WE MUST CALL IT WHAT IT IS: EVIL

Been reading a lot lately. One excellent book I have gotten a hold of is The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering The True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted.

A phenomenal book. Very quickly, I want to leave y'all with some thoughts pulled directly and shamelessly from Dr. Hendricks' book.

"...it is more important, it is our sacred prophetic duty, to
identify and call by name the policies, governmental officials, corporate
officers, events and developments, and greedy elites that are responsible for
the impoverishment of the people. Calling the demon by name is an integral
part of our vocation to treat the people's needs as holy. thus, we must
call by name every factor, condition, person, or persons that do not treat the
people's needs as holy. We must call the demon by its name:
evil.

We must call by name tax laws that favor the interests of the rich:
evil.

We must call by name corporate boards and executives who underpay their
workers while giving corporate executives annual salaries and bonuses so large
that it would take the average worker centuries of labor to earn as much"
evil.

We must call by name those who claim to hold the people's needs as holy but
in reality do not: evil.

We must call evil by name to remind the people that public officials are
supposed to be public servants, and remind public servants that it is the
welfare of the many that they are to serve, not the whims and wants of the
privileged few.

We must call the demon by name in our churches, call by name ministers'
crass materialism and their lack of prophetic engagement; must call by name
their collusion with forces that exploit and oppress those whom they are
supposed to serve.

We must call by name the perversion of Jesus' Gospel by prosperity
preachers who blame the people for their sickness and poverty, instead of
decrying the demonic mistreatment of the poor by those who hold only their own
needs as holy.

We must call evil by name when pensions are squandered, when
Americans are dispossessed of their livelihoods by greedy executives who export
American jobs to regions where they can better exploit workers'
desperation." (Bold mine) (Dr Obrey
Hendricks, Jr. The Politics of Jesus (Doubleday, 2006), pp
148,149

Dr. Hendricks goes on, I am somewhat pressed for time.

I will say this: The conservatives have done a great job in equating moral conservatism with political conservatism. The two have nothing in common.

If Political Conservatism had its way from the founding of the United States, the British would have never had to fight to keep the colonies. Breaking from Britain was a Liberal idea. The conservatives wanted to remain part of the crown.

If Political Conservatism had its way in the 1960's, Jim Crow would be alive and well. It was political conservatives that wanted to keep slavery and African-Amercians under the thumb of White America.

And now, it is Political Conservatism that wants to destroy bargaining rights in a number of states. It is political Conservatism that wants to repeal child labor laws in the State of Maine. It is Political Conservatism that seeks to deny children as well as adults in this nation a free education. It is political Conservatism that would have children go to bed hungry at night. It is Political Conservatism that seeks to deny equality to people based on their sexuality. It is Political Conservatism that seeks to destroy families of brown people that speak Spanish through the scapegoating of an entire class of people based on their ethnicity.

Make no mistake, Political Conservatism and Moral Conservatism are utterly antithetical, and they will never be reconciled.

I will leave you, Searchers with a quote from a Founding Father:

"As mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those
who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled
to the protections of the civil government. I hope ever to see America among the
foremost of nations in examples of justice and liberality."-George Washington

Peace, Searchers, I'm sure looking forward to having my laptop back...

WELL "IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY..."

This is a Mini-Documentary done by a Berliner...It is excellent.



Peace-
Mike

PROFOUND DVD EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH: "THE ANGRY EYE" WITH JANE ELLIOTT

A week or so ago in my Communications class I had the pleasure of watching the short video, "The Angry Eye" with Jane Elliott.

Jane Elliot gained notoriety after Dr. King was shot in Memphis in 1968.

She began a blue eye/brown eye exercise that segregated her all white third grade class (according to Wikipedia she did not see a Black person until she was nineteen,) in tiny Riceville, Iowa into two groups: The Blue Eyes, the Superior Group, and The Brown Eyes, the Inferior Group. She had the "brownies" wear neck collars to further set them apart.

The response was stunning. The blue eyed kids were told the brownies were inferior because of their eye color, and as a result of their eye pigmentation they were unable to learn at the same level, they were unable to hold jobs, and the blue eyes should lower expectations for the brownies and then castigate them for not doing better, etc...

It didn't take long and the blue eyed kids were bossy, arrogant, and mean to the brown eyed kids, and the blue eyes actually began to do better academically, while the brownies suffered, and even brown-eyed kids that were excelling in class saw their grades and their confidence slip.

I watched a version of the exercise that was filmed on a college campus in the United States that involved young college students, and it blew my mind. The reaction from the white students was predictable yet unreal nonetheless...I believe this should be a required video in every school in the United States, it is that good, and it is that necessary.

