Archive for the Politics & Causes category
August 18th, 2006
The Boston Globe reports that the technology to detect liquid explosives is already available and, in fact, the White House and the Supreme Court are already using such equipment known as SmartCheck, a low-intensity X-ray scanner made by AS&E that “can spot a bottle of organic compounds in a passenger’s pocket.” That’s pretty impressive actually considering all the people who end up on airplanes with all sorts of things they aren’t supposed to. However,
The TSA has not outfitted airports with the devices, in part, because officials have to prioritize where they spend limited dollars, according
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Tags: George W. Bush, politics, terrorism, Homeland Security, Boston Globe, airport security, AS&E, SmartCheck, TSA
August 16th, 2006
So, Monday and Tuesday was filled with news of various world leaders patting each other on the back as to who won in the latest Middle East Crisis, this Israel/Hezbollah Conflict.
“We are today before a strategic, historic victory, without exaggeration,” Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said in a televised speech that was met with celebratory gunfire in the Shia suburbs of Beirut.
“We emerged from the battle with our heads high, and our enemy is the one who is defeated.”
In an impassioned address to the Knesset, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said “the IDF warriors always had the upper hand,” and
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Tags: Israel, Lebanon, NPR, Hezbollah, The Monkees, Ehud Olmert, IDF, Hassan Nasrallah, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran, George W. Bush, Syria, Bashir al-Assad, Middle East, politics
August 10th, 2006
I must say when I happened about this post at Punkassblog.com, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It’s so true and so inspiring.
Clearly, the left blogosphere has been annointed the moral police of the world. In case you hadn’t noticed, everyone on the Right gets incensed whenever we fail to erupt in outrage over whatever’s got their momentary goat. This can only mean one thing: they need our moral validation.
It’s mighty big of wingnuttery to just hand over the needle of the moral compass to us Western-facing souls, and we ought to handle our job with care.
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Tags: liberals, morality
August 9th, 2006
Humanitarian Aid Charities collecting for Lebanon have run into difficulties collecting in the United States. It’s not that there’s a lack of desire to give, but it turns out there’s a fear to give…apparently, Americans are a little afraid of what their government might have to say if they donate…because after all the NSA is watching and what if you accidently donate to the wrong charity and your name ends up in a database somewhere listing you as a supporter of terrorists? Remember, if you’re doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.
Some people want to get
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Tags: Humanitarian Aid, Lebanon, Arab, charity, spying on Americans, Treasury Department, United Jewish Communities, CAIR, Arab American Institute, NSA, International Islamic Relief Organization, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, American Task Force on Palestine, State Department
August 8th, 2006
- Preparing for Martial Law - Jill @ Brilliant at Breakfast reports that President Bush is trying to secretly federalize the National Guard, a move that the National Governors Association is trying to put a stop to. This is the kind of thing a dictator would do, by the way.
- Might as well face it, they’re addicted to porn… - SpinDentist @ The All Spin Zone reports on a poll revelling what I’ve suspected all along — that there are quite a large number of self-identified Christians involving themselves with porn. This may be why so many rightwingers
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Tags: PBS, NPR, GOP, Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, ABC, Good Morning America, Christians, George W. Bush, National Guard, National Governors Association, EFF
August 8th, 2006
Posted
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Politics & Causes,
Books, Music, Movies, & T.V.,
Geekery,
Soap Box,
The World,
Featured,
Iraq & Afghanistan,
The Middle East by
n. mallory
Late last week the following exerpt was going around the liberal blogosphere as more evidence of President Bush’s cluelessness from the White House:
A year after his “Axis of Evil” speech before the U.S. Congress, President Bush met with three Iraqi Americans, one of whom became postwar Iraq’s first representative to the United States. The three described what they thought would be the political situation after the fall of Saddam Hussein. During their conversation with the President, Galbraith claims, it became apparent to them that Bush was unfamiliar with the distinction between Sunnis and Shiites.
