"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of man."
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Quote of the Week of January 29, by Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, who should have become prime minister of Burma (Myanmar) in 1990, has been under house arrest or detention in that hapless country most of the time since then by Burma's corrupt military dictatorship. But she has always continued the struggle for freedom and justice despite the abuse and oppression so widespread against both her and all advocates for real democracy in Burma. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in 1991, which, if nothing else, has made it harder for the generals to eliminate her. Despite all her pain and suffering at their hands, she remains a commited apostle of Gandhian non-violence and an advocate for fearlessness in the face of oppression. The following quote is from her famous "Freedom from Fear" speech (http://www.dassk.org/contents.php?id=416 ):
*****
"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of man."
"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of man."
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Webb Watch: Dear Condi:
Senator Webb is definitely on the job. Unlike Senator "spec" (R-PA) who loves to talk loud and do nothing, Webb is dutifully checking off each box as he circles the wagons around this White House. Finally we have a Senator willing to do his congressional duty and protect our constitution from this rogue White House. Webb is also protecting us from our "alleged" leaders and "their decisions" that are 180 degrees in opposition to what "we the people want."
Finally a Senator who is doing something....I will bet anybody that this is just one step in Jim
Webb's plan to "do something" in this once notorious do nothing Congress that "spec" relished.
Here's the latest Webb Watch....Webb is making sure that Condi doesn't evade the important question. whiff whiff...do a smell a bill in the planning stages?
Finally a Senator who is doing something....I will bet anybody that this is just one step in Jim
Webb's plan to "do something" in this once notorious do nothing Congress that "spec" relished.
Here's the latest Webb Watch....Webb is making sure that Condi doesn't evade the important question. whiff whiff...do a smell a bill in the planning stages?
January 29, 2007
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Rice:
During your appearance before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on January 11, 2007, I asked you a question pertaining to the administration’s policy regarding possible military action against Iran. I asked, “Is it the position of this administration that it possesses the authority to take unilateral action against Iran, in the absence of a direct threat, without congressional approval?”
At that time you were loath to discuss questions of presidential authority, but you committed to provide a written answer. Since I have not yet received a reply, the purpose of this letter is to reiterate my interest in your response.
This is, basically, a “yes” or “no” question regarding an urgent matter affecting our nation’s foreign policy. Remarks made by members of this administration strongly suggest that the administration wrongly believes that the 2002 joint resolution authorizing use of force in Iraq can be applied in other instances, such as in the case of Iran. I, as well as the American people, would benefit by fully understanding the administration’s unequivocal response.
I would appreciate your expeditious reply and look forward to discussing this issue with you in the near future.
Sincerely,
James Webb
United States Senator
Sunday, January 28, 2007
My Day at the March
Getting up at 4:30 am to catch the bus was not a highlight...but after two cups of coffee, dressing and packing water, lunch and nibbles into a backpack we are almost ready. First...let the dogs out and "hope" they'll be able to maintain until my brother comes at 1:30 ( AND then until we return after 10pm...)
We catch up with folks we haven't seen in awhile as our two bus convoy heads to DC. We get off at Pentagon City and we fill up the subway station waiting for our train. The organizers remind us we want the yellow line. Jean and I jump on the blue line instead (b/c we're tired of waiting for the yellow line AND we know the blue line ends up at the same place) The car is empty except for three women from New York...who are also in town for the March. We share "activities" etc and one woman who has a strong interest in the Palestinian situation exchanges info with us b/c we know some folks she'll want to connect with.
We end up at the mall at 10:45 and we head for the Native American Museum to hook up with Valley from the Crawford Peace House. We enjoy lunch together by the water falls and then head out to connect with the Veterans for Peace bus folks and listen to the rally. We discussed what was working and not working in our communities. I obtained some wonderfully creative media reform information that I will be useful in Hampton Roads. I am definitely inspired by what the Dallas folks are doing.
I enjoy meeting the vets for peace folks...they are usually friendly, salt of the earth types.
The speeches you will be able to catch or read transcripts (I enjoyed Sean Penn for brevity...and though my fave is Susan Sarandon I enjoyed Tim Robbins speech more than Susan's. (Unlike Rick Howell's opinion that Susan was better than Tim.)
We decide to march for a little while and then head to "mingle" and watch the march. The folks attending the march were very laid back...it was a pretty day and basically a relaxed march. (There was a "small" group of young anarchists who decided to challenge the park police at the capital building. I don't believe any arrests took place there. I did hear the young anarchists also challenged the police at the end of the march and refused to leave the street when asked to do so when the march ended. I have no idea if anyone went all the way to getting arrested or not.) My observations were that the police were laid back during most of the march...and maybe there more active members were "busy" with this small group of folks. I have never observed so much just "mingling" and waffling" around before. I can see how some pictures may give folks the impression that the march was smaller than it was.
I would "love" to say this march was incredibly huge....(actually since the organizers originally "planned" on 10k...it really was huge) but there were definitely at "least" 100k there and I believe it was probably 150K....200K is "possible....anything "estimated" below 100k is definitely in error. I base this on "lots of attendence at marches" and the fact that one grid of the mall was very packed and a second grid was filled with a decent amount of folks along the sides of the mall and across the street in the grassy area on the Capital side of things.
So that's my march experience...lunch was great and if I owned a laptop I could have sent a post from the march but c'est la vie....we grabbed desert before heading back to the buses....and slept on the bus ride home...greeted and played with our dogs before "hitting the sack."
It was a pleasant day spent with interesting pleasant, progressive folks throughout the journey.
We have friends who will be "lobbying" on Monday and we plan to email and call all of our elected officials in DC to let them know we marched and we want to "lobby" them the best we can on this issue.
We catch up with folks we haven't seen in awhile as our two bus convoy heads to DC. We get off at Pentagon City and we fill up the subway station waiting for our train. The organizers remind us we want the yellow line. Jean and I jump on the blue line instead (b/c we're tired of waiting for the yellow line AND we know the blue line ends up at the same place) The car is empty except for three women from New York...who are also in town for the March. We share "activities" etc and one woman who has a strong interest in the Palestinian situation exchanges info with us b/c we know some folks she'll want to connect with.
We end up at the mall at 10:45 and we head for the Native American Museum to hook up with Valley from the Crawford Peace House. We enjoy lunch together by the water falls and then head out to connect with the Veterans for Peace bus folks and listen to the rally. We discussed what was working and not working in our communities. I obtained some wonderfully creative media reform information that I will be useful in Hampton Roads. I am definitely inspired by what the Dallas folks are doing.
I enjoy meeting the vets for peace folks...they are usually friendly, salt of the earth types.
The speeches you will be able to catch or read transcripts (I enjoyed Sean Penn for brevity...and though my fave is Susan Sarandon I enjoyed Tim Robbins speech more than Susan's. (Unlike Rick Howell's opinion that Susan was better than Tim.)
We decide to march for a little while and then head to "mingle" and watch the march. The folks attending the march were very laid back...it was a pretty day and basically a relaxed march. (There was a "small" group of young anarchists who decided to challenge the park police at the capital building. I don't believe any arrests took place there. I did hear the young anarchists also challenged the police at the end of the march and refused to leave the street when asked to do so when the march ended. I have no idea if anyone went all the way to getting arrested or not.) My observations were that the police were laid back during most of the march...and maybe there more active members were "busy" with this small group of folks. I have never observed so much just "mingling" and waffling" around before. I can see how some pictures may give folks the impression that the march was smaller than it was.
I would "love" to say this march was incredibly huge....(actually since the organizers originally "planned" on 10k...it really was huge) but there were definitely at "least" 100k there and I believe it was probably 150K....200K is "possible....anything "estimated" below 100k is definitely in error. I base this on "lots of attendence at marches" and the fact that one grid of the mall was very packed and a second grid was filled with a decent amount of folks along the sides of the mall and across the street in the grassy area on the Capital side of things.
So that's my march experience...lunch was great and if I owned a laptop I could have sent a post from the march but c'est la vie....we grabbed desert before heading back to the buses....and slept on the bus ride home...greeted and played with our dogs before "hitting the sack."
It was a pleasant day spent with interesting pleasant, progressive folks throughout the journey.
We have friends who will be "lobbying" on Monday and we plan to email and call all of our elected officials in DC to let them know we marched and we want to "lobby" them the best we can on this issue.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The Speech
Listen to The Speech
Think about it....
Then send money to support Senator Webb's work. After all, Senator Webb is working for "us" not the corporate robber barons....Here's Senator Webb's Born Fighting PAC link.
Imagine what politics would be like if EVERYONE, including the President, had to write their own speech...We would see the genuine article and not a PR image of a politician reading the script that has been drafted/adapted/by PR folks to get us to buy their crap. No wonder modern day politicians are so often accused of not being able to walk their talk.
Finally Virginia has a Senator who walks his talk. A Senator who represents Virginians and is not "owned" by corporate lobbyists.
Think about it....
Then send money to support Senator Webb's work. After all, Senator Webb is working for "us" not the corporate robber barons....Here's Senator Webb's Born Fighting PAC link.
