Sunday, April 24, 2005

Quote 'o the day

No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
James Madison

Weekly Links



Justice or Just Us
Army Clears Key General in Abu Ghraib Scandal
Muslim-Americans Sue Govt for Racial Profiling
U.S. Frees 17 Afghans, 1 Turk from Guantanamo Jail
Carter: Rich States 'Don't Give a Damn' About Poor
Argentine Convicted of 'Dirty War' Crimes
Ex-Guantanamo Prisoner Didn't Know of 9/11
Italy, U.S. Disagree Over Agent Shooting
Italian Opposition Slams U.S. Report on Iraq Killing
Activists Ask Who Led Them From Bush Event
Cheney: I'll Vote to Stop Filibusters
Frist Defends Effort to End Filibusters
GOP hopes to strip Democrats of filibuster
Frist Draws Criticism From Some Church Leaders
Fiore presents: The reverse revolution
This Modern World: The overzealous Republican staffer
Right-wing threats not important to Homeland Security "Anyone remember Oklahoma City?"
Old Yeller & Devilish DeLay
Another Republican Backs More Review of Bolton
Bolton Often Blocked Information, Officials Say
Reports Rock Support for U.N. Nominee
Senate Panel Delays Vote on Bolton for U.N.
Senators Want Officials' Take on Bolton
Powell Playing Quiet Role in Bolton Battle
Bolton Finds U.N. Nomination in Jeopardy
House Ethics Panel to Probe Tom DeLay
Lobbyist Gave DeLay a Skybox for Donors
Delay and the NRA
Conservative Lawmaker: DeLay Should Quit
Jim Leach breaks from GOP on DeLay
Bush Calls DeLay an Effective Leader
Lawmakers' Relatives on Political Payroll
DeLay Likens GOP Contract to Magna Carta "What's wrong with this picture?: DeLay touting the Contract with America which was suppose to bring back ethical behavior to government."
Ethics 101: Delay's House of Scandal
Fiore presents: Ethics extermination
Environment
House OKs Energy Bill After Fight Over Additive
Gas Price Falls After 4-Week Record Run
Dem. Senator Blocks Vote on EPA Nominee
Study Shows Antarctic Glaciers Shrinking
Bush Faces Hurdles on Energy Agenda
War on Terror
U.S-Wanted Terrorism Suspect Runs for UK Parliament
Rice Accused of Suppressing Terror Info
FBI fights for bin Laden's right to privacy
"If the CIA knew they had the wrong man, why was he held?"
More War!
Finding Nothing Weapons Inspector Ends WMD Search in Iraq "That's right folks! No WMDs. Suprised? You shouldn't be."
"But wait... Maybe Saddam hid his WMDs in Syria."
Inspectors Find No Proof Iraq Hid Weapons in Syria
Senate Passes $81 Billion War Spending Bill
Pentagon's war spending hard to track
Opinion: What I heard about Iraq
What is it going to take? Daily Show: How can we get the Muslim world to like us (Click on clip "What's it gonna to take?"). "'Cause I'm proud to be an American..."
Give Peace a Chance
Canada Urged to Give U.S. Army Deserters Shelter
The People's President
Bush Signs Tougher New Bankruptcy Law
Bush Says Raising Retirement Age a Possibility
Bushes Report Gross Income of $784,219
MJ
Canada OKs Cannabis-Based MS Painkiller
And More
Dean: Schiavo Case to Be Used Against GOP
Senate Votes to Ban Video News Releases
States reject 'No Child Left Behind' (including TX)
Neil Bush & the New Pope?

Rearview Mirror


Pompeii, Italy

Friday, April 22, 2005

Quote 'o the day

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. Carl G. Jung

Monday, April 18, 2005

Quote 'o the day

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values.
John F. Kennedy

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Quote 'o the day

In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk

Weekly Links

Delightful DeLay "Its All About Ethics!"

"Republicans like DeLay thought the courts would bend to their will but the courts slapped them in the face"
Delay running amok
DeLay Fundraising Plied Special Interests
Shays (R): DeLay Should Quit As House Leader
DeLay Draws Fire From Fellow Republicans
Inquiry on Lobbyist Casts a Shadow in Congress
From Conquered Sand: True Terror
Iraqis protest terror and occupation

