tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52630402024-03-13T13:59:15.903-04:00Bush LeagueTracking hypocrisy and malfeasance in the corporate White HouseRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-4820125710069783722007-01-05T08:38:00.000-05:002007-01-05T09:12:30.766-05:00My new blog: Random CanyonWell, I find myself very dissatisfied with the blogging capabilities of iWeb, but I started a new blog anyway. I just did it here on Blogger. Time will tell what shape the new blog will take, but it has a name, and I guess that's a start. Come visit me at <a href="http://randomcanyon.blogspot.com">Random Canyon</a>.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1166294878892134122006-12-16T08:49:00.000-05:002006-12-31T09:42:08.296-05:00Bush is not the enemyWell, it's been nearly a year since I posted, and I may not post to this blog again. Have I lost the faith? Have I gone over to the dark side? Have I lost my Internet access, fallen into a black hole, or joined a monastery? Hardly. But I've been concerned for some time (read: years) about the personalization of the debate between right and left. I've seen progressives referred to from both the right and the left as "Bush haters." And we need to remind ourselves that while Bush is an enemy of democracy, tolerance, fair play, and everything progressives stand for, he is not <i>the</i> enemy. Nor was Tom Delay, nor is Dick Cheney. Evil men all, but in the big picture, just figureheads. Just personifications of the greater evil that has this country in its clutches. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1215-21.htm">This article</a> sums it up pretty well:<br /><blockquote><br />Blaming everything on a handful of people at the top, no matter how destructive and abusive they've been, misses a critical point. Systems tend to self-perpetuate. Remove one player and the next comes in to ensure business as usual.<br /><br />Remove Rumsfeld, a man who helped prop up Hussein in the 80's and skewed intelligence towards war, and who do you get? Robert Gates, a man who helped prop up Hussein in the 80's and skewed intelligence towards war.<br /><br />Replacing those in power won't help if the power structure itself doesn't change. And that means addressing how our own actions maintain this dysfunctional system.</blockquote><br />Bush is undeniably a bad guy, but we'll be rid of him in a couple of years at most (sooner, if the legislature <a href="http://impeachbushcoalition.blogspot.com/">does its job</a>). But we won't be rid of the things that got us into this mess in the first place. And I don't mean the <a href="http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/12/islamism_and_ch.html">Christianist right</a>, the <a href="http://www.corpwatch.org/">corporate greed</a>, or the <a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/politics/ivins012306.cfm">pandering Democrats</a>, although they all contributed their share. I'm referring to the apathy, ignorance and downright intellectual laziness of the American people. We need to change our country; we need to change our society; we need to change our culture. And to do that, we need to change ourselves. In the immortal words of Walt Kelly's Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."<br /><br />So although Bush is a nasty, self-serving, evil being who richly deserves to be impeached and then sent off to the Hague (or Nuremberg!) for his war crimes trial, I believe his part in the overall scheme of things is actually much smaller than we give him credit for when we focus our criticism on the individual. And while I've always tried to keep focus on the whole bunch of them, calling them the Bush League still gives the draft dodging frat-boy twerp way more than his due.<br /><br />So I'm not going to do that anymore.<br /><br />I may finally start a personal blog over at .Mac, and if so, I'll publish a link here. Such a thing would cover a variety of subjects near and dear to my heart, including computing in general and Mac computing in particular, music, the New York Yankees, and University of Louisville athletics (go Cards!) - as well as the occasional political rant. Meanwhile, I'm leaving this site here if only to host my political blogroll. I may even update the links from time to time. And you won't go wanting for reading matter: there are plenty of other people writing more and better stuff about the criminals who have taken over Washington than I could ever manage.<br /><br />[Edited to correct a factual error - I had misstated the time since I last posted.]Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1140047364909622702006-02-15T18:44:00.000-05:002006-02-15T18:50:23.883-05:00Cheney didn't say thisAs far as I know, there is no truth to the rumor that the following message was found on a certain Texas lawyer's answering machine:<br /><br />"Harry, this is Dick. I just wanted to call and thank you for your support of the administration over the years, and for your candor in explaining to me about the second thoughts you've had lately about supporting the brave new direction we're taking the country. I'm really sorry you feel that way, but I just wanted to let you know that I still consider you a friend. In fact, just to show you there are no hard feelings, I'd like to - I'm going to be down there next week and I thought you might like to go on a little quail hunt with me. Let me know if you're available, and we'll go bag us a few, OK? Talk to you soon."Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1139708502665114362006-02-11T16:29:00.000-05:002006-02-11T20:41:42.723-05:00Farming terrorists - the game Bush playsI confess that I am a player of games. I'll play virtually any game at the drop of a hat. I play pool and poker and pinball. I play board games, word games, card games, and video games. If I can't find people to play with, I'll play a computer opponent.<br /><br />One computer game I play entirely too much of involves running around a dungeon, earning points by killing virtually everything in sight. I know some people consider it pointless, even sick; but so far, it hasn't led me to commit mayhem in real life. To the contrary, I think it provides an outlet for aggression and negative emotions, allowing me to blow off steam in a nondestructive way. Occasionally, it also provides me with insight into real-life situations.<br /><br />One of the critters that you run into in this game is the giant white mouse. Giant white mice are easy targets, so you don't get a lot of points for killing just one. You have to kill them in large numbers to get any significant credit. However, they also reproduce very rapidly. So players often do something they call farming.