Imagine what politics would be like if EVERYONE, including the President, had to write their own speech...We would see the genuine article and not a PR image of a politician reading the script that has been drafted/adapted/by PR folks to get us to buy their crap. No wonder modern day politicians are so often accused of not being able to walk their talk.
Finally Virginia has a Senator who walks his talk. A Senator who represents Virginians and is not "owned" by corporate lobbyists.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Quotation of the Week of January 22, by Yogi Bhajan
(Yogi Bhajan, who died several years ago, was a Sikh Master from India who came to the US in the 60's to found the 3HO Foundation (http://www.3ho.org/), which became a series of ashrams that have spread across America teaching Yoga and a more spiritual lifestyle. He was a very wise man and an advocate for the Aquarian Age, which, in the bleakness of today's landscape, we tend to forget we are now moving into. There is light at the end of the tunnel.)
*****
What is the one principle that is most absent in the actions and philosophies of the hard Right-wing, the Neocons, the Apostles of war, violence and fear, those who want to dictate to the world at the point of a gun and who seek to divide humanity with hatred?
In a word, love. Progressive forces must fully recognize this, lest we adopt some of their wretched tactics. It is love which gives our cause meaning, and which will sustain us as we work to manifest the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind.
Yogi Bhajan often spoke eloquently about love. Here is an excerpt from what he said in a lecture in June 1970:
"Man has to live in love - love which is not lust. Love where there is no possession, no slavery of another person. Love which is a giving. Love which is for the sake of love. Love which lasts forever. Love which is a total sacrifice. Love which is more than the grace of God itself. Love which gives a halo around the face of the person. Love through which one can see God in the eyes of the person. Love with which the body shines, the words become sweet, and the communication is absolutely beautiful. That love for which one sacrifices his own life to save a little bit of injury to another person. That love with which one pleasantly and peacefully takes all the pain into his heart to redeem another fellow being. That love can only flow when one knows how to tune into that universal God."
-from Aquarian Times, volume 5, number 6, Nov/Dec 2006, p.28.
So tune in to the heartbeat of the planet, the highest energies of the Cosmos, and the Truth in our souls. Channel the positive force of love into ourselves and out into the world until it becomes a momentous force for transformation.
In a word, love. Progressive forces must fully recognize this, lest we adopt some of their wretched tactics. It is love which gives our cause meaning, and which will sustain us as we work to manifest the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind.
Yogi Bhajan often spoke eloquently about love. Here is an excerpt from what he said in a lecture in June 1970:
"Man has to live in love - love which is not lust. Love where there is no possession, no slavery of another person. Love which is a giving. Love which is for the sake of love. Love which lasts forever. Love which is a total sacrifice. Love which is more than the grace of God itself. Love which gives a halo around the face of the person. Love through which one can see God in the eyes of the person. Love with which the body shines, the words become sweet, and the communication is absolutely beautiful. That love for which one sacrifices his own life to save a little bit of injury to another person. That love with which one pleasantly and peacefully takes all the pain into his heart to redeem another fellow being. That love can only flow when one knows how to tune into that universal God."
-from Aquarian Times, volume 5, number 6, Nov/Dec 2006, p.28.
So tune in to the heartbeat of the planet, the highest energies of the Cosmos, and the Truth in our souls. Channel the positive force of love into ourselves and out into the world until it becomes a momentous force for transformation.
Sporadic Posting until Tuesday....
Due to: 1) changing internet providers and servicemen here to disconnect and reconnect (today), installing a third computer onto our network (Wed) and traveling to and from the March (Sunday), posting is likely to be sporadic at Mosquito Blog until Tuesday....
Hope LOTS of folks are attending the march AND planning to communicate with your Senators on Monday about withdrawing from Iraq asap and NO support for escalating the conflict.
ALSO, ask your congressman to pass legislation to insure that Bush cannot invade Iran (or any other country) without congressional approval...this last one is probably the most important. Now that we have grown ups in the Congress they need to stand up and be firm about their congressional duties.
Buzz...Buzz...
Hope LOTS of folks are attending the march AND planning to communicate with your Senators on Monday about withdrawing from Iraq asap and NO support for escalating the conflict.
ALSO, ask your congressman to pass legislation to insure that Bush cannot invade Iran (or any other country) without congressional approval...this last one is probably the most important. Now that we have grown ups in the Congress they need to stand up and be firm about their congressional duties.
Buzz...Buzz...
World Poll on US Government
Mid-East role The BBC has published the World Service Survey. Respondents from 26 questions were asked their opinions about the Bush administration's performance in six areas of foreign policy:
- Detainees in
- The war in
- Israeli-Hezbollah war: 65% disapproved of Washington's policies across the 25 countries (50% in the
- Global warming: In
The polls were conducted in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Here's the source.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Reminder--State of the Union Watching Parties
Hampton Roads Democrats-
SUPPORT JIM WEBB
WHEN: TUESDAY, January 23rd
Beginning around 8:30 PM
WHAT: State of the Union Watching Parties (Actually Jim Webb Response Parties!)
Come join your neighbors and fellow Democrats for SOTU/Democratic Response watching parties. You can make a game out of the mangled syntax of the Decider while we await Senator Webb’s response. Come on out and make some new friends, while supporting the Senate’s newest superstar. The press will be invited to attend in hopes of some positive coverage for our very own Senator Jim Webb!!!
WHERE: Peninsula Location
Plaza Azteca Restaurant
50 Towne Center Way (off Hampton Roads Center Parkway opposite the AMC 24)
Hampton, VA 23666
RSVP to: Charles Stanton
757-877-2553
Norfolk Location
The New Belmont
2117 Colonial Ave Norfolk, VA 23517
RSVP to: Nancy McPherson
757-339-1682
Virginia Beach Location
Jewish Mother,
31st and Pacific Ave
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
RSVP to: Susan Mariner
757-692-0989
Please distribute this information widely!
See you there!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Fox News Exposes Bush's Flopping Point....
It seems to be more than a tipping point....I'd have to say it's a flopping point. The latest Fox News Poll shows that Bush's "unfavorable" rating is larger than Dick Cheney's. George has surpassed Dick in the "un-favorability" factor by a whopping 5% (Bush is 58% to Cheney's 53%).
It gets even more interesting. Bush wins by a whisker (1%) over Cheney in"favorability" (38% to 31%) Those Fox viewers...way to go folks.
Fox has also "uncovered" that the two most important issue in our country today are the War in Iraq is overwhelmingly the number one issue concerning Americans 45% followed by healthcare/prescription drugs at 10%, Economy/Jobs/Employment is the number three concern at 7%.
No wonder that John Edwards appears "to be" the heartthrob of the nation at this time.
Buzz...Buzz...
Poll Sources are:
TPM CAFE
Fox News Poll
It gets even more interesting. Bush wins by a whisker (1%) over Cheney in"favorability" (38% to 31%) Those Fox viewers...way to go folks.
Fox has also "uncovered" that the two most important issue in our country today are the War in Iraq is overwhelmingly the number one issue concerning Americans 45% followed by healthcare/prescription drugs at 10%, Economy/Jobs/Employment is the number three concern at 7%.
No wonder that John Edwards appears "to be" the heartthrob of the nation at this time.
Buzz...Buzz...
Poll Sources are:
TPM CAFE
Fox News Poll
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Senator Warner is not committed......
I was talking to Mosquito a little while ago and I was told to check out the Daily Kos and I saw this:
I found this interesting because I called Warner's office today to voice concerns with one of his aides. I started with..."It is rumored that Senator Warner will be running for re-election...." The aide then stated, "The Senator has not made a decision on whether he will run again."
Now this is very interesting. I think the Dems oughta start looking for thier ideal candidate now. You can bet the Republicans are already planning and looking ahead.
I am hesitant to list this race so high because of two reasons. First, I am unsure that Warner will follow through with his commitment to run. If he bows out, this seat could be obtainable as the Democrats have won two close elections in a row with Tim Kaine in 2005 and of course Jim Webb in 2006. The other fact that remains is whether or not former Governor Mark Warner will challenge for the seat. If Gov. Warner challenges Senator Warner than this race could be one big Warner-for-all, with the only certain outcome being that a Warner being the next Senator from Virginia.
I found this interesting because I called Warner's office today to voice concerns with one of his aides. I started with..."It is rumored that Senator Warner will be running for re-election...." The aide then stated, "The Senator has not made a decision on whether he will run again."
Now this is very interesting. I think the Dems oughta start looking for thier ideal candidate now. You can bet the Republicans are already planning and looking ahead.
Riverboat Gambling in Portsmouth and Norfolk??
VA has utlilized the Lotto to help send our educational system to the front of the nation. They also okayed a race track with race track betting, and unfortunately instead of locating this track near tourist territory (where it would have had more success such as in Portsmouth) they located it in a rural area where it often had difficulty drawing a crowd. But the satellite off track betting centers are allegedly doing a decent business. However, since a private industry is running this venture I doubt that VA is reaping the benefits as it does with the lottery.