The video that I posted is not from the vid I saw in class, however, it is just as poignant as the one I saw...we will be investing in these videos as time goes by, take the time to watch the video.


Some links:
Wiki
Jane Elliott website
IMDB -The Internet Movie Database

Peace-
Mike

ISLAM IN AMERICA: WHEN AMERICAN STUPIDITY SHINES BRIGHTLY

I am working on securing a series of interviews from a local Imam. In light of the shooting in Texas at Fort Hood, I thought it would be in my best interest, my family's best interest, and the best interest of those I will interact with in the future to have a better understanding of Islam.

I read a write up about Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged shooter, on MSNBC, and it's rather disturbing.

It is not disturbing in the sense that most Americans, especially white Americans would think, you know the type Searchers: "That guys a Muslim...I betcha he's gots him some bombs and guns and I bet he's a-fixin to blow up (insert local shitbox .50 cent-draft-night-on-tuesdays bar here.) No, read the excerpt, the disturbing part is the local shit kickers giving a man shit who is trying to mind his own business and serve his Country at the same time.

"'Everyone else just sat down there and drunk their beer, and looked
at him, and giggled at him,' the woman said starting to cry. 'They
just would laugh at him when he walked down with his Muslim clothes...he was
mistreated. He was all alone. He went to his apartment there and was
all alone.'"

I know the type. I used to go to church with the worthless idiots, and Mrs. Searchers entire range of kinfolk in Arkansas are precisely this way. Redneck, and total pussies when it comes to individual confrontation. Like Mrs. Searchers brothers, Hank and Samuel Chris Flanagin, and the racist coward Pat Flanagin.

In addition to verbal harassment, Major Hasan also had to deal with rednecks vandalizing his vehicle.

What cracks me up about the worthless red necks is Major Hasan is educated; he is an Army Psychiatrist. That means he is a Doctor. MD. And the rednecks outside their crappy little apartment units probably have less than a GED, probably have less than a mouthful of teeth, and probably have the equivalent of a 9th grade education.

The only People I am prejudiced against and the only People I believe should be sent to re-education camps are Rednecks. No mercy, either change or be eradicated.

So, I am trying to secure at least one interview with the folks that run the local mosque. I'll keep ya posted. Peace,

Mike

Read the full article here

Thanks Washington Post and MSNBC

image credit

NEW JERSEY DEBATING MEDICAL MARIJAUNA

Good news out of New Jersey, I was unaware of this until I got a tip from a Searcher in New Jersey. Thanks NJ, fight the good fight, the enlightened ones know that Marijuana is so much more benign than Alcohol which kills upward of 100,000 people a year, and that's without vehicle deaths...it is time to legalize Marijuana, as well as row crop hemp, forget about all of these timber companies raping and pillaging the US, especially here in the PacNorthwest. Here is the story:

N.J. medical marijuana bill advances
Friday, June 05, 2009
By Trish G. Graber
tgraber@sjnewsco.com

TRENTON Ð Jack O'Brien feels shooting pain in his hands and feet that can become so intense that it wakes him out of a sound sleep.

The Cumberland County resident said the excruciating pain, resulting from a birth defect that also left him without fingers or toes, travels along his nerves all the way to his head. He takes pain medications but worries they will damage his liver or kidneys. And he says prescribed drugs leave him with little ability to function normally.

O'Brien has found that the one thing that does provide relief, without the often demobilizing side effects of pain pills, is marijuana. But he says he rarely uses it because he fears being arrested.

"I'm not a pot-head, I'm not a partier," the 54-year-old Commercial Township resident said. "But I need to live a quality of life that's better than (just) laying on the couch."
O'Brien and other New Jersey residents suffering from serious medical conditions could soon have the legal ability to use marijuana for pain relief.

Legislators are considering a controversial measure that would make New Jersey the 14th state in the nation to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The Senate has already passed the bill. The Assembly Health and Human Services Committee approved the legislation Thursday by a vote of 8 to 1, with two abstentions, after amending it to further limit access to marijuana.

The bill would give residents, with their treating doctor's recommendation, the ability to obtain a registration card from the Department of Health and Senior Services to use marijuana for medicinal purposes without the possibility of arrest, prosecution or penalties.

The drug could be obtained from one of at least six "alternative treatment centers," facilities that would be designated to grow and distribute the drug.

The initial version of the bill also allowed for state-registered users to grow up to six marijuana plants at home, but the Assembly committee amended the legislation Thursday to prohibit home-growing after hearing concerns from critics, who said it would make marijuana too widely available and vulnerable to abuse...

