Tuesday, September 30, 2008

CAUGHT THIS ON THE IMMORAL MINORITY

NEWSFLASH! SARAH PALIN IS AN IDIOT. Didja really need to be told this? Check out this vid:



Enjoy! (Sorry Adam Sandler, I respect your work...)

immoral minority.blogspot.com

NEWSFLASH REAGEANITES! "TRICKLEDOWN" ECONOMICS DOESN'T WORK!!

Wow. What a week. This is an identity crisis, an ideological abortion if you will, for the free market Capitalists.

Ya know, I was raised by staunch Republicans. I remember my mother getting pissed as hell when I brought up a commercial during the campaign season of 1979/80 that suggested Ronald Reagan did nothing for California. I was just a kid then, so I didn't thoroughly comprehend the enormity of the situation.

Reagan ushered in a new era of deregulation and free market free for all that could afford it, with the backing and advice of the Nobel winner Milton Freidman.

What a nightmare. The United States is facing a socioeconomic crisis akin to what other nations have faced in the past, largely with the pressure from the US, the World Bank, and the WTO. It is time to wake up, fellow citizens of the United States-the greed and disdain for your fellow American comes with a price.

I compared the current situation on Wall Street to a Heroin addict needing another shot.

One could arguably apply the analogy of the Alcoholic and hangovers to the current situation. This free market unfettered Capitalism has resulted in a drunken free for all by the right wing, the Christian right, and big business. And now the headache and shakes are kicking in.

Let's throw out the principles of the past 30 years.

Yes I know it's gonna hurt, and your chest is going to feel like it's being ripped open, but that's what happens when your ideology is proven to be a joke. Kinda like the way reality came crashing down to me when I realized right wing Christianity was actually completely antithetical to Jesus actual teaching.

I cannot purport to be an expert in Jesus' thought, but just by skimming over the New Testament one can discern that Jesus was not a Capitalist. In fact, he advocated social justice and welfare, something that is denied by the Right wing Christians. He even advocated paying taxes. You see, he's a lot smarter than the dumbass rednecks that have hijacked the Republican party and injected their Klan-like (yes I said Klan, AGAIN) Christianity in the public discourse.

(Sidebar-I voted Republican/Right wing Christian for the past 21 years, but I am going to rectify this and do my penance for the rest of my life. I apologize.)

The only good thing that has come out of the past 30 year nightmare that we've been dealing with is the realization that Ronald Reagan's policies and that of the Right have utterly failed. And I mean failed. Hello? Are you listening? UTTERLY FUCKING FAILED.

I'm not necessarily happy about the situation, but you have to admit with the nationalization of AIG and Freddy and Fannie, there is a sort of poetic justice...

We need a systemic change in the United States, as well as an impeachment trial for that piece of shit Cheney and George Bush. Let's put them in prison. I know I'm going to get flack for this, but Saddam Hussein was a bigger man than George Bush or Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft,(fucking Ashcroft what a dink), Gonzales, etc. Can you imagine GWB going to the gallows? He'd have a heart attack before the rope could be put around his neck, and his utter disbelief at the situation would put him down before the executioner could do his job. (I remember his daddy, GHW Bush-"I'm the president of the United States! I'm not going to eat any goddamn broccoli!") What a joke. Let's wake up, A-merry-ca, and lets throw out these right wing pieces of crap with their disdain for their fellow countrymen and women and make sure they cannot harm the country any longer, and make sure they have no pension, health insurance, or life insurance, or any of the socialistic perks they have enjoyed while they vote against the same for me, my family, and yours.

Peace and love, Searchers, we are standing on the cusp of history, let's not fuck it up.

Monday, September 29, 2008

OH SNAP! THE BAILOUT DIDN'T PASS

Yet. They're going to pass something, just not in its current form...

BAILOUT BILL

I'm not in favor the the bailout proposal. In fact, this is nothing more than giving a Heroin addict a shot while he is going through withdrawal. It may quell the withdrawal symptoms, but it aint gonna fix the underlying problem.

Here is the problem: Unrestricted and unregulated Capitalism and the greed it nurtures and encourages.

Let's throw away the rig.

It is time for a systemic change in the United States.

Peace

Sunday, September 28, 2008

REPOST FROM SHANNYN MOORE, ALASKA BLOGGER

Great post-had to repost it from Shannyn Moore:


While Alaska endures a Constitutional Crisis, Governor Sarah Palin is working with a “suspended campaign”. Our Governor spent today in New York. She was asked about her support of Alaska Senator
Ted Stevens, who now finds himself in a Washington DC federal courtroom defending a seven count indictment. She blew off the question saying, “Ted Steven’s trial started a couple days ago…we’ll see where that goes.” I wasn’t surprised she squirmed out of that question. She has been cozy with Stevens when it has served her political agenda, even headed up his 527 organization . With her new public persona of being a “Good Ole Boy” crusher, she is in a quandary.

She was asked another question and Americans ought to pay attention to her answer.
Palin was asked if she thought the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan was helping to mitigate terrorism. “I think our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan will lead to further security of our nation. Again, because the mission is to keep the fight over there. Do not let them come over here and attempt again what they accomplished here and that was some destruction. Terrible destruction. On that day. But, since September 11th, Americans uniting and rebuilding and committing to never let that happen again.”


Why would Sarah Palin link the current occupations to September 11th? Does she not know? Even
George W. Bush has stated Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks on that day. The hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, and The United Arab Emirates.

It was neither Iraqi nor Afghani Citizens who crashed into our soil, our buildings, and our history. She should know this. Do you think it was a slip?


At her son’s
Fort Wainwright deployment ceremony, the Governor also linked the Iraq war to the attacks of September 11, 2001. She told the Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the deaths of thousands of Americans.” She continued, “America can never go back to that false sense of security that came before September 11, 2001.” One could argue that ‘the false sense of security’ is repeating the Neocon idea that killing people in a different country makes you safer. One could also argue that breaking the backbone of the Constitution in exchange for “security” is a false sense of patriotism.


Palin highlighted her “trip of a lifetime” to Iraq in the Charlie Gibson interview to exhibit her foreign knowledge and experience. Maybe if she would have actually gone to Iraq, and not the border crossing on the Kuwait side, she could have discovered these facts. The chest pounding, not blinking, gut checking, fact ignoring policy results in a lack of “exit strategies” for the devastating wars, the economic crisis and the emerging environmental catastrophe.


For her to reference a link between 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is either deliberately disingenuous or completely and unabashedly ignorant. America has endured eight years of the Bush Administration who have intentionally and continually misled the American people to believe this relationship exists. It has cost us dearly; some more than others.


Sarah Palin may not know what the
Bush Doctrine is, but she sure understands the Bush Philosophy.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

VIDEO AND SUCH

This is my first attempt at throwing a video into my, that is, MY blog. How interesting that it is a video regarding Che Guevara...



