Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Presidency
July 03, 2008
July 02, 2008
Bush’s Legacy
I tend to always be behind when it comes to TV shows. Needless to say I just got around to watching last Sunday’s 60 minutes. One segment was on Iraq’s Christians and how countless numbers have been killed and the rest forced to flee their homes. Now they have to worship in secrecy underground and live with the fear that they could be kidnapped and killed at any time.
I would think this would get Bush’s attention. After all, he is an evangelical Christian. His administration has been nothing but gifts for his far right Christian base. Yet his decision to invade Iraq has brought fear, death, and horror to Iraq’s 1.2 million Christians.
A Vicar sent to Iraq by the Arch Bishop of Canterbury in the 1990’s says that things are the worst for Christians in Iraq than they ever have been in 2000 years. Things were much better under Saddam for Christians. Christians have had a presence in Iraq for nearly 2000 years. The Vicar said that never before in the entire history of Iraq have Christians been persecuted and killed as much as they are now.
I find this sad, tragic, and ironic. The sad and tragic parts are self-explanatory. The ironic parts are that in the minds of many of the hard right evangelical Christians the Middle East will be the battle ground for Armageddon. The invasion of Iraq was a signal to many that the end times were near. Now the fundamentalists are calling for the invasion of Iran to help accelerate Armageddon. Do they know there are also Christians in Iran?
Some like Erik Prince, CEO of BlackWater USA, an evangelical Christian, feel they are modern day crusaders. I wonder how many Christians BlackWater has mistakenly killed. Did those in the military who have commented that we are in a religious war realize they were endangering their fellow Christians?
I’m reminded from my days in history class of a story from one of the crusades. The crusaders came to a town and peered down from a nearby hill at its people. They were brown in color wearing what looked like the clothing of Muslims. The orders were given and the town was sacked. Men were slaughtered, women raped and slaughtered, and children sold into slavery.
After nearly everyone in the town was killed the crusaders later found out that its people were Christians.
Watching the 60 minutes video, many of the Christian women were wearing head scarves and of course had “Arab looking” brown skin. I am reminded of the recent flap over Rachel Ray’s neck scarf where right wingers like Michelle Malkin went ape shit saying she looked “too Arab”. If Malkin were to see some of these Christian Iraqis my guess is she would assume they were terrorists and call for their immediate slaughter.
Some things never change.
July 01, 2008
General Clark Is Right
McCain has been basing his qualifications for President on his military experience. Republicans and McCain love to use his military experience as a mallet to whack Obama. They want voters to think that just because McCain wore a uniform he should be President. They want voters to think that since he was a POW he is the most qualified to protect America from another terrorist attack.
Clark nailed it. Just because you flew a fighter jet and got shot down doesn’t mean you are automatically qualified to be President. There are other issues to consider such as judgment and executive experience. McCain flip flops on his positions on a daily basis and is a strong practitioner of the politics of expedience. When cornered McCain routinely hides behind his uniform and gently reminds everyone that he was a POW.
Clark hit it. It’s too bad Obama didn’t go after McCain on the same point. I understand why Obama distanced himself from Clark’s comment. I’m just not sure he needed to. In 2004 John Kerry’s military service was disparaged by Republicans. Bush on the other hand was made out to be a hero even though he didn’t serve in Vietnam. Bush is fond of saying that his National Guard service was honorable and if his unit was called up for Vietnam that he would have gone.
The point is Republicans only care about winning. If Obama were a vet they would be swift boating him right now as they did Kerry. What Clark said was nothing compared to what the swift boaters did to John Kerry. Just as Bush in 2004 said he was a “war time President” so too Republicans are going to use McCain’s military experience to suggest he is the best person to combat terrorism.
All Clark was saying was that just because you flew a few missions and got shot down doesn’t necessarily make you the most qualified person to combat terrorism and keep America safe. Republicans think they own the National Security issue and they plan to hide all their flaws behind McCain’s uniform. They are using the old “you wouldn’t hit a guy wearing a uniform would ya?” routine even thought they gleefully tore up Kerry.
They expect that the public will not tolerate any questions about McCain’s military service. Never mind that he graduated next to last in his class, collaborated with the North Vietcong, voted against releasing MIA and POW records to assist grieving families, may have started the fire on the Forestall, and in typical McCain fashion, crashed and burned when his time came.
The public tolerated the trashing of John Kerry just fine. I expect they will tolerate what amounts to be the exposure of the truth about John McCain.
June 30, 2008
Bush Cheney Have Allowed Al Qaeda To Regroup
Just heard on the news that the hunt for Bin Laden has come to a stand still because of infighting between the Bush/Cheney regime and the CIA.
Meanwhile Al Qaeda has regrouped and is training thousands of militants in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan for another hit on the U.S.
At what point does bungling incompetency beccome malfeasance? At what point when the mistakes made are so vast and so specific do we begin to wonder if they are intentional?
It almost seems like Bush Cheney want Bin Laden and Al Qaeda to not only survive but thrive. No doubt that so long as Al Qaeda and Bin Laden remain at large the 'global war on terror' goes on. The Bush Cheney regime has seemingly crossed that line where one's greatest enemy becomes one's greatest asset.
Bush Cheney McCain Republicans constantly use fear to govern and campaign. If terrorism and terrorist groups were no more then there would be no justification for the fear. Bush Cheney ran on the occuation of Iraq in 2004. Bush was the 'war time President' and 'commander in chief'. People were told they couldn't change horses in mid-stride.