<br /><br />The way it works is this: you find a giant white mouse in a room with only one exit, ideally a door leading to a narrow passage where mice won't have room to run around you. You do something to rile it up, then run to the exit and close the door. You wait outside the room while one mouse becomes two mice, then four, then eight... and soon you have a whole room full of giant white mice. You just open the door and stand in the doorway, inviting them to attack you and killing them as they come within reach.<br /><br />The secret of successful giant white mouse farming is to avoid killing the last mouse. When their numbers run low, you close the door and let them multiply undisturbed for awhile. Once the room is full of mice, you open the door and kill most of them again. But not all. Because if you kill them all, you have to go run around the dungeon and find something else to kill. And let's face it, it's a lot easier farming giant white mice than doing battle with trolls and ogres and dragons.<br /><br />This situation has many real-life parallels. The so-called health care industry in America is actually in the business of (and makes a tidy profit from) treating illness; it's geared towards corrective rather than preventive medicine. After all, without sick people to cure, how would the industry turn a profit? Likewise, the criminal justice system is all about exacting revenge on those who are judged to have offended society, rather than rehabilitating them - because the growing and profitable prison industry needs a constant supply of criminals to justify its existence. <br /><br />And then there's the "War on Terror." <br /><br />The Long War, to use the marketing term currently favored by Bush League mouthpieces, is what these people need in order to further their real aims. It's what they use to excuse their trampling of the Constitution, their abandonment of the environment, their ballooning budget deficit, and anything else they want to shove down our throats. They repeat the mantra at every opportunity. <i>We're a nation at war. Dissent is treason.</i> <br /><br />They need the war to justify their excesses. Without the war, we might question the GESTAPO Act (I refuse to call it patriotic when its purpose is Granting Every Surveillance Tactic the Autocratic President Orders). Without the war, we might challenge the use of torture. Without the war, we might even dare wonder aloud at the suppression of dissent. Without the war, we'd probably have thrown the scoundrels out already. <br /><br />They desperately need the war to convince us that we need them. <br /><br />So they need to cultivate enemies. And they know it. How else to explain a foreign policy that often seems to have as its central purpose the pissing off of most of the world? How else to explain practices that accomplish nothing but to drive Arabs and Palestinians - and increasingly, Muslims around the world - into the waiting arms of the terrorist groups we claim to be opposing?<br /><br />To return for a moment to the computer game: there is a danger in farming giant white mice. If somehow the explosively breeding critters escape confinement, they can take over the place - and then there's no getting them under control. The player's only recourse is to find a stairway and retreat to another level of the dungeon that hasn't been overrun with rodents. In the fantasy world of the game, you see, monsters don't follow you up or down stairs; once you've departed a level, everything on that level magically ceases to exist. <br /><br />Unfortunately, there are no magical staircases in real life. For us, there's no escaping the world we create. Once you've cultivated a world full of enemies - or poisoned the rivers, or melted the polar ice caps, or wrecked the economy, or abolished civil liberties - you have to live with the consequences. We Americans, and the whole world, will have to live a long time with the consequences of the Bush League's folly.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1139376613239845032006-02-07T23:46:00.000-05:002006-02-08T00:30:13.360-05:00Asking Gold and the War on FictionNow, I'm no huge fan of Arlen Specter, but I think he's on the right track <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/02/07/gop_senators_add_heat_on_spying/" target="_blank">here</a>: <br /><br /><blockquote>You think you're right, but there are a lot of people who think you're wrong. As a matter of public confidence, why not take it to the . . . court? What do you have to lose if you're right?</blockquote><br /><br />As far as I'm concerned, that's one of the Golden Questions of politics, and it's exactly what the public needs to hear asked. "If you're so sure, what are you afraid of?" It's a sensible solution to a common problem in politics -- spinsters claiming that there's no reason to investigate, they're certain of the outcome. (It's worth distinguishing this question from its twisted cousin, the accusation that "If you're so concerned about your privacy, you must have something to hide.") Anyway, I applaud the Republican of PA for asking this question, and I hope the public hears it. <br /><br />Arlen doesn't stop there, though -- he also wants to talk to Ashcroft. Why? Apparently John Ashcroft had concerns about the legality of this program. Hm. Maybe it's not as clear cut as AG AG says. <br /><br />So Senator Specter, keep grilling Gonzales. Though I do wish you'd ask yourself that same Golden Question about putting him under oath: if he's willing to do it, why not ask it of him? You lose nothing by putting him a little more firmly on the record.<br /><br /><br /><br />Speaking of the GOP spin machine (and "If you're so sure, what are you afraid of?"), did anybody notice Rumsfeld recently trying to have his war and win it, too? They say that the U. S. is winning the war on terror, but that the threat is greater than ever before. Their argument seems to be that the enemy is more determined and has better weapons. (Is that an admission that they didn't have the worst possible weapons when we started? I mean, I know they didn't, but that was supposedly a major reason we went, so I'd like to hear the clear admission on that point.)<br /><br />Anyway, if they were talking about fighting a particular group -- say the Martians -- and that the group was more dangerous now because they're more desperate, I might believe that. Them Martians, man, they can get mean when they're cornered. And they're fighting for their homeland, after all. So yeah, the most dangerous time might be when we've pounded on them for a while and are about to wipe them out. But we aren't fighting the Martians. We have nothing against them as a people; we claim to accept them as our own. The U. S. even claims to take genocide seriously, so we say we have no plans to completely eradicate them. It's a good thing, too, because soem of oru best friends are Martians, and if they thought we were out to get them all... well, it wouldn't be pretty. And I'd not be proud to be an American. <br /><br />But this war is -- supposedly -- on "<strong>terror</strong>"; and if the threat -- the reason to fear -- is greater, then <em>terror is winning</em>. That, to me, seems obvious from the definition of "terror". (Will this teach them not to declare war on nebulous, non-sentient enemies? Abstract, intangible nouns are hard to beat. Even the tangible ones are pretty hard to defeat if you don't define them rigidly. If only we had learned anything from the war on drugs, war on poverty, war on illiteracy, or war on Christmas. The nouns are winning those wars, too.)