cartoons o'the day

i really hate this guy....

This is why the Conservative wing of our political spectrum is wrong. The Gas and Oil companies as they stand today, are not "Energy Companies", they are 'gas' or 'oil' companies, but not energy companies. As a result the rest of the world is making a dedicated change to renewable energy resources and the U.S. is not.

"Renewable sources account for 25 percent of Sweden's energy use and 45 percent in Norway. The United States lagged behind, with only 4.2 percent of its energy consumption coming from renewable sources.

Energy companies and governments were driving growth in renewables, Flavin said, with firms including Royal Dutch Shell Group, BP, and Mitsubishi among the major players.

Additionally, 48 countries now have policies and incentives promoting renewable energy, he added."

(Published on Thursday, September 29, 2005 by One World

Fossil Fuels Set to Become Relics, Says Research Group

by Abid Aslam)

The Conservatives are the people who own gas and oil companies. They tend to be closely attached to the Bush Regime and to each other. Being Conservatives they are unable to see past the present and have insight into only things that are, rather than things that may be. They make their trillions from oil and gas and not 'renewables'. Therefore we (Oil and Gas boys): " must not change a thing, just make it more efficient."

In as much as they own the white house, the U.S will make no real measurable change to renewable energy any time soon. The men in power today are deeply and unabashedly Conservative and, to them, the old ways are always best...no, perhaps it is better said that 'their' ways are always best.

"WASHINGTON - Energy drawn from the wind, tide, sun, Earth's heat, and farm waste is poised to begin replacing oil and other fossil fuels, a prominent research group said Wednesday in a wake-up call to industry executives and government officials worldwide.

Wind turbines that produce electricity spin at a wind farm in Daban, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.For energy-hungry Asian governments, the answer could literally be blowing in the wind. Across the region, renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power is gaining ever greater credence as a way to curb the region's appetite for oil and cut runaway import bills. With oil prices near $70, and expected by many analyst to stay over $50 through the end of 2006, governments believe alternative energy will help keep their economies growing. (CHINA OUT REUTERS/China Newsphoto/Files)

''Energy markets are about to experience a seismic shift,'' Christopher Flavin, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute, said in a speech to oil executives and energy ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa, site of the 18th World Petroleum Congress..."

(Fossile Fuels..., Abid Aslam)

The Present 'Conservative' Administration will make all of the wrong decisions about our present and future energy needs because, as conservatives, they cannot imagine a world that does not fit their self-serving preconceptions and blind ideology.

good news...computer-wise

Do you have any idea how vital this is?

Sub-$100 laptop design unveiled

The laptop for the world's children should be durable and self-reliant

Nicholas Negroponte, chairman and founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Labs, has been outlining designs for a sub-$100 PC.

The laptop will be tough and foldable in different ways, with a hand crank for when there is no power supply..."

"The laptops will be encased in rubber to make them more durable, and their AC adaptors will also act as carrying straps.

The Linux-based machines are expected to have a 500MHz processor, with flash memory instead of a hard drive which has more delicate moving parts.

The laptop will be more rugged and flexible than ordinary ones

They will have four USB ports, and will be able to connect to the net through wi-fi - wireless net technology - and will be able to share data easily.

It will also have a dual-mode display so that it can still be used in varying light conditions outside. It will be a colour display, but users will be able to switch easily to monochrome mode so that it can be viewed in bright sunlight, at four times normal resolution..."

This is a ground shaker. One of the issues I have with the pending catostrophic disaster of earth shattering proportions...the Bush Economic Meltdown, is that it will take away cheap electricity, maybe even all electricity. And, there would go my beloved computer. And there would go my beloved internet. I would dearly miss the huge data base that is out there in internetland. There is so much to be learned and shared.

So, the advent of a cheap, reliable computer that is hand cranked...well that is just bitchen.

cartoon 2

"In a virtuous community men of sense and principles will always be placed at the head of affairs. In a declining state of public morals men will be so blinded to their true interests as to put the incapable and unworthy at the helm. It is therefore vain to complain of the follies of crimes of a government. We must lay our hands on our own hearts and say, Here is the sin that makes the public sin."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1830

cartoon

"Any man who has the brains to think and the nerve to act for the benefit of the people of the country is considered a radical by those who are content with stagnation and willing to endure disaster."
William Randolph Hearst, 1932

all hat and no cattle

"Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes." – Tom DeLay

"Chemical pesticides are 'harmless' and foods raised without them might even be more carcinogenic." – Tom DeLay

"If I wasn't walking with the Lord, I would have been destroyed."—Tom DeLay

"Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills." –Tom DeLay

GREAT SITE; All Hat and No Cattle

Thanks for the great quotes from DeLay.

And now from our humor correspondant...Lamar:

George Bush is having a White House briefing and is told "Six Brazilian soldiers were killed today!"
"On, God, NO!", George cries, and covers his face with his hands.

His aides are shocked at such an emotional outburst. Until George looks up and asks "Uh, how many is a brazilian, anyway?"

Tyranny unraveling

It took Ann Coulter no more than 10 minutes on Larry King last night to blame Bill Clinton.....it just gets more weird by the moment. Coulter, if there is any justice in American History, will be shown to be a distaff hollow eyed Joseph Goebbels clone, parroting the party line, lying her ass off, and betraying every responsibility that the Right of Free Speech entails....but maybe I am just a little cynical.

The Hammer Gets Hit, Hard

By Ari Berman, TheNation.com. Posted September 29, 2005.

"The Republican Party's once-copious political capital is quickly eroding. As we go to press, House majority leader Tom DeLay has just been indicted by a Texas grand jury on one count of criminal conspiracy in a fast-moving money-laundering case. "I have notified the speaker that I will temporarily step aside from my position as majority leader," DeLay said in a statement following the stunning final day of the grand jury's term. The Republican Party's go-to guy, famously nicknamed "The Hammer," finally got whacked..."