Well the situation seems to have evolved where there is benefit to allowing Al Qaeda to regroup, keeping Iraq destablized, and allowing Afghanistan to come back under Taliban control. I think we've reached that point for some time now where greed and power is trumping National Interest. Corporations who have come to depend on the seemingly endless supply of no-bid contracts related to the occupations do not want to see their gravy train end. Republican politicians who have used fear and terror for seven years to govern don't want to see one of their largest political tools taken away from them.
All of this is good for Al Qaeda, good for Bin Laden, and to a certain degree good for Republicans but bad for the American People. But's it's all good cause Republicans never leave home without a flag lapel pin and that's all one needs to do to show their patriotism. You can be the biggest America hating tax evading terror enabling Republican SOB but as long as you got a flag pin you are jake.
June 29, 2008
The Way To Drive Up Oil Prices
Bush seems to be able to do at least one thing right ... increase the price of oil on a daily basis.
US gives 'major' boost to covert ops in Iran: report
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States gave a major boost to covert operations against Iran with Congress's approval last year of President George W. Bush's request for 400 million dollars, a US magazine reported Sunday.
The move reveals a "major escalation" in clandestine operations aimed at destabilizing the Islamic republic's religious leadership amid concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, said the report in the New Yorker magazine citing former military, intelligence, and congressional sources.
Among the methods being used are increased US support for minority and dissident groups and intelligence gathering about Iran's nuclear facilities, said the article, written and reported by Seymour Hersh.
(see link above for more)
Iran Threatens to close Oil Strait
BEIRUT: The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards says Iran might shut oil lanes in the Persian Gulf if it were attacked by the United States or Israel.
Major-General Mohammad Ali Jafari warned that if there were any confrontation over Iran's nuclear program, Iran would try to hurt Western economies by targeting oil.
"Naturally every country under attack by an enemy uses all its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy," General Jafari told the newspaper Jam-e-Jam. "Iran will definitely act to impose control on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz," through which 17 million barrels of oil pass each day.
"After this action, the oil price will rise very considerably, and this is among the factors deterring the enemies," he said. Iran abuts the northern coast of the strategic strait, and Iranian and Western analysts have said Iran could try to blockade or mine the strait in the event of a war, a move which would send oil prices much higher. But some military analysts say Iran might not be able to hold the strait, 34 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, in a confrontation with US forces.
June 28, 2008
All U.S. Solar Projects Halted
Tell how this makes any fucking sense??
All Solar projects in the United States have been halted for at least two years. This as we all know we are in an energy crisis. No doubt this will move oil even higher. It's funny how if the oil companies wanted to drill on any of the 70 million acres of leases they already have they get fast tracked but Solar projets are stalled.
So Bush refuses to release some of the strategic oil reserve and wants more offshore oil drilling leases. McCain is arguing for more nuclear power as well as offshore oil drilling. It's been proven in sworn testimony before Congress that the high oil prices are in large part due to speculation by banks and brokerage houses in the oil markets. This is something the Enron loophole allows them to do. An expert testified that if this loophole was closed oil prices would drop 30 to 50% overnight.
Yet we still get so-called energy 'analysts' from the commodities trading floor on the news trying to tell Americans it's time to stop blaming the speculators and work to solve the energy crisis (aka non-drill for more oil).
Apparently solving the energy crisis to McCain, Bush, Cheney, and the Republicans means halting all Solar projects, blocking wind projects where possible, securing more offshore oil leases (even though the oil companies won't even drill on their 70 mill acres of existing leases), and building more nuclear power plants.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I thought we were in the 21st Century not the 20th...
NYT - Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects
Christian Science Monitor Bright Green Blog on the Solar freezes
The Thin Green Line - Cameron Scott:
This one is a head-scratcher. The Bureau of Land Management has put a three-year moratorium on solar power projects on the lands it manages, citing the need to study their environmental impacts. These lands are important ones for the solar industry. The Times reports:
Much of the 119 million surface acres of federally administered land in the West is ideal for solar energy, particularly in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, where sunlight drenches vast, flat desert tracts.On the one hand, it seems like a good move. Too often, we rush into the next great thing without a comprehensive analysis of what that thing's larger effects will be. (To take the easiest example, think ethanol.) The natural world is delicate and complicated beyond our understanding, so, in general, proceeding with caution is a good idea.
On the other hand, the government rarely proceeds with caution when it comes to public lands. In the last couple years, the Bush administration has proposed allowing commerce, roads, off-road vehicles, and concealed weapons on public lands, and has eagerly embraced drilling for oil and natural gas. If fossil fuels warrant endangering these lands, then surely solar power does, too.
Is the Bush administration really so set against decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels that it would fabricate concern for the environment in order to block alternative energy projects? It would appear so.
The Economist - Freezing the sun A double blow for solar energy
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Now even the optimists fear this wonderful prospect may be a mirage. Congress has been dithering over extending a valuable investment tax credit for solar-energy projects, which solar advocates say is critical to the future of their industry but which is due to expire at the end of the year. The latest attempt failed in the Senate earlier this month: prospects for a deal before November’s presidential and congressional elections now look dim. Uncertainty has led some investors to delay or abandon projects in the past few months. Rhone Resch, the president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said if the tax credits are allowed to expire at the end of the year, “it will result in the loss of billions of dollars in new investments in solar.”
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This has gone to far. The Government is here to protect the interests of We The People NOT the fucking oil corporations. The Constitution was ordained to insure domestic Tranquility and promote the general Welfare for The People NOT the fucking oil corporations.