<br /><br />So if we're winning, which war are we winning? The war on a people? Or the war on our own emotions? Or maybe just the war on news coverage of the problems we have here at home...Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1137189129243325472006-01-13T16:43:00.000-05:002006-01-13T16:53:11.380-05:00Alito Ad Nauseum?If you're sick of the media coverage, but still want a better understanding of the outcome, or at least a cuttingly humorous but also cuttingly insightful commentary, I recommend <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~nonnihil" target="_blank">nonnihil's</a> take on the matter.<br /><br />If, on the other hand, you Just Can't Get Enough... well, I still recommend <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~nonnihil" target="_blank">nonnihil's</a> take.<br /><br />He's just good. <br /><br />As a footnote, it looks like the political machine is starting to get more serious about Bush Impeachment, and the MSM is still trying not to notice. but it's getting closer...Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1133901145650203922005-12-06T15:30:00.000-05:002005-12-06T18:17:15.910-05:00Laziness and CrazinessA pretty lazy post on my part, but this guy has done his homework, and I just think everybody should read <a href="http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2005/12/deeper-into-wilkesmzm-scandals-updated.html" target="_blank">this</a> fantastic article on the breadth and depth of corruption in DC.<br /><br />On a totally other note, in case you're confused about <a href="http://www.themoderntribune.com/full_text_us_torture_policy_memo_gonzalez_bush.htm" target="_blank">US torture policy</a>, <a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/327/000049180/" target="_blank">John Yoo</a> has <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/06/us.torture.poll.ap/" target="_blank">this</a> to say: <br /><br /><blockquote>"The Bush administration policy is against torture of any kind; it's prohibited by federal criminal law. ... The debate is whether you can use interrogation methods that are short of torture. Some who have been critical of the Bush administration have confused torture with cruel, inhumane treatment."</blockquote><br /><br />Apparently this lawyer, who wrote substantial portions of the PARANOIA Act, is implying that though torture is not acceptable, cruel, inhumane treatment is fine. I admit that this may be the quote making less sense out of context, so I <a href="mailto:yooj@law.berkeley.edu">invite Mr. Yoo</a> to clarify his meaning.Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1133623824875981782005-12-03T10:17:00.000-05:002005-12-03T10:31:22.696-05:00Shame On LamarOn November 18, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) lambasted Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA), a US Marine Corps veteran, for rethinking his support for the occupation of Iraq. Her remarks included this:<br /><blockquote>A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. </blockquote><br />Schmidt's comments were immediately condemned from both sides of the aisle, and Bubp later said Schmidt had misquoted him. <br /><br />The Democratic Party saw red, and decided it was time to call the GOP on their continuing policy of mounting <i>ad hominem</i> attacks on honored military veterans who dare criticize the Bush League's warmongering. They announced a program to erect billboards in the home districts of legislators who engage in this sordid tactic, starting with Schmidt. Thousands of people responded, contributing money specifically to support the program.<br /><br />The Democrats contracted with Lamar Outdoor Advertising to place two billboards near Schmidt's Portsmouth, OH headquarters, and due to the overwhelming response, were planning to post more of them elsewhere in her district; but Thursday, Lamar suddenly reversed course. <br /><br />"Unfortunately," says a letter I received from Democratic spokesman Tom McMahon, "at about 10 AM, we got two phone calls -- the first came from Lamar's Cincinnati office informing us that because of the content of the ad, they are refusing to continue to work with us. The second call came a few minutes later from Lamar's Huntington, West Virginia office, informing us that despite our signed contract, they were also rejecting our ad."<br /><br />Lamar supposedly rejected the billboards because they were "too negative."<br /><br />Funny, that. In Richmond, VA, there is a classic-rock radio station that has run a billboard for years emblazoned with the AC/DC song title "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" - and caricatures of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Guess who owns the billboard?<br /><br />So alluding to an infamous blowjob for years after the people involved have moved on is not too negative, but calling someone out for politically-motivated slander is. Go figure.<br /><br />The Democrats' lawyers wrote a <a href="http://a9.g.akamai.net/7/9/8082/v001/democratic1.download.akamai.com/8082/pdfs/20051201_lamar_letter.pdf" target="_blank">letter to Lamar</a> demanding that they honor their contract. In case you'd like to let Lamar know how you feel, their President and CEO is Kevin P. Reilly, Jr., <a href="mailto: kreilly@lamarhq.com">kreilly@lamarhq.com</a>, and their COO and President of the Outdoor Division is Sean Reilly, <a href="mailto: sreilly@lamarhq.com">sreilly@lamarhq.com</a>.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1132706663404480952005-11-22T18:47:00.000-05:002005-11-22T19:44:23.460-05:00Bothersome detailsIs it possible to win the war in Iraq <a href="http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,81013,00.html" target="_blank">on the ground</a>? I don't think so. U.S. Soldiers kill <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002638750_iraq22.html" target="_blank">civilians</a>, and yet the real <a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2281625.htm" target="_blank">suicide bombers</a> succeed. <br /><br />In other news, we have <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a1Ovweik67Eo&refer=us" target="_blank">convicted</a> a terrorist. <br /><br />Great. Does this mean we can set free the detainees against whom no charges have been brought, now? What about the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/13/AR2005111301061.html" target="_blank">innocent</a> ones?