Told you Massachusetts was Hell :)

That was the opening line to an email sent from a friend who lives just outside of Boston. She sent me the following link:

The Manifestation of the Demonic in Massachusetts

We too are beginning to encounter clear signs of the demonic. Here in Somerville, how many Catholic schools are closed. One parish and three schools at last count. Yet, we just opened up here a Planned Parenthood Office. If you have read the Somerville newspapers then you saw the picture of the politicians including graduates of Catholic schools attending a ribbon cutting ceremony for a place that roots itself in destroying human life.

That which imparts God’s wisdom is closing and that which imparts the Devil’s destruction is opening. Good is Bad and Bad is Good. True is false and false is true. Man is woman and woman is man. The Devil is alive and living in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

sigh

I like the Father's suggestion that we give to the poor - not just money but time as well. "Study, know and live the corporal and spiritual works of mercy". It wouldn't hurt to ponder that one.

I am left wondering what part of Peter we're supposed to be reading:

3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

:)

For what it's worth, she's a rather devout Catholic Mom of four with a great sense of humor.

~ ~ ~

They Came for the Chicken Farmer

A case of mistaken identity's turning an innocent person into a prisoner-for-life was supposed to be impossible. President Bush told Americans to trust in his judgment after he arrogated the right to arrest anyone, anywhere in the world, and toss people into indefinite detention. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld infamously proclaimed that the men at Guantánamo Bay were "the worst of the worst."

At Conservative Forum on Bush, Everybody's a Critic

Instead, Sullivan was on hand to second the critique. "This is a big-government agenda," he said. "It is fueled by a new ideology, the ideology of Christian fundamentalism." The bearded pundit offered his own indictment of Bush: "complete contempt" for democratic processes, torture of detainees, ignoring habeas corpus and a "vast expansion of the federal government." The notion, he said, that the "Thatcher-Reagan legacy that many of us grew up to love and support would end this way is an astonishing paradox and a great tragedy."

Ouch.

Iran threatens reprisals, if punished

Iran is not helping itself - or anyone else. Mohamed ElBaradei is urging calm, from all sides. I hope they listen.

"What we need now, at this stage, is a cool-headed approach. The Middle East is a very volatile area," he said as a three-day meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency drew to a close in Vienna.

Mr ElBaradei insisted that the decision to refer his classified report on Iran's nuclear programme to the powerful Security Council - which is expected to meet next week to discuss possible punitive measures - marked a "new phase in diplomacy" and not a fast-track to sanctions.

The call for calm was directed at both Iran and the United States, who have traded threats from the sidelines throughout the course of the week's negotiations. It came shortly after a senior official from Tehran told Reuters: "The United States may have the power to cause harm and pain but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll."

The official was apparently responding to comments from Dick Cheney, the Vice President, who said Iran would face "meaningful consequences" if it failed to fall into line.

It's obvious to many the Bush Administration is most likely planning for war in Iran. If this keeps up, Iran might give Bush and company a legitimate reason.

DeLay Wins Four-Way Battle for Nomination

Annan Says Coalition May Be Violating Law

May be

Diplomatic speak, and useless.

The UN and Arab countries need to come together and take over from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Oh, and speaking of the UK:

God: I've lost faith in Blair

A high-level leak has revealed that God is "furious" at Tony Blair's attempts to implicate him in the bombing of Iraq. Sources close to the archangel Gabriel report him as describing the Almighty as "hopping mad ... with sanctimonious yet unscrupulous politicians claiming He would condone their bestial activities when He has no way of going public Himself, owing to the MMW agreement" (a reference to the long-established Moving in Mysterious Ways concordat).

...

"If Tony Blair thinks his friendship with George W Bush is worth rubbing out a couple of hundred thousand Iraqi men, women and children, then that's something he can talk over with me later," said God. "But when he starts publicly claiming that's the way I do the arithmetic too, it's time I put my foot down!" It is well known that God has a very big foot.

March 7, 2006 Executive Order

Someone at AMERICAblog posted the following link in the comments section:

Executive Order: Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security with Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

I really enjoy AMERICAblog, though I don't always agree with all of the opinions of the authors or commentators. There's some really warped senses of humor there as well, which I enjoy too. So when I saw the link, and the brief quote, I thought it was a joke. I followed the link and sure enough, it's real.

And I went what the fuck?!

The Department of Homeland Security will now be responsible for creating faith-based communities centers and initiatives.

Sec. 3. Responsibilities of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In carrying out the purpose set forth in section 2 of this order, the Center shall:

(a) conduct, in coordination with the WHOFBCI Director, a department-wide audit to identify all existing barriers to the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in the delivery of social and community services by the Department, including but not limited to regulations, rules, orders, procure-ment, and other internal policies and practices, and outreach activities that unlawfully discriminate against, or otherwise discourage or disadvantage the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal programs;

(b) coordinate a comprehensive departmental effort to incorporate faith-based and other community organizations in Department programs and initiatives to the greatest extent possible;

(c) propose initiatives to remove barriers identified pursuant to section 3(a) of this order, including but not limited to reform of regulations, procurement, and other internal policies and practices, and outreach activities;

(d) propose the development of innovative pilot and demonstration programs to increase the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal as well as State and local initiatives; and

(e) develop and coordinate Departmental outreach efforts to disseminate information more effectively to faith-based and other community organizations with respect to programming changes, contracting opportunities, and other agency initiatives, including but not limited to Web and Internet resources.

Is there anything the Department of Homeland Security isn't responsible for?

Off to email questions to Senators and Representatives.

Not that they'll answer.

This and That

From Common Dreams is an editorial by Bill Moyers entitled Saving Democracy, which I think is a must read.

Our witness for this is the Christian pastor who served as the titular president of the U.S. Family Network, the Reverend Christopher Geeslin. He told The Washington Post that the founder of the organization, the former DeLay aide, told him that a million dollars was passed through from sources in Russia who wanted DeLay’s support for legislation enabling the International Monetary fund to bail out the faltering Russian economy without demanding the country raise taxes on its energy industry. As Molly Ivins pointed out in a recent column, right on cue DeLay found his way onto Fox News Sunday to argue the Russian position. That same titular head of the U.S. Family Network, the Christian pastor, said DeLay’s former chief of staff also told him, “This is the way things work in Washington.”

The essay is quite long, but it's worth reading.

~ ~ ~


WorldNetDaily:

Democrat for Senate: Kill practicing 'gays'; Candidate says incumbent Republican not advocating biblical values enough.

"Just like we have laws against murder, we have laws against stealing, we have laws against taking drugs – we should have laws against immoral conduct," Keiser told WTOL-TV in Toledo.

Keiser, 61, says he's running as a Democrat because that's how he was registered the last time he voted.

The trucker, who hails from Fremont, Ohio, says there needs to be more adherence to biblical values in government, business and education – something he claims DeWine is not promoting.

"I believe that the United States has been moved in a Godless direction by the courts," he told the Sandusky Register. "To get good men on the court, we need good senators."

Some of Keiser's other positions include defense of the Second Amendment, securing U.S. borders, lower taxes to stimulate the economy, support of Israel and prayer in public schools.

Keiser told the Register the United States should make conversion to Christianity part of the war on terror to teach Muslims the error of their choice in religion.

The candidate also decries evolution, saying it is contrary to the Declaration of Independence.

"The teaching of evolution works against the liberties we have in the United States," he told the paper. If a person believe in evolution, he or she "has no rights," he's quoted saying.

He also opposes the United Nations, abortion on demand and thinks so-called global warming is a false concern.

~ ~ ~

An Imam in America: A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds

"America transformed me from a person of rigidity to flexibility," said Mr. Shata, speaking through an Arabic translator. "I went from a country where a sheik would speak and the people listened to one where the sheik talks and the people talk back."

~ ~ ~

Open Source Theology

Wiki's take on the Emergent Church

Religion and Ethics - Part I

~ ~ ~

Faith isn't about hatred, or separating oneself from others. Faith is acceptance and tolerance; it's joy, not fear; it's the heart, not the mind; it's belief not dogma.

That's my opinion. Everyone has their own. I don't ask anyone to believe what I believe, but I ask that they live by the rules of the community we all share - all the rules, not just the one's they prefer. Those rules are crafted, created, by the majority, not a small group of individuals who shout louder or longer or have more money than the rest do, to force their beliefs on others.

It just takes some people longer than others I guess.

Retired and "anonymous" military sources are finally admitting Iraq is in a Civil War. I'm no genius, but I figured that one out a some time ago. I think it started with Fallujah, in 2004.

There are some who are now say a variation on: now that it's a civil war we should leave.