This is bullshit. Every single member of Congress should be ashamed. Their job is to represent The People NOT the oil companies. Enough is enough already.
Unfortunately until We The People become collective outraged enough to finally get off our asses and start marching in the streets en masse, nothing will change. That's just reality. We The People ordained and established The Constitution. It's up to We The People to see that it is upheld and remains the law of the land.
I see no solution without massive civil unrest and protest. Our politicians seem content to pass horrid legislation in the dead of night while relying on the media to not inform The People of what is going on. This will never change until The People take to the streets.
I guess you have to ask yourself when is enough enough? How long will you sit there and take it? $10 a gallon gas? Would that do it? How long will you allow yourself to be fooled by the corporate media and politicians who represent oil companies? Will you cave and simply believe that if we give the oil companies even more public land both on and offshore that some how oil prices will come down?
At what point does the average American numbed by the TV, the pethora of internet porn, and surrounded with every single type of gadget to escape reality with imaginable finally become aroused from their slumber and do something?
It won't happen on its own and if we do nothing we will become nothing but corporate slaves like so many dairy cows caged being milked on a regular schedule to our own delight.
June 27, 2008
Where's The Stimulus?
Remember Bush's big plan was to send everyone 'stimulus checks'. This was going to provide the big shot in the arm to the economy and keep'er goin'. So everything's better now right? Was there anything else Bush could have done?
Release the strategic oil reserve to help flush out oil traitors? Don't be ridiculous.
Close the Enron loophole and force speculators out of the oil market? That's commie talk.
Help people who are losing their homes? Those fuckers should have known better.
Bail out Bear Stearns? Ah hell ya!
Start creating jobs by instead of dumping money into rebuilding Iraq use that money to rebuild America? Sheesh, again with the commie talk.
How about releasing that rainy day fund to help out the flood victims? Na, can't do that...might be another flood...then what will we do?
Borrow money from China to issue stimulus checks to the American People? Now you're on to something. By jove that's going to solve all our problems! That's real conservative economics. That's how Republicans git'er done.
Now everyone head to Wal*Mart and spend those checks so China can get their money back.
June 26, 2008
Shotgun Sticky Wall Dripping
Lately I just can’t seem to bring myself to watch as much news as I used to. It seems that the end of the primary contest left a giant vacuum that the media is trying to fill with anything and everything they can get their hands on. All I have seen day in and day out are trial balloons floated overhead to see what gets the public’s attention.
So far no story has caught fire or lit up ratings the way the Reverend Wright and Bosnia stories did. I suppose that’s both good and bad. What I am however getting tired of seeing is the media trying to make news rather than let it happen. Day in and day out for weeks now political pundits on the TV have tried to make something out of nothing.
Lately they’ve been trying to make a big deal out of Bill Clinton’s so-called ‘tepid’ comments with respect to campaigning for Obama. Does anyone really care? I certainly don’t. From what I read and heard Bill Clinton’s comments, or comments made by his proxies have been perfectly acceptable. But that’s not stopping Chris Matthews and others from projecting into what was ‘really’ meant by these comments. There’s no there there. Move along people.
Next we had the comments by Karl Rove about Obama being the guy who leans against the wall at the country club sipping martinis and smoking cigarettes talking shit about passers-by. Seriously, does anyone care what Karl Rove thinks anymore?
Then there was this story about James Dobson criticizing Obama for a speech he made to what I guess are called liberal Christians in 2006. The media kept playing the clip of Obama’s speech over and over. I guess they were hoping there was some controversy in it. I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. James Dobson on the other hand showed his true colors demonstrating his lack of understanding of the Bible and lack of understanding of Jesus Christ’s message of love, understanding, and tolerance. To me that was bigger news than anything Obama said.
And seriously, do we really care what Ralph Nader says? Clearly his remarks were meant to be inflammatory with the sole intention of getting himself back into the news cycle. Mission Accomplished.
These are just a few examples of what I felt the media was trying desperately to make news out of. It’s as if they had a stack of pancakes loaded with syrup and butter then tossed the stack and the wall while looking to see what sticks. It’s a shotgun approach to news which I feel is neither constructive nor educational. Instead they are gunning for ratings hoping to be the one that sparks the next big public outrage.
As the news focused on such trivial matters as the aforementioned, much bigger stories happened all around them such as the eviscerating of the 4th amendment via the telecom immunity bill. With the exception of Randi Rhodes and some bloggers few are talking about how many in the Democratic Leadership such as Jane Harman, Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer are just as guilty as Bush Cheney of selling the invasion of Iraq to America. They were aware of the warrantless wiretapping program, rendition and torture at Gitmo, and the faulty intelligence. That’s why there is no impeachment. If Bush and Cheney were impeached Hoyer, Pelosi, Harman, and other Democrats would be found just as guilty of violating The Constitution.
The biggest news story I thought that deserves wall to wall coverage was Karl Rove trying to blame the New York Times for outing Valerie Plame. Karl Rove was trying to condemn and damn the New York Times for the very actions that he is guilty of. This is the classic projection of a liar. It was Scooter Libby who was fucking Judith Miller and feeding her all the bullshit about WMD, Valerie Plame, and Joe Wilson which she then diligently spewed all over the pages of the New York Times under the guise of journalism.
I can’t believe people are letting Karl get away with this crap. Instead there was a collective laugh from the media as they said “heh, that’s our Karl…he’s so brilliant…”
I wonder if I will ever live to see the day where the media instead of trying to make news just reports it. I wonder if I will ever witness the end of the sticky shot gun approach to journalism where media whores bet on which news item will stick to the wall the longest.