<br /><br />We cannot <a href="http://justmyshirts.com/new%20mspace/war_on_terrorism.jpg" target="_blank">win</a> this war in anything like the way we are going about it. We might be able to win it if we follow Jesus' <a href="http://bible.cc/matthew/5-44.htm" target="_blank">advice</a>, but with the Neocons running the show, that isn't an option.Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1131086942621747442005-11-04T01:17:00.000-05:002005-11-04T01:49:02.673-05:00Still, I would not be convicted by a jury of my peersSo a recent article in the Washington Post about DeLay's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110302083.html" target="_blank">trouble</a> getting a fair judge has me wondering just how deeply this country can be divided before it falls apart. We're already basically cleft in twain, and animosity between those who identify with the major parties is only deepening, as far as I can tell. I'm sure I've made this point before, but can people start learning about the issues or at least the individuals they are voting for, rather than the parties that claim to support them and instead seem to control them? <br /><br />I love New Jersey's Forrester loudly <a href="http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15454191&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&rfi=6" target="_blank">proclaiming</a> that he's pro-choice and would not support a constitutional ban on gay marriage. (Call me crazy, but I also loved Kerry's official stand -- he's against abortion. But he's also against the government stepping into a private matter and banning it.) Rarely do major political leaders step "out of line" from their party, because they are afraid -- rightly -- that without their lock-step agreement with party line, they'll miss out on help from the party (read: funding) and without that, they can't get elected. Which means, to me, that the political parties have too much power. Unfortunately, the people who get to decide if that will change are the people who least want it to change. <br /><br />Don't get me wrong. I urge you to vote Democrat in 2005, 2006, and most likely 2008. <br /><br />But I wish I could vote for people regardless of party at some point in my life. <br /><br /><hr /><br /><br />Oh, and as for DeLay, don't worry too much. Where are they going to find twelve rich, unethical white men in Texas?Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1130527921970394642005-10-28T15:27:00.000-04:002005-10-28T15:32:01.983-04:00Well, if that's all you were looking for...My vote for Quote of the Day (cribbed from the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5376837,00.html" target="_blank">Guardian Unlimited</a>): <br /><br /><blockquote>Thanks for the chance to get out of Washington.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>-- President Bush, in an address earlier in the day as Washington awaited the indictment, to members of the military in Norfolk, Va.</blockquote><br /><br />Well, heck, Georgie! If that's all it takes, I'm more than pleased to invite you to my house. I'll even let you have my bed, and I'll take the couch. Go ahead, take off your coat and stay for three years. Seriously. It's a great chance to get out of Washington.Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1129811876933429602005-10-20T08:12:00.000-04:002005-10-20T08:37:56.983-04:00Breaking a boycottWhat's the answer when the Christianist brownshirts of the Bush League <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1019-25.htm">boycott</a> a business for supporting a nonprofit "dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold"? Make sure it backfires. Buy your daughter an <a href="http://www.americangirl.com/" target="_blank">American Girl doll</a> or <a href="http://www.girlsinc.org/ic/page.php?id=5" target="_blank">donate directly to Girls, Inc.</a>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1129786773701012632005-10-20T00:59:00.000-04:002005-10-20T01:54:37.726-04:00Bush on democracy: hypocrisy, thy name is GeorgeHow George W. Bush dares lecture anyone on democracy is a mystery. That he manages to say the things he says without being struck dead by lightning on the spot is a potent argument against the existence of any just deity.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style:italic;">"After all, the purpose of a democracy is to make sure everybody is -- participates in the process,"</span> says the man who became president through <a href="http://www.votefraud.org/" target="_blank">vote fraud</a> and <a href="http://www.topplebush.com/article2_election.shtml" target="_blank">suppression</a> in Florida and remained president through <a href="http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/2004votefraud_review.html" target="_blank">vote suppression in Ohio</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style:italic;">"Democracies are peaceful countries,"</span> says the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4999734/site/newsweek/" target="_blank">war criminal</a> who initiated and continues to wage a <a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110904A.shtml" target="_blank">war of aggression</a> in Iraq.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style:italic;">"We believe, and the Iraqis believe, the best way forward is through the democratic process. Al Qaeda wants to use their violent ways to stop the march of democracy because democracy is the exact opposite of what they believe is right,"</span> says the leader of the party that is <a href="http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3227ohio_rovegate.html" target="_blank">trying its damnedest</a> to ensure <a href="http://www.prospect.org/print/V15/2/kuttner-r.html" target="_blank">one-party rule</a> for the foreseeable future in America.<br /><br />Truth be told, democracy is the opposite of what the Bush League wants for America and the world. Bush is doing all he can get away with to implement a nightmare blend of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Bush_Theocracy:_External_Links_2004" target="_blank">theocracy</a> and <a href="http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm" target="_blank">fascism</a>.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1129783971430625492005-10-20T00:38:00.000-04:002005-10-20T00:52:51.436-04:00Quote Of the DayI was going to point out the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/front/v-pfriendly/story/357107p-304312c.html" target="_blank">"bush league" reference</a> from the Bush League source, but I see <a href="http://bush-league.blogspot.com/2005/10/melange.html">Vynce beat me to it</a>. Instead, I'll offer this as my Quote Of the Day:<br /><blockquote>Do I believe that Miller can't remember who told her "Valerie Flame's" name? A child wouldn't believe it. The more clever of my two basset hounds would be suspicious.