I'm all for the United States, the United Kingdom, and other allies, to leave Iraq. We should have never gone there in the first place. However, we've created this nightmare. Is it right for us to leave now?

I don't think so. And yet, our presence in Iraq only makes the situation worse.

I think Iraq, and the entire Middle East, might be better served if the United Nations took over, in cooperation with a "Pan-Arab" group, to try and end the civil war and help the Iraqi people build a lasting government.

Update on Ave Maria

Mr. Monahan has clarifed the story:


Pizza Magnate Modifies Plans for Fla. Town

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 3, 2006

Filed at 9:22 a.m. ET

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The founder of Domino's Pizza backtracked Friday from earlier comments that he'd like to establish a new town in Florida governed by strict Roman Catholic principles, denying access to birth control and pornography.

Thomas S. Monaghan has pledged $250 million to establish Ave Maria, a town 25 miles east of Naples built around a the first new Catholic university in the United States in four decades. Both the town and the university, founded by Monaghan, are set to open next year.

''There's a lot of misconceptions about this. I don't really have a vision for the town. I have a vision for the university,'' Monaghan said Friday on ABC's ''Good Morning America.''

Last year he told a a Catholic men's group in Boston that pornographic magazines won't be sold in town, pharmacies won't carry condoms or birth control pills, and cable television will carry no X-rated channels. Monaghan said Friday those comments were ''out of place.''

''The town is open to anybody,'' Monaghan said. ''The university -- it's a different story. It will be primarily Catholic.''

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida promised lawsuits if the proposals were to become law. Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said he saw nothing that violated state law in Monaghan's proposals.

''We do not discriminate against anyone,'' said Paul Marinelli, CEO of Barron Collier, an agricultural and real estate firm that is developing the town in partnership with Monaghan.

Marinelli said it will be requested that stores not sell contraceptives, but the sale of birth control won't be restricted. He said the town would not bar access to any cable television program, but the town will not have adult bookstores or topless clubs.

''We're not trying to create a city with walls around it that isolates from the world,'' Marinelli said.

The community will be set on 5,000 acres with a massive church and a 65-foot tall crucifix at the center of town.

Comments later when I have more time.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace

I own Domino's stock.

Owned.

I'm selling it today.

From the Boston Channel: Domino's Pizza Boss Plans Catholic-Only Town

NAPLES, Fla. -- The founder of the Domino's Pizza chain is pouring millions of dollars into a new town in Southwest Florida that will be governed by Roman Catholic principles.

Thomas Monaghan's project is called "Ave Maria." It's a place where contraceptives won't be sold in stores, and where the cable system won't carry X-rated programming. It's being built around the new Ave Maria University, the first Catholic university in decades.

Civil liberties groups are planning legal challenges if the restrictions go forward.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said communities have a right to provide a wholesome environment, adding that it will be up to the courts to decide what restrictions are permissible.

From 7online ABC News: Domino's pizza founder wants to create porn-free town

"I believe all of history is just one big battle between good and evil. I don't want to be on the sidelines," Monaghan said in a recent Newsweek interview.

However, Simon points to a 1946 Supreme Court opinion that "ownership does not always mean absolute dominion."

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said it will be up to the courts to decide the legalities of the plan.

"The community has the right to provide a wholesome environment," Crist said Tuesday. "If someone disagrees, they have the right to go to court and present facts before a judge."

A telephone message left for Collier County officials was not immediately returned.

Gov. Jeb Bush, at the university's recent groundbreaking, lauded the development as a new kind of town, where faith and freedom will merge to create a community of like-minded citizens. Bush, a convert to Catholicism, did not speak specifically to the proposed restrictions.

"While the governor does not personally believe in abortion or pornography, the town, and any restrictions they may place on businesses choosing to locate there, must comply with the laws and constitution of the state and federal governments," Russell Schweiss, a spokesman for the governor, said Tuesday.

"This is country club Christianity," said Frances Kissling, president of the liberal Washington, D.C.-based Catholics for a Free Choice, which opposes the church's bans on abortion and birth control.

She likened the town's concept to Islamic fundamentalism and teaching intolerance.

"This is un-American," Kissling said. "I don't think in a democratic society you can have a legally organized township that will seek to have any kind of public service whatsoever and try to restrict the constitutional rights of citizens."

Same story, originally published by the Associated Press, just expanded.

Insane and illegal. Wanna bet it happens anyway?

~ ~ ~

Edited to add:

Anyone with enough bucks can do just about anything they please in this country. Set up a religious community? Sure, go for it. Ban alcohol? Go for it. Drugs? Cigarettes? Sex? in your new community? Yup, you can ban those too. It still isn't right, but if you can gather together enough like-minded people, you can make it work. To state you will not allow abortions to be had in their community is in contravention of Florida's laws as I undertand it, making their proposal illegal if they go through with it.

What's next, banning the treatment of people with AIDS? What about other sexually transmitted diseases? Act of God for your sins, sorry, we will not assist? Will people be allowed to pull the plug on brain-dead family members, or will that be illegal too? What about homosexual people - Not In Our Backyard? Protestants? Jews? Don't show up, we're Catholics here. Who's gonna support all the kids born because contraception is illegal, Mr. Monaghan?

We've grown up from the days of religious intoleration that started this country, right? Didn't we? Puritan thought still shapes the mindset of New England, I know, but we've grown beyond it for the most part, right? This crazy scheme of Mr. Monaghan's is setting back the calendar to darker times. He's got enough money to make his dream a reality. There are enough right-wing whack-job ultra-traditional Catholics out there to follow him and make this dream of his a reality.

But what will it cost the rest of us?

I wonder why Mr. Monaghan's company sells pizza's with meat toppings during Lent. Let the heathens sin as long as he can make a profit? I wonder.

For the record: I'm a lapsed Catholic.

They knew

If you haven't already seen it:

Tape: Bush, Chertoff Warned Before Katrina.

They knew.

They lied.

How many lies has it been, since November 2000?

I've lost track.

They lied.

Can we impeach him now?

This list is mostly for me

But feel free to browse.

How Joe Lieberman Tried to Kill Rock'n'Roll by Howie Klein. Review his Down With Tyranny blog as well.

Lamont Blog

My Left Nutmeg

Rell moves to eliminate estate tax
by: Matthew Gertz
February 26, 2006 at 09:58:49 EST

You know what would make Connecticut more competitive with Florida and Arizona? Moving the damn state 3,000 miles south. Elderly, wealthy retirees aren't leaving the state because they're afraid of the estate tax. They're leaving because it's fricking cold here! If Rell really wants to make a difference on this, instead of wasting time trying to push through an election year giveaway to her wealthy supporters, she should build a damn weather machine.

Connecticut Blog

Connecticut Local Politics

Shays Watch

Dump Joe

For the record, I can't stand Dodd either.

Over There

Please read an entry on DailyKos from djtyg Why we need to leave Iraq ASAP-from someone who is over there.

In other news, Shays endorses Lieberman.

Nearly fell over when I read that one. CT Republicans are finally admitting Lieberman is one of their own. That's been obvious to, well, me, for years now, but I never expected this. I wonder if Lieberman will formally switch teams now.

Not that it matters to anyone, including the candidate, I'm endorsing Ned Lamont. Unless the libertarians get their act together and field a real candidate for a change, Mr. Lamont has my vote right now.

But it's a long time 'til November.

Edited to add:

Norwalk Grand Opening
March 2, 2006

Dear Laura,

The campaign is taking shape and I would like to invite you to join me and some of my volunteers as we open our campaign office for the Fourth Congressional District. The grand opening will be Thursday evening at 7:00 PM.

The new office will be at 91 North Main Street at the corner of West Avenue, just off I-95 at Exit 15. There is free parking behind the building and two municipal parking lots a short walk away.

The office is on the second floor and we will be work on getting out a mailing on Thursday evening.

I hope all of you can make it and can help spread the word about our exciting campaign.

Sincerely,
Ned
Where & When

91 North Main Street
Norwalk, Connecticut

March 2, 2006
7:00PM-9:00PM



Ned Lamont for Senate
P.O. Box 536
Riverside, CT 06878-0536
(203) 622-7091
info@nedlamont.com
http://nedlamont.com

Events

Check back frequently for updates!

Ned Lamont addresses SE CT DFA
3/01/06
Groton Public Library, Large Mtg. Room,
Route 117
52 Newtown Rd.
Groton
6:45 PM

Fairfield Univeristy Young Dems
3/06/06
Fairfield University
8:00 PM

Guilford Democratic Town Committee
03/23/06
Guilford Community Center
On Route 77, near the green
7:30 PM

Wesleyan University
3/29/06
6:00 PM

Middlefield Democratic Town Committee
4/11/06
Middlefield Community Center 7:30 PM

Enfield Democratic Town Committee
4/12/06
Enfield Town Hall
8:00 PM

Let's see now...