On the same spot
Suspect's Death Evokes Memories of Hussein Era
Iraqis on Iraq: In their own words
US 'smuggles wounded troops home' under cover of darkness
How U.S. failed GIs
Officials Ask Why Iraq Details Surface Now
Outposts of Tyranny
Records Give Voice to Guantanamo Detainees (Despite Bush's Desire to Keep Them Silent)
Rights group decries proposed military doctrine that formalizes "enemy combatant" status
WMDs: America's Gift
Top US scientists urge halt to funding for missile defense deployment
WMDs Found! (in Colorado)
More Ethical Behavior
Gay marriage is good according to GOP consultant (whose having a gay marriage)
Mandatory EXPERIMENTAL anthrax vaccine now voluntary
Judge: Tobacco CEO Testimony Self-Serving
U.S. Audit Probes $212 Mln in Halliburton Iraq Work
Kerry: Trickery Kept Voters From Polls "Crying foul a little late... just like Gore"
Fiore presents: Commissions we'd like to see
Slowpoke: The right-wing noise machine
This Modern World: Compare and contrast
Big Dog Bolton
Democrats Seek to Block Bolton as UN Ambassador
Senate Panel Grills Bolton Over Record
The Environment
EPA Scraps Controversial Pesticide Testing Program
Fish: It's Not What's for Dinner
Global-Warming Experts Address 100 Loggers
10 States to Sue EPA Over Mercury Rules

Pesticides in Produce

This is a list of the 16 most contaminated fruits and veggies. It was developed by the Environmental Working Group and is based on 100,000 tests conducted by the USDA.
The EWG says that you can lower your pesticide exposure from produce by 90% by replacing the top 12 on this list with organic. Visit www.Foodnews.org to learn more.

The List (#1=most contaminated, #16=least)
1. Peaches
2. Strawberries
3. Apples
4. Spinach
5. Nectarines
6. Celery
7. Pears
8. Cherries
9. Potatoes
10. Sweet Bell Peppers
11. Raspberries
12. Grapes
13. Carrots
14. Green Beans
15. Hot Peppers
16. Oranges

Monday, April 11, 2005

Rearview Mirror


Antelope Canyon, AZ

Friday, April 08, 2005

Quote 'o the day

Our children are not born to hate, they are raised to hate.
~Thomas della Peruta

Random Thoughts

You know what really bugs me? Crosses draped with American flags. Let me tell you why.
But first let me say that I have nothing against the Christian faith. Sure, I got some issues with the various churches. Afterall, their track record isn't exactly spotless (subjgation of women, tolerance of the slave trade, the Inquisitions, their marriage to monarchies, their role in the Native American Holocaust, etc...). But the faith itself and the people that believe?... I really have very little negative feelings for them. Each man must seek his own spiritual truth and if your path has led you to organized religion and the Cross in particular, may you feel content and spread love into the world.
But it is with this idea that I find the mix of nationalism with religion so repulsive. Certainly your beliefs are going to effect your politics but that doesn't mean that your beliefs should be the beliefs of all. In fact, history shows when religious zealotry meets rabid nationalism some very wicked things happen. I hate bringing up the pre-WWII German experience but it is a shining example of why religion and politics shouldn't mix. Of course you can look at the Roman Empire and feudal Europe too. There are plenty of examples of what happens when the state and a religious idealogy become fused. And in light of this our founding fathers, Christians mind you, made it very clear that there must be a seperation between church and state.
Our laws may have their roots in the Commandments but to blur the line invites trouble. First, what do these flag waving, Jesus worshipping people have to say about all the non-Christians who have fought and often died for this country? Jews, Natives, Africans, and Muslims have all marched under the red, white, and blue without believing in Jesus "the Christ". To marry the flag with the cross ignores and insults the sacrifices those men and women made. Secondly, the very ideology they fought to defend was that thing the Christian right invokes so often, "freedom". "Freedom" also includes "freedom of religion". What is freedom worth if you must conform to the dominant religion? Which gets me to the third point: Christianity is the dominant religion. For Christians to feel like victims, preyed upon by the non-believers, loosing their lands and thier values, is absolutely proposterous. Has there ever been a non-Christian president for example? NO! Fact is, way over half of Americans call themselves "Christians", by in large the majority. The victimization card the right pulls out is fraudulent. Fourth, America did not start Christian. It subjagated the Native peoples and forced them to become Christian. Conquest in the name of Christ, again. And finally, it is these very same rabid Bible thumpers who are the most un-American and un-Christian. Who wants to rid our country of dissent and of free speech? Who wants to kill the "others" and force people into Americas way of thinking, robbing them of their own self-determination? Who supports war and torture, domination and exploitation of the weak? Not this non-Christian. For those of you Christians who truly are pro-life (anti-war, anti-capital punishment), pro-peace, pro-love please help reveal the Christian right for what it is: a dangerous, political machine based on lies, half-truths, and fear. It's pedalled by racist, ethnocentric, pig-eyed, red-faced bigots who disguise their own greed and a contempt for God's diversity by invoking Jesus's name and draping themselves in the flag. May the the light of Truth reveal their hypocracy.