Why doesn't Norfolk and Portsmouth request legislation to allow them to utlilize riverboat gambling? The proceeds could be used to help fund another tube to add two lanes to the midtown tunnel to ease the notorious traffic congestion between Norfolk and Portsmouth. The majority of the proceeds could then be earmarked to help with other Norfolk/Portsmouth issues that are so often unaddressed such as affordable housing/homelessness and other programs that are needed in these two urban areas that need additional resources.
It's just a thought as I sip tea on a rainy afternoon....
Why doesn't Norfolk and Portsmouth request legislation to allow them to utlilize riverboat gambling? The proceeds could be used to help fund another tube to add two lanes to the midtown tunnel to ease the notorious traffic congestion between Norfolk and Portsmouth. The majority of the proceeds could then be earmarked to help with other Norfolk/Portsmouth issues that are so often unaddressed such as affordable housing/homelessness and other programs that are needed in these two urban areas that need additional resources.
It's just a thought as I sip tea on a rainy afternoon....
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Check out the Raging Grannies
Check out the Raging Grannies over at the women's post.
Thanks to Vivian for inviting me to join the other wonderful women over there. I'm glad I've finally been able to help out and get a post put up.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
united for peace & justice
Now it's time to walk the talk. Mark your calendars for Sunday January 27th and prepare to march on Bush, Cheney, Rice, Gates, et al and let them know we want out of Iraq asap and shut down any plans they have for opening another war front with Iran.
IF you can take the day off on Monday January 28th for lobby day, make an appt. with your Senators and Representatives ahead of time so you can drop in and let them know we are serious about making this president "hear" the voices of the people he is supposed to represent and we expect Congress to INSIST that we are heard and respected.
For more information and details for planning your sacred journey go here.
Get a van load of folks and plan to march and/or lobby together. There's a bus going up for the Sunday march from Tidewater VA. Leave a comment if you need bus info.
UPDATE:Date Correction it's SATURDAY Jan 27th
Monday, January 15, 2007
Quote of the Week of January 15, by Krishna
For those of you who are disheartened and depressed by the arrogance, criminality and wanton greed, cruelty and destructiveness of the powers that be in the world today, especially our own corrupt and degenerate federal government, epitomized by the hubris-intoxicated Neocons, let us recall that, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu so often points out, we still live in a moral universe where actions have consequences.
The Divine does not forever abandon the oppressed and the righteous, nor does Divinity forever withhold judgment against those who routinely violate others. Consider what the planet is collectively going through now as a test of Faith, and take note of the famous words of Krishna, the Hindu incarnation of the Godhead, to his protégé, the warrior Arjuna, in the great Hindu classic, The Bhagavad Gita, in describing those power-addicted elitists who only worship their own egos and lusts:
From Chapter 16 (Sir Edwin Arnold translation),
The Divine and Demonic Natures Defined:
12) Ensnared in nooses of a hundred idle hopes, slaves to their passion and their wrath, they buy wealth with base deeds, to glut hot appetites.
13) "Thus much, today," they say, "we gained! thereby such and such wish of heart shall have its fill; and this is ours! and th' other shall be ours!
14) To-day we slew a foe, and we will slay our other enemy tomorrow! Look! Are we not lords? Make we not goodly cheer? Is not our fortune famous, brave, and great?
15) Rich are we, proudly born! What other men live like to us? Kill, then, for sacrifice! Cast largesse, and be merry!"
16) So they speak, darkened by ignorance; and so they fall, tossed to and fro with projects, tricked, and bound in net of black delusion, lost in lusts down to foul Naraka.
17) Stubborn and proud, dead-drunken with the wine of wealth, and reckless, all their offerings have but a show of reverence, being not made in piety of ancient faith.
18) Thus avowed to self-hood, force, insolence, feasting, wrath, these my blasphemers, in the forms they wear and in the forms they breed my foemen are, hateful and hating.
19) Cruel, evil, vile, lowest and least of men, whom I (Krishna) cast down again, and yet again, at end of lives, into some devilish womb, whence - birth by birth - the devilish wombs re-spawn them, all beguiled.
20) And, till they find and worship Me, sweet Prince, tread they that Nether Road."
*****
The scriptures of other Faiths also address the perennial folly of the rich and powerful as they lord it over humanity. Perhaps some of our readers would like to share other passages with us.
The Divine does not forever abandon the oppressed and the righteous, nor does Divinity forever withhold judgment against those who routinely violate others. Consider what the planet is collectively going through now as a test of Faith, and take note of the famous words of Krishna, the Hindu incarnation of the Godhead, to his protégé, the warrior Arjuna, in the great Hindu classic, The Bhagavad Gita, in describing those power-addicted elitists who only worship their own egos and lusts:
From Chapter 16 (Sir Edwin Arnold translation),
The Divine and Demonic Natures Defined:
12) Ensnared in nooses of a hundred idle hopes, slaves to their passion and their wrath, they buy wealth with base deeds, to glut hot appetites.
13) "Thus much, today," they say, "we gained! thereby such and such wish of heart shall have its fill; and this is ours! and th' other shall be ours!
14) To-day we slew a foe, and we will slay our other enemy tomorrow! Look! Are we not lords? Make we not goodly cheer? Is not our fortune famous, brave, and great?
15) Rich are we, proudly born! What other men live like to us? Kill, then, for sacrifice! Cast largesse, and be merry!"
16) So they speak, darkened by ignorance; and so they fall, tossed to and fro with projects, tricked, and bound in net of black delusion, lost in lusts down to foul Naraka.
17) Stubborn and proud, dead-drunken with the wine of wealth, and reckless, all their offerings have but a show of reverence, being not made in piety of ancient faith.
18) Thus avowed to self-hood, force, insolence, feasting, wrath, these my blasphemers, in the forms they wear and in the forms they breed my foemen are, hateful and hating.
19) Cruel, evil, vile, lowest and least of men, whom I (Krishna) cast down again, and yet again, at end of lives, into some devilish womb, whence - birth by birth - the devilish wombs re-spawn them, all beguiled.
20) And, till they find and worship Me, sweet Prince, tread they that Nether Road."
Martin Luther King -- The Peace Advocate
I often wonder what our world would be like today if Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and John Kennedy had not been assassinated in the prime of their lives and as they attempted to steer this country on a course of greatness.In spite of folks attempting to box Martin Luther King into a box labeled Civil Rights Advocate only...King broke out of the box to speak out forcefully and passionately against the Vietnam War.
Our 1964 Nobel Peace Laureate's words on peace are appropriate today, unfortunately.
Every American should read Martin Luther King's speech
"Beyond Vietnam--A Time to Break Silence" today.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Buzz...Buzz...This Can't Be Legal....
Can an assistant secretary of defense--Charles Simpson--suggest that CEO's boycott law firms who choose to do a public service--pro bono representation of Gitmo detainees?
This is domestic "intimidation" and an attempt to influence the legal profession''s ethical code and duties.
Here's the link for the latest assault on civil liberties in America.
This is domestic "intimidation" and an attempt to influence the legal profession''s ethical code and duties.
Here's the link for the latest assault on civil liberties in America.
Media Watch: Joe Lieberman and the Myth of the Left...
Media Watch--Why is the Corporate Media insistent on featuring Joe Lieberman in so many places when they should have a "real" Democrat speaking?
Lieberman is an INSULT to the Democratic party...I can't wait until 2008 when Lieberman won't be needed by the Senate Dems and he can be justly booted to the curb and stripped of any chairmanship.
Joe Lieberman is such a shameless bushitte! This man is and has been a neo-con Republican for a long, long time.
When the Corporate Media continues to propagate the lie that anti-Iraq War sentiment is due to the left wing. The TRUTH is the MAJORITY of the American people (more than 60%--consisting of Conservatives, Moderates, and Liberals) want a withdrawal (not an escalation or "surge") from Iraq asap. Only 11% of Americans support Bush's "surge."
Thank Heavens there are some Dems setting the record straight whenever a corporate media professional puts forth the lie of only liberals wanting to leave Iraq.
But you'll not hear Joe Lieberman correct the propaganda. Instead, he insists on selling it.
I'm so sick of Joe Lieberman I have to change the channel whenever I hear "that" voice or see his face. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Maybe when their ratings fall they will start putting up an equal number of REAL Democrats or at least put Lieberman in one of the seats reserved for the Republican viewpoint.
I'm so glad I don't live in CT; I wouldn't be able to walk around with my head held high like I can thanks to Senator Jim Webb!!
Lieberman is an INSULT to the Democratic party...I can't wait until 2008 when Lieberman won't be needed by the Senate Dems and he can be justly booted to the curb and stripped of any chairmanship.
Joe Lieberman is such a shameless bushitte! This man is and has been a neo-con Republican for a long, long time.
When the Corporate Media continues to propagate the lie that anti-Iraq War sentiment is due to the left wing. The TRUTH is the MAJORITY of the American people (more than 60%--consisting of Conservatives, Moderates, and Liberals) want a withdrawal (not an escalation or "surge") from Iraq asap. Only 11% of Americans support Bush's "surge."
Thank Heavens there are some Dems setting the record straight whenever a corporate media professional puts forth the lie of only liberals wanting to leave Iraq.
But you'll not hear Joe Lieberman correct the propaganda. Instead, he insists on selling it.