And here's another kick ass rendition of Hasta Siempre by Boikot, a Spanish band...




Okay here's the link-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86LSuXi5TLU&feature=related


gimme some video embed love, Searchers...


Update: Holy crap! I think it worked. Thanks Gryphen from The Immoral Minority... a great Alaskan blog...kick ass job yesterday regarding the rally, as well as your sign! Quite poignant...peace

Update again: OK, it's not working like I think it should. Any suggestions? Is it a copyright issue? Is it 'cause it's me? Is it my computer?








REGARDING CHRISTIAN FASCISM IN THE U.S.

An excerpt from a post on Dissident Voice:


PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST HERE.



In 2001 Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was passed with support of the Democrats. Behind the empty rhetoric about achieving “high standards,” “world class education,” and “closing the achievement gap,” NCLB is just standardized testing—with severe punishments instead of help if test scores don’t improve. Schools not showing progress over time are first required to pay for private outside consultants. Continued lack of progress leads to being forced to totally contract out education to private enterprises. Schools in the middle class are not targeted because this only applies to schools with very low test scores.


"NCLB was passed in a context of a decades-long process of undermining the legitimacy of public schools, the development and funding of alternative schools, and the creation of models for a new kind of privatized public school. Reagan’s education program was “bring God back into the classroom” and government-funded school voucher programs. School vouchers give government funds to parents who want to put their children in private, and in particular religious, schools—popular among the growing Christian fundamentalist forces at the time."

This is the ugly reality of the urban cores of this country, and the schools that serve them. It is producing a massive section of youth, seething with anger, who have been written off by this system, told “there’s nothing here for you,” and then shoved into the prisons at world record rates. It is an international embarrassment for this imperialist power claiming to be the model for the world, and it’s an outrage to sections of the middle class who are coming to know about it. And under certain conditions it can become extremely explosive, as was revealed by the ’92 L.A. rebellion. This is a critical concern of those driving the transformation and privatization of the school system.



It is clear that the right wing has no plan to help and lift up anyone that is outside of their race, economic sphere, religious beliefs, etc:

In fact, I assert and I openly accuse the right wing and the American church:
You are responsible for the massive incarceration rates in the US largely because of laziness, hate, contempt, and the utter rejection of Jesus' teachings for anyone white, black, latin, native, poor, or otherwise that does not conform to your christian ideological worldview.

In addition, you have put Jesus Christ in the backseat to further your "visions" "words of knowldge" and "ministries" in clear violation of Jesus teaching.

You have contempt for the poor in America.

You advocate war against Islam.

You advocate war against Immigrants.

Just the fact that you advocate war, Church, is contra to the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Indocrinate, Incarcerate, Subjugate, Exterminate. That is the American Christian Worldview.



I call for all churches in the United States to either cease from demanding political obedience from their congregants or immediately commence paying taxes.



I am well aware of the common thought among Evangelicals: Convert And Believe Or Get Left Behind.

In all ways.

Enough of state sanctioned religious teaching. Unfortunately, while Ronald Reagan was advocating state sponsored specific Christian training and declaring 1982 as the "Year of the Bible," he was conducting a ruthless terror war in Central America resulting in the deaths of a huge quantity of people while he was funneling American dollars to fund terrorists.


This, my friends, is Christian Fascism and it has been adopted by an enormous amount of people that believe they are on a "mission from God" and it must be stopped.



I will also challenge you, Church: Prove to me that your ideas aren't anything more than recycled Ku Klux Klan material repackaged and sanitized for the white masses to swallow, as well as anyone else gullible enough to take that spoonful of hate. Are you listening Alberto Gonzales?



It is time for a systemic change in the United States.

Peace-






IT IS TIME FOR THE CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES TO PAY TAXES

The church has always been a political organ. Tomorrow, pastors across the country will be involved in civil disobedience.

They will break the law and direct their congregations who to vote for in the Prez election.

If the church wants to get in the fray, they need to pay their fucking taxes.

This coming from someone who, in the past, was vehemently against such a thing. Times have changed, however, and we need to stamp out Christian Fascism NOW.

I have plenty more to say on this subject, so stay tuned! :)

Friday, September 26, 2008

Debate blogging-live

Obama: trickle down economics have not worked

McCain: prayers for ted kennedy

M: Let's limit dependence on foreign oil
O: how de we get here in thefirst palce? degregulation-
how did we shred regulations?

Look, I can't keep up. I LOVE THIS!

I'm gonna watch and post later...peace

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO HAVE THE FEDS BENT OVER LIKE THIS?

An excerpt from a post today from the Daily Kos written by Hunter regarding the bailout of Wall Street and the banks:

Their failure would present a liquidity problem for the rest of the market. They can do anything -- they could even burn money on the street -- and the strong preference of government would be to bail them out for it, because the alternative is financial chaos

My goodness-wouldn't that be something?

Read the full post
here.

Oh yeah- John McCain's silly ass is going to be at the debate tonight, and he has officially "un-suspended" his campaign.

What did Natalie Maines say about Bush? Oh yeah, "you're a dumbfuck." Ditto for McCain.

Peace-

EFFIGY OF OBAMA HUNG AT CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY IN OREGON

NEWS-


Early Tuesday morning, workers found an effigy of Barack Obama hanging from a tree on a university campus outside Portland, OR.

According to the article, a sign was attached to the Obama effigy disparaging students that are recipients of scholarships, largely minority students:

" A sign taped to the cutout said, "Act Six reject," referring to a scholarship program for Portland students, many of whom are minorities."
(thanks to Oregonlive.com)

If the link works, here is the write up on Oregonlive.com.

As many of you know, I have posted in the past about the white American church, and the evangelical movement.

Unfortunately, I cannot say much more than this:

This type of behavior is indicative of the deep racial bias that the white American church, (especially right wing Republicans and conservative Democratic Evangelical churches) harbors in the United States against Blacks and minorities.

The fact that this effigy was hung on a tree at a predominantly white Christian university and not the much larger and more diverse campus of Portland State University speaks whole volumes about the state of the church in the United States, as well as the values that are being taught to the up and coming people in the Evangelical Movement.

Many in the Evangelical movement do not see a problem if the US decides to wage war against another nation.

Many in the Evangelical Movement advocate violence against people that do not accept their belief structure, or their doctrines as they interpret in the Bible.

Many in the Evangelical Movement assume people in lower social strata than themselves have been saddled with a "generational curse" or somehow deserve their misfortune.

Many in the Evangelical Movement believe this especially applies to people of African descent in the United States. It is openly taught that Blacks descend from Ham, and Ham was cursed. It is also taught that their ancestors worshipped demons, animals, etc., (the obvious point being that they didn't worship Jesus and embrace the doctine of the Christian Church. This is a common ploy used to keep the gullible under control, as it is taught in the context of: "THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!!!") and this has saddled the Black American with "generational curses."