The Government is willing to have a foreign nation take over control of US ports (yeah, yeah, I know, it's not that cut & dried), but wants to spend 2.2 billion to put up a wall between the US and Mexico, for security reasons?

Every single day brings on a whole new WTF from Washington.

Border Security or Boondoggle?

Reality

37 Million Poor Hidden in the Land of Plenty

By Paul Harris
The Observer UK

Sunday 19 February 2006

Americans have always believed that hard work will bring rewards, but vast numbers now can not meet their bills even with two or three jobs. More than one in ten citizens live below the poverty line, and the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening.

The flickering television in Candy Lumpkins's trailer blared out The Bold and the Beautiful. It was a fantasy daytime soap vision of American life with little relevance to the reality of this impoverished corner of Kentucky.

The Lumpkins live at the definition of the back of beyond, in a hollow at the top of a valley at the end of a long and muddy dirt road. It is strewn with litter. Packs of stray dogs prowl around, barking at strangers. There is no telephone and since their pump broke two weeks ago Candy has collected water from nearby springs. Oblivious to it all, her five-year-old daughter Amy runs barefoot on a wooden porch frozen by a midwinter chill.

It is a vision of deep and abiding poverty. Yet the Lumpkins are not alone in their plight. They are just the negative side of the American equation. America does have vast, wealthy suburbs, huge shopping malls and a busy middle class, but it also has vast numbers of poor, struggling to make it in a low-wage economy with minimal government help.

A shocking 37 million Americans live in poverty. That is 12.7 per cent of the population - the highest percentage in the developed world. They are found from the hills of Kentucky to Detroit's streets, from the Deep South of Louisiana to the heartland of Oklahoma. Each year since 2001 their number has grown.

Under President George W Bush an extra 5.4 million have slipped below the poverty line. Yet they are not a story of the unemployed or the destitute. Most have jobs. Many have two. Amos Lumpkins has work and his children go to school. But the economy, stripped of worker benefits like healthcare, is having trouble providing good wages.

Even families with two working parents are often one slice of bad luck - a medical bill or factory closure - away from disaster. The minimum wage of $5.15 (£2.95) an hour has not risen since 1997 and, adjusted for inflation, is at its lowest since 1956. The gap between the haves and the have-nots looms wider than ever. Faced with rising poverty rates, Bush's trillion-dollar federal budget recently raised massive amounts of defence spending for the war in Iraq and slashed billions from welfare programmes.

For a brief moment last year in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina brought America's poor into the spotlight. Poverty seemed on the government's agenda. That spotlight has now been turned off. 'I had hoped Katrina would have changed things more. It hasn't,' says Cynthia Duncan, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Oklahoma is in America's heartland. Tulsa looks like picture-book Middle America. Yet there is hunger here. When it comes to the most malnourished poor in America, Oklahoma is ahead of any other state. It should be impossible to go hungry here. But it is not. Just ask those gathered at a food handout last week. They are a cross section of society: black, white, young couples, pensioners and the middle-aged. A few are out of work or retired, everyone else has jobs.

They are people like Freda Lee, 33, who has two jobs, as a marketer and a cashier. She has come to the nondescript Loaves and Fishes building - flanked ironically by a Burger King and a McDonald's - to collect food for herself and three sons. 'America is meant to be free. What's free?' she laughs. 'All we can do is pay off the basics.'

Or they are people like Tammy Reinbold, 37. She works part-time and her husband works full-time. They have two children yet rely on the food handouts. 'The church is all we have to fall back on,' she says. She is right. When government help is being cut and wages are insufficient, churches often fill the gap. The needy gather to receive food boxes. They listen to a preacher for half an hour on the literal truth of the Bible. Then he asks them if they want to be born again. Three women put up their hands.

But Why Are Some Tulsans Hungry?

Many believe it is the changing face of the US economy. Tulsa has been devastated by job losses. Big-name firms like WorldCom, Williams Energy and CitGo have closed or moved, costing the city about 24,000 jobs. Now Wal-Mart embodies the new American job market: low wages, few benefits.

Well-paid work only goes to the university-educated. Many others who just complete high school face a bleak future. In Texas more than a third of students entering public high schools now drop out. These people are entering the fragile world of the working poor, where each day is a mere step away from tragedy. Some of those tragedies in Tulsa end up in the care of Steve Whitaker, a pastor who runs a homeless mission in the shadow of a freeway overpass.

Each day the homeless and the drug addicted gather here, looking for a bed for the night. Some also want a fresh chance. They are men like Mark Schloss whose disaster was being left by his first wife. The former Wal-Mart manager entered a world of drug addiction and alcoholism until he wound up with Whitaker. Now he is back on track, sporting a silver ring that says Faith, Hope, Love. 'Without this place I would be in prison or dead,' he says. But Whitaker equates saving lives with saving souls. Those entering the mission's rehabilitation programme are drilled in Bible studies and Christianity. At 6ft 5in and with a black belt in karate, Whitaker's Christianity is muscular both literally and figuratively. 'People need God in their lives,' he says.

These are mean streets. Tulsa is a city divided like the country. Inside a building run by Whitaker's staff in northern Tulsa a group of 'latch-key kids' are taking Bible classes after school while they wait for parents to pick them up. One of them is Taylor Finley, aged nine. Wearing a T-shirt with an American flag on the front, she dreams of travel. 'I want to have fun in a new place, a new country,' she says. Taylor wants to see the world outside Oklahoma. But at the moment she cannot even see her own neighbourhood. The centre in which she waits for mom was built without windows on its ground floor. It was the only way to keep out bullets from the gangs outside.

During the 2004 election the only politician to address poverty directly was John Edwards, whose campaign theme was 'Two Americas'. He was derided by Republicans for doing down the country and - after John Kerry picked him as his Democratic running mate - the rhetoric softened in the heat of the campaign.

But, in fact, Edwards was right. While 45.8 million Americans lack any health insurance, the top 20 per cent of earners take over half the national income. At the same time the bottom 20 per cent took home just 3.4 per cent. Whitaker put the figures into simple English. 'The poor have got poorer and the rich have got richer,' he said.

Dealing with poverty is not a viable political issue in America. It jars with a cultural sense that the poor bring things upon themselves and that every American is born with the same chances in life. It also runs counter to the strong anti-government current in modern American politics. Yet the problem will not disappear. 'There is a real sense of impending crisis, but political leaders have little motivation to address this growing divide,' Cynthia Duncan says.

There is little doubt which side of America's divide the hills of east Kentucky fall on. Driving through the wooded Appalachian valleys is a lesson in poverty. The mountains have never been rich. Times now are as tough as they have ever been. Trailer homes are the norm. Every so often a lofty mansion looms into view, a sign of prosperity linked to the coal mines or the logging firms that are the only industries in the region. Everyone else lives on the margins, grabbing work where they can. The biggest cash crop is illicitly grown marijuana.

Save The Children works here. Though the charity is usually associated with earthquakes in Pakistan or famine in Africa, it runs an extensive programme in east Kentucky. It includes a novel scheme enlisting teams of 'foster grandparents' to tackle the shocking child illiteracy rates and thus eventually hit poverty itself.

The problem is acute. At Jone's Fork school, a team of indomitable grannies arrive each day to read with the children. The scheme has two benefits: it helps the children struggle out of poverty and pays the pensioners a small wage. 'This has been a lifesaver for me and I feel as if the children would just fall through the cracks without us,' says Erma Owens. It has offered dramatic help to some. One group of children are doing so well in the scheme that their teacher, Loretta Shepherd, has postponed retirement in order to stand by them. 'It renewed me to have these kids,' she said.

Certainly Renae Sturgill sees the changes in her children. She too lives in deep poverty. Though she attends college and her husband has a job, the Sturgill trailer sits amid a clutter of abandoned cars. Money is scarce. But now her kids are in the reading scheme and she has seen how they have changed. Especially eight-year-old Zach. He's hard to control at times, but he has come to love school. 'Zach likes reading now. I know it's going to be real important for him,' Renae says. Zach is shy and won't speak much about his achievements. But Genny Waddell, who co-ordinates family welfare at Jone's Fork, is immensely proud. 'Now Zach reads because he wants to. He really fought to get where he is,' she says.