I'm so sick of Joe Lieberman I have to change the channel whenever I hear "that" voice or see his face. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Maybe when their ratings fall they will start putting up an equal number of REAL Democrats or at least put Lieberman in one of the seats reserved for the Republican viewpoint.
I'm so glad I don't live in CT; I wouldn't be able to walk around with my head held high like I can thanks to Senator Jim Webb!!
Buzz Buzz
Buzz Buzz....
Mosquito's back!! My relative is doing better and no longer needs my assistance.
I'm not sure how "prolific" I'll be beyond a daily post because we have some exciting changes coming up which are going to require some extensive set up work....but I think you'll like what we end up with over here.
In the meantime...I have been cruising around as much as possible and visiting the other VA bloggers. I must say that I'm so proud of Virginia's progressive bloggers!! I know the majority are democratic and not independent sorts like Mosquito who will go for the best progressive candidate I can find....but in the end (in VA at least) that has meant a Democratic candidate. You folks ROCK!! New folks are emerging and I say the more diversity, the more voices, the better off we'll all be!!
My New Years Resolution included "..to continue making this a better world and in that vein I hope to promote stuff like a "PEACEFUL AMERICA," more reporting on local grass roots groups and their projects, improved public media, net neutrality, voter verification, instant run off voting....Hopefully in my lifetime there will be instant run off voting so I can vote for the person I want and then make a second choice in case my "ideal" candidate is not able to capture the majority. At least it won't mean that my LAST choice for a candidate for public office won't slip in there by mistake....
So Buzz Buzz to everyone!
Mosquito's back!! My relative is doing better and no longer needs my assistance.
I'm not sure how "prolific" I'll be beyond a daily post because we have some exciting changes coming up which are going to require some extensive set up work....but I think you'll like what we end up with over here.
In the meantime...I have been cruising around as much as possible and visiting the other VA bloggers. I must say that I'm so proud of Virginia's progressive bloggers!! I know the majority are democratic and not independent sorts like Mosquito who will go for the best progressive candidate I can find....but in the end (in VA at least) that has meant a Democratic candidate. You folks ROCK!! New folks are emerging and I say the more diversity, the more voices, the better off we'll all be!!
My New Years Resolution included "..to continue making this a better world and in that vein I hope to promote stuff like a "PEACEFUL AMERICA," more reporting on local grass roots groups and their projects, improved public media, net neutrality, voter verification, instant run off voting....Hopefully in my lifetime there will be instant run off voting so I can vote for the person I want and then make a second choice in case my "ideal" candidate is not able to capture the majority. At least it won't mean that my LAST choice for a candidate for public office won't slip in there by mistake....
So Buzz Buzz to everyone!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Quote of the Week, By Voltaire
In light of President Bush's "surge" speech this Wednesday tonight on national television, this quotation seems particularly appropriate:
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
-François-Marie Arouet de Voltaire
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
-François-Marie Arouet de Voltaire
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Watership Down
Okay...I had to take Vivian Paige's challenge on the book quiz.
You're Watership Down!
by Richard Adams
Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.
Friday, January 05, 2007
False Flag Ops - Some History
From time to time I'm going to throw out a few terms, definitions and expositions on the political science (or political voodoo?) subject one might call Modern Machiavellianism 101. Today's term is "false flag operation", a term most readers are familiar with, but not all, so here is how Wikipedia briefly defines it:
"False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one's own."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_flag)
I guess the old Hollywood pirate movies would be a perfect example of literally flying a false flag, when a pirate ship would hoist an innocent-looking national ensign as it approached its intended victim, beguiling the crew, and then haul up the Jolly Roger at the last minute as it attacked. In real history, a classic example would be the German Raiders of WWII, vessels which had hidden guns and torpedo-launchers on board what were converted merchant ships flying false flags as they approached other vessels. They would raise the German flag at the last moment, demand the other ship's surrender through signal flags, or some other means, to give the crew a cursory opportunity to escape if the German captain was feeling gracious, and then strive to sink it whether it surrendered or not.
But the type of false flag operation I am specifically referring to today is when one entity commits a crime or stages what looks like a crime while pretending to be another entity, so as to have all the blame cast on the second entity. For example, the infamous Reichstag Fire in Germany in 1933, which was originally blamed on the mentally challenged communist, Marinus Van der Lubbe, who also confessed, after Nazi interrogation, to the fire, is now widely accepted as an "inside" job by the Nazis themselves to promote a murderous purge against German communists and catapult Hitler to dictatorial power through the Enabling Act.
It was later revealed that an underground tunnel running from Hermann Goering's residence to the cellars of the Reichstag allowed storm troopers, led by SA leader Karl Ernst, to steal undetected into the building to engage in their own significant arsonist activities while Van der Lubbe, clueless, apparently ran amok, half-naked, using his shirt as a torch. Apparently undercover Nazi agents had befriended him and knew the time of his arson attempt.
The Nazis also employed a sinister false flag op against Poland in 1939, staging an attack on the Gleiwitz radio station on the German border with Poland. One of several slightly different historical accounts has the Nazis dressing up several German-held convicts in Polish uniforms, shooting them and then arranging their bodies as if they had attacked the station. A German agent then read anti-German polemics over the air in Polish, conjuring up the imagined scenario that Poles had overrun the station across Germany’s air waves. German citizens were outraged and Hitler dutifully invaded Poland the next day, citing this and several other alleged incidents as justification.
False flag operations have been used repeatedly throughout history, dating back to Nero framing the Christians for the great fire of Rome and beyond. There are now widespread arguments that this Machiavellian technique has become an ongoing tool in both the American and British Establishments' clandestine bag of dirty tricks, the Gulf of Tonkin incident with North Vietnam often cited as one prominent example, not to mention the historical controversy surrounding the justification for the American invasion of Mexico in 1846, as well as the controversy surrounding the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor that led to the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Currently, there are powerful allegations that both 9/11 and the London Terror Bombings also fall into the false flag category, as shock and awe catastrophies designed to jerk the public's chains in the United States and Britain and then manipulate them into the frenzied service of war. Various draconian terror alerts and “uncovered” terrorist plots also raise questions, particularly in those cases where we learn that government agencies had conducted surveillance operations for months or even run sting operations. A good case in point is last year’s melodramatic announcement of a “Liquid Bomb Plot” against some 14 airliners, a case which has slowly been unraveling as various suspects both in Britain and Pakistan have been quietly released or had their charges downgraded for lack of serious evidence, as opposed to mountains of dubious circumstantial “evidence”. I am sure viewers of this website have their own opinions on all of this.
What is worse is that there are now heightening rumors and predictions that a new false flag operation is underway to justify retaliatory attacks or full-scale war against Iran and/or Syria. Let us hope that this is overwrought paranoia, for the last thing the planet needs is another war. But if another major terrorist attack does occur, let us not be shocked and awed into stupidity, but start to analyze the event immediately with a healthy dose of skepticism.
"False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one's own."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_flag)
I guess the old Hollywood pirate movies would be a perfect example of literally flying a false flag, when a pirate ship would hoist an innocent-looking national ensign as it approached its intended victim, beguiling the crew, and then haul up the Jolly Roger at the last minute as it attacked. In real history, a classic example would be the German Raiders of WWII, vessels which had hidden guns and torpedo-launchers on board what were converted merchant ships flying false flags as they approached other vessels. They would raise the German flag at the last moment, demand the other ship's surrender through signal flags, or some other means, to give the crew a cursory opportunity to escape if the German captain was feeling gracious, and then strive to sink it whether it surrendered or not.
But the type of false flag operation I am specifically referring to today is when one entity commits a crime or stages what looks like a crime while pretending to be another entity, so as to have all the blame cast on the second entity. For example, the infamous Reichstag Fire in Germany in 1933, which was originally blamed on the mentally challenged communist, Marinus Van der Lubbe, who also confessed, after Nazi interrogation, to the fire, is now widely accepted as an "inside" job by the Nazis themselves to promote a murderous purge against German communists and catapult Hitler to dictatorial power through the Enabling Act.
It was later revealed that an underground tunnel running from Hermann Goering's residence to the cellars of the Reichstag allowed storm troopers, led by SA leader Karl Ernst, to steal undetected into the building to engage in their own significant arsonist activities while Van der Lubbe, clueless, apparently ran amok, half-naked, using his shirt as a torch. Apparently undercover Nazi agents had befriended him and knew the time of his arson attempt.
The Nazis also employed a sinister false flag op against Poland in 1939, staging an attack on the Gleiwitz radio station on the German border with Poland. One of several slightly different historical accounts has the Nazis dressing up several German-held convicts in Polish uniforms, shooting them and then arranging their bodies as if they had attacked the station. A German agent then read anti-German polemics over the air in Polish, conjuring up the imagined scenario that Poles had overrun the station across Germany’s air waves. German citizens were outraged and Hitler dutifully invaded Poland the next day, citing this and several other alleged incidents as justification.