I spoke with a fellow student (and graduate of Rhema! Bible College in the Tulsa, OK area) at my college today, and I related that I had heard through news reports, etc., that Sarah Plain believed the world is five thousand years old and man walked with the dinosaurs, despite there being no scientific evidence to support her assertions. His response? "What's wrong with that?"

(Rhema! is a very influential Evangelical Charismatic church/organization that has influenced millions of people worldwide throughout the past 60 years or so with the ministry of Kenneth E Hagin, and his son, Kenneth W. Hagin)

This is indicative of the nonsense that is taught at Evangelical bible colleges throughout the United States.

And we were worried about madrases in Pakistan!?!

_________________________________________________________________

Those that tried to murder me and advocate the hate crimes against me and my family are devout evangelical Methodists. Samuel Christian Flanagin, Arkansas State Representative Pat Flanagin, Dora Hughes, Pat Flanagin, Jr., and their cohorts in and around the state of Arkansas continually invoke the name of Jesus to justify their crimes while referring to the victims of their hate as "niggers."

When Edward Abbey declared-"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the [US] flag and carrying a cross." He might have been envisioning the point in time we could be at today.

Clearly, Christian Fascism has to be defeated in the United States.

Clearly, people do not realize how large and deeply rooted the problem is.
This is still the Klan operating, albeit sanitized, and it is running strong in the white Evangelical church in the United States.

Clearly, we need a systemic change n the United States.

Peace-

Thursday, September 25, 2008

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

According to the HuffPo, on wednesday, the 24th, the House of Reps voted to give a $25 billion to struggling automakers.
In light of the current situation brought on by the free market neocons, I decided to write my Congressman Brian Baird to ask some questions. I posted the letter. I suggest all U.S. citizens write their congressman/woman to tell them NO BAILOUT!

The freemarket deregulation policies of Ronald Reagan and Milton Freidman are coming back to bite the US in the ass.

Wall Street is the absolute epitome of Capitalism. The right wing economic conservative has pushed policies that has encouraged this financial meltdown, this is what they have worked for, that is free, unfettered "Capitalism."

This is one reason why Congress should send Wall Street, AIG, etc., packing and give that money to the people.

Here's the email:
Feel free to copy it and send it to Baird in your name...

Mr. Baird-

You voted in favor of the 25 billion for automakers. Passed on Wednesday, Sept. 24. News reports relate how heavily the top people in the big three in Detroit lobbied for the loan. This is separated from the 700 billion Congress will most likely approve.

Here are my questions-

When is Congress going to stop bailing out the irresponsible people in big business and start giving aid again to the people who sent them to D.C.?

When is Congress going to allocate funds to keep my family in food, shelter, utilities, while we better ourselves through obtaining a college education?

When is Congress going to wake up and make higher education available to all?

When is Congress going to abandon the failed economic policies of Ronald Reagan and Milton Freidman?

Pay attention to the people Mr. Baird.

We want money for education. Money for doctor visits. We want money for food when we are struggling.

We want education and the support structure to succeed.

Enough with Congress's generation-long experiment with Milton Freidman's horrible economic theories that have thrown this nation into turmoil and is giving us an economy in shambles and discontent with our public officials akin to Pinochet's Chile.
I have made a concerted effort to discuss issues with you, yet I keep getting passed off to your aides.
I am a constituent, as is my wife and son, Mr. Baird, and we expect to be treated with respect.
My address is on the form and my phone number is: (deleted for obvious reasons)Have an aide call me to set up a face to face with me, my wife and my son.
I will be expecting a return call as well as an email.
Sincerely,


Mike

I have plenty to say, and plenty of comments to make. It's things like this that fires me up and gets me to class.

It is time for a systemic change in the United States.

Peace-

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

MUSINGS

I want a Congressional bailout so I can profit like Wall Street...

If you didn't catch The Colbert Report on Tues 9.23.08 you missed a great show...when I figure out how to put a video in I suppose I will...

However, I suspect you Searchers would rather just have my amazing commentary...

Peace...

MCCAIN SUSPENDS HIS CAMPAIGN

I'm watching an Obama news conference...so far Obama is on the game. Clearly McCain is in a panic and is pulling anything out of his butt to slow down his decline and try to deflect criticsm regarding Sarah Palin.

I'll watch and post later.

Mike

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

700 BILLION BAILOUT

I know you have been following the news, Searchers, with the Wall Street capitalists going to Congress to get a decidedly socialist bailout.

At best I have to question the right wing and Bush's Freidmanite economic policies ( as well as judges and police officers) instructing me
to have "personal responsibility" and then going to Congress for a handout when we have veterans living on the street.

When I can't get health care and afford my books for a mere three classes at a community college.

When $1861 monthly gross pay for a family of three disqualifies the family for food stamps. Who can live on that in this society? But these right-wingers and capitalists want to slash all social programs, abolish the Dept of Education, and take away funding for education. What would Jesus do, Capitalist? Pay attention to the book of Acts particularly the account of the Apostles setting up a social welfare system to ensure people less fortunate could be helped out, eat, and live with some dignity.

This is precisely what I want for me and my family. I don't have a rich daddy that throws out thousands of dollars for me and has clout to get me into a top-notch university. But I am intelligent, capable, with a vision. Why do people like Bush and the Christian Right want to take away opportunity from me or my wife or my son? Or deny millions of people health care, funding for education through the advanced degree stage, as well as the support system to succeed?


When the state of Washington steals 51% of my gross pay for child support, then tells me paying child support cannot be an income determining item when applying for social programs. Despite the fact that as a cook in these restaurants top pay is $14 an hour,(I don't make that much) and after taxes and the child support hijacking leaves me and my wife and son a mere $4 an hour to live on. What the fuck?

I have said this before and I will say it again. We need a systemic change in the United States, and TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS DOES NOT WORK.


It is time to oust this Capitalist system, and find a fix. To think a fully deregulated economy-one with no oversight- will have no repercussion (as history teaches in countries such as Chile), in the US as it it did in Chile (when you destroy people's rights and take away their ability to function, when you destroy social programs and give the nation over to corporate greed) is to ignore history as well as the majority of the voters' desire.

We need to take our country back from the policies of greed and disrespect of our fellow human being that Milton Freidman advocated and Ronald Reagan adopted.

Capitalism and it's dependence on profit and selfishness has proven itself to be a detriment on society akin to historical Communism.

Peace-

Mike

P.S. We need a systemic change in the United States.

Friday, September 19, 2008

NEWSFLASH! REDNECKS ACT LIKE MORONS!