It took years and years, but the most corrupt politician in Washington, and that is saying a lot, is finally under indictment.

2005 looks to be the year that the fortunes of the tyrant and his ilk will change. Iraq is a bloody civil war that is growing terrorist like poppies in Afganistan, which is also heating up with Taliban reprisals. The Gulf Coast in the deep south of America has proven beyond shadow of a doubt that George W.Bush could care less about 'the little people'. The Gas crisis is finally out in the open and the fickel public is waking from its comotose state. The Environment is hitting back at humanity for decades of deliberate poisoning of its air, water, and land. Although it takes a fucking category 5 hurricane to lay waste to whole cities and kill scores of people before anyone notices. The Fiscal Crisis of the United States, and by extension the entire world, is just peeking over the horizon.

Lots of bad shit coming down. Maybe, just maybe, the American people will wake up and begin the struggle to take back their own country. Although, to be honest, I don't think they will. Lets face it, beyond the insane horror of the Republicans are the spineless and cowering Democrats. Hardly a symbol of strength and unity.

The question arises, who will lead the ignorant Americans back to Democracy?

Heartwarming story.

This is truly heart-warming, it's story about the bond formed between a

little girl and some construction workers that makes you believe that we CAN
make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time...

A young family moved into a house, next door to a vacant lot. One day a
construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty lot. The
young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in all the
activity going on next door and spent much of each day observing the
workers.

Eventually the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more or
less adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her, let her
sit with them while they had coffee and lunch breaks, and gave her little
jobs to do here and there to make her feel important.

At the end of the first week they even presented her with a pay envelope
containing a couple of dollars. The little girl took this home to her mother
who said all the appropriate words of admiration and suggested that they
take the two dollar "pay" she had received to the bank the next day to start
a savings account. When they got to the bank, the teller was equally
impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own
paycheck at such a young age.

The little girl proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew building
the house next door to us."

My goodness gracious," said the teller, "and will you be working on the
house again this week, too?"

The little girl replied, "I will if those assholes at Home Depot ever
deliver the damn sheet rock"...



Kind of brings a tear to the eye doesn't it?

(thanks again Lamar)

Official Announcement

The government today announced that it is changing its emblem from an Eagle to a CONDOM because it more accurately reflects the government's political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually being screwed.

Damn, it just doesn't get more accurate than that!

(thanks Lamar)

cartoon 4

"Bad rulers...are in constant fear lest others are conspiring to inflict upon them the punishment which they are conscious of deserving."
Machiavelli, 1517

cartoon 3

"There is no morality in politics; there is only expediency."
Lenin, 1915

cartoons 2

"The difference between a pickpocket and a robber baron is mostly a matter of opportunity."
Anon.

cartoon

"There is in human nature more of the fool than of the wise."
Francis Bacon, 1625

Financial woes of America

Gee, the rest of the world can know this, why can't we?

We can do this the nice way ... or the nasty way

Larry Elliott, economics editor
Tuesday September 27, 2005
The Guardian

"Two hurricanes in a month, petrol prices at $3 a gallon, a current account deficit of enormous proportions, a housing market that defies gravity: little wonder that the mood in the United States is a little edgy.

The International Monetary Fund made it clear last week that it saw the world's largest economy as an accident waiting to happen. The US could not continue to live beyond its means indefinitely, and there were only two ways to deal with the unsustainable imbalances in the global economy: the nice way or the nasty way..."

So, will the U.S. respond to and correct its erroneous financial ways?
If not, this is the likely scenario...

"...the overseas investors who have been funding the American trade deficit by buying US assets decide they have had enough. The result is a large and sudden devaluation of the dollar, which adds to inflationary pressure and forces the Federal Reserve to raise short-term interest rates aggressively. Protectionist pressures mount and this, together with the big appreciation of China's currency, leads to much slower growth. With both the world's two big growth engines - the US and China - faltering, Europe and Japan also suffer. Financial markets suffer hefty losses, adding to the gloom.

Ok, maybe there is truth in Journalism!

You gotta admit, it sure explains a whole lot...

Bush's Booze Crisis
Political Humor Blog

September 22, 2005

"Bush's Booze Crisis
Has President Bush fallen off the wagon? The National Enquirer reports that Bush, who quit drinking after his 40th birthday, hit the bottle again amid the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. A worried Laura Bush reportedly yelled at him, "Stop, George!"

Say what you will about the National Enquirer, which isn't exactly a bastion of journalistic credibility, but it's the only explanation for Bush's bungled response to Katrina that makes any sense. It also might help explain this, and this, not to mention this. .."

OH yeah....I feel much safer now!

Someone please explain to me the wisdom of putting the Pentagon in charge of national disasters? No more Federal Emergency Management Agency, now we will have a "run and gun offense" with the 82nd Airborne, Marine Expetionary Unit, 11th Armored Cavalry...What is this? Survivors will be shot? Herded into concentration camps under armed guard? Forceably 'relocated' to 'education centers'?

This is coming from a president that is alledged a conservative? The only thing more stupid and more frightening than this plan is the contortions that republican voters must go through to convince themselves that these radical Fanatics are 'conservative'.

Bush looks to Pentagon to take lead in disasters

If Congress likes idea, local officials would lose some of their powers

By JULIE MASON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

"BATON ROUGE - President Bush indicated Sunday that he may ask Congress to put the Pentagon in charge of the response to domestic disasters such as the two recent hurricanes — a change that could take authority from the hands of governors and local officials..."

"..."Is there a natural disaster which — of a certain size, that would then enable the Defense Department to become the lead agency in coordinating and leading the response effort?" Bush asked rhetorically. "That's going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about."

Such a move would have significant implications for local authorities in storm-prone states such as Texas, Florida and Louisiana..."

"Implications for local authorities"? Yeah I would say that having Federal Troops take command of your state or country without your consent is probably an 'implication'!

