I have a friend who just moved to Wisconsin. I told her she is so lucky -- despite the snow, despite the cold, despite the relatively sparse population where they are now living, despite the cabin fever in the winter -- she is so lucky, because she has Russ Feingold as her Senator. She agreed.
How few politicians we have on a national level who are as consistently principled as Russ Feingold. So committed to fairness, justice. And truth. Principles before personalities. He has not caved to the charm of the ever-charming President Obama. He is taking that rare step, at least among the current crop of corrupt politicians in Congress, of continuing to pursue the principle, continuing to question, continuing to demand the Constitution be respected and the law be enforced.
What a shame that President Obama selected Eric Holder to be Attorney General. I don't know much about him, but what I hear just keeps getting worse. The DOJ is seemingly on the wrong side of every issue. Starting with their refusal to prosecute anyone, or conduct investigations, relating to war crimes, torture, murder by the Bush-Cheney administration, and refusal to investigate and prosecute the criminals on Wall Street who have looted and plundered our country. What Justice?
How fitting then that the esteemed Senator Feingold and the lackluster Attorney General Holder should come face to face last week on television, for the whole nation to see. My, Eric, you come across looking just like -- a BushMan! Arrogant, condescending, evasive, dishonest, sleazy. Contemptuous.
Does this AG believe, just like all the string of sleazy AGs from the Bush crowd believed, that they are above the law, that the president can do what he wants and the AG reports only to him, the law and the constitution be damned? This guy Holder looks like a BB shot into a steel barrel full of vegetable oil: he jumps, he bolts, he skids, he slides, he evades, he's back and forth and up and down, he's sleazy. And he refuses to answer the simple question, for which a simple answer is readily available. It could have been Cheney sitting there answering the question.
Question: You agree, don't you, that the warrantless wiretaps used by the Bush administration were illegal?
Answer: Well, it depends on what the meaning of "used" is, or what you mean by Bush, or whether you mean "used" like some think of that word, or in some other fashion. I mean it just depends. It's hard to say. It's confusing. Illegal? Is that what you asked? Well, who can say? I mean illegal -- that's a pretty big word, isn't it? Whose law? Your law? Somebody else's law? What law? Does it really matter, anyway? Can't we just look forward, not spend our time looking backwards. Can't we all just get along. Illegal? Is that the question? Well, I'm sure some might say it was unwise, or perhaps unknown, or uncertain, or undercover, or underling. But illegal?
What a sleazy con man this guy Holder appears to be.
Yes Eric, that was the question: do you agree the wiretaps were illegal? Because if you do, then why haven't you done anything to prosecute the Bush-Cheney people who have violated our rights? When should we expect your indictment to be filed, and who do you anticipate naming as a defendant. How about answering those questions, or are these simple constitutional issues just way beyond your legal understanding, as the chief law enforcement officer of the land? Remember the 4th Amendment? No warrant no wiretap. Remember that one? Do you agree with Bush-Cheney that the Constitution is toilet paper, and you as the AG exist mostly to cover up and avoid and deceive and allow the wealthy and powerful to break the law and get away with it? That's my own personal expanded version of the question. I'm not nearly as polite as Senator Feingold.
Oh yeah: here's the answer. YES. YES THE WIRETAPS WERE ILLEGAL. YES THEY WERE A VIOLATION OF LAWS -- LOTS OF LAWS AND A VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. THAT'S THE ANSWER. NOW DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. ENFORCE THE LAW. INDICT THE CRIMINALS. DO YOUR JOB.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
"Witness - President Evo" -- Evo Morales, President of Bolivia.
Bolivia is a land-locked country in South America. Since 2006, its President has been Evo Morales, the first indigeneous person ever to be President of Bolivia.
Historically, the Spanish invaded and took over Bolivia in 1500 and stayed until the early 1800s, when Bolivia became independent. In modern times, the country has been the scene of numerous coups, military dictatorships, and general instability in its government. The population is only 15% "white" (Spanish descendents), but the whites own or control most of the land and resources, and wealth of the nation. The ownership of the resources of Bolivia had been sold off to foreign investors by governments before Evo Morales was elected.