Watching MSNBC right now, and Tucker Carlson is on, being shrill, squeaking about the Alaska State Trooper Wooten and the firing of Walt Monegan, the Alaskan Commissioner of Public Safety. It went kinda like this:

( at some point i'll figure out how to insert video)

Carlson: My God! This is a guy who threatened to murder his father in law! This is a guy who drank in his State Trooper car! Do we really need a guy like this carrying a gun with a license to shoot people?

Answer? Read on, Searcher:

Clearly Tucker Carlson has never been involved in a redneck divorce. When redneck families are going through tough times like divorce (or marriage) they resort to crazy shit like:

-Shanking your "till death do us part" partner's car tires.

-Getting into a fistfight with your father-in-law in the front yard of your house on a sunny afternoon while the neighbors watch.

-Knocking down aforementioned father-in-law in the front yard of your house on a sunny afternoon while the neighbors watch.

-Q. Your current wife has a warrant out. Yet you are separated. What do you do when she shows up angry and drunk at your new (bachelor) apartment?
-A. Call the police and have her hauled off while the kids watch.

-The father in law showing up at the son-in-laws restaurant (where he is G.M.) and attempting to invade and stomp the aforementioned son in law.

-Son in law has sex with Mother in Law. (Not me)

-Wife has sex with step brother.

-Apartment manager has to call the police and son-in-law while he is at work because father-in-law is at son-in-laws apartment with a UHaul truck and is currently trying to jimmy the door lock with a credit card.

-Brother in law breaks into his married sisters' home with a friend and attempts to murder his sisters' husband.

Growing up in redneck Northeast Arkansas, some of this is funny. All of it either happened to me or a brother in law, sister in law, or friend. All of it is true.

The last sentence is not funny. It really happened. To me and my lovely wife.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tucker Carlson is a jackass that has his head in the sand.

Clearly he lives somewhere else than a large amount of Americans.

To disrespect Trooper Wooten (and I am no friend of the police, but shout out to you Paul) because of the crazy redneck people that made up his family is ridiculous. His profession as a police officer only gave leverage to Palin and assorted redneck relatives (including Sarah Palin's faultless daddy) and friends (as well as the opportunists, the envious and the jealous) to screw with him.

Believe me.

If this guy ran a restaurant, they would be screaming B.S. about him sleeping with the waitresses. Or stealing money. Or steaks. Or booze. The father-in-law would have been on the phone with the S-I-L's boss relating all kinds of bullshit. Anything the redneck kinfolk overlooked before would become fair game. That is how redneck small town families (dys)function. That is the truth of the situation.

Tucker Carlson is a hack, and it shows how out of touch he is with small town America.

It is time for a Systemic Change in the United States.

Peace-
Mike

UPDATE: I want to rid the world of my current as well as ex-father-in-law, too.

MORE INCARCERATION? MORE FAMILIES DESTROYED?

I'm following a story in Oregon. -UPDATE- I can't get the link to work, the story is from Oregonlive.com- Basically, Oregonians are going to the polls to decide a number of things, not the least of which will be the question of whether to "tighten up" sentences for non-violent offenders. (I love these ambivalent terms like "tighten up." It's allowed to sound innocuous when the reality of it is terrible and destructive. Kind of like "mandatory minimums." The shit doesn't work.) Non-Violent offenders. Drug addicts and the like. So, I'm hoping Oregon will get it right. From what I've seen in my few years of paying attention they probably won't.

People don't get it. Drug addiction is social problem, not a criminal one. Putting addicts in prison and destroying families further does nothing except feed the hideous beast that is the Prison Industrial Complex. For sure these cops and prosecutors don't get it, and they have very little incentive for helping in a positive way. Their jobs depend largely on addicts and convictions of addicts. Treatment would put a massive dent in revenue. That is the truth.

We have a nation of self-righteous sanctimonious christians, cops, judges and lawbreakers; I mean lawmakers, that have no sympathy or empathy for their fellow man. This is the result of a society built on capital and greed.

So, I push and focus my education on change in the United States. I'll follow that story and let ya know what's up, Searchers.

It is time for a systemic change in America. Peace-
Mike

LET'S PLAY 20 QUESTIONS!!!!

I came across this on AfterDowningStreet.org. It is an excellent tool to relate how fucked up the United States and its capitalistic greed is. Capitalism is a horrible route that the US has, by and large, embraced. Regarding all of these government bailout in the past few days, that ole pile of crap Milton Freidman must be spinning in his grave. Read and be outraged. Print it off and distribute it on the streets. This is the meaning of a Searcher: seek out truth and truth in history.


Twenty Questions: Social Justice Quiz 2008
by Bill Quigley / September 11th, 2008

1. How many deaths are there world-wide each year due to acts of terrorism?

2. How many deaths are there world-wide each day due to poverty and malnutrition?

3. 1n 1965, CEOs in major companies made 24 times more than the average worker. In 1980, CEOs made 40 times more than the average worker. In 2007, CEOs earned how many times more than the average worker?

4. In how many of the over 3000 cities and counties in the US can a full-time worker who earns minimum wage afford to pay rent and utilities on a one-bedroom apartment?
5. In 1968, the minimum wage was $1.65 per hour. How much would the minimum wage be

today if it had kept pace with inflation since 1968?

6. True or false? People in the United States spend nearly twice as much on pet food as the US government spends on aid to help foreign countries.

7. How many people in the world live on $2 a day or less?

8. How many people in the world do not have electricity?

9. People in the US consume 42 kilograms of meat per person per year. How much meat and grain do people in India and China eat?

10. How many cars does China have for every 1000 drivers? India? The U.S.?

11. How much grain is needed to fill a SUV tank with ethanol?

12. According to the Wall Street Journal, the richest 1% of Americans earns what percent of the nation’s adjusted gross income? 5%? 10%? 15%? 20%?

13. How many people does our government say are homeless in the US on any given day?

14. What percentage of people in homeless shelters are children?

15. How many veterans are homeless on any given night?

16. The military budget of the United States in 2008 is the largest in the world at $623 billion per year. How much larger is the US military budget than that of China, the second largest in the world?

17. The US military budget is larger than how many of the countries of the rest of the world combined?

18. Over the 28 year history of the Berlin Wall, 287 people perished trying to cross it. How many people have died in the last 4 years trying to cross the border between Arizona and Mexico?

19. India is ranked second in the world in gun ownership with 4 guns per 100 people. China is third with 3 firearms per 100 people. Which country is first and how many guns do they own?

20. What country leads the world in the incarceration of its citizens?

Answers to Social Justice Quiz 2008

1. 22,000. The U.S. State Department reported there were more than 22,000 deaths from terrorism last year. Over half of those killed or injured were Muslims. Source: Voice of America, May 2, 2008. “Terrorism Deaths Rose in 2007.”

2. About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. Poverty.com – Hunger and World Poverty. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes – one child every five seconds. Bread for the World. Hunger Facts: International.