Take note, martial law in this country is but one terrorist attack, or one national disaster ahead. No shit. No kidding.

What took you so long?

Carter says Gore won 2000 election

John Byrne

"Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter delivered a shocker at an American University panel in Washington Monday: RAW STORY has learned he told the crowd he was certain Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election.

There is "no doubt in my mind that Gore won the election," the erstwhile President declared, saying the 2000 election process "failed abysmally."

He also snubbed the Supreme Court for getting involved, saying it was "highly partisan.".."

The Bush Agenda

Curiousities.....

Historic changes possible in military's role in domestic emergencies

"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush's push to give the military a bigger role in responding to major disasters like Hurricane Katrina could lead to a loosening of legal limits on the use of federal troops on U.S. soil..."

Blackwater Down
Jereme Scalhill

"The men from Blackwater USA arrived in New Orleans right after Katrina hit. The company known for its private security work guarding senior US diplomats in Iraq beat the federal government and most aid organizations to the scene in another devastated Gulf. About 150 heavily armed Blackwater troops dressed in full battle gear spread out into the chaos of New Orleans. Officially, the company boasted of its forces "join[ing] the hurricane relief effort." But its men on the ground told a different story.."

Today in DC: Commandos in the Streets?

William M. Arkin

"...Today, somewhere in the DC metropolitan area, the military is conducting a highly classified Granite Shadow "demonstration.

Granite Shadow is yet another new Top Secret and compartmented operation related to the military’s extra-legal powers regarding weapons of mass destruction. It allows for emergency military operations in the United States without civilian supervision or control.

"...Granite Shadow posits domestic military operations, including intelligence collection and surveillance, unique rules of engagement regarding the use of lethal force, the use of experimental non-lethal weapons, and federal and military control of incident locations that are highly controversial and might border on the illegal..."

"...Both plans ("...Granite Shadow is the twin to Power Geyser, a program I first revealed to The New York Times in January. The JFHQ spokesman confirms that Granite Shadow and Power Geyser are two different unclassified names for two different classified plans...) seem to live behind a veil of extraordinary secrecy because military forces operating under them have already been given a series of ''special authorities'' by the President and the secretary of defense. These special authorities include, presumably, military roles in civilian law enforcement and abrogation of State's powers in a declared or perceived emergency.."

Hurricane Aid used to 'test out right-wing social policies'
by Julian Borger. Guardian/UK

"President Bush's multi-billion dollar reconstruction plans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are being used as "a vast laboratory" for conservative social polices, administration critics claim.

The White House strategy involves the suspension of a series of regulations guaranteeing the going local wage and affirmative action for minorities, while offering tax incentives for businesses in the affected region.

Education aid for displaced children will include $500m (£276m) in vouchers for private schools, while a senior Republican has also proposed a new law permitting a wide-ranging waiver of environmental regulations..."

Now, I will admit that I 'Cherry-picked' the above articles. Hand selected them out of piles of articles. But I think that you will agree, something is going on....

I don't know what, but it would seem that the U.S. is being readied for Martial Law under the guise of Homeland Security. Further, the Bush coup de' tat, that is, the conversion of this country from a Democracy to a NeoConservative style Fascism is well under way.

On the other hand, perhaps these are just meaningless exercises in government; perhaps the special forces troops now operating in America are just here for our protection. And perhaps it is better that one religion, one party, one ruler govern this country.

Perhaps.....

Homeland INsecurity.

I am sure that others will be asking this, but I have a question. The Department of Homland Security has been in operation now for several years. I had thought that one of the assigned tasks of this massive federal agency was to prepare the nation for the threat of terrorist attacks. With me so far? Ok, now I admit that I am a novice at this stuff, not a highly trained and experienced professional like they hire at the Department of Homeland Security, but it seems to me that one of the first things you plan for are mass evacuations from cities. Makes kind of sense dosen't it. Where will the terrorist strike? A corn field in mid-Iowa? Nope. Likely to be a crowded city. As part of keeping the people safe, an orderly plan for evacuation of areas would seem to be a natural.

So, having this in mind...where is the vaunted Department of Homeland Security after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita? We have a miserable disaster in New Oreans because they had no evacuation plan. We have the making of a catastrophe in TExas as thousands of Americans jamb the limited evacuation routes away from the approaching storm. Dosen't seem that people in charge have given much thought to something as basic as, "how will we get the people who depend on us to safety?"

I admit that it is a big job and that the combination of city, state and fed's will have to share culpability...but overall, isn't this what Homeland Security was supposed to do? Find and stop the bad guys belongs to law enforcement. Protecting American Citizens from attack, responding to the attack, and keeping the harm to a minimum, be it Al Queda or Hurrican Rita, is the job of Homeland Security.

Isn't it?

This is the largest agency in the U.S. Government, and they have been blessed with lots of tax dollars, what have they been doing for 4 fours?

cartoons o' the day

Deja Vu all over again...

Ya know, it just seems incredible to me that the racism and classism epidemic in this country is so blatant. As if Hurricane Katrina was not a horrific reminder that the poor, and minority, in this country are subjected to second class citizenry..along comes Hurricane Rita to absolutely confirm it.

Public Housing Residents on alert, not evacuated.
(By LORI RODRIGUEZ Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle)

"Houston's public housing officials were on hurricane alert Wednesday as Rita barreled toward the Texas coast, while transplanted New Orleans officials began leaving their temporary quarters in Houston.

Local officials said public housing residents are not being evacuated.

"We're in full hurricane preparedness mode," said La Chanda Jenkins, communications director for the city's..."

Presumably, 'full hurricane preparedness mode', means fuck the poor....

"...We've sent out a notice to all our public housing residents telling them how they should prepare for the storm and what emergency contact numbers they can call."

The Housing Authority owns and manages nearly 4,000 public housing units in 17 developments across the city.

Since Hurricane Katrina struck to the east Aug. 29, officials also have been charged with finding local public or subsidized housing for eligible Katrina evacuees."