<p/>Gene Lyons<br/><a href="http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg&storyid=133678" target="_blank">Arkansas Democrat-Gazette</a></blockquote>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1129772725239710192005-10-19T20:13:00.000-04:002005-10-19T22:14:20.940-04:00MelangeRice <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/10/19/national/w141940D61.DTL" target="_blank">sums up</a> the problem with Bush:<br /><br /><blockquote>I don't think the president ever takes any of his options off the table concerning anything to do with military force</blockquote><br /><br />No, he doesn't, does he? She specifically doesn't rule out our occupation lasting another decade, or expanding our empire to include Iran and Syria. Of course, I don't think we will be in all three countries for the next ten years, but that's mostly because I expect the Democrats to do a little winning over the next 37 months.<br /><br /><hr /><br /><br />Meanwhile, Bill O'Reilly is <a href="http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/nyc-etlede4473201oct18,0,2306533.story?coll=ny-top-headlines&track=mostemailedlink" target="_blank">complaining</a> that people don't like him.<br /><br /><blockquote>I don't need the approval of the press, but I just wish they'd stop the viciousness. It's reached a level of almost comical proportions and it does affect people around me and they do get upset.</blockquote><br /><br />On the other hand, Bill, you are professionally hateful; perhaps turnabout is fair play.<br /><br /><hr /><br /><br />This quote from a "<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/357107p-304312c.html" target="_blank">well-placed source</a>" basically needs no introduction: <br /><br /><blockquote>Bush did not feel misled so much by Karl and others as believing that they handled it in a ham-handed and <span style="font-weight:bold;">bush-league</span> way</blockquote><br /><br /><hr /><br /><br />And in better news, did anyone notice that the US is leading the world again? <a href="http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1990532005" target="_blank">Germany</a>, <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/12925961.htm" target="_blank">Liberia</a>, and <a href="http://www.asiantribune.com/show_article.php?id=2716" target="_blank">New Zealand</a> all took our lead in not making up their minds; <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1119617,00.html" target="_blank">Iraq</a> seems to have followed <a href="http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12919167.htm" target="_blank">Afghanistan</a> into <a href="http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Oct05/Partridge1019.htm" target="_blank">Election Fraud</a>. (What <a href="http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/resources/schaar.html" target="_blank">else</a> do these two nations have in common?) <br /><br />Well, you know what they say about Immitation and Flattery. . . <br /><br />But I believe flattering a bully is just called testimony under duress. <br /><br /><hr /><br /><br />Finally, there's a warrant out for DeLay's <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4358830.stm" target="_blank">arrest</a>. So the news isn't all bad.Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1129206700242624742005-10-13T08:01:00.000-04:002005-10-13T08:31:40.290-04:00Manufacturing consent by reselling terrorThe Ostroy Report has a <a href="http://ostroyreport.blogspot.com/2005/10/bush-strategy-of-mixing-politics-and.html" target="_blank">summary</a> of a <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9665308/#051012a" target="_blank">Keith Olbermann piece</a> showing the alarming correlation between bad political news for the Bush administration and subsequent terror alerts.<br /><br />As Olbermann points out, there is a danger here of a logical fallacy called <i>post hoc, ergo propter hoc:</i> just because one event follows another doesn't mean there's a causal relationship. However, we should also be mindful of Occam's Razor: given a sizable set of facts, the simplest theory that explains them all tends to be the most likely.<br /><br />You don't suppose these people would manipulate the fear of terror for political gain, do you?<br /><br />Yeah, me too.<br /><br />The good news is that it appears not to be working so well anymore. In fact, Bush's approval rating has dipped to an <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9672058/" target="_blank">all-time low</a>. The bad news is that this is such bad news for Bush, they're likely to try to terrify us again. In fact, I'm declaring a <b>terror alert alert</b> right now. I'd say conditions are such that the terror alert risk level stands at Orange. It's highly likely that within the next few days, the administration will announce some new threat to our republicans - er, aherm, republic - to take our minds off of their incompetence and corruption.<br /><br />And if that doesn't work, they may resort to <a href="http://bush-league.blogspot.com/2003/08/arrogance-or-something-darker-john.html" target="_blank">more desperate measures</a>.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1128602625467484262005-10-06T08:11:00.000-04:002005-10-06T08:43:45.516-04:00Stop calling it the Patriot ActThe word is that <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/10/05/miers_has_backed_wide_executive_role?mode=PF" target="_blank">Harriet Miers</a> was on the team that drafted the constitutional abomination that is commonly referred to as the Patriot Act. That fact alone should be sufficient to disqualify her from ever ruling on constitutional law, but that's not the reason I've climbed up on my soapbox this morning. <br /><br />The official name of the law in question is "The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001," a mosntrosity that was invented for the sake of its acronym, USAPATRIOT. The corporate and independent media alike have acquiesced in using this term, although the latter sometimes puts "so-called" in front of it - as if that absolves them of complicity in the insertion of the "Patriot Act" meme in the American mindset.<br /><br />We have to do better. We have allowed the right to define the language of the discourse for too long. They foisted "partial birth abortion," "war on terror," and "death tax" on us, to name a ferw. The point is, it's not enough to put "so-called" in front of their term and then continue to use it. We need to use other language that is more expressive of the reality.<br /><br />For example, the aforementioned giveaway of power to the executive branch would be better referred to buy its true purpose, which was Protecting Authoritarian Rulers Against Needed Oversight by Intelligent Americans - so call it the PARANOIA Act.