False flag operations have been used repeatedly throughout history, dating back to Nero framing the Christians for the great fire of Rome and beyond. There are now widespread arguments that this Machiavellian technique has become an ongoing tool in both the American and British Establishments' clandestine bag of dirty tricks, the Gulf of Tonkin incident with North Vietnam often cited as one prominent example, not to mention the historical controversy surrounding the justification for the American invasion of Mexico in 1846, as well as the controversy surrounding the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor that led to the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Currently, there are powerful allegations that both 9/11 and the London Terror Bombings also fall into the false flag category, as shock and awe catastrophies designed to jerk the public's chains in the United States and Britain and then manipulate them into the frenzied service of war. Various draconian terror alerts and “uncovered” terrorist plots also raise questions, particularly in those cases where we learn that government agencies had conducted surveillance operations for months or even run sting operations. A good case in point is last year’s melodramatic announcement of a “Liquid Bomb Plot” against some 14 airliners, a case which has slowly been unraveling as various suspects both in Britain and Pakistan have been quietly released or had their charges downgraded for lack of serious evidence, as opposed to mountains of dubious circumstantial “evidence”. I am sure viewers of this website have their own opinions on all of this.
What is worse is that there are now heightening rumors and predictions that a new false flag operation is underway to justify retaliatory attacks or full-scale war against Iran and/or Syria. Let us hope that this is overwrought paranoia, for the last thing the planet needs is another war. But if another major terrorist attack does occur, let us not be shocked and awed into stupidity, but start to analyze the event immediately with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Sporadic posting at Mosquito blog...
I "thought" I was taking a Christmas break but didn't...Now my mom is in the hospital so this will most likely interfere with daily posting...
Star and Mac are on board but their commitment was more "as they can...and as the mood strikes..." so hopefully you will enjoy our posting when we can get to it. I believe Star has a family member in the hospital too so please bear with us.
And keep up the good work Virginia Bloggers....I've been visiting some sites today and you are wonderful!!
Buzz...Buzz...
Star and Mac are on board but their commitment was more "as they can...and as the mood strikes..." so hopefully you will enjoy our posting when we can get to it. I believe Star has a family member in the hospital too so please bear with us.
And keep up the good work Virginia Bloggers....I've been visiting some sites today and you are wonderful!!
Buzz...Buzz...
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Ask Virginian Pilot to carry Amy Goodman's Column
Award winning independent journalist Amy Goodman of Democracy Now has a syndicated newspaper column. The Virginia Pilot should carry this column if it has any hope of reflecting the diversity of its readers in Hampton Roads.
Here is a sampling of Goodman's columns.
Contact the Virginian Pilot ask them to carry Amy Goodman's column. I'd like to have a reason to subscribe to my local paper. This would give it to me.
Here is a sampling of Goodman's columns.
Contact the Virginian Pilot ask them to carry Amy Goodman's column. I'd like to have a reason to subscribe to my local paper. This would give it to me.
Rep. Virgil Goode wins award...Goode remains in the news
Congratulations Rep. Virgil Goode. You won this one hands down.
Jan.'07 Evil GOP Bastard of the Month
MEDIA WATCH--Top 25 Censored News Stories of 2007
Top 25 Censored
news stories of 2007
#1 Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media
#2 Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran
#3 Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger
#4 Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US
#5 High-Tech Genocide in Congo
#6 Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy
# 7 US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq
#8 Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act
#9 The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall
#10 Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians
#11 Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed
#12 Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines
#13 New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup
#14 Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the US
#15 Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary Research Partner
#16 Ecuador and Mexico Defy US on International Criminal Court
#17 Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda
#18 Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story
#19 Destruction of Rainforests Worst Ever
#20 Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem
#21 Gold Mining Threatens Ancient Andean Glaciers
#22 $Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed
#23 US Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe
#24 Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year
#25 US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region
news stories of 2007
#1 Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media
#2 Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran
#3 Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger
#4 Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US
#5 High-Tech Genocide in Congo
#6 Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy
# 7 US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq
#8 Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act
#9 The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall
#10 Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians
#11 Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed
#12 Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines
#13 New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup
#14 Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the US
#15 Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary Research Partner
#16 Ecuador and Mexico Defy US on International Criminal Court
#17 Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda
#18 Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story
#19 Destruction of Rainforests Worst Ever
#20 Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem
#21 Gold Mining Threatens Ancient Andean Glaciers
#22 $Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed
#23 US Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe
#24 Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year
#25 US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region
Monday, January 01, 2007
MEDIAWATCH--WHY WASN'T THE WAR PROFITEER OUTED?
The Corporate Media REFUSED to report that Vice President Cheney's Halliburton stock rose 3,281 percent last year according to an October, 2005 Raw Story
So much for the Corporate Media Myth that the press/media has a liberal bias. Buzz...Buzz...
No one has pressured Congress to pressure Vice President Dick Cheney to divest himself from all financial ties with Halliburton. Hopefully the New Congress will insist on this. Contact your Representatives and Senators and ask them to demand that VP Dick Cheney eliminate all financial interests with Halliburton.
This sort of corruption and war profiteering from awarding no bid contracts is unforgivable.
This is #24 of the Project Censored 2007 list of the top 25 news stories that were ignored by the Corporate Media.
So much for the Corporate Media Myth that the press/media has a liberal bias. Buzz...Buzz...
No one has pressured Congress to pressure Vice President Dick Cheney to divest himself from all financial ties with Halliburton. Hopefully the New Congress will insist on this. Contact your Representatives and Senators and ask them to demand that VP Dick Cheney eliminate all financial interests with Halliburton.
This sort of corruption and war profiteering from awarding no bid contracts is unforgivable.
This is #24 of the Project Censored 2007 list of the top 25 news stories that were ignored by the Corporate Media.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Ava Lowery's Letter to America
Warning: Images of war by 15 year old Southern Peace Activist
We voted in a new Congress to stop Bush from staying the course. Bush is putting off until January to announce the obvious....
Despite our voices, and our votes, Bush plans to ESCALATE the war in Iraq and also INVADE Iran.
Send the New Congress a strong message via email and phone...and if you can make it to Washington DC...schedule a time to meet with your representatives and march with your fellow citizens on January 11th and/or the 27th....
International Day of Action to
Shut Down Guantánamo.
We voted in a new Congress to stop Bush from staying the course. Bush is putting off until January to announce the obvious....
Despite our voices, and our votes, Bush plans to ESCALATE the war in Iraq and also INVADE Iran.
Send the New Congress a strong message via email and phone...and if you can make it to Washington DC...schedule a time to meet with your representatives and march with your fellow citizens on January 11th and/or the 27th....
International Day of Action to
Shut Down Guantánamo.
On Saturday, Jan. 27th, people from every corner of the country will march on Washington, DC. Our message will be clear, our voice will be strong: End the war in Iraq, Bring all the troops home now! We urge you to join us!
On Mon., Jan. 29th, we will take our message directly to the new Congress during our lobby day. Click here for more info and to sign up to participate.
You can help make these critical actions a great success:
Sign up to be a local coordinator to help mobilize people from your area to come to DC.
Volunteer in NYC or DC in the weeks leading up to J27, and/or on the day itself.
Endorse this call to action. Click here to see the current list of endorsers.
Be one of the first to wear an official J27 t-shirt! Order yours today!
Are We Fascist?
FACISM
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
5. Rampant sexism.
6. A controlled mass media.
7. Obsession with national security.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
9. Power of corporations protected.
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
14. Fraudulent elections.
If we had a warning system scale alerting us to Facism in American government where would you rate us on the following scale?
1. LOW RISK........2........3........4........5. MODERATE......6.......7........8.......9.......10. HIGH RISK
I want my Democracy back....Hopefully the new Congress will go about restoring our democracy by restoring the checks and balances, repealing the Patriot Act, and investigating the fraudulent elections and rampant cronyism and corruption.....
Buzz...Buzz....
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
5. Rampant sexism.
6. A controlled mass media.
7. Obsession with national security.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
9. Power of corporations protected.
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
14. Fraudulent elections.
If we had a warning system scale alerting us to Facism in American government where would you rate us on the following scale?
1. LOW RISK........2........3........4........5. MODERATE......6.......7........8.......9.......10. HIGH RISK
I want my Democracy back....Hopefully the new Congress will go about restoring our democracy by restoring the checks and balances, repealing the Patriot Act, and investigating the fraudulent elections and rampant cronyism and corruption.....
Buzz...Buzz....
Explosive Device under Bridge on DC byway
Possible Explosive Device Found Near Bridge In DC Suburb...Developing... Just in...story is developing.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Full of Sound and Fury
In regards to the hanging of Saddam Hussein, I am reminded of Gandhi's statement that violence will vanquish violence only when darkness can dispell the darkness. In other words, if anyone thinks that executing Saddam Hussein in the middle of a civil war is going to curtail the mutual slaughter, this isn't going to happen. Violence is only going to "surge". Many Sunnis were devoted to Saddam and will likely want revenge in the form of assassinations and bombings of Shiites and Americans. Perhaps the Bush Administration will welcome this as an excuse to escalate its attacks on Anbar Province further. But we also know that even our good buddies, the Saudis, are financing Sunni insurgents and organizations in Iraq, to keep them from being exterminated by the Shiites. The confragration will only grow.