In America, to be poor is a stigma. In a country which celebrates individuality and the goal of giving everyone an equal opportunity to make it big, those in poverty are often blamed for their own situation. Experience on the ground does little to bear that out. When people are working two jobs at a time and still failing to earn enough to feed their families, it seems impossible to call them lazy or selfish. There seems to be a failure in the system, not the poor themselves.

It is an impression backed up by many of those mired in poverty in Oklahoma and Kentucky. Few asked for handouts. Many asked for decent wages. 'It is unfair. I am working all the time and so what have I done wrong?' says Freda Lee. But the economy does not seem to be allowing people to make a decent living. It condemns the poor to stay put, fighting against seemingly impossible odds or to pull up sticks and try somewhere else.

In Tulsa, Tammy Reinbold and her family are moving to Texas as soon as they save the money for enough petrol. It could take several months. 'I've been in Tulsa 12 years and I just gotta try somewhere else,' she says.

Savethechildren.org

From Tom Joad to Roseanne

In a country that prides itself on a culture of rugged individualism, hard work and self-sufficiency, it is no surprise that poverty and the poor do not have a central place in America's cultural psyche.

But in art, films and books American poverty has sometimes been portrayed with searing honesty. John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, which was made into a John Ford movie, is the most famous example. It was an unflinching account of the travails of a poor Oklahoma family forced to flee the Dust Bowl during the 1930s Depression. Its portrait of Tom Joad and his family's life on the road as they sought work was a nod to wider issues of social justice in America.

Another ground-breaking work of that time was John Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a non-fiction book about time spent among poor white farmers in the Deep South. It practically disappeared upon its first publication in 1940 but in the Sixties was hailed as a masterpiece. In mainstream American culture, poverty often lurks in the background. Or it is portrayed - as in Sergio Leone's crime epic Once Upon A Time In America - as the basis for a tale of rags to riches.

One notable, yet often overlooked, exception was the great success of the sitcom Roseanne. The show depicted the realities of working-class Middle American life with a grit and humour that is a world away from the usual sitcom settings in a sunlit suburbia, most often in New York or California. The biggest sitcoms of the past decade - Friends, Frasier or Will and Grace - all deal with aspirational middle-class foibles that have little relevance to America's millions of working poor.

An America Divided

* There are 37 million Americans living below the poverty line. That figure has increased by five million since President George W. Bush came to power.

* The United States has 269 billionaires, the highest number in the world.

* Almost a quarter of all black Americans live below the poverty line; 22 per cent of Hispanics fall below it. But for whites the figure is just 8.6 per cent.

* There are 46 million Americans without health insurance.

* There are 82,000 homeless people in Los Angeles alone.

* In 2004 the poorest community in America was Pine Ridge Indian reservation. Unemployment is over 80 per cent, 69 per cent of people live in poverty and male life expectancy is 57 years. In the Western hemisphere only Haiti has a lower number.

* The richest town in America is Rancho Santa Fe in California. Average incomes are more than $100,000 a year; the average house price is $1.7m.

~ ~ ~

See Charity Navigator to check out resources available in your own area.


America's Second Harvest
Catholic Charities
City Harvest
Connecticut Food Bank
Foodshare
Hunger Site
Mazon
Philabundance
Share Our Strength
World Hunger

Truth or Dare

From Gawker

“It was a meant to be a quick stunt to show the frailties of our celebrity-obsessed culture,” said Cauty, adding, “there are too many people who are famous despite their lack of talent, usefulness and basic intelligence. We wanted to do something that held a mirror up to that.”

“We feel that our culture has become an enormous soap opera. We don’t care what a person thinks, or creates, or contributes. We just care about what they do in their normal lives. Especially when it’s something they shouldn’t be doing.”

Whether it's real or not, I don't care. It's funny and points out the two ton elephant in our collective living room: we are a celebrity-obsessed culture with the attention span of gnats and less ability than most five year olds to tell the difference between fact and fiction - or good from bad.

Edited to add:

Circles within cirlces: Pete Doherty by bol at E2.

:)

Should have read HateQuest 2006 more closely.

It's Friday, it's raining and I have a rant-on

But first ~ spotted this on djinnj's LJ earlier this morning:

lemcclatchie's Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 9
Average number of words per sentence:	16.67
Average number of syllables per word:	1.56
Total words in sample:	4701
Analyze your journal! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern

hm is right.

Onward to rantsville...

Yesterday Miss Manners left the following comment:

No businessmen had to be at work.

Not quite, I started delivering at noon and finished at half past midnight...39 deliveries in that snow, including a lot in the worst of it.

Oh, and the wonderful denzins of Willimantic Connecticut tipped me a grand total of $63 dollars (for those playing the home game that's an average of $1.16 each for risking life and limb to bring them pizza).

This brings up one of my personal pet peeves. I want to say up front I have never been a waitress or delivery person, so I'm not whining about my own personal experience.

People who don't tip are selfish assholes.

Wait, wait...

judge not lest ye be judged...

Ok

People who don't tip are morons.

Better?

Guess not.

A couple of years ago my sister created a Ya Ya group and invited me to join. I'm not big on joining things, so I held off for a while. Her group was to meet once a month at a restaurant for dinner, and maybe everyone would go out to a club or movie afterwards. Each month one of the sistas picks a restaurant and everyone meets up there for (hopefully) good food and conversation. It's a mixed group of woman, both ethnically and economically, and not everyone makes it each month. Everyone tries to keep in mind the budget constraints some people have. Gret would talk about her little group from time to time and ask if I’d go to the next “Ya-Ya”. I eventually started going and, though I complain about having to go from time to time, I usually enjoy it.

But from the get-go I had to get one thing across to the ladies: 20% tip for the waiter/waitress, unless the service was incredibly bad, then 10%, with a complaint to the management. I didn't care if I had to pay the entire tip myself, someone serves me, they get tipped. It isn't the waitstaff's fault if the food is bad - complain to the manager or chef, but don't stiff your waiter. The ladies were surprised, but they agreed to the new rule I imposed upon the group. During the two years I’ve been a “Ya-Ya”, 24 meals in restaurants or diners, we’ve only had to tip the waiter 10% once. I complained to the manager and gave her the tip for the waiter. She looked at me like I had grown a new head: “You’re still going to give him a tip?” she asked. I explained my philosophy on tipping to her. The service, poor as it was, was still provided so, yes, he got a tip. I asked her to explain it to him. We were all so annoyed with this clown that none of us wanted to talk to him directly. I hope his manager gave him his tip and taught him a lesson on customer service.

Or, fired his useless ass. Either works for me.

Another way to look at this:

You are invited to someone's home for dinner for the first time. What did your Mama or Grandma teach you to do? Bring something - flowers, candy, wine - it doesn't have to be elaborate, just a little something to say thank you before you've even been served. You don't know if this will be the best meal of your life or if you'll be heading to the emergency room to have your stomach pumped. But, before you've crossed the threshold of the person's home, you've arrived with a tip.

Let’s say you go to a really nice restaurant for dinner. The maitre d' is friendly, gets you a table, and gives you a menu. The bus-boy gets you your water. The waiter arrives, sees if you're ready, and takes the drink order. Comes back with the drinks, and takes your order. Delivers bread, salad, checks on how you're doing, eventually arriving with dinner. Which sucks. It’s not fit for feeding rats. Over-salty or under-cooked... whatever, it's horrible. You complain to the waiter, who does what he can to fix the problem, and can't. You still have to pay for what you've ordered - why stiff the waiter? It’s the chef who should get stiffed. It is not the waiter’s fault. The waiter in this scenario probably has to share his tip with the maitre d’ and bus-boy. He did what he could to help you, lived up to his end of the unspoken, unwritten, contract, so why should any of the people not in direct control of what you received, suffer?

Let’s say it's Friday night, around 7pm. You get home from work and you're bushed. Hellish week and you've never been so glad it's a Friday. Your roommate (spouse, lover, whatever) is in the same shape you're in. You wearily look at each other and someone says: "wanna order a pizza?" "yeah, sure." So you call the pizza place and get put on hold several times. It's Friday night; you're told a 45 minute delivery time. You heave a heavy, beleaguered sigh and say ok. You've agreed - 45 minutes. You crash in front of the couch or computer for a while and your roomie says: “hey, where's the pizza?” You realize it's been more than an hour since you placed the order so you call to find out what's up. After being put on hold four times, you're finally told “it's on it's way.” You and your roomie are pissed. Delivery guy arrives with your $15 pizza order. You:

A) Say thank you and give him $20 with a smile and say “keep the change”?
B) Snarl “Where the fuck have you been?!”, grab the box and thrust $15 at him?
C) Silently take the pizza box, saying nothing, and give him the $15?
D) Complain, without heat, about the delay, and give him $16 for the pizza?