So what, we got, 4,000 public housing units scattered around the city and these thousands of people are just going to have to ride it out?

Sure, that's fair. That's also Texas. That is where the current resident of the White House comes from. That is where the Republicans have one of their strongest bases. That is where the majority of executions is conducted on almost overwhelmingly black Americans. That is where the school system is failing so badly that Texas is on the verge of being denied federal funding. That is where medical care for the elderly and disabled is a distant dream. That is where George W. Bush tried out his failed policies before trying these failed policies on the whole country.

Sure, Texas would be willing to sacrifice thousands as long as their poor and black.

You Go Get Em', Bartcop!

BARTCOP.COM - GREAT SITE.

Yes, Virginia, the world really is running out of oil

This is an event that y'all need to keep in view:

The Petrocollapse Conference

Petrocollapse: Social Isolation or Solidarity?

"The public is also not fully aware of the extent to which oil pervades our lives not simply as fuel for transportation but also in the form of pesticides, fertilizers and plastics. A decline in oil supplies will affect our ability to grow enough food for the current global population of six and a half billion people. Malnutrition and resulting illness can be expected to spread far beyond the 3.7 billion who are currently affected into the developed world.

Our economy also depends on indefinite growth that will not be sustainable once Peak Oil hits. Its arrival is likely to have a paralyzing affect on certain sectors of the economy which will in turn spread both nationally and globally.

At The Petrocollapse Conference we will ask

• What are we facing now as the economy prepares to hit the wall known as resource limits? Will growth suddenly implode?
• What will be the effects of Peak Oil (a geological phenomenon) and petrocollapse (an economic and social phenomenon) on food supply and other services we depend on?
• What humane, ethical means are available to reduce the population (over the course of several generations) to a sustainable number?
• What other mitigation strategies are possible?
• What is the role of the market in determining how severe will be the effect of shortage stemming from geological depletion?
• Upon upheaval, deprivation, and a restructuring of social relations in a "new" local economics system, will we choose to create a sustainable culture?
• Is there a "Plan B" to ease a transition to sustainable living in a world without plentiful energy and petroleum's materials?"

Time really is short. I don't know if Hurricane Rita will spell the difference or not. But it is abundantly clear that Peak Oil is a fact of life and will radically change America as well as the rest of the world. It will come, wether in one year or ten, but it will be here.

Our modern age has blinded us to the fact that the only difference between the 1800's the 1900's and today is cheap and abundant oil. This is the only significant change. Cheap and Abundant oil has produced everything else, from the Chile-grown Grape's on your table, to the SUV in your driveway. Cheap oil has produced it all.

What will you do when this is gone, or too expensive?

Additional reports from the International Energy Agency

Non-OPEC Oil Production Will Decline "Right after 2010," the IEA Warns
By Jean-Michel Bezat with Matthieu Auzanneau
Le Monde

Monday 19 September 2005

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is not alarmist, but it is beginning to prepare public opinion for disillusioning tomorrows: shortly after 2010, production by states not members of the Organization of Petroleum exporting Countries (OPEC) must begin to decline. This pessimistic warning will be one of the messages that the agency - charged since 1974 with protecting the interests of consuming countries - will launch in its annual report, "World Energy Outlook 2005," to be published November 7.

The "non-OPEC" countries notably include large producers such as Russia, China, the United States, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Norway and today supply 60% of global crude oil. "The production of conventional oil - not including heavy and shale oils - will reach a peak just after 2010," explains Fatih Birol, Director of IEA Economic Studies. "The production profile after that date will depend on technology, prices, and investments."

This acknowledged expert adds that "if there are adequate investments and if prices remain at a proper level, production may stabilize itself for a while," before declining. On the other hand, "low prices and inadequate investments in exploration and production will lead to a more pronounced decline," he warns. The essential growth in the volume of extraction will therefore come from OPEC countries, he concludes. Notably from the Middle East and Africa, two regions particularly well-studied in the next "World Energy Outlook.".."

Posse Comitatus and Federal Troops

Just a thought....

Historic changes possible in military's role in domestic emergencies

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush's push to give the military a bigger role in responding to major disasters like Hurricane Katrina could lead to a loosening of legal limits on the use of federal troops on U.S. soil..."

"...At question, however, is how far to push the military role, which by law may not include actions that can be defined as law enforcement — stopping traffic, searching people, seizing property or making arrests. That prohibition is spelled out in the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, enacted after the Civil War mainly to prevent federal troops from supervising elections in former Confederate states.

Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said, "I believe the time has come that we reflect on the Posse Comitatus Act." He advocated giving the president and the secretary of defense "correct standby authorities" to manage disasters..."

"...Di Rita called it one of the "very archaic laws" from a different era in U.S. history that limits the Pentagon's flexibility in responding to 21st century domestic crises.

Another such law, Di Rita said, is the Civil War-era Insurrection Act, which Bush could have invoked to waive the law enforcement restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act. That would have enabled him to use either National Guard soldiers or active-duty troops — or both — to quell the looting and other lawlessness that broke out in New Orleans..."

What specifically is so different about emergency response today that we should consider getting rid of Posse Comitatus and the Civil-era Insurrention Act? These have been in place to protect the American public against the use of armed Federal Troops since 1878. They have worked up to this point, what is different now?

"...The law, was championed by far-sighted Southern lawmakers in 1878. They had experienced a fifteen year military occupation by the US Army in post-Civil War law enforcement. They understood the heel of a jackboot.

In a nutshell, this act bans the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines from participating in arrests, searches, seizure of evidence and other police-type activity on U.S. soil. The Coast Guard and National Guard troops under the control of state governors are excluded from the act..." (The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. US Dept of Justice & Governement Watch)

The Bush Administration now wants to use Federal Troops to arrest, search and seize American Citizens under the pretext of "national emergency". If the United STates hasn't needed this in 123 years why now? The U.S. didn't need posse comitatus changes after 911 did it? Nope, in fact two days after the attack the Bush Administration stated that they knew exactly who did it and why. ( a piece of work that still defies explination, other than Bush knew about it before hand). Anyway, if we could identify the bad guys so quickly, what possible use could the Federal Troops be?