And that's the way the story ends, and we all know that last statement about availability and abuse is total bullshit, it's a throwback from the 1930's, and William Randolph Hearst's successful smear campaign that went with ridiculous propaganda films like "Reefer Madness" ("Tell Your Children" is the original, Reefer Madness is the re-issue title)

Peace-

Mike

BRITAIN REBUTS REPUBLICAN B.S. REGARDING HEALTH CARE

FROM HUFF PO:
LONDON — Britain's health care service says it is sick of being lied about.
Pilloried by right-wing critics of President Barack Obama's health care plan, Britain's National Health Service, known here as the NHS, is fighting back.

"People have been saying some untruths in the States," a spokesman for Britain Department of Health said in a telephone interview. "There's been all these ridiculous claims made by the American health lobby about Obama's health care plan ... and they've used the NHS as an example. A lot of it has been untrue."

He spoke anonymously in line with department policy.

A particularly outlandish example of a U.S. editorial, printed in the Investor's Business Daily, claimed that renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, who is disabled, "wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless."
Hawking, who was born and lives in Britain, personally debunked the claim. "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS," he told The Guardian newspaper. Investor's Business Daily has since corrected the editorial.

As the debate over how best to look after American patients rages on, Britain's socialized health care system has increasingly found itself being drawn into the argument. Critics of the Obama administration's plan to overhaul US health care say the president is seeking to model the U.S. system on that of Britain or Canada – places they paint as countries where patients linger for months on waiting lists and are forbidden from paying for their own medication.

A Republican National Committee ad said that in the U.K. "individuals lose their right to make their own health care choices." Another ad launched earlier this month by the anti-tax group Club for Growth claimed that government bureaucrats in Britain had calculated six months of life to be worth $22,750. "Under their socialized system, if your treatment costs more, you're out of luck," the ad says, as footage of an elderly man weeping at a woman's bedside alternate with clips of the Union Jack and Big Ben.

The online attacks on Britain's health care system have been paired with strident criticism from Republican lawmakers.

In an interview widely interpreted here as an attack on the U.K., Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa told a local radio station last week that "countries that have government-run health care" would not have given Sen. Edward Kennedy, who suffers from a brain tumor, the same standard of care as in the U.S. because he is too old. Another Republican, Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia, said that the U.K. and Canada "don't have the appreciation of life as we do in our society, evidently."

The criticism, widely covered in the U.K. media, has clearly stung Britain's left-leaning Labour government. The Department of Health took the unusual step of contacting The Associated Press and e-mailing it a three-page rebuttal to what it said were misconceptions about the NHS being bandied about in the U.S. media – each one followed with the words: "Not true."

At the top of the list was the idea that a patient in his late 70s would not be treated for a brain tumor because he was too old – a transparent reference to Grassley's comments about Kennedy.
And what of Republicans' claim that British patients are robbed of their medical choices? False again, the department said.

"Everyone who is cared for by the NHS in England has formal rights to make choices about the service that they receive," it said in its rebuttal.
Then followed a fact sheet comparing selected statistics such as health spending per capita, infant mortality, life expectancy, and more. Each one showed England outperforming its trans-Atlantic counterpart.

The British government offers health care for free at the point of need, a service pioneered by Labour in 1948. In the six decades since, its promise of universal medical care, from cradle to grave, is taken for granted by Britons to such an extent that politicians – even fiscal conservatives – are loath to attack it.

But the NHS faces significant challenges, not least a multibillion pound (dollar) deficit predicted to open up over the next five years. It has its critics too, particularly cancer patients who complain that the government refuses to cover costlier drugs, leaving those who need expensive treatments to pay for them out of pocket.

Nevertheless, many in the British press bristled at the criticism from America's right wing.
"How dare the Republicans bad-mouth our free health care system?" Guardian columnist Michele Hanson wrote Wednesday. "If I'd been born in the U.S., I'd probably be dead by now."

Good for them, it's about time people start refuting the right wing.

Peace-

ON DEADBEAT MOMS AND DADS, AND A LITTLE HISTORY PART 2

I decided to post the third comment from "Anonymous" that appears after "On Deadbeat Moms and Dads..." because I wanted to discuss it briefly. Here is the comment:

"So why aren't you paying your child support if you love them so much? Do you think that clothes, food and the rest just fall from the sky? Do you think your excuses put food on their table? Although, truthfully they may be better off not knowing what a deadbeat their father is. What kind of man doesn't financially provide for his minor children? (that's a rhetorical question, by the way)"

And here is my rebuttal:

Anon's comment is typically American; it is one that ignores the body of the issues and focuses solely on one small aspect, and that aspect is always dollar-driven. Shortsighted, knee-jerk comments and actions are an unflattering trait we in the United States have developed over time, and they have led to debacles such as the Iraq War.