Furthermore, everyone knows that Saddam's trial was a cariature of justice by American legal standards, with bizarre goings-on from beginning to end, with the not so hidden hand of the Bush Administration influencing the entire process. This trial, however, was not so much about justice as it was about Shiite revenge, a Roman-style trophy for American audiences and the shutting up of Saddam before he could be questioned about the complicity of American officials in arming and directing him during his war against Iran, as well as other obscenities.
If true justice against Hussein, who was indeed a bloody tyrant, was the goal, why was he executed so hastily, before the trial over his massive slaughter of the Kurds had even taken place, leaving millions of Kurds without any sense of resolution? Hussein should have been tried before an international tribunal. The thousands of Iranians who also lost loved ones because of Hussein's war with Iran should have also been invited to press charges, especially in reference to his chemical attacks on Iranians. But then uncomfortable inquiries about alleged American chemical and biological weapons sales to Hussein might have been brought up during the proceedings, not a welcome idea to George Bush Senior and Donald Rumsfeld, to name a few players. (see Wayne Madsen's revelation on this at: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_wayne_ma_061228_why_the_bush_crime_f.htm )
As for the poetic symbolism of this event, even though President Bush must certainly feel ecstatic now at fulfilling his obsession to get Saddam, what has transpired with Saddam's hanging is the equivalent of the three fateful witches in MacBeth throwing another bat's wing or spider into their witches' brew, so as to make it all the more potent. Our benighted President, acting out his pathetic version of MacBeth, can't wait to drink another cup from their black cauldron, again mistaking it for the Holy Grail.
Media Watch-- MSNBC
Corporate media is already hard at work labeling John Edwards the "multi-millionaire" candidate.Are they threatened by a presidential candidate who will actually work to reduce poverty in America? Poverty which has no special interest lobbyist in Washington D.C. (Note: The Corporate Media is the most powerful special interest group in Washington D.C.) Is Corporate Media concerned that their slice of the government pie will get smaller if the poor in this country are given any government assistance?
A more interesting story would be who is NOT a multi-millionaire running for president. I predict "zero."
Why doesn't the Corporate Media run a story on how the current political process prevents ordinary (i.e. Not wealthy) Americans from running for the U.S. Congress and/or the White House?
Another example of why the "liberal" media is simply a myth promoted by Corporate Media itself.
Friday, December 29, 2006
FLOYDFEST 6 -- July 26-29, 2007
FloydFest is an annual four-day World Music Festival held annually in Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains. Floydfest proudly showcases the best in World, Bluegrass, Reggae, Folk, African and Appalachian music. The vendors sell products ranging from quality local Arts and Crafts, clothes, jewelry, and of course, great food for all types of eating (including vegans.
This is the place where progressives re-charge their batteries each year. It is also family and kid friendly. If you go without the kids you'll be wishing you had taken them. Everyone has a great time. The tickets are cheapest if ordered before January 1. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
CHECK IT OUT
Thursday, December 28, 2006
I Stand Corrected
Goodbye Jim has corrected an error I made yesterday in this post. (I would have also left a comment on his website but there was no option for me to leave a comment.)
Jonathan Mark is correct. I have obviously mistaken Jim Moran for Rick Boucher.
I am truly sorry for this error more for Rick Boucher than myself. Rick Boucher has worked long and hard as an advocate on net neutrality and Boucher co-authored The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006, H.R. 5417,
I definitely want to acknowledge and credit the correct Representative who deserves alot of credit for his work to insure Net Neutrality. So please know that it is Virginia's Rick Boucher and not Jim Moran who deserves the credit.
So thank you Jonathan Mark for setting me straight on this.
Jonathan Mark is correct. I have obviously mistaken Jim Moran for Rick Boucher.
I am truly sorry for this error more for Rick Boucher than myself. Rick Boucher has worked long and hard as an advocate on net neutrality and Boucher co-authored The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006, H.R. 5417,
I definitely want to acknowledge and credit the correct Representative who deserves alot of credit for his work to insure Net Neutrality. So please know that it is Virginia's Rick Boucher and not Jim Moran who deserves the credit.
So thank you Jonathan Mark for setting me straight on this.
Richmond Democrat exposes neocon Republican Trolls
Now that John Maxfield of The Journal for the Common Man has been "outed" as a fraud by The Richmond Democrat, it is going to be amusing to see the right wing extremists try to spin this one. STD has already posted his conspiracy theory...that Senator Jim Webb is responsible for outing Alex's fraudulent claims of being an adult and an attorney. (STD follows Bush's example of evading responsibility. No accountability among the neocons....it's always someone else's fault. Next they will be saying that Jim Webb paid young Alex to commit this fraudulent activity.)
One thing is for sure....this will cull the "incompetents and the trolls" out from among the legitimate conservative bloggers....SwacGirl outed herself quite nicely by posting the following:
LOL....IF any of the extreme right wing neocon trolls have thought of the following Rove trick--creating a "fraudulent" lefty blogger--save your time and energy. The lefty bloggers in Virginia aren't going to band together to defend any troll...be they left or right wing.
One thing is for sure....this will cull the "incompetents and the trolls" out from among the legitimate conservative bloggers....SwacGirl outed herself quite nicely by posting the following:
A number of conservative bloggers have been writing about this. They have all done a great job standing up for and uniting the conservative bloggers.It doesn't do any of us any good to have such trolls within our ranks. My condolences to the respectable conservative Virginia bloggers out there having to put up with such riff raff among you. But SwacGirl said it well, this provides an opportunity for the "....respectable" conservative bloggers [to] become better known." I trust they will cull their own ranks and disaffiliate themselves from the fraudulent trolls.
-- General Grievous' Dog
-- John Maxfield at The Journal of the Common Man and judging from what goes on from here the "respectable" conservative bloggers will become better known.
....[the list continues)
LOL....IF any of the extreme right wing neocon trolls have thought of the following Rove trick--creating a "fraudulent" lefty blogger--save your time and energy. The lefty bloggers in Virginia aren't going to band together to defend any troll...be they left or right wing.
An Open Letter to Nancy Pelosi
An Open Letter to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker of the House
By Mac McKinney
Speaker of the House
By Mac McKinney
Dear Congresswoman Pelosi,
Being a native of San Francisco myself who frequented the 8th District for years, even though I now live on the East Coast, I am very happy to see a fellow San Franciscan elevated to such a lofty position as Speaker of the House. Congratulations. I think it is more than happenstance that at this critical juncture in world and national history, you have arrived on the scene in such a pivotal position, pivotal in respect to the progression or regression of humanity.
You are fully aware that the country is beset with glaring problems, the worst of which are the festering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have already taken a horrific toll in human lives, resources and wealth, wars that are manifestations of deep fear and hatred between large sections of the human race, emotions that are being exacerbated daily by the ongoing carnage. Fear and hatred have also degraded our national character as we have watched, shocked and outraged, while torture and cruelty have been openly embraced as acceptable, if not legal practices, by our government abroad. Even worse, the politics of confrontation and preemption that the White House espouses threaten to widen warfare in the Middle East and Southwest Asia into regional conflagrations of devastating global consequence. We are now being drawn into a downward spiraling cycle of death and destruction that is quite aptly symbolized by the whirlpools of the sea monster Charybdis that nearly consumed Odysseus (Ulysses) in the Greek legends.
All of this is set against the backdrop of the looming threat of global warming, which, depending upon which scientist you interview, will either regress humanity, devastate humanity or destroy humanity, three very poor options indeed. It will take vast global resources to deal with this challenge successfully, resources that will never be available if the world is consumed with war. This then is our Scylla, global warming, the second monster that beset Odysseus in the Strait of Medina off the coast of Sicily.
The Ship of State is now sailing erratically, so to speak, between Scylla's rock and the whirlpool, with a helmsman more reminiscent of Captain Ahab in obsessive search for the White Whale, then of resourceful Odysseus, who eventually reached safety. It is not an exaggeration to say that the White House is consumed with a vision of permanent warfare against a perceived enemy whose presence half exists, specter-like in the realms of imagination and mythology, the worlds of nightmares and the Arabian Nights. It is ludicrous in the extreme to hear government and Pentagon officials seriously envisioning a one hundred year war against a phantom Caliphate of Hydra-like proportions extending across the continents. It all too easily flows into a fratricidal "clash of civilizations" with the Moslem world that protagonists such as Newt Gingrich are presently lobbying for. This is the stuff of psychosis.
Against this paranoid, dualistic vision of humanity at war with itself that the White House so fervently embraces, this dark vision and violent paradigm that paralyzes all progress toward resolving the world's real problems, enters the new Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives this January, led by you, fortunately led by you, because you have the perfect background to present the country, and the world, with a far more enlightened vision for all to embrace. It is the vision presented by Saint Francis, the patron saint of San Francisco, who said simply:
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy."