3. Today’s average CEO from a Fortune 500 company makes 364 times an average worker’s pay and over 70 times the pay of a four-star Army general. Executive Excess 2007, page 7, jointly published by Institute for Policy Studies and United for Fair Economy, August 29, 2007. 1965 numbers from State of Working America 2004-2005, Economic Policy Institute.

4. In no city or county in the entire USA can a full-time worker who earns minimum wage afford even a one bedroom rental. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urges renters not to pay more than 30% of their income in rent. HUD also reports the fair market rent for each of the counties and cities in the US. Nationally, in order to rent a 2 bedroom apartment, one full-time worker in 2008 must earn $17.32 per hour. In fact, 81% of renters live in cities where the Fair Market Rent for a two bedroom rental is not even affordable with two minimum wage jobs. Source: Out of Reach 2007-2008, April 7, 2008, National Low-Income Housing Coalition.

5. Calculated in real (inflation adjusted) dollars, the 1968 minimum wage would have been worth $9.83 in 2007 dollars. Andrew Tobias, January 16, 2008. The federal minimum wage is $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008 and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.

6. True. The USA spends $43.4 billion on pet food annually. Source: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc. The USA spent $23.5 billion in official foreign aid in 2006. The government of the USA gave the most of any country in the world in actual dollars. As a percentage of gross national income, the USA came in second to last among OECD donor countries and ranked number 20 at 0.18 percent behind Sweden at 1.02 percent and other countries such as Norway, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and others. This does not count private donations which, if included, may move the USA up as high as 6th. The Index of Global Philanthropy 2008, page 15, 19.

7. The World Bank reported in August 2008 that 2.6 billion people consume less than $2 a day.

8. World-wide, 1.6 billion people do not have electricity. 2.5 billion people use wood, charcoal or animal dung for cooking. United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008, pages 44-45.

9. People in the US lead the world in meat consumption at 42 kg per person per year compared to 1.6 kg in India and 5.9 kg in China. People in the US consume five times the grain (wheat, rice, rye, barley, etc.) as people in India, three times as much as people in China, and twice as much as people in Europe. “THE BLAME GAME: Who is behind the world food price crisis,” Oakland Institute, July 2008.

10. China has 9 cars for every 1000 drivers. India has 11 cars for every 1000 drivers. The US has 1114 cars for every 1000 drivers. Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future (2007).

11. The grain needed to fill up a SUV tank with ethanol could feed a hungry person for a year. Lester Brown, CNN.Money.com, August 16, 2006


12. “According to the figures, the richest 1% reported 22% of the nation’s total adjusted gross income in 2006. That is up from 21.2% a year earlier, and is the highest in the 19 years that the IRS has kept strictly comparable figures. The 1988 level was 15.2%. Earlier IRS data show the last year the share of income belonging to the top 1% was at such a high level as it was in 2006 was in 1929, but changes in measuring income make a precise comparison difficult.” Jesse Drucker, “Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2008, page A3.

13. 754,000 are homeless. About 338,000 homeless people are not in shelters (live on the streets, in cars, or in abandoned buildings) and 415,000 are in shelters on any given night. 2007 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Annual Homeless Report to Congress, page iii and 23. The population of San Francisco is about 739,000.

14. HUD reports nearly 1 in 4 people in homeless shelters are children 17 or younger. Page iv – 2007 HUD Annual Homeless Report to Congress.

15. Over 100,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. About 18 percent of the adult homeless population is veterans. Page 32, 2007 HUD Homeless Report. This is about the same population as Green Bay Wisconsin.

16. Ten times. China’s military budget is $65 billion. The US military budget is nearly 10 times larger than the second leading military spender. GlobalSecurity.org

17. The US military budget of $623 billion is larger than the budgets of all the countries in the rest of the world put together. The total global military budget of the rest of the world is $500 billion. Russia’s military budget is $50 billion, South Korea’s is $21 billion, and Iran’s is $4.3 billion. GlobalSecurity.org

18. 1268. At least 1268 people have died along the border of Arizona and Mexico since 2004. The Arizona Daily Star keeps track of the reported deaths along the state border and reports 214 died in 2004, 241 in 2005, 216 in 2006, 237 in 2007, and 116 as of July 31, 2008. These numbers do not include the deaths along the California or Texas border. The Border Patrol reported that 400 people died in fiscal 2206-2007, 453 died in 2004-2005, and 494 died in 2004-2005. Source Associated Press, November 8, 2007.

19. The US is first in gun ownership world-wide with 90 guns for every 100 citizens. Laura MacInnis, “US most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people.” Reuters, August 28, 2007.

20. The US jails 751 inmates per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the world. Russia is second with 627 per 100,000. England’s rate is 151, Germany is 88, and Japan is 63. The US has 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any country in the world. Adam Liptak, “Inmate Count in US Dwarfs Other Nations,” NYT, April 23, 2008.


Thanks to Bill Quigley, a human rights lawyer and a Professor at Loyola University New Orleans...peace-

Mike

P.S. Reading this makesme just my shake my head in wonder...when will it end?

ANOTHER REPUBLICAN ABOVE THE LAW

So Todd Palin, husband of Sarah Palin Veep candidate is refusing to testify after the legislative body of the State of Alaska subpoened him (read here)The obvious rhetorical question is: "What would happen to me if I did that?" Of course, we all know the answer. I would be hauled off to jail, without ceremony.

I emailed a letter to the Alaska Attorney Gerneral, Talis Colberg, and I suggest you all do the same here is the address: attorney.general@alaska.gov.

I left my last name off of my blog but included it in the email along with my address, etc. I guess I'm just begging for a visit from the New American Gestapo! AKA (insert your police department here. Oops, my bad-I guess they're called "law enforcement officers" now. What a fucking joke.)

Here's the email to A.G. Colberg, Alaska:

You are a partisan hack, a coward, and you should be disbarred. I will use you in my closing years in law school to solidify my studies, focus on my goal: To put cowardly pieces of trash like you, todd palin, and sarah palin, scooter libby, karl rove, in jail for breaking the law, and acting as though you are royalty while the rest of us are expected to not only obey this law of the United States, but are called upon to shed our blood so garbage like you can disrespect the memories of the dead and trample on the very things that are supposed to make this country great. Sleep well AG, your turn will be coming. People like you is the reason I have abandoned the Republican Party after 21 years of party line voting.
SARAH PALIN=BAD FOR AMERICA

Mike, Vancouver, WA


I suppose I should have included George Bush in my list as well as Prick Cheney. War crimes? The Hague? Naw, just do it here and lock them away forever. Or bestow upon these two the same fate their lies and deception brought thousands and thousands of Iraqi people and American Soldiers: put their backs against a wall, and then give them a great state funeral. At least we'll be rid of them.

Peace and Love to all you Searchers!
Don't give up hope, revolution is coming. And if McCain/Palin get in, it will be closer than ever.

