lies that have forced this country into a war, into disasterous domestic and international policies. Lies that have undermined the very essense of this country, lies that have devastated the foundations of our tripartite government. Lies that have killed and maimed thousands of innocent human beings. Lies that have endangered the very planet we live on as well as all life on this planet. Lies that have shamed and mocked the very Constitution upon which this country was founded. When these lies have been revealed, the American people just shrugged, ingested more big macs, and went on their way as if nothing had happened.

Americans have demonstrated that they are a people that deserves George W. Bush.

Iraqi people die, Bush applauds

More news that you will never hear on American TV or from the raw throated gibbering of Religious fanaticism…

Burying The Lancet Report
By Nicolas J. S. Davies Z Magazine
February 2006 Issue

"Over a year ago an international team of epidemiologists, headed by Les Roberts of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, completed a "cluster sample survey" of civilian casualties in Iraq. Its findings contradicted central elements of what politicians and journalists had presented to the US public and the world. After excluding any possible statistical anomalies, they estimated that at least 98,000 Iraqi civilians had died in the previous 18 months as a direct result of the invasion and occupation of their country. They also found that violence had become the leading cause of death in Iraq during that period. Their most significant finding was that the vast majority (79 percent) of violent deaths were caused by "coalition" forces using "helicopter gunships, rockets or other forms of aerial weaponry," and that almost half (48 percent) of these were children, with a median age of 8..."

Ain’t truth a bitch? Damn pesky 8 year olds getting in the way of George W. Bush's goal of liberating Iraq. Why here he is, just a good ole boy from Texas, out there making the world safe for Demcracy and bringing freedom to foreigners...and what happens? Damn Iraqi people keep getting in the way of our 'Freedom Makers'.....that's 'bullets' to you heathens.

I don't know about you, but it matters to me that close to 98,000 Iraqi people have died in the past 18 months because my country illegally invaded theirs. It goddamn well matters. But is the truth ever a product of American News? Fat chance. Most Americans have no clue as to what is going on in Iraq, and what is worse, they really don't care.

Some don't care because they learned in church that these Iraqi's that are dying are better off because they didn't really belong to an 'approved' religion.

Some don't care because, "Well, that is just the price of freedom".

Some don't care because its easier to be led than to be responsible.

Some don't care because they are too busy scheming and plundering to gather as grand a collection of material riches as possible. Can't let a little item like slaughter disrupt a life style.

Some don't care because they are ignorant and prefer this to knowlege.

Some don't care because they believe it is better that foolish foreigners die to ensure America stays strong.

Some don't care because the 'Arabs' attacked us first.

Some don't care because their President, the great and kindly George, told them that everything is going just fine and that they need to focus on more shopping.

And, some don't care because they are too busy trying to scrape out a living in a brutal economic system that rewards the very rich and punishes the very poor. Where rule makers concoct legislation that establish barriers leading to penury for average citizens. Where politicians, at the direct command of corporations, spend their every waking hours working to reward the rich and gut the poor, wrapping its own citizens in chains of indebtedness and obligation.

Lastly, some don't care because they know that their own country will silence them if they speak out too loudly or become too troublesome to our leadership. They don't care because they are too scared of their own government to care.

That's America in the 21st Century.

Land o' the Free

(These are some of the millions of of people in India who are outraged at George W. Bush and want him to just go away.)


Now, curiously, if this were Americans, gathering in our own country for this same purpose...we would be subject to immediate arrest and up to 6 months in prison.

Land of the free my ass.

Read this:

Additions slipped into Patriot Act

By James Kuhnhenn
Knight Ridder Newspapers

"....The Secret Service provision, added by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., would make it a federal crime to trespass or create a disturbance at a "special event of national significance," such as the Super Bowl, even if the president isn't in attendance. Under current law, people who enter security zones set up by the Secret Service to protest the president or others while they're at the event can be arrested and face imprisonment for up to six months..."


Also, for an excellent report of current peak oil issues go to From The Wilderness.