June 25, 2008
Social Commentary
I don’t know about you but I for one am getting sick and tired of the Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, and Enzyte commercials. I am actually finding them offensive these days. I can’t stomach another garage band of baby boomers laughing as they sing about taking Viagra before they go fuck their wives. I don’t care how big Bob’s member is. And I sure as hell don’t want to sit in two separate tubs on the beach somewhere.
A couple years ago everyone had a hissy fit over Janet Jackson’s boobage during the Super Bowl half time show. Throughout my life I remember various social conservative movements fueled by radical right evangelical Christians to ban certain music, books, movies, and video games. The thing that most often outrages social conservatives is sex. From protesting Hustler, Playboy, stag films, burning Beatles albums, protesting Married With Children, showing ass on TV to having fits over sex education in school the moral minority in this country has often had issues with sex and what they considered to be immoral art.
It used to be all the rage to protest pornography.
So where is the outrage over these Viva Viagra commercials? Where’s the outrage over showing commercials with grandma and grandpa about to get it on when their daughter walks through the door? Why aren’t the abstinence only people up in arms? Why isn’t James Dobson on the radio every day condemning ‘male enhancement’?
Why aren’t Christians concerned about the effect these sexual enhancement commercials will have on their kids?
Imagine if the Viagra commercials featured gay lovers instead of aging baby boomers…
I swear the longer I live the less I understand people in this country.
June 24, 2008
Sad and Pathetic
Yesterday Mike Barnacle was subbing for Chris Mathews on Hardball. I only saw part of the show but what I saw disgusted me. It was an interview with Jim Cramer and the topic was oil. Cramer acted like a paid shill for the oil industry. Barnacle lobbed up the soft balls while Cramer hit them out of the park.
What was the take home message? Drill more oil!! It’s China’s fault!! There’s an oil shortage!! Let them drill!! Let them drill!! Let them drill!!
Will oil prices ever come down? NO. Will Iraq’s oil output help? NO. What will help? Let them drill!! Let them drill!! Let them drill!!
That’s basically what Cramer said. I can’t believe Cramer had the balls to sit on the TV and spew this bullshit on the heels of Congressional testimony that if the Enron loophole were closed oil would drop in price 25% to 50% literally overnight (see previous post for more information). Cramer has the balls to go on a let them drill tirade after it’s been revealed that the oil companies are sitting on millions of acres of leases that they won’t drill on. Then again, Cramer told everyone to hold Bear Stearns. He’s not exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier.
But that’s not the point. Cramer is smart enough to know what is going on. What he is doing is shilling for the oil industry. I’m sure he got a call from the Petroleum Institute afterward thanking him and telling him the check was in the mail.
I heard yesterday that a representative from the Petroleum Institute was on Stephanopoulos pushing the ‘let us drill offshore’ talking point. George confronted the guy and asked him about all the millions of acres of leases the oil companies are not drilling on. The guy said that it costs too much money to drill and that we have to remember that only 20% of the holes drilled yield oil.
So let me get this straight: The oil companies have millions of on and offshore leases that they are not drilling on because it’s too expensive for their taste (might cut into their hundreds of billions in profit to drill a few million dollar holes). At the same time the oil companies want more offshore oil leases.
Does that make sense to anyone?
It’s sick and sad to me to watch in real time the corporate media actually carry the oil industry’s water for them. MSNBC has become bipolar with one half reporting the truth and the other half shilling for big business. It was just last week that Keith Olbermann did a segment on the Enron loophole. Yet this week we have Jim Cramer and Mike Barnacle shilling for big oil. No surprise that BP runs a ton of ads on MSNBC.
What pisses me off is that how many more knuckle heads because of Jim Cramer think we can drill our way out of this energy crisis? How many more emails are going to be sent out claiming that if we could only drill off the coast of California and in ANWR all would be right with the world? How many people actually believe Jim Cramer?
Jim Cramer can be debunked with two words: Bear Sterns
June 23, 2008
There Is No Oil Supply Problem
Saudi Arabia over weekend agreed to boost their oil output by 2%. MSNBC has been camped at the trading floor to watch the price of oil. The price of oil didn’t go down. MSNBC is reporting that traders are saying a 2% boost in output isn’t going to affect supply.
This is all complete bullshit. There is no oil supply problem. There is an oil speculation problem. The price of oil is being fueled by speculation Bush will bomb Iran coupled with a weak dollar. In addition, Bush refuses to release oil from the strategic reserve.
You want cheaper oil and gas? First close the Enron loophole. According to testimony before Congress two weeks ago by Michael Greenberger this would drop the price of oil 25% to 50% literally overnight. Second, dump 50% of the strategic reserve on to the market. This will further help flush out the speculators. Lastly, stop saber rattling against Iran. I suppose it’s just coincidental that any time oil starts to drop Bush starts talking about bombing Iran.
Pensito Review:
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Congress and George Bush could take a step tomorrow that would create a drop in oil prices of between 25 and 50 percent overnight, simply by closing the Enron Loophole.