When Evo Morales was elected, the 15% of the population that was white, which lives mostly concentrated in certain parts of the country, decided they would secede from the nation so Morales could not try to take any of their land or assets away from them. Morales' platforms included agrarian reform by which he promised to take "non-productive" land from the rich and redistribute it to the poor. 60% of the population of Bolivia lives in extreme poverty. Morales' platform also included taking back control of the gas from international ownership, and having more of the income from the gas go to the nation instead of going to foreign investors.
Evo Morales comes from a union background, and his support was from the indigenous majority of the country, as well as from various union groups, including the miners. Bolivia, under Morales, is one of the countries in South America which has begun to emerge from its neo-colonial status and to develop a politics of citizens' rights. Hopefully this trend will continue and spread throughout South America.
Filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez spent three years following Evo Morales, from his presidential campaign through the years of bitter struggle for constitutional and economic reform in Bolivia. This documentary was shown on Al Jazeera - English TV.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Historically, the Spanish invaded and took over Bolivia in 1500 and stayed until the early 1800s, when Bolivia became independent. In modern times, the country has been the scene of numerous coups, military dictatorships, and general instability in its government. The population is only 15% "white" (Spanish descendents), but the whites own or control most of the land and resources, and wealth of the nation. The ownership of the resources of Bolivia had been sold off to foreign investors by governments before Evo Morales was elected.
When Evo Morales was elected, the 15% of the population that was white, which lives mostly concentrated in certain parts of the country, decided they would secede from the nation so Morales could not try to take any of their land or assets away from them. Morales' platforms included agrarian reform by which he promised to take "non-productive" land from the rich and redistribute it to the poor. 60% of the population of Bolivia lives in extreme poverty. Morales' platform also included taking back control of the gas from international ownership, and having more of the income from the gas go to the nation instead of going to foreign investors.
Evo Morales comes from a union background, and his support was from the indigenous majority of the country, as well as from various union groups, including the miners. Bolivia, under Morales, is one of the countries in South America which has begun to emerge from its neo-colonial status and to develop a politics of citizens' rights. Hopefully this trend will continue and spread throughout South America.
Filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez spent three years following Evo Morales, from his presidential campaign through the years of bitter struggle for constitutional and economic reform in Bolivia. This documentary was shown on Al Jazeera - English TV.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
The Honeymoon's Over: Tell The Democrats To Pass Medicare-For-All. Now. Stop The Shake-Downs, Stop The Corruption, Stop The Betrayal.
The Democrats announced early this year that they were really mad at the credit card industry, they were really going to make some "reforms" of that industry to help the public. So they set up a bunch of meetings between the No-Change President and the CEOs of the major credit card companies. And the Democrats in Congress met with the major credit card companies. Presumably to negotiate enormous bribes to be paid by the credit card companies to the Democrats. What you call a Shakedown.Because after those secret meetings, there was no "reform" of the credit card industry. Instead, the Democrats passed some completely toothless and meaningless law that says before the credit card industry sends Guido and Carmine out to bust people's knees, they've got to send a written notice. Whoopie. Despite the efforts of a few politicians to have real reform, which means to limit the amount of interest that can be charged to consumers for loans, the Democrats refused to support any such limits. The Democrats refused to pass a law that would "limit" the credit card companies to "only" charging 37% per year on loans. As far as the Democrats are concerned, the higher interest that's charged to the citizens of this country by the credit card companies, the bigger the kick-backs and bribes paid to the Democrats.
And now we're seeing the same type of manipulation and deception by the Democrats in connection with their promise to "reform" healthcare. First they announce, through several leaders, that they're not going to have single-payer. Then they refuse to even meet with representatives from groups supporting single-payer, and refuse to let those people have a voice in Congress. To explain, for example, that the most cost-effective reform, the one that would provide the most healthcare and save the most money, would be a single-payer system.
Instead, we have a series of secret meetings between No-Change Obama and the leading Democrats, on the one hand, and the CEOs of the Medical Industry on the other hand, presumably shake-down meetings in which the Democrats agree they won't reform anything in healthcare if the Medical Industry pays the politicians enough money in bribes.
Sold out again. Betrayed. Abandoned and deceived.
First No-Change Obama comes out and announces that some of the big CEOs have "promised" they will "really really really" try to not raise how much they charge us so much. Ten years from now, they will really really try. No enforcement mechanism, nothing in writing -- spit is what it is. Meaningless nonsense.