Me? Option A. This guy, usually a college kid, has zero control over everything involved in getting him to the point where he can do his job. He doesn't take the orders, he doesn't make the pizza. His job is to get the pizza from the pizza place to your front door. Period. Did he do so? Yup. Is it his fault it's a half an hour later than you anticipated? More than likely not. The delivery people, I think, get minimum wages, and maybe a gas allowance; ask Miss Manners, he does this for a living. Why should they be punished for something they can’t control, especially when they’ve done their job?

Don’t be an ass, um, moron… um… rude. It’s simple: someone does something for you, you say thank you and give something in return.

How to tip a Waiter
How to tip a Bartender
How to tip properly
How to tip in North America
How to tip in a foreign country

Double-check the tipping protocol at South Pacific and Asian hotels. Many prohibit tipping to prevent staff from hustling guests for money.

You can get around this problem by giving the tips directly to the concierge or manager and telling them how good (or bad) the service was.

Lastly... what kinda of freakin' edjit orders delivery in a blizzard? I can understand this, sorta, in a major city. It's easier to get around a major city by foot or bike, even in a storm. But northern CT? Doesn't anyone have an ounce of common sense? Good lord. Why the hell were the grocery stores packed to the gills on Friday night and all day Saturday?

Play time

Choosy CSI You scored 70% recognition!

My guess is that you watch one or two of the CSI shows and while you know your characters, you don't know the faces for all three shows that well. But at least you are a fan, so that counts for something. If you had fun, please don't forget to rate my test. Thanks!

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 26% on recognition

Link: The CSI character recognition Test written by thinkandcome on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I only watch the Vegas show, so I'm surprised I could identify anyone in the other two shows.

What matters

Hyping The Storm

It seemed, after all, so American to get worked up over a snow storm. We are the culture of crisis, the culture of the overdone. We overeat, overcoif, overspend, and overindulge. Why wouldn't we overdramatize, too? This was a Sunday. No businessmen had to be at work. No kids missed their morning classes. Grocery stores remained open and Thai delivery—at least here in Astoria—remained operable. Really, it was the perfect day to curl up with a mug of hot chocolate and do nothing.

I've gotten used to laughing at the Weather Channel when it goes into STORM ALERT mode. EyeWitness News out of Hartford or New Haven or where ever it is, announces the names of the winter storms. With a straight face, no less. The storm we had on Sunday started with a C; guys name... See how much it matters? When I came across the quote above I thought it was a perfect summation for Modern American Society. We get all worked up over shit that doesn't matter.

We need to prioritize our lives.

Britney whatsherface drives her SUV with her spawn in her lap. Not important.

Oscar, Emmy, and all the other assorted "awards" shows - not important.

Olympics? Oy vey. Well, to the people who have spent their entire lives getting there, it matters. Otherwise, who cares?

The President of a country lies to begin an invasion of another country - it matters.

The President of a country flouts it's rule of law, after aserting, promising, twice to uphold and defend said law - it matters.

The President of a country wrecks the economy of a country, yet benefits companies of friends and companions - it matters.

The President of a country hires friends and money-raisers to staff important positions in his government, when they have zero qualifications to hold those positions - it matters.

Honor. Integrity. Truth.

They matter at all times, in all places.

Pay attention to what matters. Everything else will fall into place.

It's been a busy month

Swiss Diplomacy

For some reason the idea of the VEEP and the Ambassador "keepin' company" just cracks me up.

But then I have a sick, twisted, sense of humor.

The reason for my question yesterday was to 1) make people think 2) try to find the truth.

This started with a rather hysterical conversation amoungst several friends a couple of weeks ago. One side was: "The US has destroyed the country! There's no food, power, medicine...." the other was "The US has done more for Iraq than Saddam ever did! Without us they wouldn't have food, water, medicine, schools..."

I realized, listening to this "debate" that 1) I didn't know what was really going on in Iraq and 2) neither did the people having this debate.

I'm pretty sure anyone reading this knows I loathe this administration. I might joke about them bbq'ing babies and ripping the fur off kittens, but, I'm fairly certain we haven't destroyed Iraq and I was fairly certain we haven't done much to help it either.

So I started looking for personal blogs a few days ago. My point yesterday was to get others to think about these questions and go looking too.

Here's some of what I found:

The Woman I was

My Green Zone

Raed In The Middle

So if there was a question whether this war and occupation was worth the cost paid by Iraqis and U.S. people, I would say: “definitely not”. The right change should have come from the inside, and the right type of democracy should have emerged from a long-term grassroots movement growing within Iraq.

The foreign occupation turned the dream of having an Iraq without Saddam to a darker nightmare, a nightmare where Iraqis lost even the smallest benefits they used to have before the occupation while the political oppression stayed the same if not worse. The biggest irony in this nightmare is when the “liberators” compare themselves to the former dictator to market their “new” Iraq. “Saddam killed 300,000 but we just killed a 100,000 to make you vote”, this is the how the logic of the mainstream pro-war activists and media sounds like. The same people who used Saddam’s crimes to justify the war on Iraq are committing the very same crimes against Iraqis.

A Star From Mosul

Iraqi Letters

Iraqi In America

There aren't many entertainment places in Baghdad, except for the clubs (Al-Alwiya and Al-Sayd), restaurants or the wedding parties. But there was social life and family visits. These have decreased so much now as the safest place is to stay home...

# It's bad. All that we got is 8 hours per day. You know? Sometimes all I wish for is to switch on the light early morning so I can wear my makeup in sufficient light or have hot bread in the oven for breakfast. But these are rare days when I wake up and there is electricity.

People here don't believe that the American who brought all these tanks by airplanes can't bring the necessary machines to fix the electricity back. It's not terrorists or insurgents who slow down the rehabilitation but the will. They just don't care or don't want us to have a normal life. This is what I started to believe lately.

It's not an impossible mission .We have oil and money, and America have the technology so why can't we have what the poorest country in the world have?

I do believe if someone decides to do his job properly, nobody can stop him.

What is Truth

Iraqi Bloggers Central

24 Steps to Liberty

A Citizen of Mosul

I have questions

If you know, and have a source for your information, please post it.

Do the Iraqi people have electricity, 24x7?
Are all hospitals open? Do they have all the medicine and physicians and nurses they need?
Is there rationing? Food, gas, water?
Is there decent drinking water?
Are the schools open for the same amount of time each day as they were before the War?
Is it safe for people to be on the streets during the day? At night?
Is the cost of food greater or less today than it was on January 27, 2003?

Isn't within the realm of possibility that the United States of America is responsible for Hammas winning the election?

Think about it.

Love Her!

Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."

Molly Ivins

Fact or Fiction

Osama bin Laden: Is It Him? Almost Certainly

It is as if both "sides" in this conflict live on illusions. Mssrs Bush and Blair keep telling us things in Iraq are getting better, when we all know that they are getting worse. Anarchy has seized that entire country. American bodies coming home to the United States? Just don't let the press take photographs of the coffins. Bombs in London? Nothing to do with Iraq, Blair haplessly told us last July.

The entire article raises excellent questions. Perhaps these are questions you should be asking your representatives in Washington.

See also: Bin Laden Threatens Attacks, Offers Truce


~ ~ ~


Ominous Sign: The President's Growing Disregard for the Law

Growing? Growing? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's editor must be Rip Van Winkle.


~ ~ ~

Italy has elections coming up this April. It has the fourth largest troop detail in Iraq right now. So it really isn't any surprise they've announced they will be withdrawing 1,000 of their 2,600 troops from Iraq in June and all Italian troops currently deployed in Iraq will be removed by the end of 2006.

It's an election year here in the United States. The US government has stated it will cut troop deployment in Iraq (they've cut 20,000 since Christmas) even more over the next few weeks.

Do you believe that?

I don't.

I know a few too many guardsmen who have just recently been notified that they are on stand-by. Again.

Synchronicity

I was surprised when I came across the article The Latest Bush Mega-Catastrophe... ~ it's similar to what I've been pondering for several years.

Is Bush the Anti-Christ?

The Latest Bush Mega-Catastrophe Is Now Pharmaceuticals

No matter what you think of George W. Bush, he is staking out his claim as a bona fide Horseman of the Apocalypse.