This is according to testimony before a Senate Committee two weeks ago by Michael Greenberger, the former director of Trading & Markets for the Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC), the government board that oversees commodities markets:
“Yes, overnight [closing the Enron Loophole] will bring down the price of crude oil to get at least a 25 percent drop in the cost of oil and a corresponding drop in the cost of gasoline. Some people estimate 50 percent.” More Here
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Check out these recent news gems fueling high oil prices:
Kristol: Bush Might Bomb Iran If He ‘Thinks Senator Obama’s Going To Win’
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“I do wonder with Senator Obama, if President Bush thinks Senator Obama’s going to win, does he somehow think — does he worry that Obama won’t follow through on that policy,” Kristol added. Host Chris Wallace then asked if Kristol was suggesting that Bush might “launch a military strike” before or after the election:
WALLACE: So, you’re suggesting that he might in fact, if Obama’s going to win the election, either before or after the election, launch a military strike?
KRISTOL: I don’t know. I mean, I think he would worry about it. On the other hand, you can’t — it’s hard to make foreign policy based on guesses of election results. I think Israel is worried though. I mean, what is, what signal goes to Ahmadinejad if Obama wins on a platform of unconditional negotiations and with an obvious reluctance to even talk about using military force.
This morning on Fox News, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton continued his drumbeat for war against Iran. Adopting Bill Kristol’s argument, Bolton suggested that an attack on Iran depends on who Americans elect as the next President:
I think if they [Israel] are to do anything, the most likely period is after our elections and before the inauguration of the next President. I don’t think they will do anything before our election because they don’t want to affect it. And they’d have to make a judgment whether to go during the remainder of President Bush’s term in office or wait for his successor.
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Isn't it interesting that on the weekend when Saudi Arabia met and decided to increase output these two knuckleheads Kristol and Bolton are on the TV talking about bombing Iran. And MSNBC (except Keith Olbermann) is happy to report from the trading floor that there just isn't enough 'supply'. What traders fail to mention is that they want more oil to trade and speculate on. They are not talking about actual physical supply but rather the supply of futures contracts and electronically traded oil.
June 22, 2008
Ghosts of the Revolution
This country has been hanging by a thread ever since its inception in 1776. We’ve been divided ever since. The Revolution barely got off the ground due to the southern states and their dependency on slavery and unwillingness to be a part of anything that would threaten their way of life. New York was concerned that due to their harbors they would be a major target. All the colonies were leery of a centralized government and concerned about their own sovereignty.
In the end a series of compromises lead to the Declaration of Independence in which the 13 colonies asserted their freedom from the crown of England. By 1789 The Constitution was ratified with a series of compromises that kicked slavery down the road for 90 years until a boiling point was reached culminating with the Civil War.
It seems our country has been entering states of crisis repeatedly ever since 1776 forcing many to wonder if the United States would ever survive. Through WW1, WW2, the Japanese Internment, the Red Scare, the McCarthy hearings, and the Civil Rights movement, in the end, calmer, rational heads prevailed. Through it all The Constitution was the beacon that lead the way for all Americans so that:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.I’m always reminded of what Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden. He said that during the Revolutionary War 1/3 of the people were for it, 1/3 of the people were against it, and 1/3 of the people didn’t even know a revolution was going on. During the war there were those who profited by selling weapons and supplies to the Red Coats. Many wealthy merchants and businessmen were against the war as it was bad for their business. The Loyalists also feared Britain would crush the rebellion thus they thought they were picking the winning side.
Most of the Founders were wealthy businessmen and plantation owners themselves. But for the sake of the future of the colonies they put aside their own personal wealth and power status. If they were caught by England they would be hanged. If the Revolutionary War was lost they would have been hung as traitors. Many of the Founders if they had remained loyal to Britain could have secured powerful positions within the crown. Instead they put principle before their own interest.
That’s something we don’t see much of today in my opinion. Instead what I see are wealthy businessmen and merchants who act and behave more like the Tories of 1776. They infiltrate government with power and influence via lobbyists and campaign contributions then use that influence to enrich themselves. I see very few these days who are willing to put aside their own wealth and stand on principle in order to do what is right by America as our Founders did.
That’s how we end up with horrid and wretched legislation like the so-called Patriot Act or this new Congressional cave-in on FISA. Our current leadership can’t see past their re-election campaigns and their own power advancement. They can’t see past the influence peddlers and the corporations they represent. They’ve abandoned America and The Constitution when we are at a time possibly of our greatest need for leadership.
Instead Tories like John McCain and George W Bush, name sake of King George III, are busily pushing for the drilling of oil offshore. They do this under the guise of promoting the general welfare by saying it will help reduce gas prices. Really their concern is for the oil industry and not the American People. Oil companies are sitting on thousands of leases to drill for oil on public land and refuse to do so. They don’t want the price of oil to come down. The only reason why they want to secure offshore oil rights is to help them secure future oil profits.
And still after all that has happened, 29%, nearly 1/3 of America STILL thinks King George is doing a wonderful job as President. These people are from the same stock that were loyal to the crown in 1776 and remain loyal to the crown today. It’s always 1/3. What’s even more sick and sad as that these people pass themselves off as patriots. Unfortunately they confuse patriotism with blind loyalty, flag pins, and supporting any type of military action.
Indeed in 1776 the loyalists thought of themselves as patriotic for remaining loyal to the crown “God Save the King” and all that nonsense. No doubt during the Civil War southerners thought of themselves as patriots “Long Live the Confederacy” and all that nonsense.
The term patriot has been hijacked these days to mean anyone who is loyal to King George Bush. These 29% that support the Administration should be known by what they are, Loyalists. Every single elected official takes an oath to preserve, protect, and defend The Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. There is no religious test to hold office. One’s loyalty is supposed to lie with The Constitution and nothing else. No Administration is supposed to be above The Constitution.