Galbraith reports that the three of them
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Tags: Iraq, George W. Bush, Peter Galbraith, Spin City, Islam, Sunnis, Shiites
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Politics & Causes, Books, Music, Movies, & T.V., Geekery, Soap Box, The World, Featured, Iraq & Afghanistan, The Middle East
August 8th, 2006
Reading this article, I’m reminded of all of those people who insist that American soldiers never ever commit autrocities and to so much as think such a thing, particularly in a time of war, is akin to treason. To utter or print the words, to repeat them, to say you witnessed such things — these are the worst kinds of sins, far worse than murdering, torturing and raping innocent civillians, particularly those innocent civillians American soldiers are meant to protect and liberate.
NEW YORK A study of declassified Army documents by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday found that the killings of civilians by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam war were far more numerous than previously known — and went largely unpunished. In total, 320 incidents of abuse by U.S. soldiers are substantiated.
“Abuses were not confined to a few rogue units,” the Times reported. “They were uncovered in every Army division that operated in Vietnam.”
Atrociities by U.S. troops in Iraq are currently gaining wide attention.
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Tags: Vietnam, American soldiers, Iraq
August 4th, 2006
- Tin Foil Hats And Tiaras For Everyone! — The (liberal)Girl Next Door talks about the recent poll revealing that 1/3rd of Americans believe that 9/11 was “an inside job” and what that staggering fact could or should mean for our future as a country.
One out of three people think the Bush administration could very well have organized the deaths of 3,000 innocent Americans for the sole purpose of furthering their foreign policy objectives. In other words, a third of this country’s citizens believe that the Bush administration is a terrorist organization. How is it possible that impeachment isn’t even on the table if that many Americans think he’s a killer? Yes, it’s a rhetorical question and we can all say in unison, “it’s possible with the help of a lapdog press.”
- Internet “Conspiracies” — In contrast Red Bull uses the same poll to champion Net Neutrality. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Conspiracy Theories, 9/11, net neutrality, gay hate crimes, Homeland Security, FAS, disaster preparedness, Israel, U.S., Hezbollah, Lebanon, Middle East, Military Families Speak Out
August 1st, 2006
- An Epidemic of Hatred — Shakespeare’s Sister has written an excellent must-read piece on the lack of media attention on the war against homosexuality in America.
Consider for a moment the stories you see on the nightly news. Try to recall the scare stories that are built up around two children nationwide getting injured by a faulty toy, or three people nationwide having died from side effects of a medication, or ten people in your city having been attacked by pit bulls over the last twenty years. “A rash of incidents.” “An epidemic.” “What can
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Tags: Israel, Lebanon, Mel Gibson, Bill Cosby, Palestinians, Jew, Arab, Nazis, Iraq, George W. Bush, politics, Fox News, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda
August 1st, 2006
When you think about the possibilities…when you consider what lives might be helped…when you consider that in hundreds of labs around the world unused, unwanted embryos are never going to become anything more than lifeless chemical waste…when asked, if you did your part, however little for stem-cell research, what will you say?
If I had the chance, if it were me, in the position of someone who’d had the opportunity to go through the man-made miracle of in-vitro fertilization, I think I’d want to give a little back to man and science, if I could. After all, without those researchers looking for miracles, my own miracle wouldn’t be possible, would it? Is that too much to ask? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: stem cell research, George W. Bush, Australia, IVF, embryo
July 31st, 2006
Well, holy crap. This is exactly what I’ve been talking about. This is what I’ve said was coming. And don’t give me that crap about “if you’re innocent, you have nothing to fear”. This is the kind of legislation meant to be abused. This legislation is not what America is supposed to be about. This is the kind of thing that leads to people disappearing from their homes in the middle of the night and no one hearing from them again because of something they accidently said on their cell phone or typed in
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Tags: detention centers, Police State, politics, George W. Bush, Alberto Gonzales
July 28th, 2006
Georgia Stillwell is a member of Military Families Speak Out and the mother of a soldier serving in Iraq. She’s active in organizations working for peace and to bring her son and our military home from Iraq.
Below is are her amazing thoughts as presented on Stories in America: (emphasis mine)
Distracted, damn right I am!
When I returned home from my trip to Washington DC. Where I met with various Senators, Representatives and the Speaker of the House as part of Military Families Speak Out Operation House Call, I received a
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Tags: American soldiers, Iraq, Military Families Speak Out, Georgia Stillwell, Gold Star Mothers, politics
July 26th, 2006
- The Godless West — The (liberal)Girl Next Door has a post about the religious breakdown of the U.S. based on a map that appeared in USA Today. It’s kind of a surprise actually.