Your comment, "Anonymous" is the "drill baby drill" chant all over again.

"Anons" inability to look beyond today and look to the brighter future (thus the reason I am pursuing my University education) has become synonymous with American Culture today: Trade long term (future) stability for a quick profit today.

This mind set has driven our nation into deep economic trouble, just as the policies of the OCSE have driven families into deep economic trouble.

Couple the discriminatory policies of the OCSE with Conservatives, Democrat and Republican alike, that continue to allow the outsourcing of good manufacturing jobs, continue to slash money for education, and continue to slash social programs (while propping up our defense department) and you get economic hell for working families.

The Conservative Democrats and Republicans believe, as you probably do "Anon," that scrapping food programs for the poor children of our nation, or denying health care and education to millions of Americans is going to force poor working families into the middle class or beyond, so magically the world becomes an economic utopia for all.

That idea was bullshit when Ronald Reagan and Milton Friedman sold it to us in 1981 and it remains bullshit to this day.

"Anon"- get the back story right next time, read my posts in their entirety, and realize abusive comments designed to denigrate me regarding support and visitation with my children create not only dysfunction in the children, they also strengthen my tenacity (and my desire) in the fight for equality in this horribly skewed, abusive "child support" system in place in the U.S. today.

Thanks for the comment, "Anon", don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Peace, Searchers, we do need a systemic change in America.

Oh Yeah-The face of a true "Deadbeat Dad" Arkansas State Representative Pat Flanagin:
image

IRANIANS HIT THE STREET BY THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS

*UPDATE* I had a video posted from a protest in Iran from YouTube, I don't know what happened to it. If I can get it back, I'll repost it...Peace*

Good morning, Searchers, I woke up to MSNBC this morning, the lead story I caught was about the alleged election fraud in Iran.

People have been demonstrating against the totalitarian government since June 12, when the Presidential election was held.

Searchers, this is huge. As I heard a commentator say yesterday, it may not be like Tiananman Square, but certainly may be similar to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some of you remember neither, but when I saw the people standing on the Wall shouting triumphantly, and hitting the wall with sledgehammers, it sent shivers down my spine.
Equally so with the lone Chinese man facing down the tanks.
















These were people that were fed up with a regime that kept them down, and in the case of China, they had had it with the government "reforms" that destroyed their wage base, stripped them of jobs, and forced millions into abject poverty, so the Chinese gov't could switch to a capitalist economy. Read 'The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein, it is a remarkable eye opener.

So the Iranaian people are protesting the outcome of the Presidential election. Let me put this in perspective: The Iranian Government hand counted millions of ballots, I read somewhere that the turnout was 65% of the population, here in the U.S., we're lucky to get 40% turnout, and after 3 hours of HAND COUNTING, the government declared the landslide victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinajad over his opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi.

In the United States, it took a solid month, courtroom drama, and ultimately the Supreme Court to decide the election of 2000, that brought Bush into the White House. We all know how that turned out, perhaps we need the Iranian ultra smart state of the art ballot counting machine: the hand.

Seriously, I believe the Iranian election was hi-jacked by the Supreme Leader and the government. Ahmedinajad won by landslide numbers even in Mousavi's hometown where he polled in very high numbers. Mousavi is a reform candidate, and it appears the Iranian people want reform.


It is our duty as Americans to support their desire for an open, democratic government. That does not necessarily mean military intervention, so put away your guns and your ding-dongs, Americans, not everything has to be solved with force. The display of solidarity by the Iranians in the face of execution for demonstrating may be enough to topple the current regime, and if not totally topple, at least start putting chinks in the armour of the State. We can learn from this, and we need to revisit our own history and study again Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s manner of protest. Ditto with Ghandi.

It is time for a systemic change in the United States. It will come, albeit slowly, cause we are, after all, fat, dumb, and happy.

Peace-

CRAZIES AT FOX NEWS JUST DON'T GET IT: THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE ON THE PLANET BESIDES AMERICANS-MORE IDIOCY FROM "THE GREAT WHITE RIGHT"

I still feel like an idiot for paying attention to Fox News for the years that I did. I am thankful I woke up and realized that Fox News is absolutely nothing more than a propaganda machine for the Christian Right, the Republicans, and the Right Wing terrorists like the guy that murdered a doctor in church last week.