Easy, Bush has made no secret of the fact that he is seeking a Dictatorship. Declaring Martial Law and being able to bring in seasoned Federal Troops to lock down Americans is his goal. The pretext is national security. But, since we have gotten along just fine with Posse Comitatus in place, the reason for change can only be a political manuever by George W. Bush to enslave the American public.

There, I said it. Sounds nutty as a fruitcake to me too. But somehow we have to look at the visible clues and ask ourselves, "What are they up to now?" The Bush Administration has already proven its willingness to lie, cheat and steal, why should we trust them at any level?

Contact your elected representative and remind them that they ARE elected and therefore need to listen, and then ask them to hold strong on keeping Posse Comitatus in place. With George W. Bush in power, we need all the protection we can get.

Don't trust the bastards!

Tough time to be a Southerner

Our hearts and hope and prayers go out to those fellow Americans in the deep south.

Being Conservative also used to mean fiscal responsibility, less Government Interference, and States Rights over Federal. Odd, I am a progressive and I believe in these things far more than the Conservatives.

Major examples: George W Bush has run up the highest deficit in U.S. History, an absolutely unsustainable amount that has already crippled and killed Americans and will mostl likely plunge this country in a massive recession. The Patriot Act is the greates give away of individual rights in American History. Guarantees that Americans thought they had under the Bill of Rights are now ignored and will. The Feds believe in states right, but only on their terms...the States can vote for assisted suicide, gay marriage, medicinal marijuana, but then the Federal Government just stamps on these and imposes their own laws.

The Hypocrisy of Conservativism in this country is staggering.

"Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
than a rich man who is perverse in his ways."
Christian Bible, Proverbs 28:6

cartoons...

"An aristocracy is a combination of many powerful men, for the purpose of maintaining and advancing their own particular interests."
James Fenimore Cooper, 1838

cartoons too

"You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can make a damn fool of yourself any old time."
Laurence J. Peter, 1982

cartoon

"The statement that war is a continuation of policy by other means has become a catch phrase and is therefore dangerous. We can say with equal truth: War is the bankruptcy of policy."
Hans Von Seeckt, 1929

Hurrican Rita

Just a word of warning:

Hurricane Rita is headed straight for what is left of America's petroleum and gas fields. Further, it could conceivably strike the shipping and ports that are essential to the U.S. Economy. With New Orleans down and out, this means that Hurricane Rita will be a National Catastrophe. My advice, get in a six month supply of food and water. You will be thankful that you did.

The effects of Hurricane Rita could be catastrophic. If she hits as hard as a category 4 storm can, look for shortages and long lines at gas stations. Price will be over $5.00 a gallon and will not be coming down. There will be rationing of fuel. Most importantly, if Diesal fuel is disrupted, everything in America will stop. That's right. Everything. This is because trucks haul everything that we buy. The groceries, the crops, the gasoline, the clothing, the pet food, you name it. If it is on the shelf, it was brought by a truck. Every place in America is only 36 hours from having no food on the grocery shelves. That is a fact. STop the trucks due to outages of fuel and you stop groceries. The Shelves will be empty in three days.

Lastly, the American economy despite the bullshit you hear from Bush and the news media is tottering. EVery single day we need NEW INVESTMENTS to buy our Bonds of many millions of dollars. These bond buyers are almost exclusively from foriegn governments. The only reason they buy the bonds is because they still pay off better than any other monetary instrument, and if the U.S. economy collapses, so will most of the world. Therefore, they will keep buying bonds, for awhile. When they stop, we stop.

George W. Bush, the conservative people who voted him in, and the vainglorious neocons who wrote his agenda have trapped America in a economic LaBrea Tar Pit.

Get some beans and rice....

Rita may be 'national disaster': oil CEO

"SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Greehey said Hurricane Rita's impact on U.S. crude oil production and refining could be a "national disaster."

"If it hits the refineries, and we're short refining capacity, you're going to see gasoline prices well over $3.00 a gallon at the pump," Greehey said in a Tuesday night interview..."

"... A Bloomberg article today contains a quotation from a Wall Street energy expert as saying, “‘Rita is developing into our worst-case scenario,’ said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at Fimat USA in New York. ‘This is headed right into our other major refining center just after all the damage done to facilities in Louisiana. From an energy perspective it doesn't get any worse than this.’”..."

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

Refineries and Rigs Shut Down for Storm

By VIKAS BAJAJ

Published: September 22, 2005

"Energy companies stepped up evacuations of offshore operations and rushed to secure refineries on the Texas coast yesterday as they prepared for Hurricane Rita, which was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane packing winds up to 165 miles an hour. The storm appeared to be headed for the heart of the nation's oil industry..."

Yeah, I know, I sound Apocolyptic at times...still, the reality is that we live in an interdependent world. Significantly so. What effects New Orleans and Houston effects all of us, and not just on an emotional level. The facts, as spoken by numerous geological experts, are that there is just not enough petroleum to go around. When the U.S. loses petroleum pumping capability, storage capability, and refinery operations, there is no other source to pick up the slack. There just isn't any. Saudia Arabia cannot pump more oil as they are maxed out, and even if they could, how could they transport it, store it, and refine it? Can't, unable to, won't work.

Folks, the facts are that a large share of the entire American supply of raw petroleum, plus refined diesal and gasoline, and home heating oils, come from the Texas and Lousiana area. Hurrican Katrina, and now Hurricane Rita have and are doing tremendous damage to these operations.

"...The storm could also have serious economic and environmental consequences for chemical manufacturers on the Texas coast. More than 160 plants in Texas are in the potential path of the storm, according to the American Chemistry Council. Roughly half the nation's chemical-production capacity is in the region.