Mike

Thursday, September 18, 2008

WHITE PRIVILEGE-REPOST FROM FIELD-NEGRO

Again a post from The Field-Negro:


~By Tim Wise ~ "For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because 'every family has challenges,' even as black and Latino families with similar 'challenges' are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a 'fuckin' redneck,' like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll 'kick their fuckin' ass,' and talk about how you like to 'shoot shit' for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're 'untested.'

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words 'under God' in the pledge of allegiance because 'if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me,' and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the 'under God' part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was 'Alaska first,' and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community ogrganizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or > an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.


White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a 'second look.'

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a 'trick question,' while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a 'light' burden.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole 'change' thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem. "

I would like to add:

White privilege is AIG getting an 85 billion dollar bailout when the average person in the US is having trouble putting gas in their tanks.

White privilege is vetoing health care for children and cutting education for the masses because your rich white family has always had a doctor and your daddy and grandpa can pull strings to get you in top-notch universities.

White privilege is the president of the United States saying to a roomful of million/billionaires: "Some people call you the elite. I call you my base."




We need a systemic change in the United States.

Peace-

Mike

Monday, September 15, 2008

SMALL TOWNS/SMALL MINDS

I was reading a post in a blog called Field Negro (field-negro.blogspot.com. I still don't know how to insert links in words yet...) today and the post relates an article written by Catherine McNicol Stock, an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer I thought was interesting.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080914_Intolerance_thrives_in_Palin_s_Pacific_Northwest.html





"Despite her efforts to portray herself as an average, small-town, "folksy" American, Sarah Palin's political views - ardently pro-gun, pro-censorship, antichoice and antigay - make John McCain's conservative credentials pale in comparison. What few observers have said, however, is these beliefs are not just extreme - they are radical, and even bear a comparison with some of the most notorious "rural radicals" of our time.


It has been years since groups such as the Montana Militia, the Posse Comitatus and the Sagebrush Rebels, and individuals such as Terry Nichols and Ted Kaczynski have made us wonder why so many "angry white men" populated our rural regions. Many of us have forgotten the threat once posed by domestic terrorists and instead have turned our attention to foreign terrorists. But we should never forget that in the late 20th century, ultra-Christian, antistatist and white-supremacist groups flourished in the states of the Pacific Northwest - called by many the "Great White Northwest" - the very region that Sarah Palin and her family call home.

Demographics most basically define this geographic region. In the six states that make up the Pacific Northwest - Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska - only six counties are more than 5 percent African American. Not by coincidence, each of these counties is also near an important military installation with many African American men and women. Even so, barely more than 3,000 blacks lived in all of Idaho in 2000.

Although home to tens of thousands of native peoples, Alaska is not much different in terms of diversity from the other states of the region. African Americans live in areas near important military installations in Anchorage and Fairbanks and almost nowhere else. Wasilla, where Sarah Palin was mayor, makes the census' list of the top 10 Alaskan communities with the largest number of African Americans because they make up a full 1 percent of the population. Rough calculations suggest that 65 blacks lived in the town.

But the region also must be defined by its history of intolerance, resentment, antistatism and violence. Appearing in the region in the 1980s and 1990s were some of the most notorious "hate radicals" of our time: militia groups, survivalists, Identity Christians, secessionists, white supremacists and others.
Some simply hated the federal government, like Randy Weaver of Ruby Ridge, Idaho, a survivalist whose wife and child died when their compound was fired upon by FBI agents attempting to arrest him on gun charges. "Whether we live or whether we die," Weaver said, "we will not obey this lawless government."

Other groups, like the Aryan Nation, with headquarters in Hayden Lake, Idaho, actively planned to rid the United States of African Americans, Jews, and other "non-Aryan" peoples. A few carried out their plans, murdering Jewish radio host Alan Berg in Denver, the Goldmark family in Seattle, an African American state trooper in Arkansas, Fish and Wildlife officials and FBI agents in Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana, and more than 160 federal employees and their children in Oklahoma City.

There is no evidence that Palin was ever affiliated with white-supremacist groups during her years in Idaho or at home in Alaska. On the other hand, the beliefs of ultraconservative, evangelical churches like her family's come dangerously close to those of the Christian Identity movement of those years. Likewise, Palin's husband was a member of a political party whose members favored secession for Alaska, suggesting an affiliation with radical antistatism.

Perhaps somewhere on the record, Palin has publicly condemned the radical politics of her region. But it is hard to know where she stands on issues of race, equality and diversity. Thus it is high time to review the cultural ideals and models of the radical rurals from the Great White Northwest and find out for sure where Gov. Palin stands."

I've lived in the Northwest for just a short period of time, but it is remarkably similar to the south in its perceptions of race. I've seen the same symbols of hate and segregation here as I did there. I've seen the same disdain for the poor as well as Blacks and Latinos. I've seen the same government policies that force the poor, generally minorities, to relocate because of gentrification-which is nothing more than mini episodes of forced relocation keeping a sort of perpetual diaspora. I sometimes feel like I never left the South.
I've seen the same institutional racism in Portland Oregon as I did in Paragould Arkansas.
Sarah Palin is so similar to the people that I attended church with, worked with went to school with.

I will agree with the writer, and add there is a long way to go for equality in the United States. This hate and stupidity surely is not confined to any region. Again, we have a long way to go.

I had actually intended to write about the quote "this lawless government" but felt I should elaborate the way you read above.

Allow me to be frank. I abhor the white supremacist movement in all its forms.

But the statement "this lawless government" must be studied. (See the Noam Chomsky, Dee Brown and Jon Lee Anderson titles under "what i'm reading"). Learning what I have learned regarding the truth of the U.S. government, and not subscribing to the "America love it leave it" crowd any longer, has shown me the glaring discrepancies the United States has in its words and its deeds...and the glaring discrepancies between the elite of the country and everyone else.

I call for unity among peoples... Peace and much love...





Saturday, September 13, 2008

CLEARLY SARAH PALIN'S APPOINTMENT TO VEEP HAS ENERGIZED MORE THAN JUST THE REPUBLICANS

In the last few days I have posted more than in quite some time. Sorry to keep all of your waiting breathlessly for my next one!! Thanks to all of you that emailed me to check on my condition!!!!;)

FOREIGN POLICY

Listening to the interview w/Palin on ABC, several things occured to me:

1. I have more foreign policy experience that Sarah Palin.
2. I can tell anyone that asks precisely what the Bush Doctrine is.
3. I can tell you what the Truman Doctrine is.
4. I have been to more countries than Sarah Palin.