Sean Hannity, Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly, Meghan Kelly, Kilmeade, Doocy's dumbass, and the ever dumber Gretchen Carlson are propagandists that routinely spew hate, racism and fear, and they encourage violence against people they disagree with.

It worries me that a large portion of Middle America watches this drivel. It tells me that a vast portion of the population of the United States simply haven't a clue. Watch Jon Stewart break it down, he gives a commentary of Barak Obama's speech in Cairo, Egypt, and the ridiculous response by the brainless at Fox. Enjoy-And boycott Fox News.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Looking for Comity in the Muslim World
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Economic Crisis

Peace Searchers-

REGARDING "THE POST AMERICAN WORLD" BY FAREED ZAKARIA

I have just completed his book, in which he discusses the up and coming nations, the "rise of the rest" as he calls it.

I found it to be an extremely easy read, Zakaria doesn't make you feel as though you need a degree in economics or poli sci to understand it.

I highly recommend it, every American should read it, it is that important. Americans need to realize that, as a nation, the United States shift in hegemony has to be addressed. Peace, Searchers!

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REMEMBERING THE DEAD TODAY AND THE LIVES THEY SAVED

Today is the 65th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. I'm 40 years old, so as I grew up in my home in Chicago, when my parents referred to "The War" it was World War 2, not Vietnam or Korea.

The invasion of Normandy was the largest sea assault of its time. A massive air assault took place just before the sea invasion began. According to Wikipedia, 160,000 troops landed that day on the Normandy beaches in France. The numbers are staggering, and although I have not been able to back up his claim, my father told me that the life expectancy of a soldier landing on those beaches was five minutes.

These troops fought and died to battle the hideous ideas of Fascism and Nazism. It was a just war, one of necessity as opposed to choice.

I visited Europe when I was in third grade, but I did not visit the cemetery at Normandy (the American Cemetery at Normandy is pictured.) Thousands upon thousands of Christian Crosses and Stars of David, (forgive my ignorance but I am unaware if there are any Crescents of Islam) stand eternally at attention, marking the graves of Americans that are interred in France, never to be returned to their home soil of the United States. Rarely did I see my dad choked with emotion, but upon seeing the row after row after row of graves, I believe for a time he actually was human.

Reflecting upon the war we are in right now, not the foolish "war on terror" but the real combat situation in Iraq, I have to ask...why?

So, on this anniversary of D-Day, I give a somber thanks to those that fought and died and those that were maimed both physically and mentally to make damn sure we could live in a vastly freer society than Hitler, Hirohito, and Mussolini envisioned.

Peace, Searchers...

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DRIVE FOR DEMOCRACY-TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE 20 YEARS LATER

I will never forget when the oppressed in China rose up against their totalitarian government and were brutally crushed. Chinese students to this day do not learn about the uprising in their schools and references to "the June 4 incident" are forbidden from search engines such as Google. Screw you, Google, I know blogspot is google but what the fuck? Bowing to a communist government like China, and our government selling our country to China "so Americans can have a couple of extra lattes" (i will not plagiarize you Fareed Zakaria, I got that line from your fabulous book- "The Post American World") is the epitome of stupidity.

"When China's pro-democracy protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square
they built a makeshift Statue of Liberty, not an F-16"-Fareed Zakaria, "The Post American World"

So will someone please explain to me why in the hell we still have sanctions against the Island of Cuba? You know, I want to see Havana for god's sake, I want to sample the cuisine and I want to celebrate the vibrant Caribbean life of Cuba.

Why do we do business with China?

Peace, Searchers, and honor to the people that were massacred, imprisoned, and disappeared by their government. Perhaps the United States will wake up and stop acting so foolishly with this oppressive regime.

And to the brave man in the photo,(it is forever burned into my psyche) facing down the tanks, my utmost respect to you friend, may you have peace. To the best of my knowledge this man disappeared and his whereabouts are unknown. If I am incorrect in this information, post a comment with sources...

Mike

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NEW RULES BILL MAHER 5.29.09 GREED

This is the latest New Rules segment from Bill Maher's HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher."

I'll try to post his "New Rules" segment from now on, in this clip he mentions the electrocution of American Soldiers due to shoddy electrical work, (I blogged about this) he mentions the dumping of patients on the streets on L.A. because of no insurance.