A First-Rate Country Run by Second-Rate People

Like Bush's America, Howard's Australia is not so much a democracy as a plutocracy, governed for and by the "big end of town," even though, as Mark Twain pointed out, this is "an entire continent peopled by the lower orders." He was not that far out; for my generation, like that of my parents, we were the poor who had got away. There was a sense that we had inherited something other than the British legacy. Long before the rest of the western world, Australians gained a minimum wage, an eight-hour working day, pensions, maternity allowance, child benefits and the vote for women. The secret ballot was invented here and became known as the "Australian ballot." The Australian Labour Party formed governments 25 years before any comparable social democracy in Europe. In the 1960s, with the exception of the Aboriginal people - who are always the exception - Australians could boast the most equitable spread of personal income in the world.

I should find some comfort in knowing the US is not alone. Afterall, misery loves company, right? But I don't. I feel just as bad for them as I do for us.

~ ~ ~

Plutocracy

Democracy

BTW: I love the message Wiki displays on it's Democracy page:

The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see discussion on the talk page.

That made my afternoon.

It is day 1,037

Osama Sighting

After numerous repetitions of "We don't know if Osama is still alive," Osama himself decided to send George Bush a letter in his own handwriting to let him know he was still in the game.

Bush opened the letter and it appeared to contain a single line of coded message:

370HSSV-0773H


Bush was baffled, so he e-mailed it to Condi Rice. Condi and her aides had no clue either, so they sent it to the FBI. No one could solve it at the FBI so it went to the CIA, then to the NSA. With no clue as to its meaning they eventually asked Britain's MI-6 for help. Within a minute MI-6 cabled the White House with this reply:

"Tell the President he's holding the message upside down."

From Today in Iraq. The joke is probably at least as old as the war, but I liked it.

See also: The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq at Truthdig.

Church and State must always be separate

A deeply disturbing article by Silja J.A. Talvi, which first appeared in In These Times, on the Character Training Institute and the International Association of Character Cities and the Christian Reconstructionist movement. This is a must read folks:

Cult of Character

See also:

Christian Reconstructionism

The Chalcedon Foundation

What is Christian Reconstructionism?

Moses' Law for Modern Government: The Intellectual and Sociological Origins of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement:

What would a "reconstructed" America look like, K.L. Gentry suggests the following elements of a theonomic approach to civic order:

1 It obligates government to maintain just monetary policies ... [thus prohibiting] fiat money, fractional reserve banking, and deficit spending.

2 It provides a moral basis for elective government officials. ...

3 It forbids undue, abusive taxation of the rich. ...

4 It calls for the abolishing of the prison system and the establishing a system of just restitution. ...

5 A theonomic approach also forbids the release, pardoning, and paroling of murderers by requiring their execution. ...

6 It forbids industrial pollution that destroys the value of property. ...

7 It punishes malicious, frivolous malpractice suits. ...

8 It forbids abortion rights. ... Abortion is not only a sin, but a crime, and, indeed, a capital crime.

I have nothing further to say about this at this time. Form your own opinions and feel free to comment.

No, not ever

I can't remember where I spotted this, so, to whomever I've gacked it from, thanks!

I'm calling this the No, Not Ever List.

Everybody, Tag! You're it.

Four jobs you've never had in your life:

Mortician
Police Officer
Stripper
Architect

Four movies you don't want to watch even once:

Any horror films
Any slasher/horror/terror, whatever, films
Matrix
Lord of the Rings

Four places you've never lived:

Russia
Israel
China
Australia

Four television shows you've never watched:

That witch show - Charmed?
House
24
Everybody Loves Raymond

Four places you've never been on vacation:

Russia
Israel
China
Australia

Four of your least favorite foods:

Liver
Asperagus
Brussels Sprouts
Fish

Four places you'd rather not be:

Hospice
Hospital
Rollercoaster
Los Angeles

Four albums (cds) you can live without:

Any Rap
Any Country & Western
Any Kids music
Any hard (acid) rock

I knew my sister was wrong!

I am 17% White Trash.

I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. . I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box.

Take the
White Trash Test
@ FualiDotCom

Reality Check

He's that thing that lurked under your bed when you were a kid. Under Fire, DeLay Steps Down. Hopefully Texas will see the error of their ways and not send this... person... back to Congress.

What Year Is This Anyway?

During the birth of the United States, John Adams - who also proclaimed that Britain's rule under which "The Law, and the Fact, are both to be decided by the same single Judge" was "directly repugnant to the Great Charter [Magna Carta] itself" - wrote of "a government of laws and not of men." During the Watergate crisis (to hop a couple of centuries) and just after he was fired by a President who wanted to shield his criminal acts by citing the doctrine of executive privilege, Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox warned, "Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people." Just 33 years later, the question again begs answer - is this to be a nation of laws or of men? Is this to be a nation that recognizes nearly 800 years of Anglo-American legal precedent in which even the nation's chief executive is subject to the rule of law, or one that allows that leader to assume the unchecked rights of a sovereign during the Middle Ages? Are we willing to accept the Bush administration's latest rollback campaign and reset the calendar to 1214?

A Disastrous Appointment

Rather than fight it out on Capitol Hill, Bush chose to circumvent the confirmation process. Yesterday, with Congress out of session, the president made more than a dozen recess appointments, granting positions to several controversial nominees. Julie L. Myers was made head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau at the Department of Homeland Security, despite criticism by Democrats and Republicans that she lacks experience. Tracy A. Henke became executive director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness; as the Washington Post reported, "She had been accused in her politically appointed post at the Justice Department of demanding that information about racial disparities in police treatment of blacks in traffic cases be deleted from a news release." Sauerbrey was installed at the State Department.

Our Presidential Era: Who Can Check the President?

Excellent article. Perhaps he'd like to explain why it took a year for his paper to publish the wiretapping information?

No court alone can do the job of protecting liberty from the exercise of executive power. For that most important of tasks, the people's elected representatives need to be actively involved. When we let them abdicate this role, the violations start to multiply, and we get the secret surveillance and the classified renditions and the unnamed torture that we all recognize as un-American. Our Constitution has changed enormously over the last two centuries, and it is sure to change much more in the future. Just how it changes, though, is up to us.

The Wiretappers That Couldn't Shoot Straight

Another excellent article, however, I'm still left wondering why it took the Old Grey Lady a year to get the story out.

The front line of defense against terrorism is supposed to be the three-year-old, $40-billion-a-year Homeland Security Department, but news of its ineptitude, cronyism and no-bid contracts has only grown since Katrina. The Washington Post reported that one Transportation Security Administration contract worth up to $463 million had gone to a brand-new company that (coincidentally, we're told) contributed $122,000 to a powerful Republican congressman, Harold Rogers of Kentucky. An independent audit by the department's own inspector general, largely unnoticed during Christmas week, found everything from FEMA to border control in some form of disarray.

Yet even as this damning report was released, the president forced cronies into top jobs in immigration enforcement and state and local preparedness with recess appointments that bypassed Congressional approval. Last week the department had the brilliance to leave Las Vegas off its 2006 list of 35 "high threat" urban areas - no doubt because Mohammed Atta was so well behaved there when plotting the 9/11 attacks.

The warrantless eavesdropping is more of the same incompetence. Like our physical abuse of detainees and our denial of their access to due process, this flouting of the law may yet do as much damage to fighting the war on terrorism as it does to civil liberties. As the First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus wrote in The Huffington Post, every defense lawyer representing a terrorism suspect charged in the four years since Mr. Bush's N.S.A. decree can challenge the legality of the prosecution's evidence. "The entire criminal process will be brought to a standstill," Mr. Garbus explains, as the government refuses to give the courts information on national security grounds, inviting the dismissal of entire cases, and judges "up and down the appellate ladder" issue conflicting rulings.

The media has a lot to answer for. They've been swallowing the Kool Aid for five years. To act surprised, outraged, indignant, is disingenuous. They are as much to blame for the condition this country is in as the Bush administration is. Because they haven't been providing us with the information we need to make informed decisions; because they're too busy bumping up ratings and raking in millions in advertising dollars.

The media is, however slowly, catching on. Turn up the heat. Email them articles you find in the alternative press and ask why they didn't cover it or under-reported it.

And while you're at it, ask the NYT why it took them a year to report the gross violation of the 4th amendment by the President of the United States.

executive-editor@nytimes.com
managing-editor@nytimes.com

Spread the Word

The Impeachment Project.

This is a test

Followed the link on Bobby's site to this test:

For the Frontal Lobe, I scored a 3, closer to non-judging than value-driving.

For the Upper Cerebral Cortex, I scored a 9, closer to the middle, balanced, than logic-driven.

For the Temporal Lobe, I scored a 3, closer to unfeeling (yeah, well, I've been accused of that) than emotion-driven.


Your score for the Frontal Lobe, the section of the brain that monitors social interactions and controls the expression of values, is perfectly normal. If the other two scores are not equal and one of the scores is a 1 or 2, then your scores on the BBT are not balanced. See the interpretation for that very low score. Balanced scores on the BBT indicate the potential for high-quality living.