Texas is home to 26 refineries, representing more than a quarter of the nation's crude oil processing capacity. Of those refineries, 17 are in cities along the coast.

By comparison, Katrina initially disabled about 10 refineries in Louisiana and Mississippi, accounting for 10 percent of the nation's capacity. Roughly half of that output remains out of service..."(Refineries and Rigs shut down for the Storm. Vihas Bajaj. NY Times)

At minimum, we will see significantly higher gasoline and diesal and heating oil prices through 2006. At Minimum. Also, even if the Petroleum industry skates on this one, the clean up for this massive storm, added to Hurricane Katrina is going to be enormous. The cost astronomical. How long do you really think that bloody little tyrant in the White House can keep shoveling U.S.tax dollars into the bloated wallets of his friends, before we are absolutely bankrupt. The United States has a major expensive war to pay for, one of the worst Hurricanes in American History, and now followed by another potential disaster, plus the trillions of pork projects these assholes in WAshington have dreamed up. Economically, I really don't see how this country is going to survive the sum total of these disasters coupled to the blind ideology of idiots. A worst case scenario I will leave for later.

Let me throw in something too. the United States Government does not even know how much the Iraq and Afganistan wars are costing.

"PENTAGON -- ANYBODY GOT A CALCULATOR?: How much are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan costing the United States? No one knows. That's the conclusion of a new report by the Government Accountability Office. The Washington Post reports, "The Pentagon has no accurate knowledge of the cost of military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan or the fight against terrorism, limiting Congress's ability to oversee spending." The Defense Department claims it has spent $191 billion since 9/11 to fight terrorism and conduct the two wars. The GAO investigation, however, "found many inaccuracies totaling billions of dollars." The report shows "Neither DOD nor Congress can reliably know how much the war is costing and details of how appropriated funds are being spent." .." (American Progress Action Fund)

So when you hear any government official telling you that economically the U.S. is just fine, the staggering deficits do not matter and that we can afford to do anything we want...that sucker is lying through his teeth. There is no reputable economist in this world that can tell us the American Economy is sound because they cannot account for the trillions in money spent on this war. It would be like you and I balancing our check book, but leaving out an unknown amount of thousand dollar expenses. I don't give a shit how fucked up the federal accounting system is, you cannot say anything about an economy that fails to account for trillions of missing dollars. And the Bush Administration hasn't a clue how much we are spending.

Remember one last bit, the U.S. Government will NOT tell you that we are in serious economic struggles because of these storms. The U.S. Government will not admit how badly they have handled the entire mess. They will not tell you until it is far too late and the economy is already down. Too late for you to take steps to protect yourself as much as possible. Meanwhile, Bush and his cohorts will skate free with trillions of American tax dollars filling their private accounts. Believe it!

Get the rice and beans....and buy a warm dog, you will need him for the winter months.

NeoCon Conservatives eat worms.

I want you to take a look at this. This is a cartoon drawn by a Conservative Cartoonist. This is what the neocon conservatives really believe. "Tax Cuts Boost the Economy...they add $ to the treasury." ?

You want to explain the logic of that one to me? If you take something away from something then you have less of it.

Further, there is not ONE SHRED OF PROOF that the current tax cuts for multi-millionares adds one nickle to the treasury. Not One! If that were the case do you really think we would have a trillion dollar deficit?

Do ya think it is kind of telling that no administration in the history of the United States has attempted to wage war while cutting taxes. NOT ONE. Why? It dosen't work, that's why. Can't do it. Can't spend money you don't have. No matter what ideology you subscribe to, basic math dosen't change.

This is a case in point that Conservative Ideology, at least in this case, in more important that facts.

True Hero's and Authority.

I have learned, bitterly, that one must read the morning newspaper from the side. That is, you cannot take what they tell you head on, you have to interpret. On every article you must ask yourself, "Why is the government telling me this?" "Why does the government want me to know the story this way?".

Case in point, in Louisiana, the headlines point out, the National Guard and the Police are working frantically to save people and restore order. Oh really. Well, I suppose that is true. but there really is a larger story here. That of the 'unsung' hero's. The regular people who reached out and saved their neighbors, the nurses, plumbers, electricians, bakery workers, hard-hats and white-collars, strangers and family. People saving people.

"...We also suspect the media will have been inundated with “hero” images of the National Guard, the troops and the police struggling to help the “victims” of the Hurricane. What you will not see, but what we witnessed were the real heroes and sheroes of the hurricane relief effort: the working class of New Orleans. The maintenance workers who used a fork lift to carry the sick and disabled. The engineers, who rigged, nurtured and kept the generators running. The electricians who improvised thick extension cords stretching over blocks to share the little electricity we had in order to free cars stuck on rooftop parking lots. Nurses who took over for mechanical ventilators and spent many hours on end manually forcing air into the lungs of unconscious patients to keep them alive. Doormen who rescued folks stuck in elevators. Refinery workers who broke into boat yards, “stealing” boats to rescue their neighbors clinging to their roofs in flood waters. Mechanics who helped hot-wire any car that could be found to ferry people out of the City. And the food service workers who scoured the commercial kitchens improvising communal meals for hundreds of those stranded.

Most of these workers had lost their homes, and had not heard from members of their families, yet they stayed and provided the only infrastructure for the 20% of New Orleans that was not under water...".

(From The Wilderness. ) 17 Sep 2005 GNN. By Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky. Republished from MetaMute.
http://gnn.tv/headlines/4941/_Get_Off_The_Fucking_Freeway
_The_Sinking_State_Loots_its_Own_Survivors)

The real story of New Orleans and the deep south after Hurricane Katrina belongs to the people like you and I. These people will not get Bush's publicity because Bush and his ilk want you to believe that only 'Official' forces are to be trusted. Bush and his handlers want to direct the news in such a way as to foster the belief that only the government can help us, we cannot help ourselves. It is the top down hierarchy that Bush wants to enforce. " You will do what your leaders say, and be quiet." Is the Bush mantra. "Your leaders know what is good for you, so stop struggling and submit." They sneer. Rather like a rapist to his vicitim.