A. France
B. Italy
C. Switzerland
D. Holland
F. Mexico


5. I have lived in more states than Sarah Palin, giving me a more concise viewpoint on many different cultures within the United States:


A. Illinois
B. Arkansas
C. Missouri
D. Kansas
E. Tennessee
F. North Carolina
G. Oregon
F. Washington

I have visited more states than Sarah Palin:

A. California
B. Kentucky
C. Iowa
D. Wyoming
E. Utah
F. Idaho
G. Montana
H. Michigan
I. Wisconsin(actually my relatives owned land in Wisconsin. I spent many, many weekends there outside of Avoca/Muscoda-pronounced Muscoday-so although never a resident, quite a few of my formative years were in Wisconsin. Hell, I rode my first motorcycle, shot my first pistol,shot my first rifle, milked my first cow, slaughtered my first rabbit, harvested my first puffball-in Wisconsin. The cheese and curd is amazing! "America's Dairyland")
J. South Carolina
K. Georgia
L. Alabama
M. Louisiana
N. Texas
O. Arizona
P. Minnesota
Q. Indiana
R. Florida
S. Mississippi
T. Oklahoma
U. Colorado

I think that's all...it is time for a systemic change in the United States...what did Thomas Jefferson say?


Clearly I have more experience, depth, compassion, and decency than Sarah Palin.

Batten down the hatches...O yeah-what about taking care of the Karl Rove problem?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

EVANGELICALS AGAINST MCCAIN/PALIN-THANKS TO THE DAILY KOS

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/10/15218/4307/139/593799

The link above, click on it, or read below...


We Are Out Here- Updated
by
ex VRWC
Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 05:15:44 PM PDT
We are out here - the Republicans or ex-Republicans who will no longer tolerate the racist, despicable slime machine that the right wing and the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign has become. I know, for I am one of them. I am not your typical progressive, being an ex- Air Force officer (9 years), evangelical Christian, card carrying conservative, Rush/Hannity listener - an now an Obama supporter in John McCain's home state of Arizona.
And I know I am not alone - for one, my grown sons are with me. My older, now in college, proudly rides around with Obama stickers on his scooter. He, also, was raised an evangelical Christian, and goodness knows I subjected him to a conservative worldview.
So what gives? Why are we out here - the Rebublican Obama supporters, the ones you don't expect. More on my story below:
ex VRWC's diary :: ::
ROTC Cadet, Air Force Captain, Free Republic diarist, James Dobson quoting conservative, 2 time Bush voter. Church worship leader. These all describe me. And there are more just like me. My evolution to progressive awareness has been a slow one, but is has never gone faster than in the last 3 or 4 months. How do I describe myself now - a progressive conservative, of course (if there is such a thing)!
So why am I and those like me out here? I am out here because I see through the hysteria that the right wing has become. I know the abandonment of principles when we see it. I despise in today's Republican Party what I was always told were the worst traits of the 'left' in years past. I know better these days. I have come to the realization that in many ways I left my brain turned off for far too long. I listened to those I was supposed to agree with, and never tried to be, as Rush Limbaugh says, a 'truth seeker'. Well I am a truth seeker now, I find truth much more often when I listen to Rachel Maddow that I ever did on Rush. I am able to see (on the right) political opportunism, shameless lying, rampant political positioning, and a party leadership that has forfieted all claim to trust.
Nothing has shamed me more than the evangelical groupthink around the Sarah Palin pick. People I used to respect for their strong stand on the family and values have completely abandoned their principles to back someone whom they think offers a slim grasp at victory. I will not participate in it, nor will my church, for which I am thankful. Trust me, the groupthink on the right is not as rampant as you may think. There are those of us that recognize that our so-called conservative and Christian leaders in this country are almost universally bankrupt, and we are outraged and ashamed.
The sins of the right in this campaign and of the last 8 years do not go unnoticed. The racism, the shameless lying, the demeaning, the assumption that the 'base' is composed of idiots - I see through these things. I see through the rabid assertions that question patriotism or imply sympathy with terrorism. I see through the thin veneer of declaring 'victory' in Iraq. I see the right wing totally ignoring the very real issues we face - the housing crisis, the mortgage meltdown, the looming bank bailout, the sellout of the economy in the name of 'globalization'. I saw the disregard for fellow humans that was Katrina and its aftermath, even to this day. I see the eroded stature of our nation that 8 years of 'maverick' foriegn policy has wrought. We are not stupid.
What do I see in Barack Obama? I see an intelligent, thoughtful, unflappable leader. I see a patriot who is rising up and putting himself forth for leadership of this great nation in its hour of need. Goodness knows, I would not want the job. I see a man who will perform the duties of the President of the United States with sober and thoughtful judgement. I see a man with the breadth and depth who can address many of these problems we face as a nation. I see a man who wants to bring us together. I don't pretend it will be easy, it will not be. There are big problems to be solved. We will need to come together, those of us on each side of the political spectrum. First to get Barack Obama elected, then to work to make America a better place. I will do my part to convince those I know that a vote for McCain will be a disaster.
So, progressives on the left, know that there are those of us on the right that have been listening and paying attention. We have heard what Barack Obama is saying. We look forward to working together with you to make this nation a better place. Godspeed in the next 2 months.
Update

9-11

It's 911. May all those that have lost their lives since that day rest in peace, let us bring this war to an end, and let us start a new era...I'll never forget it, but I understand it a little more now.

"Pull Yerself Up By Yer Bootstraps!"


So I'm watching CNN and they throw a story out there about a young Lady, Natalie Dylan (pictured). She is a student in So. Cal., and she needs money for college. So what's her plan? She going to auction off her virginity! I wonder how that plays to the far-right bootstrap wearing bible thumpin christian? You already know that answer to that. They will be quick to condemn her as a whore, and all the while deny money for education.
It is past time that we have free higher education in the US. To have to mortgage your future like buying a house to get an education, or to have to sell your body is a stinging indictment to our christian capitalist system.
Time for a change.




It is a sorry state of affairs when a woman has to sell her body to get an education. We need real change in the US. Enough of this capitalistic nightmare.
Natalie references capitalism in her interview, stating,"we live in a capitalist society, why shouldn't I be able capitalize on my virginity?" Good question. I think I'm going to capitalize on one of my kidneys. Anyone have 50 grand?
Let's get something new started in the U.S. Revolution!

WATCH OUT WORLD THE U.S. IS COMING!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/washington/11policy.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The New York Times 9-11-08

BUSH SAID TO GIVE ORDERS ALLOWING RAIDS IN PAKISTAN
STRATEGY SHIFT IN JULY
Now, Special Forces May Act Without Seeking Ally's Approval

Special Forces is the military, right? If European countries think they are immune from the insanity of Bush and the right wing warmongers, they are sorely mistaken. The United States has reserved the right to attack anyone, any nation it feels may be doing anything against the interests of the U.S. This means companies, people, military. Any nation or people that stands in the way of the U.S. will be crushed. If McPalin get elected, things will be far worse.