Your score for the Upper Cerebral Cortex, the section of the brain that controls cognition and objective thinking, is potentially balanced. This is especially true if the scores for the other two major brain sections are also within the mid-range of 3 to 9. Equivalent scores on the Balanced Brain Test indicate the potential for high quality living. If you scored a 3 to 5 in the Upper Cerebral Cortex and were able to add a few more points to this thinking area, more thoughtful solutions to daily problems may make life a little easier. Try to solve your life problems more thoughtfully and less emotionally. You will never be 'perfect' and your life will always be difficult.

Your score for the Temporal Lobe, the section of the brain that controls deep emotions like fight-flight, is perfectly normal. If the other two scores are not equal and one of the scores is a 1 or 2, then your scores on the BBT are not balanced. See the interpretation for that very low score. Balanced scores on the BBT are an indication of potential high- quality living. See the Forward by Dr. Samuel Knapp in Friday's Laws.

Friday's Laws

I'm glad I didn't crow.

Bush could bypass new torture ban

Throw the baby out with the bath water?

A political lobby can be of a huge benefit to get un- or under-noticed issues brought to the forefront. But once they've done their job, they should quit. Get the hell outta Dodge. Instead, they find reasons to continue to exsist and feed off anyone who will provide them funds.

"Words will not ever be able to express my sorrow and my profound regret for all my actions and mistakes," Abramoff said. "I hope I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and those I've wronged or caused to suffer."

The $4 Billion Industry That Is America's Guilty Secret

Case Bringing New Scrutiny to a System and a Profession

"The whole Abramoff matter is atypical," agreed Ed Rogers of Barbour Griffith & Rogers. "It is not a lesson of how business is done in Washington."

Oh. Please.

What is atypical is that they got caught.

Lobbying Plan Was Central to GOP's Political Strategy

Analysis: Abramoff Plea May Rock GOP Boat

For years, many lawmakers have shrugged off lobbyists' gifts as campaign contributions, harmless wining, dining and socializing. "Now you've got someone admitting exactly what the motivation was and explaining all the avenues they used," said Kent Cooper, a former Federal Election Commission official.

"You're talking about standard operating procedure here in Washington suddenly being turned on its head and a key operator signing a plea agreement that he may have been involved in some kind of public corruption," said Cooper, who tracks lobbying and campaign contributions for the nonpartisan Political Money Line service.

Nothing will change Mr. Cooper. It didn't change in 1994, it didn't change when you worked for the FEC and it won't change this year.

Bush to Give Away Abramoff Donations

McClellan said Bush does not know Abramoff personally, although it's possible that the two met at holiday receptions. Abramoff attended three Hanukkah receptions at the White House, the spokesman said.

Uh huh. Well, the President might not know Mr. Abramoff personally, but I'd be willing to bet a whole lotta money he knows him quite well. You raise 100k + you're gonna get noticed.

Jack Abramoff's 'Cesspool of Corruption'

Some of the Wild West feel of this Beltway corruption was captured in Saturday's Washington Post expose, "The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail." It documents in chilling detail how, among other scams, Abramoff funneled a portion of the millions he had been skimming from Indian casino operators with a cool million from two Russian energy moguls through a shell organization called the U.S. Family Network - and from there into the coffers of politicians in a position to help his clients.

Ironically touting its commitment to "moral fitness" for the nation, the front group with the multi-million dollar budget had a single staff member housed in the backroom of a capital townhouse it owned and rented out to other organizations linked to Abramoff and Tom DeLay - the latter's staffers called it, ominously, DeLay's "safe house." This is apparently why DeLay felt the need to tout the U.S. Family Network in a 1999 fundraising letter as "a powerful nationwide organization dedicated to restoring our government to citizen control."

Grounds for Impeachment

George W. Bush as the New Richard M. Nixon: Both Wiretapped Illegally, and Impeachably

Bush's unauthorized surveillance, in particular, seems very likely to be ineffective. According to experts with whom I have spoken, Bush's approach is like hunting for the proverbial needle in the haystack. As sophisticated as NSA's data mining equipment may be, it cannot, for example, crack codes it does not recognize. So the terrorist communicating in code may escape detection, even if data mining does reach him.

For your review

or not.

Peace, Earth & Justice News

Affair of Illegal Interrogations of Pakistani Immigrants in Greece Embarrasses London and Athens

"These assertions are absolutely baseless," the Foreign Office (visibly embarrassed by this media tempest on account of the diplomatic cover offered to "6" agents deployed abroad) limited itself to declaring. To protect the identity of one of Her Majesty's spies named by the Greek journal, the British media were "muzzled" through the intervention of a government injunction prohibiting publication of his name. Moreover it was unofficially emphasized that the revelations in question are provided by a Greek investigative journal that often tends to the sensational.

Fear Destroys What Bin Laden Could Not

Had anyone said our president would invade a country and kill 30,000 of its people claiming a threat that never, in fact, existed, then admit he would have invaded even if he had known there was no threat - and expect America to be pleased by this - I would have thought our nation's sensibilities and honor had been eviscerated.

Exploiting Fear and Insecurity

To date, they still don't get it. Possibly because they have no reasoned arguments or because fear mongering has gotten them more visibility than they ever had before, they persist. Fear, it appears, is the only arrow they have in their quiver.

The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.

Censuring Bush Requires Citizens' Help

Bonifaz is right. But it is unlikely that the effort to censure Bush and Cheney, let alone impeach them, will get far without significant organizing around the country. After all, the House is controlled by allies of the president who have displayed no inclination to hold him to account. Indeed, only a few Democrats, such as Conyers, have taken seriously the constitutional issues raised by the administration's misdeeds.

I would much rather see the House moving towards articles of impeachment.

See also Censure Bush, Impeachment Buzz and The I-Word Is Gaining Ground, immediately below.

For anyone with understanding and respect for the Constitution, it is obvious that Bush has violated the Fourth Amendment and federal law. This is the definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors". Clinton lying about sex is nothing compared to this. It is timely and responsible to talk about impeachment. If the Republicans were loyal to the Constitution, they would be discussing impeachment. Bush has declared himself king in an undeclared war. We don't allow kings in this country. The Founding Fathers came here to avoid that.

If you are a diabetic

do not click.

ETA:

2006resolutions

In case you missed this last week

Senator Byrd: No President Is Above the Law
t r u t h o u t | Statement

Monday 19 December 2005

Americans have been stunned at the recent news of the abuses of power by an overzealous President. It has become apparent that this Administration has engaged in a consistent and unrelenting pattern of abuse against our Country's law-abiding citizens, and against our Constitution.

We have been stunned to hear reports about the Pentagon gathering information and creating databases to spy on ordinary Americans whose only sin is choosing to exercise their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. Those Americans who choose to question the Administration's flawed policy in Iraq are labeled by this Administration as "domestic terrorists."

We now know that the F.B.I.'s use of National Security Letters on American citizens has increased one hundred fold, requiring tens of thousands of individuals to turn over personal information and records. These letters are issued without prior judicial review, and provide no real means for an individual to challenge a permanent gag order.

Through news reports, we have been shocked to learn of the CIA's practice of rendition, and the so-called "black sites," secret locations in foreign countries where abuse and interrogation have been exported to escape the reach of U.S. laws protecting against human rights abuses.

We know that Vice President Dick Cheney has asked for exemptions for the CIA from the language contained in the McCain torture amendment banning cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment. Thank God his pleas have been rejected by this Congress.

Now comes the stomach-churning revelation that through an executive order, President Bush has circumvented both the Congress and the courts. He has usurped the Third Branch of government - the branch charged with protecting the civil liberties of our people - by directing the National Security Agency to intercept and eavesdrop on the phone conversations and e-mails of American citizens without a warrant, which is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. He has stiff-armed the People's Branch of government. He has rationalized the use of domestic, civilian surveillance with a flimsy claim that he has such authority because we are at war. The executive order, which has been acknowledged by the President, is an end-run around the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which makes it unlawful for any official to monitor the communications of an individual on American soil without the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

What is the President thinking? Congress has provided for the very situations which the President is blatantly exploiting. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, housed in the Department of Justice, reviews requests for warrants for domestic surveillance. The Court can review these requests expeditiously and in times of great emergency. In extreme cases, where time is of the essence and national security is at stake, surveillance can be conducted before the warrant is even applied for.

This secret court was established so that sensitive surveillance could be conducted, and information could be gathered without compromising the security of the investigation. The purpose of the FISA Court is to balance the government's role in fighting the war on terror with the Fourth Amendment rights afforded to each and every American.