<br /><br />And the estate tax is, as has been pointed out, not a tax on death, but a tax on the passing of (extreme) wealth. It is a check on the total passing of riches - including untaxed capital gains - from generation to gentrified generation as the royalty of Old Europe did for centuries before our country was founded. So call it what it is, a ROYALTY (Riches and Opulence Your Ancestors Left To You) tax. When they speak of the "Clear Skies Initiative," we have to correct the inherent lie. Call it the Pollution Permission Project. The "Healthy Forest Act" is really the Wealthy Foresters Act. And so on.<br /><br />You can't win the argument by adopting the other side's distorted terminology.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1128476783279947232005-10-04T21:34:00.000-04:002005-10-04T22:17:40.796-04:00UnacceptableInidiana republicans want more control over who gets help having babies. Under the law they're <a href="http://www.in.gov/legislative/interim/committee/prelim/HFCO04.pdf">drafting</a>, you must have a certificate; the scariest qualification is that you must be <a href="http://www.boomantribune.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2005/10/3/223530/406" target="_blank">married</a>. It's not quite the monstrosity it could be, but this law is overstepping the bounds of government's role in private lives and bedrooms. I understand what they're trying to do; however, this road is paved with good intentions. It's not far from here to deciding who gets to have babies at all. And the questions of what exactly constitutes Unauthorized reproduction seem to me full of loopholes. <br /><br />To my mind, it's unacceptable.<br /><br />Note: This post was rewritten when I read enough of the law to realize it was not exactly the scary monster I thought it was.Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1128467486825505892005-10-04T18:29:00.000-04:002005-10-04T19:22:43.356-04:00A Crisis of FaithA <a href="http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0409/list.us.casualties/content.1.html" target="_blank">graphic</a> from CNN gives a little context to the rising number of american dead in the Iraqi war. The total (1941 to date according to <a href="http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/" target="_blank">Anti War</a>, 1942 elsewhere on CNN) hopped up by another 5 so far this week. It is nearing the raw numbers for the Spanish-American War and the War of 1812. Admittedly, there were fewer Americans total then -- but I'd argue there are no more to spare now. America has work to do. Is this war as necessary, as important to who we are as those were?<br /><br />Based on past trends, it will likely be over 2,000 by the end of the year. The <a href="http://costofwar.com/" target="_blank">cost of the war</a> in dollars (displayed conveniently on this page) will also pass such a landmark soon -- $200,000,000,000. But of course, the sum cost is impossible to calculate. The damage to the environment, the trauma and heartache for the survivors, the cost of having our emergency services and home guard spread out over the globe during national emergencies are only a portion of the unseen. What about the reputation of our nation in the rest of the world? Tourist dollars, favorable trading, general love and respect? What about the opinions and attitudes of those we are trying to convince? Iraq has become, as Bush always claimed it was, the central battleground for the war between the terrors. But could it not be that by fighting fire with fire we are only going to burn down the house? We are costing ourselves the minds of the next generation. The resolve of those opposed to the Great Satan only grows stronger as we demonstrate our monstrosity; simultaneously, the resolve of many fine young americans to <b>be</b> fine young Americans, dedicated to freedom and liberty and justice for all, under god or not, is wavering. Yes, sales of <a href="http://www.jpshrine.org/lyrics/songs/jpflagdecal.html" target="_blank">Flag Decals</a> are up. That <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/thewhitehouse.16208352" target="_blank">doesn't matter</a>. <br /><br />That is the real cost. America becomes less American with every extension of police powers, every executive order granting a temporary relief from the liberties we fight to uphold. With every crony placed in a position of power for no reason other than to secure safety for those who sell off our rights to the highest bidder, or give them away in no-bid contracts, we become the Great Satan. When we force children to swear to a G-d they do not believe, or impose religious ideas of marriage, family, sexual mores, and health practices, we become the oppressive sort of society we claim to oppose — a society lacking in freedom and human rights because those in power choose not to exercise those rights and think they should be taken away from any who would. We support, officially, a model of democracy abroad that does not meet with international standards. We implement, at home, a model of democracy that discriminates against those to whom democracy is supposed to be the biggest boon. We were supposed to be America, the leader of the free world. But it has become a case of the blind leading the visually impaired. <br /><br />Australia's democracy is more fair than ours. Britain's is more representative. The Netherlands' grants more rights to more people. Who are we? Who have we become? And who do we want to be?<br /><br />We must overcome this crisis of faith, not by blind conviction, but by soul-searching meditation. Turn your eyes inward, young America, and decide what you want to be for the next century. I hope you find that you are still dedicated to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, in equal portions and for all. A policy of non-interference in matters of opinion and aesthetics, and a policy of taking the high road to battle real evil and win. A decision to re-examine your idea of democracy without throwing out the firm foundations of our system, which though not perfect is a solid start. A position of having a government which represents the people who by choice or by chance fall under its umbrella, so that it can govern with the clear consent and full support of the governed. A belief that people should be accountable for what they do in the guise of mobs, corporations, or governments. I hope you realize you must make a stand to prevent our current government from walking backwards through history into tyranny and empire; that like Alice we must work as hard as we can just to keep from falling behind. Decide how to be America. <br /><br />Then do that. <br /><br /><hr><br /><br />PS, sorry for the general lack of links. This one just comes from me for now. I might add some more links later.Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1128179570931198012005-10-01T11:07:00.000-04:002005-10-01T11:13:34.343-04:00Quote of the day"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/10/1blackchildren_edit.html" target="_new">William Bennett</a>, author of <i>The Book Of Virtues</i> and former Education Secretary under Ronald ReaganRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1127906693375155262005-09-28T06:25:00.000-04:002005-09-28T19:35:36.940-04:00Etan Thomas schools the Bush LeaguePower forward Etan Thomas of the Washington Wizards delivered one of the most memorable speeches of the weekend at the Washington anti-war rally on Saturday. The speech, which offered a glimpse of Thomas' poetic side (the Syracuse University graduate is author of a book of poetry, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0965830896/qid=1127904185/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-8952938-5429431?v=glance&s=books" target="_blank"><span style="font-style:italic;">More Than an Athlete</span></a>), offered right-wingers some opportunities to get in touch with what their world looks like from the underside.<br /><br />Below is a transcript - but to get the real impact, listen to the speech at the <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/26/1434223&mode=thread&tid=25" target="_blank"><span style="font-style:italic;">Democracy Now!</span> website</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>Giving all honor, thanks and praises to God for courage and wisdom, this is a very important rally. I'd like to thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts, feelings and concerns regarding a tremendous problem that we are currently facing. This problem is universal, transcending race, economic background, religion, and culture, and this problem is none other than the current administration which has set up shop in the White House.<br /><br />In fact, I'd like to take some of these cats on a field trip. I want to get big yellow buses with no air conditioner and no seatbelts and round up Bill O'Reilly, Pat Buchanan, Trent Lott, Sean Hannity, Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush, Bush Jr. and Bush Sr., John Ashcroft, Giuliani, Ed Gillespie, Katherine Harris, that little bow-tied Tucker Carlson and any other right-wing conservative Republicans I can think of, and take them all on a trip to the ‘hood. Not to do no 30-minute documentary. I mean, I want to drop them off and leave them there, let them become one with the other side of the tracks, get them four mouths to feed and no welfare, have scare tactics run through them like a laxative, criticizing them for needing assistance.<br /><br />I’d show them working families that make too much to receive welfare but not enough to make ends meet. I’d employ them with jobs with little security, let them know how it feels to be an employee at will, able to be fired at the drop of a hat. I’d take away their opportunities, then try their children as adults, sending their 13-year-old babies to life in prison. I’d sell them dreams of hopelessness while spoon-feeding their young with a daily dose of inferior education. I’d tell them no child shall be left behind, then take more money out of their schools, tell them to show and prove themselves on standardized exams testing their knowledge on things that they haven’t been taught, and then I’d call them inferior.<br /><br />I’d soak into their interior notions of endless possibilities. I’d paint pictures of assisted productivity if they only agreed to be all they can be, dress them up with fatigues and boots with promises of pots of gold at the end of rainbows, free education to waste terrain on those who finish their bid. Then I’d close the lid on that barrel of fool’s gold by starting a war, sending their children into the midst of a hostile situation, and while they're worried about their babies being murdered and slain in foreign lands, I’d grace them with the pain of being sick and unable to get medicine.<br /><br />Give them health benefits that barely cover the common cold. John Q. would become their reality as HMOs introduce them to the world of inferior care, filling their lungs with inadequate air, penny pinching at the expense of patients, doctors practicing medicine in an intricate web of rationing and regulations. Patients wander the maze of managed bureaucracy, costs rise and quality quickly deteriorates, but they say that managed care is cheaper. They’ll say that free choice in medicine will defeat the overall productivity, and as co-payments are steadily rising, I'll make their grandparents have to choose between buying their medicine and paying their rent.<br /><br />Then I'd feed them hypocritical lines of being pro-life as the only Christian way to be. Then very contradictingly, I’d fight for the spread of the death penalty, as if thou shall not kill applies to babies but not to criminals.<br /><br />Then I’d introduce them to those sworn to protect and serve, creating a curb in their trust in the law. I’d show them the nightsticks and plungers, the pepper spray and stun guns, the mace and magnums that they’d soon become acquainted with, the shakedowns and illegal search and seizures, the planted evidence, being stopped for no reason. Harassment ain’t even the half of it. Forty-one shots to two raised hands, cell phones and wallets that are confused with illegal contrabands. I’d introduce them to pigs who love making their guns click like wine glasses. Everlasting targets surrounded by bullets, making them a walking bull's eye, a living piñata, held at the mercy of police brutality, and then we’ll see if they finally weren’t aware of the truth, if their eyes weren’t finally open like a box of Pandora.<br /><br />I’d show them how the other side of the tracks carries the weight of the world on our shoulders and how society seems to be holding us down with the force of a boulder. The bird of democracy flew the coop back in Florida. See, for some, injustice comes in packs like wolves in sheep's clothing. T.K.O.d by the right hooks of life, many are left staggering under the weight of the day, leaning against the ropes of hope. When your dreams have fallen on barren ground, it becomes difficult to keep pushing yourself forward like a train, administering pain like a doctor with a needle, their sequels continue more lethal than injections.<br /><br />They keep telling us all is equal. I’d tell them that instead of giving tax breaks to the rich, financing corporate mergers and leading us into unnecessary wars and under-table dealings with Enron and Halliburton, maybe they can work on making society more peaceful. Instead, they take more and more money out of inner city schools, give up on the idea of rehabilitation and build more prisons for poor people. With unemployment continuing to rise like a deficit, it's no wonder why so many think that crime pays.<br /><br />Maybe this trip will make them see the error of their ways. Or maybe next time, we'll just all get out and vote. And as far as their stay in the White House, tell them that numbered are their days.