He relates the growing for-profit prison industry, the fact that we have more people in prison than China for God's sake, he talks about the food industry. Searchers, it is time to wake up and see where we have been heading for the past 30 years, since Reagan was elected and our nation embraced greed like a drunk with a five dollar whore. Enjoy, watch it and then watch it again, then watch it again, then subscribe to HBO if you don't have it already. It is time for systemic change in the United States...Peace

ON RACE AND POLLS IN THE UNITED STATES-COURTESY OF THE FIELD NEGRO

Great post, Field-

I have a news flash for republicans: The 14th Amendment pretty much did away with Dred Scott v. Sandford. For those of you not familiar with the Dred Scott case, it is one of the many dark spots (no pun intended) in A-murder-can jurisprudence. That case basically said that us black folks were not humans but mere chattel. Property. No more important than the cotton we picked out of the ground or the animals we worked alongside.

Anyway, apparently conservatives didn't get the 14th Amendment memo. If they did, one of their most respected writers, Byron York, wouldn't be making the type of declarations that he did while writing for the Washington Examiner.

"On his 100th day in office, Barack Obama enjoys high job approval ratings, no matter what poll you consult. But if a new survey by the New York Times is accurate, the president and some of his policies are significantly less popular with white Americans than with black Americans, and his sky-high ratings among African-Americans make some of his positions appear a bit more popular overall than they actually are. [emphasis added]"

See, it's all so simple when you break it down: Obama's 62% job approval rating is primarily because of his high approval rating among black folks. But among white folks, whose opinion really matters, Obama's is "significantly less popular". See niggers, it's like this, when you are just three-fifths of a man or woman, your opinion only has three- fifths of the weight. So Obama being popular among you niggers means nothing. Wow! Byron York doing his best Chief Justice Taney imitation.

I love how Steve Benen writing in the Washington Monthly breaks down York's article:

"For crying out loud, what the hell does that mean, exactly? I read the rest of the piece, hoping to see York explain why the president's seemingly popular positions are exaggerated or inflated. Why, in other words, these positions "appear" more popular "than they actually are." But all the piece tells me is that African Americans tend to support Obama in greater numbers than white Americans.

The problem, of course, is that damn phrase "than they actually are." York argues that we can see polls gauging public opinion, but if we want to really understand the popularity of the president's positions, and not be fooled by "appearances," then we have to exclude black people. "

Steven, that is exactly the point Mr.York wants to make; "we do have to exclude black people". Because, let's face it, when did they ever matter.

Read Byron York's article here, and please note some of the comments that follow.

------------------------------------

Check out Field's blog here...

OBAMA IN EUROPE, EUROPEANS SWOON

I've been watching the news lately, big surprise, and I've been paying attention to the G20 summit it London. The G20 is the group of the 20 most powerful economies in the world coming together to yap at each other, form policy, etc.


And, the protesters are out in force, in London protesters have been smashing windows in banks, trying to set fire to banks, etc. In France, and I love this, pissed off workers are taking their supervisors and managers hostage in factories because they are sick of getting screwed as workers while management makes the big bucks. Enough is enough! Ya basta!

I watched video of some of the hostage takers, and they are average normal people. When one of the managers was released to freedom after 24 hours as a hostage, he was released to boos and catcalls.


Can you imagine the overreaction of the American police if workers did that here? They would kill people.


Another thing I noticed about the protesters in England. For all of the thousands and thousands of people that hit the streets, I did not see a single effigy of the United States President burned.

Not one. The anger was rightly directed at bankers, insurance execs, and the wretched idea of failed American capitalism.


Not one time was Obama hanged in effigy (that just happens here in the U.S.) or burned in effigy. As a child of the 70's and 80's this is almost unheard of. When Reagan went to Europe it was on. Same with the Bushes. (somebody really should have shaved that Bush a long time ago...)


So today the Obamas are in France and Germany. Obama's crazy ass even had a town hall meeting in Strasbourg, France. They absolutely love him over there.

From a personal standpoint, as a citizen of the United States, it is very refreshing to not see the rest of the world want to kill everyone in the US because of our hateful policies.

Face it, Americans, we have a shitty reputation in the rest of the world because of our arrogance and policies, period. Latin America and South America still have not gotten over the Reagan years, rightly so.

I'm glad we elected Obama, at least he has the good sense to keep his fucking hands off of the Chancellor of Germany:



Scary image, huh? The United States elected this doofus. Twice...CRINGE!


BTW, I am beginning to like Sarkozy of France, that's him in the top pic with Obama, largely because he favors tough regulations for the banking and insurance companies, to ensure this doesn't happen again. He is for an international body to oversee regulations in every country, even (especially) the United States. I am down with that.
I am no longer under the illusion of the "God-Given Greatness Of The United States."