The American public is given vague and empty assurances by the President that amount to little more than "trust me." But, we are a nation of laws and not of men. Where is the source of that authority he claims? I defy the Administration to show me where in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or the U.S. Constitution, they are allowed to steal into the lives of innocent America citizens and spy.

When asked yesterday what the source of this authority was, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had no answer. Secretary Rice seemed to insinuate that eavesdropping on Americans was acceptable because FISA was an outdated law, and could not address the needs of the government in combating the new war on terror. This is a patent falsehood. The USA Patriot Act expanded FISA significantly, equipping the government with the tools it needed to fight terrorism. Further amendments to FISA were granted under the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2002 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In fact, in its final report, the 9/11 Commission noted that the removal of the pre-9/11 "wall" between intelligence officials and law enforcement was significant in that it "opened up new opportunities for cooperative action."

The President claims that these powers are within his role as Commander in Chief. Make no mistake, the powers granted to the Commander in Chief are specifically those as head of the Armed Forces. These warrantless searches are conducted not against a foreign power, but against unsuspecting and unknowing American citizens. They are conducted against individuals living on American soil, not in Iraq or Afghanistan. There is nothing within the powers granted in the Commander in Chief clause that grants the President the ability to conduct clandestine surveillance of American civilians. We must not allow such groundless, foolish claims to stand.

The President claims a boundless authority through the resolution that authorized the war on those who perpetrated the September 11th attacks. But that resolution does not give the President unchecked power to spy on our own people. That resolution does not give the Administration the power to create covert prisons for secret prisoners. That resolution does not authorize the torture of prisoners to extract information from them. That resolution does not authorize running black-hole secret prisons in foreign countries to get around U.S. law. That resolution does not give the President the powers reserved only for kings and potentates.

I continue to be shocked and astounded by the breadth with which the Administration undermines the constitutional protections afforded to the people, and the arrogance with which it rebukes the powers held by the Legislative and Judicial Branches. The President has cast off federal law, enacted by Congress, often bearing his own signature, as mere formality. He has rebuffed the rule of law, and he has trivialized and trampled upon the prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed to Americans by the United States Constitution.

We are supposed to accept these dirty little secrets. We are told that it is irresponsible to draw attention to President Bush's gross abuse of power and Constitutional violations. But what is truly irresponsible is to neglect to uphold the rule of law. We listened to the President speak last night on the potential for democracy in Iraq. He claims to want to instill in the Iraqi people a tangible freedom and a working democracy, at the same time he violates our own U.S. laws and checks and balances? President Bush called the recent Iraqi election "a landmark day in the history of liberty." I dare say in this country we may have reached our own sort of landmark. Never have the promises and protections of Liberty seemed so illusory. Never have the freedoms we cherish seemed so imperiled.

These renegade assaults on the Constitution and our system of laws strike at the very core of our values, and foster a sense of mistrust and apprehension about the reach of government.

I am reminded of Thomas Payne's famous words, "These are the times that try men's souls."

These astounding revelations about the bending and contorting of the Constitution to justify a grasping, irresponsible Administration under the banner of "national security" are an outrage. Congress can no longer sit on the sidelines. It is time to ask hard questions of the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the CIA. The White House should not be allowed to exempt itself from answering the same questions simply because it might assert some kind of "executive privilege" in order to avoid further embarrassment.

The practice of domestic spying on citizens should halt immediately. Oversight hearings need to be conducted. Judicial action may be in order. We need to finally be given answers to our questions: where is the constitutional and statutory authority for spying on American citizens, what is the content of these classified legal opinions asserting there is a legality in this criminal usurpation of rights, who is responsible for this dangerous and unconstitutional policy, and how many American citizens' lives have been unknowingly affected?

Happy Happy, Joy Joy

Happy Yule
Happy Festivus
Happy HumanLight Day
Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah
Happy Boxing Day
Happy Kwanza

However you choose to name these days, Happy Whatever To You!

It doesn't matter what you call them. What matters is that you are with people you love, people who love you. If you can't be with loved ones, keep them, and the Light of this season, in your heart.

My Christmas Present to you, courtesy of the University of Virginia.

Is she cringing?

The Border Is a Common Ground between Us"

But the lure of cheap labor has led the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (including Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods and other corporate giants) to insert guest worker programs into almost every immigration reform proposal. Some argue this will benefit migrants, but a choice between becoming a bracero and dying in the desert is no choice at all. Instead, many immigrant organizations, like the Indigenous Front of Binational Organizations in Fresno, call for a general immigration amnesty instead.

In other news...

FBI Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show

One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a "Vegan Community Project." Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group's "semi-communistic ideology." A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Bush's Snoopgate

No, Bush was desperate to keep the Times from running this important story - which the paper had already inexplicably held for a year - because he knew that it would reveal him as a law-breaker. He insists he had "legal authority derived from the Constitution and congressional resolution authorizing force." But the Constitution explicitly requires the president to obey the law. And the post 9/11 congressional resolution authorizing "all necessary force" in fighting terrorism was made in clear reference to military intervention. It did not scrap the Constitution and allow the president to do whatever he pleased in any area in the name of fighting terrorism.

From the White House: Some Candor, but Not Enough

While the President's new candor is refreshing, it is neither complete nor is it sufficient. The original sin of this war was not just the failed intelligence on WMDs and the supposed 9/11 connections. It was also the failure to understand the consequences of the war, its costs and the commitments it would require. One thousand days ago, the White House entered Iraq, believing the war would be a "cake walk." Fantasy and ideology combined to create this mess, providing no security or services for the civilian population, dismantling the apparatus of the state and military, enabling cronyism and corruption, and all the rest.

One thousand days later, some candor and some admission of mistakes, but still no strategy and no clear sense of what will constitute real victory.

Because the US presence has become a part of the problem plaguing Iraq today, and because the legitimate government in Iraq still needs help, it is time for the US to leave. But to leave responsibly, there must be in place an internationally recognized support system that can assist the new government in making needed changes in its constitution, provide security, reconstruct its infrastructure and end the insurgency.

It Should Have Been Unforgettable

You might think that this administration, supposedly dedicated above all else to protecting the United States from terrorism in its newly formed Homeland Security State, would have devoted resources above all else to the task of implacably hunting down these particular terrorists, wherever they might be; that dead-ends met would have only led to redoubled efforts. That would have been, if not a "war" on terrorism, then at least a police action of note. Instead, with thousands of Americans and Iraqis now dead and an actual weapon of mass destruction still potentially loose in our land, the inability to focus all resources on real terrorists and bring them to justice seems but another cost of George Bush's "war on terror."

The saddest story is this: If tomorrow, George Bush, Dick Cheney and their cohorts were somehow tossed out on their ears - call it indictment, impeachment, or something else - what they, not Osama bin Laden or the anthrax terrorists will have cost us, in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will still be incalculable. Among the greatest costs will be the way administration officials used the 9/11 attacks (and buried the anthrax ones) in order to breach so many levees of our world.

What they have embedded in our lives since 9/11 - from Northcom to our newest pinheaded giant bureaucracy, the Homeland Security Department, from the Patriot Act to ever increasing domestic spying by the Pentagon and the National Security Agency among other organizations - will be with us long after they are gone. Just imagine a political change of fortunes in our country in which the Democrats take Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008. Then ask yourself a single question: What will the Democrats do with Guantánamo. Unfortunately, you already know the answer.

Now, let that pause button go and watch not just the Twin Towers but so much else in our world tumble down one more time.

Which shameful act is worse?

The NYT (finally) disclosing the information on the illegal wiretaps (after waiting a year; no, they don't kiss Rove-ass much) or the disclosure of the identity of CIA agent by a senior government official?

Invading a sovereign nation, without cause or provocation, or lying about the reasons for your invasion?

Waving the bloody flag of 9/11 every single day for more than four years or sending under-armoured, under-trained people to fight a war of conquest, I'm sorry, Freedom Fighters Delivering Democracy, started with those lies?

What's shameful, Mr. President, is what you've done to the United States of America.

The Constitution is not just a goddamned piece of paper!

If you had a shred of honor, you'd resign.

But, you don't.

You have no honor.

Which is why we're in the mess we are.

~ ~ ~

I know Los Angeles is a huge city, but I didn't realize it had it's own Senator. Same for Las Vegas. Does that mean we now have 102 Senators, and not 100? If so, someone alert www.thomas.gov, because I can only email 100 of them. I don't want to miss a single Senator in my futile effort to register my fury. Also, I'd hate for the Senator from Los Angeles or the Senator from Las Vegas to feel slighted.