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Quote 'o the day

The 1st panacea of a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the 2nd is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; a permanent ruin.
Ernest Hemingway

I Lied

O.K.... I didn't actually lie. I did say I'd stop with this blogging thing, largely cause it was taking up too much time. But my wife talked me into continuing to throw these links out there.
As you may notice there isn't too much on here in way of opinion (save the obvious selecting of what to post). Also, I try and stay with mainstream media because the left thinks its right wing and the right thinks it left wing. Personally, I think it is a bit of both. Journalist are more likely to be on the left but the editors and owners tend to be right. And like with any company it seems that the owner's vision is going to be more dominant than his workers'. But this media tangent isn't my point. My point is actually that I am going to keep doing my weekly post but they will be a little shorter. Instead, I'll put on more of my two cents and here comes my first donation:
Are there any Republicans out there that have either a. the balls or b. the brains to admit that Bush is a bad president and leader? I know it is very unlike the elephants to break party lines even in the face of overwhelming evidence that:
a. the war on Iraq was unjust, unwarrented, built on lies, and was on the agenda before 9-11 (which Iraq had nothing to do with)
b. torture was part of the administrations war on terror and that the revelations of this are actually breeding more terrorism
c. Bush and the industrial polluters of the world sleep in the same bed while the world burns and the people suffocate
d. his policies are flushing our long-time economic strength down the drain
and e. facist, totalitarian style, state funded (and anti-American) propoganda has been used to push all of his policies
The fact is Clinton lied about cheating on his wife. Bush on the other hand has lied about... do i need to list all of them yet again?
So, my question stands: Are there any Bush supporters out there willing to say "Maybe I was wrong, maybe I made a mistake" or are you all just stuck seeing red, heads in the sand, trapped by a false duality of Dems v. Reps, Libs v. Cons, Us v. Them? Hell you guys, Bush is a fiscally radical zealot! Doesn't that bother your conservative streak? I mean, the biggest reason I hear for supporting him (other than dangerous religious rhetoric) is economics and our economy is in the shitter! so I must ask "Is you tax break that great when the value of the dollar plummets? Is your tax break that great that your children get to inherit the largest deficit in the history of the world? Is you tax break that great that you can ignore all the un-American stuff Bush is responsible for (torture, totalitarianism, propoganda, pre-emptive strikes, massive environmental degredation, etc... and ad naseaum)?". To be fair to you all, Democrats are wimps, a bunch of "yes-men", sheep if you will. But it is Bush & Co. that are leading the nationalistic, ethnocentric, religious charge of corporate imperialism all at the cost of the common man.
So... who is willing to break ranks? And no, you don't have to become an ass. Just say no to Bush.

Quotes 'o the day

In Honor of Pope John Paul II

"Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create."
-- July 3, 1980

"When war threatens humanity's destiny, as it does today in Iraq, it is even more urgent for us to proclaim with a loud and decisive voice that peace is the only way to build a more just and caring society. Violence and arms can never solve human problems."
-- Pope condemns Bush's invasion of Iraq, March 22, 2003

Weekly Links

Intelligence
Report: U.S. Intelligence 'Dead Wrong' on Iraq
A Wicked Curveball
Panel: U.S. Ignored Work of U.N. Arms Inspectors
'Curveball' Debacle Reignites CIA Feud
The Continuing Soc. Sec. Saga
Bush Undeterred by Resistance to Plan
A Hard Sell in Bush's Neighborhood
"If I came to you and said, 'We're going to make you a millionaire, but we're not going to tell you how it's going to work,' how much credibility would I have?... You wouldn't go out and start buying big automobiles all of a sudden."
Bush's Boys
Damn liberals want DeLay resignation "But he is such a good, honest man!"
Opposition grows to UN basher becoming a UN ambassador
Saudi Prince Accused of Drug Smuggling Avoids Prosecution
This Modern World: Florida, cauldron of craziness!
Environment
Study: Earth's Health Deteriorating "We only have one planet folks."
Report: Human Damage to Earth Worsening Fast
Brazil Panel Finds Plot Behind Nun's Death
Commentary: George Bush On Mercury Pollution: Don’t Eat Tuna Fish
Time to be Weened
Gasoline costs 5 cents a gallon in Iraq thanks to U.S. taxpayers "I know Republicans just love this!"
Oil Hits New Record

Petrolcide
Terrible Tactics
Suit by Detainee on Transfer to Syria Finds Support in Jet's Log
Interrogation tactics draw fire
U.S. Says Rights Are Key to Relations "Nothing like hypocracy to show respect."
Fiore presents: The Adventures of Knuckles
More on War (Isn't This Fun?)
Expert: Malnutrition Affects Iraq Kids "Free to go hungry?"
Halliburton sued for endangering employees
Congress Weighs Money for Missile Defense
Bush: U.S. to Bear Burden of Iraq Costs "Didn't they say that with all the oil Iraq would be able to pay for its own costs? That's right! It was good 'ol Wolfy, new head of the World Bank. Apparently he is a financial genius..."
Recruit dies in training
Thoughts on the Pope
Papal Legacy: Questioning Capitalism

Rearview Mirror


Roots & Petals

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