This timeless quote lies at the core of the collective soul of San Francisco and is what has made San Francisco what it is, a beacon of light and a Mecca of love and tolerance for all of humanity. In San Francisco, as in few places in this country, there is an evolved sense of community between Asian and African, Latino and Irishman, Italian and Pakistani, Buddhist and Catholic, Moslem and Jew, and Gay and Straight that you, Congresswoman, have certainly witnessed in the 8th District. And a tour of Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill brings it all home when one gazes upon the historical mural on the nave wall depicting the founding of the United Nations in 1945 in our city. So, even that preeminent organization of world unity is in our city's heritage. San Francisco's spirit is not about division and hostility between nations, but rather about their opposite, the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind.
San Francisco has also had a proud intellectual tradition of breaking down intellectual and social barriers, of confronting the Establishment, of speaking outside the box, graced with such shooting stars as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, to name a few, who always seemed to return to that Buddhist theme of Enlightenment, of seeing beyond dualism, of grasping the oneness of Being. That is a part of San Francisco too. What America and the world need right now, Congresswoman Pelosi, is a vision of that oneness, a vision that you are now in a position to give them.
Finally, San Francisco has a progressive tradition of promoting equal rights for women and listening to their voices and perspectives. Senator Feinstein and you are both living proof of that. And the feminine perspective is sorely needed in the world today, a world catering all too much to the male ego and its proclivities. The brilliant author of The Color Purple, Alice Walker, recently wrote an article based on her newest book, We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Light in a Time of Darkness. In it she tells the story of the Swa people of the Amazon, who, although they consider men and women equals, have a traditional division of labor between them in one respect. The men are considered to be a destroying principle, the women a conserving principle, and when the men throw the world out of balance, the women are expected to step in and tell them to stop. To quote Alice Walker:
"It is the woman who says: Stop. We have enough firewood and canoes, don't cut down any more trees. Stop. We have enough meat; don't kill any more animals. Stop. This war is stupid and using up too many of our resources. Stop."
(http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2906/ )
So I humbly ask you, Congresswoman, to walk in the spirit of Saint Francis and with the soul of the Charter of the United Nations in your heart as you approach the Speaker's podium in the Capitol in January. Please speak and legislate from the core of your being for the good of humanity and the planet as you confront the mammoth challenges awaiting us all. Please uplift us with a positive vision of world peace and unity. We will strongly support you in such an endeavor.
Being a native of San Francisco myself who frequented the 8th District for years, even though I now live on the East Coast, I am very happy to see a fellow San Franciscan elevated to such a lofty position as Speaker of the House. Congratulations. I think it is more than happenstance that at this critical juncture in world and national history, you have arrived on the scene in such a pivotal position, pivotal in respect to the progression or regression of humanity.
You are fully aware that the country is beset with glaring problems, the worst of which are the festering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have already taken a horrific toll in human lives, resources and wealth, wars that are manifestations of deep fear and hatred between large sections of the human race, emotions that are being exacerbated daily by the ongoing carnage. Fear and hatred have also degraded our national character as we have watched, shocked and outraged, while torture and cruelty have been openly embraced as acceptable, if not legal practices, by our government abroad. Even worse, the politics of confrontation and preemption that the White House espouses threaten to widen warfare in the Middle East and Southwest Asia into regional conflagrations of devastating global consequence. We are now being drawn into a downward spiraling cycle of death and destruction that is quite aptly symbolized by the whirlpools of the sea monster Charybdis that nearly consumed Odysseus (Ulysses) in the Greek legends.
All of this is set against the backdrop of the looming threat of global warming, which, depending upon which scientist you interview, will either regress humanity, devastate humanity or destroy humanity, three very poor options indeed. It will take vast global resources to deal with this challenge successfully, resources that will never be available if the world is consumed with war. This then is our Scylla, global warming, the second monster that beset Odysseus in the Strait of Medina off the coast of Sicily.
The Ship of State is now sailing erratically, so to speak, between Scylla's rock and the whirlpool, with a helmsman more reminiscent of Captain Ahab in obsessive search for the White Whale, then of resourceful Odysseus, who eventually reached safety. It is not an exaggeration to say that the White House is consumed with a vision of permanent warfare against a perceived enemy whose presence half exists, specter-like in the realms of imagination and mythology, the worlds of nightmares and the Arabian Nights. It is ludicrous in the extreme to hear government and Pentagon officials seriously envisioning a one hundred year war against a phantom Caliphate of Hydra-like proportions extending across the continents. It all too easily flows into a fratricidal "clash of civilizations" with the Moslem world that protagonists such as Newt Gingrich are presently lobbying for. This is the stuff of psychosis.
Against this paranoid, dualistic vision of humanity at war with itself that the White House so fervently embraces, this dark vision and violent paradigm that paralyzes all progress toward resolving the world's real problems, enters the new Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives this January, led by you, fortunately led by you, because you have the perfect background to present the country, and the world, with a far more enlightened vision for all to embrace. It is the vision presented by Saint Francis, the patron saint of San Francisco, who said simply:
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy."
This timeless quote lies at the core of the collective soul of San Francisco and is what has made San Francisco what it is, a beacon of light and a Mecca of love and tolerance for all of humanity. In San Francisco, as in few places in this country, there is an evolved sense of community between Asian and African, Latino and Irishman, Italian and Pakistani, Buddhist and Catholic, Moslem and Jew, and Gay and Straight that you, Congresswoman, have certainly witnessed in the 8th District. And a tour of Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill brings it all home when one gazes upon the historical mural on the nave wall depicting the founding of the United Nations in 1945 in our city. So, even that preeminent organization of world unity is in our city's heritage. San Francisco's spirit is not about division and hostility between nations, but rather about their opposite, the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind.
San Francisco has also had a proud intellectual tradition of breaking down intellectual and social barriers, of confronting the Establishment, of speaking outside the box, graced with such shooting stars as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, to name a few, who always seemed to return to that Buddhist theme of Enlightenment, of seeing beyond dualism, of grasping the oneness of Being. That is a part of San Francisco too. What America and the world need right now, Congresswoman Pelosi, is a vision of that oneness, a vision that you are now in a position to give them.
Finally, San Francisco has a progressive tradition of promoting equal rights for women and listening to their voices and perspectives. Senator Feinstein and you are both living proof of that. And the feminine perspective is sorely needed in the world today, a world catering all too much to the male ego and its proclivities. The brilliant author of The Color Purple, Alice Walker, recently wrote an article based on her newest book, We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Light in a Time of Darkness. In it she tells the story of the Swa people of the Amazon, who, although they consider men and women equals, have a traditional division of labor between them in one respect. The men are considered to be a destroying principle, the women a conserving principle, and when the men throw the world out of balance, the women are expected to step in and tell them to stop. To quote Alice Walker:
"It is the woman who says: Stop. We have enough firewood and canoes, don't cut down any more trees. Stop. We have enough meat; don't kill any more animals. Stop. This war is stupid and using up too many of our resources. Stop."
(http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2906/ )
So I humbly ask you, Congresswoman, to walk in the spirit of Saint Francis and with the soul of the Charter of the United Nations in your heart as you approach the Speaker's podium in the Capitol in January. Please speak and legislate from the core of your being for the good of humanity and the planet as you confront the mammoth challenges awaiting us all. Please uplift us with a positive vision of world peace and unity. We will strongly support you in such an endeavor.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
We Are The Web
When you're contacting your elected officials in DC on Jan 3 and 4th about Iraq withdrawal (asap)...you might remind them that net neutrality needs to be addressed asap too. There's no reason this measure can't be passed quickly...there are fine bills from Jim Moran in the house and one from Olympia Snowe in the Senate that were introduced last session. Moran's was defeated and Senator George Allen wouldn't let Snowe's bill leave his committee for a vote. So the DEMS need to insure Net Neutrality asap...
Visit Save the Internet
Update: Thanks to Jonathan Mark at Goodbye Jim for finding my greivous error.
Rep. Rick Boucher (VA-09) deserves the credit I wrongly gave to Jim Moran.
The "MYTH" of Environmentally Safe Offshore Drilling
This just in....Gulf of Mexico has oil spill caused by ship anchor rupturing the pipeline.
Thanks to the Republicans selling off "our" Oil at fire sale prices and cheating American taxpayers from a "decent" price.
Virginia Beach also has a future of tarred, spoiled beaches....Buzz..Buzz...
Thanks to the Republicans selling off "our" Oil at fire sale prices and cheating American taxpayers from a "decent" price.
Virginia Beach also has a future of tarred, spoiled beaches....Buzz..Buzz...
Bush is on another vacation
President George W. Bush went to his Crawford Texas ranch yesterday to take one of his famous "working" vacation breaks.
Of course the White House statement is that he went to his Crawford ranch to "think" about Iraq....probably while riding one of his mountain bikes and resting up from his Christmas festivities to prepare for his New Year's celebration....
Meanwhile our troops are stuck in Iraq...and if Bush has his way they will stay stuck in Iraq.
According to the polls the majority of the American people, the Iraqi people, and the troops stationed in Iraq want the troops to come home. I haven't seen a single poll that says otherwise.
Lobby your elected official on January 3 and 4th in person, or with emails and phone calls. Remind them that only 11% of Americans now support the Iraq war. The rest of us want them to come home asap. No surge...let's do the right thing...Honor the wishes of the Middle Eastern people; they want freedom from the United States. The Time to Withdraw is long past due.