So much for freedom and democracy. Let's get the lunatic right wing out that we have tolerated for the past quarter century and be a real beacon of hope across this planet.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

FREE AT LAST FREE AT LAST! OR AT LEAST I'M WORKING ON IT...

I posted this comment on an Alaskan Blog.* As my experience with the Charismatic churches, the intolerance, hate, fear, contempt for those less fortunate, is coming un- suppressed I am expressing it periodically here:

As a man heavily involved with these types of churches, and as a man that has been finally able to cast off the cult-like oppression, I can say with some authority that Palin is a compassion-less right winger that has no interests but her own to further. Religion and politics as well as the Gov't of the US must all be subject to the Evangelical/Charismatic movement.

Edward Abbey was correct when he declared: "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." The ultimate goal for these agents of intolerance, evangelicals and charismatics, is a "Christian Nation" one which at best rejects those who don't believe and at worse subjugates them.

We have real issues at hand, such as soldiers committing suicide and living on the streets, health care, EDUCATION, but these right wingers would have you believe that if you're poor you're cursed, (see family curse theology), if you're rich you're blessed (unless you're an "unbeliever" then "the devil" gave it to you...)and all others can fall by the wayside and beg for crumbs. If this administration, that is McPalin, is installed in Washington, D.C., revolution will be closer than ever. I pasted this comment to my blog, mikesearches.blogspot.com. I'm reliving my experiences as they come back. One of my favorite lines in these churches is: "It's of the Devil!" That can apply to care bears, cabbage patch kids, my little pony, soda, t.v., movies, cars, alcohol, pants on women,beards on men,(despite the fact that Jesus' beard was "plucked"), short sleeves on men or women, drugs, as longs as the drugs aren't prescribed by a doctor, however, in some of these cults, like the UPCI, (United Pentecostal Church International) doctors are "of the devil" as well...(like in Brother Bill Gray's church in Pocahontas AR a members' daughter was born with severe birth defects as a result of oxygen depletion while in the birth canal, because the parents refused to involve a doctor or hospital in her birth because this would in some way reflect on their level of faith in the LORD) , some sex...(wink, wink)but surprisingly, NOT FOOD! Yes food is the ultimate payback on this planet for so much sacrificing for the LORD! In our church in Pocahontas, after a fast you better stay the hell away from the ro-tel cheese dip vat or you're gonna get stabbed!

The things I write are true. This is just the beginning. We are in for real trouble, war and revolution if these two yo-yo's are elected.

More to come...




*shannynmoore.wordpress.com- link below

http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/would-jesus-vote-for-palin/#comments

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

CENSORSHIP!!!

MSNBC and COMCAST clearly pulled together to censor Keith Olbermann, and pulled the plug on his show for the full hour. Olbermann was to interview Obama, he has been a vocal opponent of GWBush, and at 6pm sharp local, that is Portland, it mysteriously popped back on. I have been hung up on twice by MSNBC, the number I called is: 212-664-4444 call and ask what the fuck is going on...Comcast is implicit in this, they have a hand in it, and they offered to reimburse me for the entire day, "for my trouble."

Wake up AMERICA we are looking at the fascism wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross spoken about...we will have revolution...

I spoke with MSNBC and they claim they have no email address for Olbermann? WTF? What a fucking joke...this is censorship people!!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

SARAH PALIN AND CRAZY CHRISTIANITY

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-her-wasilla-church-and-the.html#links

Check out this post on theimmoralminority...I realize all Christianity is not like this, however, the prevalence in churches in the US is quite alarming...

Hurricanes, Barracudas, and Christianity

I'm watching CNN. The weather report is regarding Hurricane Ike that is about to slam into Cuba. It is already hitting Haiti, I think, and is on its way to Cuba. Haiti just got through dealing with Gustav that created quite a bit of damage and death.

Watching the footage of people fleeing to higher ground in Haiti, I am struck by the living conditions between Haiti and the U.S.


Enter a memory triggered.

When I went to a church much like Sarah Palin goes to currently, I remember the Pastor talking about Haiti and the extreme poverty there.
He taught along the lines of generational curses. Generational curses have become popular in the charismatic churches, the teaching basically goes like this: At some point in your (insert either family, country, wife's family), history, someone did something that God didn't like and a curse was place on your family, but it is laid at your feet: you allowed a Demon in and it has total influence over your mind and actions. According to their doctrine, a demon now has control over your family and that grip of demonic power has to be broken. Usually by a pastor or someone in the hierarchy of the church, or by direction, a large group of people will gather around you and lay hands on you and begin to scream "rebukes to the Devil". It is a good way of keeping the gullible attending.


So to sum it up, regarding Haiti, at some point in its history, some people went to the top of a mountain in Haiti and sacrificed a pig to the devil and that is why Haiti has so many problems. The congregants were instructed to pray and break that generational curse against the island and it's people, to break the demonic hold on the island.

Of course, (in the minds of the congregants), the oppression on the island has nothing to do with greater world powers exploiting and oppressing the people, and it certainly would have nothing to do with Anglo America.

One of the frightening things about a lot of these people in the right-wing Evangelical movement is their lack of education, their fear of others, and their closed minds. As well as their guns.

On the other hand, I know considerable amounts of people in these churches with advanced degrees and money but are just as gullible and xenophobic as their less educated counterparts, whom they look down on,(and the less educated envy the other and so on and on it goes.)

It goes farther. This generational curse crap is also used to explain why people in the US of African decent are poor and oppressed. It is taught that the oppression is spiritual rather than physical, that is by whites or the white government, and in order to prosper like the so-called mainstream you must accept Jesus, you must be baptized, you must interpret the Bible as it is taught by X,Y,Z church.

Blacks in the US, it is taught in these churches, have curses placed upon them because of their ancestors in Africa practicing their native religion. In other words, they are DESTINED, according to evangelicals, for poverty, strife, sickness and disease because of what their fore-people practiced spiritually, despite the christian doctrine and Jesus preaching that believing on him would set you free. It is a ploy to divide, oppress, and dominate. As well as create fear among people that "This could happen to you." It plays into long-simmering racial feuds as well as other issues.

This is another example of oppressive Christianity, (not Jesus' Christianity) as well as the ridiculous nonsense of pre-destination, or pre-ordaining of a certain people, usually white Anglo right-wing christians. Again. This is NOTHING like the real teachings of Jesus.

As time goes by I am going to search my past to articulate what I learned in these right-wing evangelical churches. Their doctrines are largely the same, and they are quite radical. Senator John McCain NOT Candidate McCain said it right when he called them (evangelicals) the "Agents of Intolerance". This is who Sarah Palin is in regards to her religion. I am well versed in the cult like hold the evangelicals have on their followers, and I know how easy it is for the same to ostracize, humiliate, embarrass, or punish individuals for perceived transgressions, or violation of their dress codes, etc.


Keep Palin out of the White House!