So, what does this mean for you and I caught up in the fury of a natural disaster?


"...Just as dusk set in, a Gretna Sheriff showed up, jumped out of his patrol vehicle, aimed his gun at our faces, screaming, “Get off the fucking freeway”..."

Read this true account of New Orleans. We must all understand that Police and Law Enforcement can be enlightened and vital in many situations. We must also understand that Police and Law Enforcement can be brutal and dictatorial. Law Enforcement can be better than the best of us, or worst than the worst of us. The difference is in accountablity. Where authority is subject to the people's will, where authority must answer for its actions to the public, there tends to be more humanity in their actions. Where authority is distant, unregulated, detached from the public, then abuses will arise. Remember that all Law Enforcement is essentially military. In times of crisis, a top down, authoritarian system works best. You need someone to make decesions and fast. But that someone, when responsible for his or her actions to the public, will tend to use their power with more humanity.

The Bush mantra is that all power is concentrated at the top. There is no room for humanity. There are only orders. "Do what you are told, and shut up."

Therefore, the passive media will report their stories in such a way as to emphasize this perspective. The stories from Hurricane Katrina, now that the Federal Government has siezed control, will overwhelmly show the "wisdom and understanding" of authority, especially the Federal Authority. Look for stories that downplay and even ridicule the local authority and boast of the prowess of the Feds.

Like I said, you must always read the newspapers and watch the TV News with major suspicion of what social programming they are pushing next.

So, what is the answer? Every region of the country is vulnerable to something, therefore, it is vital that neighborhoods and communities become actively involved in their own disaster planning. Do not , repeat, do not, rely on 'authorities' to make it all up for you. Get involved and become part of the solution. What will happen is that the authorities will develop a plan that is far more humaine than if left to their own devices. Citizens must retake control of their communities and make the government and law enforcement answerable to the public. Americans have been known to be a passive populace, that needs to change. George W. Bush is the direct result of passivity, allowing fanatical zealots to assume power. The world over, from Iraq to Louisiana, the consequences are an unmitigated disaster.

news of the moment.

y'all understand what this means don't you? That's right, Bush is using our tax dollars to pay for christian education. A direct an deliberate affront to the seperation of Church and State. The broader issue is that Bush is determined to turn the recovery efforts in Louisiana into a showpiece for neoconservative economics and ideology.


Bush Proposes Vouchers for All Displaced Students
By Amy Goldstein
The Washington Post

Tuesday 20 September 2005

"The expansive eligibility for private-school payments intensified the dispute over Bush's approach to providing federal relief to people and places harmed by the hurricane. Democrats on Capitol Hill and public education advocates had begun to complain that the president was using the catastrophe to weave into legislation a version of federal funding of vouchers for private education, which the administration has sought, unsuccessfully, since 2001.

"It makes it even worse," Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, said of the idea that all displaced families could obtain money for private schools. "It is really a tone-deaf response to the crisis. It is a real grab to get an ideological position across that they haven't been able to achieve under normal circumstances.".."

Geez. sounds like Bush is trying to put an ideological agenda ahead of the public good....

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

and...here is a story that the mainstream news media will never print. Why? For two reasons: 1) The mainstream only prints what is approved by the White House. 2) It was Bush's neoconservative thieves that stole the money.

What Has Happened to Iraq's Missing $1bn?
By Patrick Cockburn
The Independent UK

Monday 19 September 2005

"One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defense ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.

The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to a country shattered by the US-led invasion and prolonged rebellion, was instead siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared.

"It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history," Ali Allawi, Iraq's Finance Minister, told The Independent.

"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal.".."

An Honest Administration would conduct a legimate and impartial investigation into what happened to a BILLION DOLLARS, for a crooked Administration it is just business as usual.

cartoon o' the day

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Jiddu Krishnamurti

When your leader works against the common good....

I wonder if this son of a bitch in on OUR side.....

"...The failure of last week's United Nations summit to deliver an agreement designed to prevent terrorists acquiring 'weapons of mass destruction' was sabotaged by the US, senior diplomats have told The Observer..."

"... Officials involved in the negotiations have confirmed that the Bush administration's refusal to countenance any form of disarmament blocked attempts to push measures that would prevent regimes seeking to develop a nuclear capability..."

"....Diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity have revealed it was in fact President Bush who scuppered what the UN believed was a crucial move in helping make the world safer from the risk of terrorists obtaining a nuclear threat..."
(Summit Failure blames on Bush. Mike Townsend, Observer/UK)

Among the many disasters of George W. Bush, his sabatoge of the nuclear disarmament process will be remembered by those historians who actually survive, as a model of stupidity and arrogance. Perhaps he will even be the definition of the word....

American Children

In between my ranting and raving about the blind narcissistic ideology of George W. Bush and his clearly criminal administration..I wonder about American Society as a whole. I wonder what has a society got to offer when it idolizes the only the super rich and the super big mac. When grown men wear the fashions of children in order to look 'cool'. How many times have you seen a grown man in long baggy 'shorts', actually more like the old peddle pushers, and wearing their baseball hat backwards. There was a time when adults took pride in their adulthood and put away the things of childhood.

The average size of the American house continues to grow to ridiculous proportions, especially when the average family is shrinking in size and intelligence. I wonder about a society that places premium value on publicity over real integrity and essential worth to the society itself. For example, teachers are having to seek second jobs just to pay their mortages, while people who serve no real importance to society, such as stock brokers rake in millions. Can you really believe that a teacher is less important that a stock broker? Does a stock broker guide and foster, and teach people to understand the world. Teachers are the bedrock of any civilization, you absolutely cannot achieve a credible civilization without them....stock brokers singular value is to enrich themselves, and occassionaly, a few others. ("Wanted: psychopaths to make a killing in the markets."Such an advertisement will not be appearing in the world's newspapers anytime soon, but it may have a ring of truth after research revealed the best wheeler-dealers could well be "functional psychopaths." - Research shows that "functional pyschopaths could be best financial traders.)