Now we hear that No-Change Obama has also negotiated some deal with the Drug Dealers by which they promise they will really really really try not to charge so much. Meaningless. These Medical Industry people have been raping the American public for decades, and they aren't going to change unless we force them. How much money did the Drug Dealers promise to kick-back to the Democrats in exchange for the Democrats doing nothing to control the prices that average people have to pay.
The Democrats have the majority in Congress and can do anything they want. What they should do is pass Medicare for all. Anybody who wants to stay with private insurance should do so. Anybody who wants to join Medicare should be allowed to do so. People with sufficient income should be required to pay something to buy into the system, something like a premium but a lot less expensive. And anyone who goes into Medicare would be saved from the private insurance company's practice of dumping people as soon as they get sick, or raising their premiums to they are unaffordable.
The Democrats claim that the mean old Republicans won't let them do a Medicare for All. Nonsense. The Democrats have the majority and can pass anything they want.
Some apologists claim that Obama wants to represent all the people, and there aren't enough people who support Medicare for all. Another lie designed to cover up corruption.
The New York Times reports today that in a poll conducted last week, they found that 72% of the public supports Medicare for all.
"The national telephone survey, which was conducted from June 12 to 16, found that 72 percent of those questioned supported a government-administered insurance plan — something like Medicare for those under 65 — that would compete for customers with private insurers. Twenty percent said they were opposed. " http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll.html?hp
If the Democrats don't pass a Medicare-for-all system which allows anyone to join Medicare, then they are useless.
Think about it. They give hundreds of billions of dollars to Wall Street and the Banks, who kick back millions to the politicians individually. They vote hundreds of billions of dollars to fund more wars in which our military is being used as a private mercenary goon squad on behalf of the Oil Corporations, committing international war crimes, torture, kidnapping, and murder across the world. And they ignore the public's demands that these wars be ended.
They refuse to enforce the laws against the wealthy and powerful by establishing commissions to investigate and prosecute, and seize assets, for the financial crimes and the war crimes committed in recent years in this country. Not one person in our government will even allow hearings to be held to investigate the clear evidence of crimes by the top people from Wall Street and the top people from the Bush-Cheney administration. What do you call a government that refuses to enforce the laws against the rich and powerful? Certainly not a democracy.
We have an actual unemployment level of 17%, predicted to go higher every single month through 2009 and possibly through 2010, and the Democrats have failed to do anything to create jobs programs or jobs for Americans. Instead, they are supporting more trade agreements to send more American jobs out of this country, throw more people out of work.
Being a Democrat is like having the boyfriend who never calls, having the boss who never makes payroll, having the spouse who never brings home their paycheck because they spend it on themselves.
They ignore us, they ridicule us and what we want, they tell us we're stupid and we don't know what we're talking about, they tell us to shut up because they'll do what they want, when we demand our rights they say we're nagging, when we demand attention they tell us they're too busy with somebody else. I'm beginning to feel like I've got the battered spouse syndrome: they beat me up, steal my money, treat me bad, lie to me, cheat on me, then show up on Sunday evening and expect me to have a pot roast on the table, cold beer in the frig. One day they're going to show up on Sunday and we'll all be gone.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Feel The Hate In Jerusalem - Max Blumenthal
Max Blumenthal made this video, titled "Feel The Hate In Jerusalem," -- young, obviously privileged kids in Israel being interviewed, asked what they think about Obama. The video has been the subject of a massive right-wing attack in this country by the people who want to keep Americans ignorant about the reality of the situation in Israel. Exodus it ain't. Think more South Africa, Apartheid, Warsaw Ghetto, non-whites walled off and starved and murdered while white Europeans steal all the land, take all the money. And live a very comfortable life thanks to the Billions of Dollars of U.S. tax money that is sent to them every year. Of course they kick back a very nice bribe to the U.S. Congress to make sure they will vote to send more money next year.
Israel is essentially just another criminal enterprise. The last European colony. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to bring white Jewish people from Europe to "settle" on stolen land owned by non-white Arabs and Muslims -- it's beyond me how anybody could have been so delusional to think this was a good idea. But now that it's 60 years down the road, the Israelis should either make peace with their neighbors or leave. Instead, too many of them are mired in racism, hatred, ignorance and bigotry -- one of these young people even called Obama the "n" word -- one of them said he should be shot. Billions of dollars of American money goes to Israel every year so these people can live comfortable lives. And they spit in the face of our president. And our nation.