Instead we get Tory kooks like Newt Gingrich who twist and torture The Constitution to serve their own political agenda. Instead we get Tories like Alberto Gonzales who contrive torture memos in order to justify violating The Constitution. George Washington would be ashamed to know that the example he set by not torturing British soldiers during the Revolution was being violated.
Instead we get Loyalists like Mukasey who refuses to honor and enforce Congressional Subpoenas. Why? Because his allegiance is to King George Bush NOT The Constitution.
It seems the history of the United States has been one of dragging along this 1/3 of America that is Tory in nature and more concerned with their own power and wealth than America and The Constitution. How many in America to this day long for England and the monarchy? I guess in 2008 as in 1776 we will just have to continue dragging this dead weight along. What we really need to end though is this faux patriotism the 1/3 cling to.
It’s not enough to fly a flag. It’s not enough to cheer lead a war from a barcalounger while sipping a cold beer. The 1/3 need to be re-educated about what America stands for and what The Constitution actually means to this country. They need to be informed that yes government exists for the purpose of establishing Justice, insuring domestic Tranquility, and promoting the general Welfare.
Far too many of these Tory right wing kooks think government has “no right” to, for example, build a freakin’ highway, rebuild towns devastated by natural disaster, or provide public education. It’s called promoting the general Welfare in order to insure domestic Tranquility. It’s mandated in the Constitution. But we’ll save this discussion for another time.
June 21, 2008
Flip to the Flop and Don’t Stop
John Kerry was successfully branded a flip-flopper in 2004 which went on to become one of the major campaign themes that cost him the election. At the Republican Convention wingtards donned purple heart band-aids and chanted “flip-flop” while rotating their palms up and down. To this day Kerry is seen as this sort of rubbery faced spine of jell-o flip flopper.
Bush however was made out as the anti-flip-flopper. Bush NEVER changes his positions…even when they are wrong. This was dubbed “sticktuitiveness”. Republicans love that even when the facts prove Bush to be completely wrong he just plows along never wavering and never changing his position. He’s no god-damned flip-flopper.
Well for the past several days the media has been trying to brand Obama the flip-flopper over his decision to not accept public financing. Nearly every segment on MSNBC for the past few days leads off with the various female anchors asking “so is Obama a flip-flopper?”
I guess what bugs me the most about all of this is that no one has changed their positions or flip-flopped more than McCain. Yet for some reason the flip-flopper label is being shellacked onto Obama.
McCain was against the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, now he supports them. McCain was for the privatization of Social Security. Now when he addresses fellow seniors he is against privatizing Social Security.
McCain used to be in favor of immigration reform. He even put forth his own immigration reform legislation then later called it a bad bill and vowed to vote against his own legislation! In 2000 McCain called Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell Agents of Intolerance. He has since recanted and embraced the radical evangelical Christian wing of the Republican Party.
McCain used to be against offshore oil drilling now he is for it.
McCain was against torture of any kind. Then when a bill came before Congress to put an end to the torture going on at Abu Ghraib McCain aligned himself with Bush and voted against it. McCain later said he didn’t think water boarding was torture.
On Iraq, McCain flops around like a newly caught mackerel on a boat deck. One day he claims to be the biggest critic of the occupation of Iraq bragging about how he lambasted Rumsfeld for the many mistakes made. The next day he seems unwilling to be critical of operations in Iraq and instead embraces “The Surge” while saying he would be fine with a U.S. troop presence there for 100 years.
McCain routinely attacks those who are critical of the occupation while simultaneously claiming to be The Maverick™ for being critical of the occupation. Some days McCain thinks we were right to invade Iraq and agrees with Bush that it is the central front of the “global war on terror”. Other days McCain says he’s been opposed to the occupation of Iraq right after the first mistake was made.
Some days McCain thinks we’re fighting Sunni extremists in Iraq and other days he thinks we’re fighting Shi’a extremists. Sometimes he thinks Iran is working with Al Qaeda even though Iran is a Shi’a Republic and Al Qaeda is a radical Sunni sect.
In short, McCain is the Super Flip Flopper of the likes never seen before in politics.
But as far as the mass media is concerned it’s all very clear now: if Obama changes or adapts an existing position then he is a flip-flopper. If McCain changes a position then he’s The Maverick ® tough talking Independent Express ©.
June 20, 2008
Radical Extremist Michael Reagan
Let's hope this guy never becomes President...
Earlier in the week there was a bit of a dustup because at a campaign rally some Obama staffers moved two Muslim women wearing hijabs out of camera range. I understand that this was offensive. It should have never happened. Obama has since apologized. I think he should have done a press conference with the two women and apologized directly to them.
That said, imagine what would have happened if the Muslim women wearing hijabs had appeared in the shot with Obama. Imagine what the lunatic right would have said. Michelle Malkin successfully orchestrated a campaign against Dunkin' Donuts for running an ad with Rachey Ray that appeared 'too muslim' to her. Dunkin' Donuts caved and pulled the ad. Imagine what Michelle Malkin and her ilk would have said if these women were to appear in camera shot.
There's an email going around with a quote from Obama's book that reads:
"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."
You can imagine what the right wing kooks are saying about this. But check out the quote in full context:
"Whenever I appear before immigrant audiences, I can count on some good-natured ribbing from my staff after my speech; according to them, my remarks always follow a three-part structure: "I am your friend," "[Fill in the home country] has been a cradle of civilization," and "You embody the American dream." They're right, my message is simple, for what I've come to understand is that my mere presence before these newly minted Americans serves notice that they matter, that they are voters critical to my success and full-fledged citizens deserving of respect.
"Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." [Page 260-261]
Maybe the way to come at this is head on. Perhaps Obama should surround himself with Muslims at every campaign rally and let the Right Wing shit a brick.
June 19, 2008
Their Hand Is Tipped
Over the past few days nearly in unison we have heard the entire right wing echo chamber chant the mantra “drill more oil! Drill more oil!”
This comes on the heels of a speech Cheney gave where he claimed China was drilling off the coast of Florida with Cuba. This was a blatant lie. China and Cuba are NOT drilling off the coast of Florida. Republican Senator Mel Martinez went public and said the claim was NOT true and Cheney was forced to retract his statement and apologize.
But that didn’t stop the Right Wing from running with it. After it was proven to be a lie Republican Rep’s Michelle Bachmann and Mean Jean Schmidt continued to repeat the baseless claim on the House Floor. Mean Jean Schmidt refused to retract her lie and just pushed it to the next level claiming the commies are drilling off the coast of Florida.
So now the talking point is out there: Those damn liberals let the commies drill for oil in American Waters but won’t let the good decent hard working American Corporations drill for oil. Why do liberals hate America?
This just demonstrates how much the Right Wing clings to the old Nazi axiom: If you tell a lie often enough some people will think it’s true.
The Right Wing isn’t seeking to convince a majority of people that it’s true the commies are drilling off the coast of Florida. All they are doing is pandering to their base who they know never fact checks, believes everything they say, and even if they don’t believe it understand the political expediency for repeating the talking point. I expect my inbox to be flooded soon with emails from right leaning friends and family members asking why ‘the commies’ can drill for oil in American waters but poor Exxon can’t.
This latest episode though of “drill more oil!” tips the hand of those who are responsible for high oil prices. This whole thing is being orchestrated in order to garner public support for drilling oil offshore. The fact is that there have been thousands of leases and permits issued under the Bush Administration for oil companies to drill on public land yet they don’t do it. Why? They like the high oil prices. It’s good for them and good for Morgan Stanley who now owns the most oil futures contracts of any company trading oil.
Their drive to drill for oil off the shores of California and Florida is only for them to secure future profits. They have no interest in decreasing the price of oil. Even if they were allowed to drill off shore that oil won’t hit the market for at least 5 years.
What’s even worse about this whole “drill more oil!” mantra is that underlying it is the assumption that corporations will cooperatively lower gas and oil prices if this were to occur. It’s the flawed assumption under all Right Wing economic theology that some how on their own corporations always do what is best for America and the American People.
We know this is false. We know left to their own devices corporations will rape and pillage until they die of exhaustion; case in point Enron. As far as doing what is best for America ask Halliburton, KBR, Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley, BlackWater USA etc ad nauseam what they have done for America lately. Ask them why they avoid paying taxes and plunder as much U.S. tax dollars as possible every time they get a chance.
And don’t be fooled, there are alternatives:
Times Online - Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol
Silicon Valley is experimenting with bacteria that have been genetically altered to provide 'renewable petroleum'
“Ten years ago I could never have imagined I’d be doing this,” says Greg Pal, 33, a former software executive, as he squints into the late afternoon Californian sun. “I mean, this is essentially agriculture, right? But the people I talk to – especially the ones coming out of business school – this is the one hot area everyone wants to get into.”
He means bugs. To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.
Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Mr Pal holds up a small beaker of bug excretion that could, theoretically, be poured into the tank of the giant Lexus SUV next to us. Not that Mr Pal is willing to risk it just yet. He gives it a month before the first vehicle is filled up on what he calls “renewable petroleum”. After that, he grins, “it’s a brave new world”. More Here
All about algae: Can pond scum power our future?
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Thirty years ago, the last time the world faced an oil crisis, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) launched a program to analyze the potential algae had as a renewable fuel. It didn't take it long to realize algae was a godsend.
Actually being able to take advantage of it was another matter.
The program, run by the DoE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) lasted nearly two decades, but by 1996, it came to a close. Getting an algae biodiesel program running was deemed economically unfeasible when faced with the technology costs at the time versus the costs of using other fuels.
At that time, the price of oil was less than $20 a barrel.
With oil prices now looking like they won't drop below $100 a barrel for some time -- if ever -- and technology costs relatively lower than a decade ago, algae's time in the sun could finally have arrived.
The greenest of the green?
Algae have been touted as the greenest of all green fuels and it's not hard to see why. They are oil-rich themselves, with some strands carrying more than 50 percent oil content.
They can grow in the most hostile of regions such as deserts so don't infringe on land set aside for food crops. They don't require freshwater to flourish, and can thrive off saltwater or wastewater, making sewage farms a natural habitat.
Algae also reproduce at an astonishing rate; they are able to double in size in a matter of hours. They are amongst the fastest growing plants on Earth.
What make algae particularly useful as a feedstock is that they thrive off carbon dioxide (C02), which makes them great carbon sequesters. That also means that the other natural places to cultivate algae are power stations.
The algae can absorb as much as 75 percent of the exhaust gas, claims U.S. firm GreenFuel Technologies, using its bespoke bio-reactor. Algae doesn't just grow in the sun, contrary to previous belief. San Francisco start-up company Solazyme says it can now generate biofuels from algae grown in the dark.
The sun is replaced by sugar, essentially, which is fed to the algae, which then produces different types of oil that can be processed into a variety of fuels, suitable for cars and planes. These algae produce more oil than they would in the sun, the company claims.