</blockquote><br />I hope when his NBA career is over, Thomas will consider running for Congress. Oh, wait. He can't. He lives in a place where they have <a href="http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=15633" target="_blank">taxation without representation</a>.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1127780634042366802005-09-26T20:07:00.000-04:002005-09-26T20:23:54.093-04:00Atheists Talk to God! and other Good Clean FunThe dead get no say in this, of course, but they're <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9379239/site/newsweek/" target="_blank">being blessed</a>. I wonder if they hired any <a href="http://www.venganza.org/" target="_blank">Pastafarian</a> chaplains. I'm even more concerned about the living, though; a FEMA spokeswoman claims I talk to God. Oh, I guess I shouldn't worry about it -- <br /><blockquote>A prayer is not necessarily religious. Everybody prays.</blockquote><br /><br />I wonder if the Bush administration would stand by some parallel claims. <br /><br /><blockquote>Masturbation isn't necessarily sexual. Everybody masturbates.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Embezzling isn't necessarily stealing. Everybody embezzles.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Hiring incompetent friends isn't necessarily favoritism. Everybody hires incompetent friends.</blockquote> <br /><br /><blockquote>Hating poor people isn't necessarily discrimination. Everybody hates poor people.</blockquote> <br /><br />Well, here's one I can get into. <br /><br /><blockquote>Tossing an effigy of the President around like a <a href="http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/georgie.htm" target="_blank ">virtual rag doll</a> isn't necessarily sick and twisted. Everybody should do it. It's good clean fun.</blockquote>Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1127774836076791682005-09-26T18:21:00.000-04:002005-09-26T18:47:17.850-04:00The right to protestIn response to Saturday's Iraq war protest, which by all accounts drew more than 100,000 demonstrators from around the country, a pro-war counter-rally was held yesterday. Attendance? About 400, according to the Associated Press.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/5017249/detail.html" target="_blank">AP report</a> included this gem: "One woman noted that if Sheehan was in the one of countries where U.S. troops are fighting, she wouldn't have the right to do what she's doing here."<br /><br />Gee, that's right. In a country that wasn't <a href="http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11835&c=206" target="_blank">free</a>, she could have been <a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26145327.htm" target="_blank">arrested</a> for peacefully protesting. Or if <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0926-28.htm" target="_blank">not arrested</a>, at least <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/images/0926-05.jpg" target="_blank">led away in restraints</a>.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1127693042277428112005-09-25T19:19:00.000-04:002005-10-09T10:19:20.473-04:00Bush to Tour Mansions Ravaged by Estate TaxFrom the <a href="http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/09/bush%5Fto%5Ftour%5Fma.html" target="_blank">Swift Report</a>:<br /><blockquote>President George W. Bush is encouraging Congress to focus on perhaps the most dire issue facing the nation today: the estate tax and its devastating impact on the richest Americans. Mr. Bush said that repealing the tax could aid tens, even dozens of Americans. Former FEMA chief and Arabian horse expert Michael Brown has been tapped to reach out to the victims of the tax ...<br /><br />President Bush plans to visit Bridgehampton, NY, Aspen, CO and Rancho Santa Fe, CA later this week, where he will tour the mansions of some of the Americans hardest hit by the tax. Aides to the President say that he will first survey the properties from the air in an effort to assess the impact of the estate tax on landscaping, pool maintenance and fleets of cars ... Air Force One will be accompanied by cargo planes loaded with emergency supplies for the mansion occupants. On its way: individual servings of fois gras, chilled veuve clicquot with champagne flutes and an allotment of truffles for residents who have gone without them for as many as two days.</blockquote><br />On a more serious note, <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/article328.html" target="_blank">factcheck.org</a> has a page debunking two more or less typical pieces of right-wing rhetoric aimed at reversing the public's <a href="http://www.coalition4americaspriorities.com/pdfs/pollfindings.pdf" target="_blank">2-to-1 opposition</a> to repeal of the <a href="http://www.cipa-apex.org/toomuch/Weeklies2005/Sep52005.html" target="_blank">Rich Kids' Tax</a> - which had been part of American law since the <a href="http://www.oycf.org/Perspectives/9_123100/straight_talk_about_the_estate_a.htm" target="_blank">Stamp Act of 1797</a> and was advocated in its modern form by millionaire <a href="http://www.pgtoday.com/pgt/articles/mt_rushmore_and_a_history.htm" target="_blank">Andrew Carnegie</a> and Republican President <a href="http://www.physiciansnews.com/finance/405.html" target="_blank">Theodore Roosevelt</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to the <a href="http://www.eurolegal.org/greendogdem/greendogdem.htm" target="_blank">Green Dog Democrat</a> for sharing the Swift Report article, and for additional background.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18220365086092153364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263040.post-1127414861588715172005-09-22T14:39:00.000-04:002005-09-22T15:13:49.476-04:00My President, Al GoreWhat happened to the uninspiring overly christian wealthy man who should have been our president? He turned into an inspiring overly christian wealthy man who actually <a href="http://www.wingsofjustice.com/05/09/woj05016.html">helps people</a>. Here's my quote of the day: <br /><br /><blockquote>We're told this is not a time to hold our national government accountable because there are more important matters that confront us. This is not an either/or choice. They are linked together. . . When the corpses of American citizens are floating in toxic floodwaters five days after a hurricane strikes, it is time not only to respond directly to the victims of the catastrophe but to hold the processes of our nation accountable, and the leaders of our nation accountable, for the failures that have taken place.</blockquote><br /><br />Ah, Mr. Gore. Thanks -- but can you say that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2005/09/gore.html">louder</a>?<br /><br /><blockquote>It's important to establish accountability in order to make our democracy work. </blockquote><br /><br />Yeah.Vyncehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294850719448223206noreply@blogger.com0