If, as the Israelis argue, their neighbors are all murderous fanatics and it is impossible to live in peace with them -- then so be it. That's the answer. It's impossible. Therefore, you need to leave. Certainly a European colony of 5 million land-thieves can't possibly suggest that they have the right to massacre 95 million of their neighbors. Or have the U.S. do it for them.
Well actually, that is exactly what Israel has requested in their position paper, released around the same time as the PNAC paper. Israel put out a position paper in 1996 titled "A Clean Break" in which they said, essentially, that everything would be so great if only all their neighbors were dead, if only "somebody" (hint-hint) would come over and invade all their neighbors, murder lots of people, destroy the governments and much of the infrastructure, leave their neighbors so weakened that Israel could claim military dominance over the entire region (along with U.S. occupying troops) far into the future. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clean_Break
Israel's position paper "A Clean Break" was written mostly by American neocons, many of whom were given top-level jobs inside the Bush-Cheney Regime. It was all planned a long time ago. This whole idea of the U.S. invading the middle east and overthrowing most of the countries, was all planned by the neocons back in the 1990s. And guess what? That's exactly what's happened.
Of course for the U.S., the main reason we have attacked Afghanistan and Iraq, and Obama has now started an illegal war against Pakistan, and we may have started an illegal war against Iran by funding chaos, is because the U.S. wants the oil. Israel wants all their neighbors dead. The U.S. Corporations want the oil. It's called fate. Fate brought the two together. Which is unfortunate for all those dead people, but you can't fight fate.
Anyway, all we ever hear is about how saint-like all the Israelis are, everyone else is awful. Our media censors any story that is critical of Israel. Any professor in a university who criticizes Israel is attacked by groups of right-wing attack dogs such as David Horowitz who earns a very very good living as attack-dog for the right (he's got a nice spread with horses in a very wealthy community) and gets to hang out with all the right-wing Hollywood losers who have joined his "We're Hollywood Right-Wingers" group so they can have lunches once a week and pray. Pray for work. Actually I think they close their prayer meetings with "Thank God For ABC And Fox."
Any politician who criticizes Israel finds themself met with an opponent well-funded by Aipac, which is essentially a laundramat that launders money to U.S. politicians from Israel. Secretly, since that would be illegal. It doesn't have to disclose its donors -- guess why? Because they bought an exemption from the law for themselves. From our corrupt politicians.
So Max Blumenthal makes this tiny little video, interview of some young Israelis out in bars apparently having a good time, who make unimaginably racist and offensive comments about Barack Obama. Think Alabama with money: privileged, ignorant, racist, murderous, arrogant trash. Max Blumenthal records these ignorant foul-mouthed kids and he releases the video, and the right-wing in this country loads their weapons and goes after him, trying to prevent anyone from even being able to see the video. How sick is it that we are not allowed to see or hear anything critical of Israel.
He submitted it at Huffington Post, which has run many of his articles and pieces in the past. They refused to run it. So much for "independent" media.
Then he posted it at You Tube. But the right-wing launched an attack there, and You Tube caved in and just removed it.
For anyone who wants to see it, the link is below.
There is something about religion. These young people remind me so much of the right-wing Christian groups, the Falwell groups, those indoctrination centers they call religious schools, the home-schooled zombies, the Mormons, the ultra-right Mel-Gibson/Fascist style of Catholism -- they are all exactly alike.
They indoctrinate these young people in a certain "religious" viewpoint which turns young people into aggressive, threatening, obnoxious, sometimes murderous scum. "Their" group is justified in killing anyone else from some different group. In fact, they'd better kill all the people from the "other" group as a defensive move. The essence of war.
This is how young kids are turned into hamburger for war machines. Nice young kids become -- little Fascists, is exactly what they are. Give these kids a brown shirt and send them out into the neighborhood for them to hunt down and destroy the "Enemy." They are ignorant, racist, red-necked, foul-mouthed trash. Just like we've got littering our own country. And these people are very scary: the adults who teach this hate, and these young fanatics who are so eager to kill.
Israel is essentially just another criminal enterprise. The last European colony. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to bring white Jewish people from Europe to "settle" on stolen land owned by non-white Arabs and Muslims -- it's beyond me how anybody could have been so delusional to think this was a good idea. But now that it's 60 years down the road, the Israelis should either make peace with their neighbors or leave. Instead, too many of them are mired in racism, hatred, ignorance and bigotry -- one of these young people even called Obama the "n" word -- one of them said he should be shot. Billions of dollars of American money goes to Israel every year so these people can live comfortable lives. And they spit in the face of our president. And our nation.