Compared to other types of feedstock, algae is incredibly productive.
Most agree it can eclipse any other type of fuel crop grown today -- palm oil can yield around 6,000 liters per hectare per year (per/h/y) of fuel, for example while algae can yield more than four times that amount. More Here
June 18, 2008
Iraq or 40 gallons of Gas per Family per Month…You Decide
Let’s start with some basic numbers:
We spend $3,000,000,000 per week in Iraq or $12,000,000,000 per month for military operations, reconstruction, contracts to private companies, and gas to keep the military going.
There are 300,000,000 million Americans
Gas is $4.00 a gallon
$12,000,000,000/$4.00 = 3,000,000,000 gallons of gas
$3,000,000,000 gallons of gas/ 300,000,000 Americans = 10 gallons of gas for every American per month.
The average family is 2 parents and 2 kids thus that would be 40 gallons of gas per month per American family.
We’ve already borrowed the money from China and Saudi Arabia to invade and occupy Iraq and Afghanistan…why not borrow more money to provide American families some relief this summer? Why is it ok to dump hundreds of billions of dollars overseas but not here at home?
$9 trillion debt or $18 trillion debt…does it even matter any more??
The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are the major source of why our economy is tanking. It's led to massive borrowing, deficit spending, decreased domestic spending, and sky rocketing oil prices.
Until we are out of Iraq and Afghanistan I say every American family should get 40 gallons of free gas every month to help offset the burden the American People are shouldering. The first month is already paid for if Congress and the Bush/Cheney regime would just get off their ass and find the $12 billion that went 'missing' in Iraq.
June 17, 2008
Where’s The Benefit?
For over 7 years we have heard Republicans say how we have to keep corporate and investor taxes low. The conservative Republican talking point is that keeping these taxes low would increase investment thereby creating jobs thus growing the tax base.
So where is it? What happened? Where are the good paying jobs? Where is the flood of companies investing in America using American labor? If the tax base has been growing then why are we still in deficit spending?
These policies conservatives and Republicans push only benefit the corporations and the investor class, that’s it. The past 7 years was supposed to be a glorious time. The conservatives were going to finally prove to us how robust their economic policies were. Regulations were rolled back, taxes cut, and lucrative contracts given.
The result has been less tax revenue, lower paying jobs, less jobs, and less investment in America.
The problem with the so-called ‘conservative think tanks’ who flood the TV everyday with their voodoo economic plans is that they are paid hacks for corporations. Their economic policies are there to benefit only corporations and the investor class.
The factor that exists which conservatives and Republicans fail to acknowledge is greed. Conservatives and Republicans act as if left to their own devices corporations and investors will do the right thing. As if the market forces will decide the ultimate direction which they assume is always positive.
Reality is greed sinks conservative economic theology. Case in point is Iraq. Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz promised to run the Pentagon like a corporation. They were going to cut waste and stream line productivity. Their big plan was to privatize as much of military operations as possible since we all know government is wasteful. This was their big moment. Halliburton, KBR, Bechtel, and Blackwater USA were going to prove to all America how corporations can do the same job the American Government can do but do it not only cheaper but also better and faster.
Well the opposite turned out to be true. These corporations have instead proven how imperative it is that military operations be not-for-profit. Halliburton and KBR have been a disaster ‘losing’ billions of dollars in Iraq while delivering substandard services to our troops. KBR routinely serves up shit water and forces our troops to wait in long lines for food. KBR runs empty trucks up and down Iraq highways for no other reason than to bill the U.S. government.
What’s worse is Halliburton moved their headquarters over to Dubai so they can avoid paying U.S. taxes. Thus what we have seen is the opposite come true when conservatives enact their economic theology.
There was no investment in America. Instead corporations still moved overseas and sought the cheapest labor where possible thereby driving wages even lower. What’s worse even as corporate and investor taxes were cut to their lowest levels ever they still found ways to avoid paying U.S. taxes through tax shelters and moving overseas.
Corporations are like ravenous beasts with only one purpose; to make profit. If left to their own devices all they are going to seek is the maximum amount of profit with the least amount of expense. They care not about who they trample along the way.
Conservatives and Republicans like to believe that if you unyoke the beast from ‘government regulation’ that it will behave in a civil manner. Conservatives and Republicans like to believe if you lessen the burden on the corporate beast that it will therefore be able to pull more loads thus increasing the amount productivity thereby offsetting the reduction in load size.
So the Republicans unleashed the corporate beast from its yoke and we have seen the result in front of us. Rather than pulling more loads (i.e. increasing the tax base via increased productivity) it has pulled less loads. Instead of behaving and doing what’s best for America the beast has run roughshod all over the American People.
In order for the corporate beast to remain healthy and be productive it needs the yoke of governmental regulations to give it direction. Without it, the corporate beast will consume all the available oxygen and eventually die of its own greed. We saw this with Enron and the electricity crisis in 2000. We are seeing it now with speculators in the oil markets. We saw it in the tech bubble and more recently the housing bubble. Left to their own devices corporations will not engage in sustainable business that creates decent paying jobs.
Instead they immediately start down the path of exponential profit until all materials have been consumed and all profit has been sucked dry. They leave in their wake an economic disaster.
Take a look at the following graph:
Isn't it interesting that as corporate taxes and regulation have gone down so has American wages? Shouldn't the opposite be true? From the 1950's through the 1970's it was possible for one wage earner to support a family. When was the last time that was true? Isn't it interesting that as corporations pay less in taxes individuals keep paying more.
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