A nation that rapes continents and performs forced hysterectomies on poor and Native Women is not deserving of my respect, and my children are being raised in the full knowledge of what their government has done in the past. Rectify and heal the past United States, then maybe you can be allowed a shred of respect...we'll see.
Onward!

SPANISH COURT MAY PURSUE WAR CRIME INDICTMENTS AGAINST TOP BUSH OFFICIALS

I caught this last night on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show. Seems a Spanish Court is pursuing indictments for war crimes against:
1. Alberto Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States

2. John Yoo, from the Justice Department

3.Jay Bibey, from the Justice Department, John Yoo's boss, worked for Gonzales, now a Federal Judge, (what the fuck?)

4.Doug Fife, Undersecretary of defense,

5..David Addington, Dick (cock) Cheney's chief of staff, and spawn of satan, and

6.William Hanes, General Counsel at the Pentagon.

These six individuals may have an indictment handed down in Spain for their arrest. According to the New York Times, it would mean little, unless they leave the United States.

Then it would be a situation that would go down in the history books. I would love to see some of these arrogant right-wing "christian" torturers under the gun, on trial and thrown into prison for years. Their receipt of a fair trial is more than they afforded their victims of torture. Please do not forget, Searchers, the Bush administration and the pigs that enabled Bush were on the track of pulling ANYONE off the streets of America that George Bush or Cock Cheney or their minions for any suspected "terrorism." Read the memo. Suspend Habeus Corpus, my ass.

Most white people would say, "So What? I don't look Arab, I haven't done anything wrong." That is putting an innate, (and inane) confidence in our elected officials and their appointees. Big mistake! Especially when they are right wing and got their marching orders from Bush a self styled "very religious" man.

I know his type of "religion," it was the same kind used in the Inquisition, and the same kind used by the fuckstick flanagin's when they commit high crimes and misdemeanors. Kinda like having a bible in one hand and someones testicles in a jar on their office desk. (I'm glad that motherfucker died in prison. Very fitting. Next, Flanagins.) Then go to Sunday School, after fucking your mistress in Little Rock, while your kids and wife are at home. Sound familiar, Arkansas? What a gem! ( Furthermore, in the south if you are labeled as a "moderate democrat" you are little more than a slightly left Republican.)

I will say it again: Give me a good Pagan or left-wing christian any day to reason with cause the American Right Wing Church is full of idiocy, hate, intolerance and contempt.

So Good luck, Spain, I hope it comes to pass and Gonzales and his ilk, along with Bush and Cheney spend the rest of their lives in prison. Probably not going to happen, but I support it.

Just to be clear: I also support putting Bush and Cheney's backs against a wall to face a firing squad.

I am not a squeamish American that can support hanging a national leader after a mock trial, a kangaroo court, (you know what that's like don't you Arkansas! What a gem that Arkansas is!) and not be able to stomach one of the presidents of the United States going to his execution. If I support the execution of any President and Vice President, it would be Bush Cheney, number 1. Number 2? Reagan/Bush. Remember, I supported these fuckwits and I voted for the worthless piece of shit George Bush. Then I became enlightened.

One good note I heard regarding this judge from Spain: He got the monster Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, a puppet of the U.S., arrested in London when he went on a trip to the United Kingdom. Godspeed, I truly hope we can lock up these motherfuckers, Bush and Cheney included, and throw away the key. After some rousing rounds of water boarding. Call me when you have the "christian" John Ashcroft on the table, I'd be happy to torture that son of a bitch.

By the way, here is the link for Rachel Maddow's report on MSNBC

Take care Searchers, stay vigilant, revolution is coming.
Onward!

"A PATRIOT MUST BE READY TO DEFEND HIS COUNTRY AGAINST HIS GOVERNMENT"

-Edward Abbey

WHAT MORE CAN BE SAID ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?

Please be referred to the Field Negro: Seriously if you can't beat them join them? Are you serious? Here is a cut and paste from the Field Negro, a quote from Michael Steele, the new head of the Republican Party:

"We've been misdefined as a party that doesn't care, a party
that's insensitive, a party that is unconcerned about minorities, a party that's
unconcerned about the lives and expectations and dreams of average Americans,
and nothing could be further from the truth.."

I think, Mr. Steele, you and your ideology could not be further from the truth, the Republican party is unconcerned about lives of all that is not corporate, that is the reality, that is why I fired the Republicans.

The Republican Party has to be the most transparently stupid political party and group of neanderthals semi-functioning today. Congratulations, Republican Party, you have succeeded in insulting not only me, my wife, but my 6 year old son as well...