If, as the Israelis argue, their neighbors are all murderous fanatics and it is impossible to live in peace with them -- then so be it. That's the answer. It's impossible. Therefore, you need to leave. Certainly a European colony of 5 million land-thieves can't possibly suggest that they have the right to massacre 95 million of their neighbors. Or have the U.S. do it for them.
Well actually, that is exactly what Israel has requested in their position paper, released around the same time as the PNAC paper. Israel put out a position paper in 1996 titled "A Clean Break" in which they said, essentially, that everything would be so great if only all their neighbors were dead, if only "somebody" (hint-hint) would come over and invade all their neighbors, murder lots of people, destroy the governments and much of the infrastructure, leave their neighbors so weakened that Israel could claim military dominance over the entire region (along with U.S. occupying troops) far into the future. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clean_Break
Israel's position paper "A Clean Break" was written mostly by American neocons, many of whom were given top-level jobs inside the Bush-Cheney Regime. It was all planned a long time ago. This whole idea of the U.S. invading the middle east and overthrowing most of the countries, was all planned by the neocons back in the 1990s. And guess what? That's exactly what's happened.
Of course for the U.S., the main reason we have attacked Afghanistan and Iraq, and Obama has now started an illegal war against Pakistan, and we may have started an illegal war against Iran by funding chaos, is because the U.S. wants the oil. Israel wants all their neighbors dead. The U.S. Corporations want the oil. It's called fate. Fate brought the two together. Which is unfortunate for all those dead people, but you can't fight fate.
Anyway, all we ever hear is about how saint-like all the Israelis are, everyone else is awful. Our media censors any story that is critical of Israel. Any professor in a university who criticizes Israel is attacked by groups of right-wing attack dogs such as David Horowitz who earns a very very good living as attack-dog for the right (he's got a nice spread with horses in a very wealthy community) and gets to hang out with all the right-wing Hollywood losers who have joined his "We're Hollywood Right-Wingers" group so they can have lunches once a week and pray. Pray for work. Actually I think they close their prayer meetings with "Thank God For ABC And Fox."
Any politician who criticizes Israel finds themself met with an opponent well-funded by Aipac, which is essentially a laundramat that launders money to U.S. politicians from Israel. Secretly, since that would be illegal. It doesn't have to disclose its donors -- guess why? Because they bought an exemption from the law for themselves. From our corrupt politicians.
So Max Blumenthal makes this tiny little video, interview of some young Israelis out in bars apparently having a good time, who make unimaginably racist and offensive comments about Barack Obama. Think Alabama with money: privileged, ignorant, racist, murderous, arrogant trash. Max Blumenthal records these ignorant foul-mouthed kids and he releases the video, and the right-wing in this country loads their weapons and goes after him, trying to prevent anyone from even being able to see the video. How sick is it that we are not allowed to see or hear anything critical of Israel.
He submitted it at Huffington Post, which has run many of his articles and pieces in the past. They refused to run it. So much for "independent" media.
Then he posted it at You Tube. But the right-wing launched an attack there, and You Tube caved in and just removed it.
For anyone who wants to see it, the link is below.
There is something about religion. These young people remind me so much of the right-wing Christian groups, the Falwell groups, those indoctrination centers they call religious schools, the home-schooled zombies, the Mormons, the ultra-right Mel-Gibson/Fascist style of Catholism -- they are all exactly alike.
They indoctrinate these young people in a certain "religious" viewpoint which turns young people into aggressive, threatening, obnoxious, sometimes murderous scum. "Their" group is justified in killing anyone else from some different group. In fact, they'd better kill all the people from the "other" group as a defensive move. The essence of war.
This is how young kids are turned into hamburger for war machines. Nice young kids become -- little Fascists, is exactly what they are. Give these kids a brown shirt and send them out into the neighborhood for them to hunt down and destroy the "Enemy." They are ignorant, racist, red-necked, foul-mouthed trash. Just like we've got littering our own country. And these people are very scary: the adults who teach this hate, and these young fanatics who are so eager to kill.
Feeling The Hate In Jerusalem -- The Censored Video from Max Blumenthal on Vimeo.
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