Look at the phenomena of Paris Hilton, a pampered chihuahua of a human being who has no value what so ever. Yet there she is, idolized by millions of young, and splashed luridly over magazine covers. Tell me who has more value to a society, a chihuahua or a border collie? A pit bull or a pekanese?

Paris Hilton is the singular proof that talent is not at all necessary for fame.


"...Paris's unwavering confidence in her position as hottest in the room is matched by her and her followers' belief that everybody wants to be American. She is the ultimate symbol of where this country finds itself: the world is at our disposal; cost is not an issue as long as I look good and feel good now. As our mass media pander more and more to the prolonged adolescence of America, Paris and her crew - Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Jessica Simpson - have become the nation's 'Mean Girls', the high-school 'Heathers' of our psyche. Paris has the glorified life of so many American college girls: living off Daddy's credit card, partying nonstop, revelling in her new-found sexual power. It's 'Girls Gone Wild - Billionaire Heiress Edition'. And the thinner she gets, the more Paris consumes. It has become customary to see her toting in one hand her tiny dog Tinkerbell and in the other a fur Dior handbag to go with her mink-lined Mukluk boots. This is a key image. Because not only has fur become acceptable in the States, but starlets are lining their handbags with it. The undertone in US Weekly's breathless retelling of her latest fab outfit being: the world is probably about to end in madness, so let's just screw each other, the environment and all the animals we can on our way out...' (My American Nightmare. Emma Forest)

In America, our disposable society has reached the epitome of narcissism and greed. We wander into our local grocery stores and we see food rows that stretch for seeming miles, neatly stacked and washed, colorful plastic covers, delightful spot free veggies, accompanied by uptempo music to free the soul of worry. We push plastic across to pay for our grub because it is one step removed from money, therefore we can spend it recklessly without associating it with the reality that money is limited and easily lost. It is easy to use plastic, harder to use money that we know is finite. But that is what America is about these days. Let's act as spoiled rich kids, who have it all, and deserve it all. Lets blow through money like there is no tomorrow, because somehow, someway, we too will become rich and famours. How else do you account for a society that places more faith in lotteries than in savings accounts?

We seem to act as if every person in America is just moments away from instant wealth and all our individual troubles will cease. We act as if reality has nothing what so ever to do with life in American. We act as if fortune and America are synonymous.

Tell me how else can you explain the bizarre belief that a country can fight a major ongoing war, and rebuild a major city without raising taxes? This disconnect from reality is not only childish and sad, it is goddamned fatal.

Humor o' the day

Sometimes we must look to others for truth..

The truth be told, the consequences of New Orleans are proof that the United States is headed in the wrong direction. This was not just a singular failure of the United States Government to care for its own, it was a systemic failure. George W. Bush, the NeoCons, and the Conservative bible thumpers that support him are tragically and inevitably wrong. This country must pull back from a viciously capitalist system and incorporated Socialistic programs to aid its citizens. WE must decide that the future of America lies with the strength of a pluristic society over a militeristic society. We must decide that all of our people, not just the rich and powerful, are important to the future. WE must regain the belief, no the fact, that in this country, if you are black, chincano, asian, female, or any other sub-group, you have the chance to lead a good and comfortable life. This country must be about more than just rich caucasion men. It must begin to stand for genuine freedom, and opportunity.

Until George W. Bush and his ilk are defeated, this country will continue to sink into a morass of economic failure, military misadventures, and surreal, overwhelming heartbreak:


The All-too American Tragedy of New Orleans:Empire, Inequality, Race and Oil

by Paul Street.

"...an imperial “defense” budget that equals the rest of the world's total military expenditure. This “defense” budget (mainly dedicated to what the Pentagon calls “forward global force projection”) amounts to more than $600 billion when properly calculated. United States “defense” expenditures outweigh federal domestic expenditures on education by 8 to 1; income security by 4.5 to 1; nutrition by 11 to 1; housing by 14 to 1; job training by 32 to 1. Someone else will have to find the relevant fiscal disparities between empire abroad and flood prevention at home, paying special attention to the Bush administration's refusal to move money intended for News Orleans' levees to war and “homeland security.”.."

"..“America” might feel less compelled to choose between guns and butter/bottled water (and flood prevention and public transit and sustainable energy policies and…fill in the blank) if federal policymakers weren't so dedicated to piling yet more tax-cut caviar on the plates of the already super-opulent few in the “advanced” world's most unequal and wealth-top-heavy society. By the end of last year, the total cost of the Bush administration's tax reductions reached $297 billion, helping sink federal revenues to their lowest level as a share of the US economy since 1950 and creating “deficits as far as the eye can see.” Twenty-four percent of the great national tax giveaway went to “ America 's” wealthiest 1 percent, whose households received an average tax cut of $35,000..."

"..There should be no mystery about why so many black poor people and others in New Orleans and elsewhere across the disproportionately black and poor Deep South were so terribly exposed and unprotected in the wake of a not-so “natural disaster.” Their tragic and terrifying experience is all too predictable and all-too quintessentially [ United States of] “American”. It is the natural outcome of the “indispensable nation [Madeline Albright]'s” longstanding failure to acknowledge, confront, and overcome what Martin Luther King Jr. called “the triple evils that are interrelated”: militarism-imperialism, economic exploitation (capitalism), and racism.

Truth be told, the US has been sinking in a toxic stew of Empire and Inequality for quite some time. The tragedy of New Orleans is just the latest and best example to date of the “American” peoples' need to complete their many unfinished revolutions, including the one that drew to its final close when the last federal troops left Louisiana in 1877."