JUST A FEW MORE DAYS

It seems like it cannot arrive quickly enough. This Tuesday, Bush will be exiting Washington DC as President FOREVER!!! YAYYYYYYYYY! I caught an interesting article on The HuffPo, regarding toxic leaders, and the toxicity of the Bush Presidency. The list is too big to post here the problems George W. Bush has caused, but here is an excerpt from the posting:

"If incompetence, arrogance, and stubbornness were the only claims against
Bush, it would be tragic enough. Unfortunately, Bush has earned the title of a
full-fledged toxic leader by violating the basic standards of human rights of
both ordinary American citizens, as well as our alleged opponents. Reports from
Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prisons provide telling evidence of Bush's willingness
to abrogate the very human rights that we Americans so dearly prize. And he does
so, while whistling (to paraphrase FDR), "You have everything to fear, including
fear itself." "

To be somewhat fair to Bush, the problems we are facing in the US today were put in motion 30 years ago when the country elected Reagan. Bush did not help. If you read history at all, and are familiar with Latin American history, you would find the economic meltdown, and the destruction of the middle class is the end result of unregulated capitalism. It is strictly about profit and company growth, with little concern for the worker.

Barack Obama will not be able to solve all of this country's problems, we must rise and stand together as a Nation united with a desire to help and contribute to one another.

With effort we can put the Bush Presidency behind us and move forward. I think his term in office will leave us with a bad taste in our mouths for some time. Although he is not fully to blame, George W. Bush through his policies, hastened the current economic conditions. I think his presidency should be thoroughly investigated, with charges being brought against the appropriate parties.

I think without question most of us can agree: George Bush's Presidency was a contentious, toxic one. One wonders how big this superfund account is going to have to be.

Peace and much love-

ISRAEL IS NOT MAKING THIS EASY FOR ME AND I'M GLAD

According to a report on MSNBC, Israel hit a UN school today with artillery fire killing at least 30 people many of them children. According to the report, hundreds of people were holed up in the school as a shelter from the artillery and air strikes. Read the story here.

As I posted earlier, I have been an ardent supporter of Israel, and its right to exist. I understand the conflict Israel has with Hamas, and vice-versa. But as I sever my ties more and more with the right wing, I am seeing reality (as best as I can from 8000 miles away) on the ground in Gaza. It is a virtual prison camp of 1.5 million people. It would be like walling off the greater metropolitan area of Memphis, Tennessee, or Portland, OR with no one being allowed in or out, period. Then cut the gas off. Then cut the water off. Then reduce food supply. What would result is all out war against the people doing the oppressing. Much like what we might see in the United States if we continue down the same route.

Israel has a problem with Hamas. The US has a problem with Hamas. The people that do not have a problem with Hamas is the million or so Gazans, who when allowed to choose their own ruling party, chose Hamas. I remember the election. I remember the outcry by this Administration about the Gazans' choice. BUT IT WAS THEIR CHOICE. They elected Hamas to represent them. ELECTED. It was free and fair.

This reminds me of a quote from then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, (which indicated then and continues to define the supreme arrogance of the US government) regarding the Chilean people:

"The US will not accept a Marxist government just because of the
irresponsibility of the Chilean people."

I read that and thought, "You arrogant fuck." There were approximately 5,000 people killed in the US Government, and this really infuriates me, US Corporation backed coup to overthrow President Allende in '73, and perhaps 30,000 killed in 1974 after the installation of the monster Augusto Pinochet. But that's okay, 'cause we makin' money now! What a nightmare.

In other words, if the people elect a government and the lone Superpower doesn't like it, war will ensue. The problem is, and this has also helped me open my eyes to US imperialism, is our policy of "Nation Building." The United States only wants a government elected by the people if they elect the government selected for them by the United States. Otherwise, they are deemed irresponsible, negligent, backwards, or worse and are in danger of destruction. Observe the current conflict with Ecuador, Venezuela, as well as other nations throwing off the capitalistic yoke.

No one should be subject to a Master, not Arabs, not Jews, not Africans, no one. I say stand up people, don't let these bastards grind you down, fight and take what is yours.

I voted for this administration, and I have been a staunch supporter of US policy through the years. No More. There has to accountability, there has to be change, and after January 20, 2009, there ought to be some high level Bush Administration arrests and trials, including Bush and that worthless Cheney, for a number of things, not the least of which is crimes against humanity. But there probably won't be. This, however, is inspirational to me in the sense that I can break the law, even heinously, and have an excuse. Everyone does it, even the President!

Peace-

BTW here is more reading regarding Chile and Latin America's 9/11 (yes, they had one too.)
Wikipedia
Renegade Eye Blog
The Shock Doctrine

And any history book worth a damn.

Onward!