Virgil H. Goode is still on the hook
Virginia's Virgil H. Goode remains in the news. The Baltimore Sun has an excellent piece discussing Goode's shameful and ignorant hate speech during a season that is supposed to represent peace on earth. I've already posted my thoughts of Virgil Goode here.
Mac followed up with a nice piece on misconceptions about Islam.
All of Virginia's elected officials should be speaking out on this issue. Many Virginian bloggers are promoting that Goode's hate speech is not typical of Virginians. However, the silence of our elected officials on this issue sends a different message--agreement with the bigotry Goode is promoting.
We should not let our elected officials "off the hook" so easily. They should clear the air and have the courage to verbalize their positions on this crucial issue.
Mac followed up with a nice piece on misconceptions about Islam.
All of Virginia's elected officials should be speaking out on this issue. Many Virginian bloggers are promoting that Goode's hate speech is not typical of Virginians. However, the silence of our elected officials on this issue sends a different message--agreement with the bigotry Goode is promoting.
We should not let our elected officials "off the hook" so easily. They should clear the air and have the courage to verbalize their positions on this crucial issue.
Mosquito welcomes Mac to the Blog
This is a delayed introduction but we have another blogger joining the Mosquito Blog. Many of you in Hampton Roads know him...Mac is an active member of the Gaia Circle and the Tidewater Peace Alliance.
He's been published in alternative and the mainstream press. Mac has also been featured online at OpEd News website
He's already posted one article and he will be posting periodically "as the mood strikes him" and/or as time and life permits.
Here at Mosquito Blog we are proud to welcome Mac to the Virginia Blogosphere.
He's been published in alternative and the mainstream press. Mac has also been featured online at OpEd News website
He's already posted one article and he will be posting periodically "as the mood strikes him" and/or as time and life permits.
Here at Mosquito Blog we are proud to welcome Mac to the Virginia Blogosphere.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Happy XMAS--War is Over
Warning--Video contains images of war
Merry XMAS and Peace on Earth! God Blesses EVERYONE not just Americans.....
This war is over if we want it. We spoke out loufl during the midterm. Now they are hoping we will shut up and go on about our lives while they continue to mislead us.
IF we want out of Iraq we will need to keep speaking out and not shut up until all our troops are home. GO TO D.C. ON JANUARY 3 OR 4 AND LOBBY CONGRESS TO END THIS WAR. If you can't do it in person CALL or EMAIL ALL your elected officials in D.C.
We voted to end this war. Bush, Cheney, Rice, Gates, et al are going to spin it and lie to keep us in Iraq AND have us start ANOTHER war in Iran. Let's do what is necessary to stop these war profiteers and "their" terrorism of others.
Media Watch and Net Neutrality
The corporate media has definitely not been covering this issue. This is their special interest that NOT in the best interests of the American people.
Thanks to the Seattle Times we have an update on the Republican FCC Chairman's push to allow ATT and Bell South to merge without Net Neutrality guarantees. The Republican Chair-- Kevin Martin--tried to force the newest Republican member to vote on this issue to break the deadlock (a tie vote). The newest member--Robert McDowell--refused to vote choosing to honor his word. McDowell had testified before Congress that he would not vote on any issue affecting the telecommunications industry (he has strong ties here).
The two Democratic members are holding firm...so the merger is currently blocked. For more info on this merger and other media news check out Free Press.
Thanks to the Seattle Times we have an update on the Republican FCC Chairman's push to allow ATT and Bell South to merge without Net Neutrality guarantees. The Republican Chair-- Kevin Martin--tried to force the newest Republican member to vote on this issue to break the deadlock (a tie vote). The newest member--Robert McDowell--refused to vote choosing to honor his word. McDowell had testified before Congress that he would not vote on any issue affecting the telecommunications industry (he has strong ties here).
The two Democratic members are holding firm...so the merger is currently blocked. For more info on this merger and other media news check out Free Press.
Bush Cheney and Gates with THEIR Families at XMAS....
It's traditional for the Secretary of Defense to "serve" the troops their holiday meals. Gates buzzed into Iraq BEFORE Christmas...and then flew back out to join "his" family and loved ones for Christmas.
The only time President Bush visited the troops in Iraq during a Holiday was for a Thanksgiving "photo op" during his 2004 re-election campaign. Our President, Vice President, Secretary of State are taking a Christmas vacation to be with their family and loved ones for Christmas. There is no shame among these folks. The mainstream corporate media never mentions the hypocrisy or the lies..
Hard questions need to be asked of this President and this administration come January....
The only time President Bush visited the troops in Iraq during a Holiday was for a Thanksgiving "photo op" during his 2004 re-election campaign. Our President, Vice President, Secretary of State are taking a Christmas vacation to be with their family and loved ones for Christmas. There is no shame among these folks. The mainstream corporate media never mentions the hypocrisy or the lies..
Hard questions need to be asked of this President and this administration come January....
Sunday, December 24, 2006
TOB--Imagine a Bush remix
Thinking Outside the Box
Warning--Viewer Discretion Advised--curse words and images of war.
Warning--Viewer Discretion Advised--curse words and images of war.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
On Misconceptions about Islam
There are scores of misconceptions, driven by fear and loathing in the last few decades, about Islam. One is that Islam possesses a fanatical desire to undermine and destroy the Christian and Jewish faiths, converting Christians and Jews to Islam by the sword if necessary. But these ideas are from the realms of fantasy, propaganda and projection. And they are fertilized by the noxious and hateful neocon movement, which has ulterior motives for demonizing Islam, namely to justify agression against Islamic States and peoples.
Historically, Islam has been rather tolerant of Christianity and Judaism. The Prophet Mohammed called Jews and Christians "People of the Book", and considered Moses and Jesus both earlier prophets as well. During the Middle Ages, when temporal Islamic Empires were very widespread and powerful, Christians and Jews within their realms were allowed to practice their own religions and, although not granted all the rights of Moslems, were neither generally oppressed nor assaulted with recurring pograms, such as were common against the Jews throughout Europe and Russia. In contrast, the Jewish community in Moorish Spain flourished and was a center of Jewish philosophy. The modern city of Fallujah, so recently devastated by the American military in Iraq, was also a center of Jewish culture in the midst of the larger Islamic culture.
Meanwhile, hatred circles like a shark waiting to strike. It replaces the historical and experiential truth with stereotypes and projections and one's mind becomes infected with these stereotypes. Moslems in this country are in danger of becoming the new "Japs" and the new "Negroes (and you know what else)" of our ugly past, and it is always demagogic politicians who lead the way. So, take a cue from Jesus and think unconditional love, when tempted, to keep your minds clear of this spiritual pollution.
Historically, Islam has been rather tolerant of Christianity and Judaism. The Prophet Mohammed called Jews and Christians "People of the Book", and considered Moses and Jesus both earlier prophets as well. During the Middle Ages, when temporal Islamic Empires were very widespread and powerful, Christians and Jews within their realms were allowed to practice their own religions and, although not granted all the rights of Moslems, were neither generally oppressed nor assaulted with recurring pograms, such as were common against the Jews throughout Europe and Russia. In contrast, the Jewish community in Moorish Spain flourished and was a center of Jewish philosophy. The modern city of Fallujah, so recently devastated by the American military in Iraq, was also a center of Jewish culture in the midst of the larger Islamic culture.
Meanwhile, hatred circles like a shark waiting to strike. It replaces the historical and experiential truth with stereotypes and projections and one's mind becomes infected with these stereotypes. Moslems in this country are in danger of becoming the new "Japs" and the new "Negroes (and you know what else)" of our ugly past, and it is always demagogic politicians who lead the way. So, take a cue from Jesus and think unconditional love, when tempted, to keep your minds clear of this spiritual pollution.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Virginia's Word
First there was George Allen and the macaca incident. Allen's use of a racial epithet from his mother's native land and his subsequent explanations garnered so much attention that "macaca" is becoming a new, widely used word in American English.Now a new "macaca" moment comes from the mouth of another right wing Virginian Republican, Virgil Goode (R-VA-5th). The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Goode's "ignorant and divisive statements " and called on him to apologize. As if this writing, Goode has issued no apology.
Bigotry is bigotry. Elected officials such as George Allen and Virgil Goode,
I suggest that my home state adopt a new state symbol to recognize and "honor" the power and the influence of right wing extremists in our state.
We have a eleven state symbols (not counting our flag and various seals). These symbols include a state boat (Chesapeake Bay deadrise), a dog (American Fox Hound), and a state bird (red cardinal). So why not a state word? And a state word from George Allen, a state politician the corporate media describes as "very popular," seems appropriate.
Why not enshrine Macaca as Virginia’s state word?
Buzz...Buzz...Three Cheers for Vivian Paige....
Actually this is a four buzz announcement...
Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...
Vivian Paige's blog was given a mighty mention by the Daou Report at Salon.com.
Way to go Vivian....well deserved. It's great when hard working bloggers get some credit.
Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...
Vivian Paige's blog was given a mighty mention by the Daou Report at Salon.com.
Way to go Vivian....well deserved. It's great when hard working bloggers get some credit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