It’s interesting to see the geographical differences, Lutherans in the North, Baptists in the South, Catholics in the Northeast and a bunch of non-religious folks out West. What I found most interesting though is that no-religion places in the top three in just about every state while Evangelicals, if they rank at all, top out at 2%. How is it that such a small minority has so much influence on our government?
- It’s Official, We’re All Living in A Kafka Novel — The All Spin Zone points to an article that originally appeared on The Denver Channel about how Air Marshalls have quotas to make and they’ve been adding people to watch lists for doing things like taking photos on airplanes. You can also read about it at Pam’s House Blend. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: politics, Air Marshals, religion, American Bar Association, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon
July 21st, 2006
I found this at Andy’s where he quoted Jim from Irregular Times and it was just too good to pass up requoting here:
Dear Editor:
I’m trying desperately to get a grip on recent events inside Washington. After the world found out that George W. Bush had been ordering surveillance on Americans without any warrants, the Office of Professional Responsibility in the Justice Department (part of the Bush administration) declared its intention to investigate the origin and legality of this program. We found out the OPR investigation would go nowhere after the Bush administration wouldn’t grant the necessary security clearances for the Bush administration’s investigation of itself. This week, it came out that George W. Bush denied the security clearances himself.
So what it boils down to is that George W. Bush has informed the Bush administration that it cannot investigate George W. Bush because even the Bush administration itself doesn’t have, thanks to George W. Bush, the necessary clearance to investigate George W. Bush. Have I got that straight?
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Tags: NSA, George W. Bush, spying on Americans, illegal wiretapping
June 17th, 2006
This cartoon is funny but more in a gut-wrenching “how true” kind of a way than a “Family-Circus-Look-What-Billy-Did-This-Week” kind of way.
Tags: Law, George W. Bush, Signing Statement, Congress, Veto
June 16th, 2006
Here are a few posts written elsewhere that I thought worth passing on:
- Cat and Mouse with the VA (Score One for the Cat) — Dark Wraith is one of those Veterans who received a letter from the Veterans Administration about last month’s Fubar with the laptop and all of that personal data that might or might not have gotten hijacked. He’s not just upset about the Fubar; he’s upset that that they were able to find him at all after he spent ages carefully not alerting them to address changes…
This is Exhibit Number One of what happens when the government turns into a nosy weirdo: its minions collect all kinds of personal data for whatever compelling reason they’ve concocted to make their jobs have meaning, and once they’ve got all that data, they place everyone in the database at risk, both from their own nefarious people and from those who would be able to compromise whatever security they have on the data. They take what isn’t theirs—our privacy—and they can’t have the decency to ensure even that they’re the only ones who can mess up our lives with what they’ve expropriated.
To the Veterans Administration—and knowing full well that my rage will do no good whatsoever—I say this: Stay the Hell out of my life.
To everyone else, I say this: if you’re not afraid of this government, you should be; and if you are afraid of this government, you should be more so.
Not that it will do you any good to be afraid. As far as I can tell, they’ll find you when they want to, anyway. It’s all part of the price we now pay for the security our government provides as it diligently dismisses any regard whatsoever for the right we thought we had to be left alone.
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Tags: Veterans Administration, Identity Theft, Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, insurgents, American soldiers, amnesty, Florida, voter fraud, Voting Irregularities, Greg Palast, sexual harrassment, inhumanity, humanity
June 15th, 2006
If you make the Federal minimum wage, you earn $5.15 an hour — officially raised last in 1998. Working 40 hours (if your employer allows that) a week 52 weeks a year with no vacation, no holidays, and no sick days, you would earn $10, 712. (If you work those max number of days, that’s 260 days a year.)
Congress works less than 250 days over every two year period called “a session”. They are in Washington D.C. less than 3 days a week and are facing record lows in approval ratings. Yet, this week, for the seventh year in a row, lawmakers embraced a %2 “cost of living” raise that bringing their salaries to $168,500.
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Tags: Congress, minimum wage, politics
