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Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Wal-Martization of America

he Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed more suits against Wal-Mart than any other company. In Arizona, a judge found the company guilty of discrimination against the disabled and actually made Wal-Mart run ads admitting its guilt.

al-Mart is famous for predatory pricing, slashing prices in one community to eliminate all local businesses there. Its losses are made up by profits from stores across the country. Once the local businesses are destroyed, the company raises its prices to profitable levels and moves on to the next town. Several states have banned this, including Florida, where Wal-Mart was caught in the act.

n Oregon jury found Wal-Mart guilty of forcing unpaid overtime work.

he Wal-Martization of America is hurting small and local businesses, which pump more money into their local economies than major corporations.

Posted by fm on August 31, 2005 at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Greed and Excessive Profits

he cost of crude oil in the mid-'70s was $13.55 a barrel. Today the price is $64 a barrel. This reflects an increase of 475 percent.

owever, the gas price at the pump in the mid-'70s was slightly over 25 cents per gallon. Today, the prices have reached more than $2.55 a gallon. This is an increase of more than 1,000 percent, which is more than double the increase in the cost of crude oil.

ad the percentages been equal, the cost of gasoline should be only $1.23 a gallon today.

e are told that when the price of crude oil drops, it takes three to six months for the price to be reflected at the gas pumps. But you will notice that when the price of crude goes up, the pump prices go up within 24 hours.

e are told that there are rising energy costs that account for the increase in fuel prices. Who controls the energy costs? The same people who are raising the fuel prices also control the energy costs. We are being lied to every step of the way down the garden path.

uring the 1970s, the U.S. oil companies began capping the oil wells in this country because foreign oil was cheaper to import than U.S. oil wells were to pump. This can no longer be the case. The time came 10 years ago to begin uncapping our domestic wells. This was not done, even though the cost would have been cheaper at that time.

ll this boils down to is greed and excessive profits for the oil companies and their shareholders at the expense of the American taxpayer, while the U.S. government looks the other way and has done so for over 10 years.

Posted by fm on August 30, 2005 at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, August 29, 2005

Tax Cuts for Oil Industry

uring the oil embargo in the '70s, President Carter took some quick and aggressive measures to reduce the strain on the American public. Jimmy Carter ordered that
• all unnecessary lights in government buildings be turned out
• thermostats be lowered
• the speed limit be reduced and
• he passed an excess profits tax on oil companies.

e reasoned that since one industry was draining the money out of the pockets of the average American, then that industry was going to kick back to help out the general welfare and level the playing field.

hirty-two years later, we are again facing an oil shortage. The aggressive steps taken by the current president, who has close ties to the oil industry: give the industry billions of dollars in tax cuts to go along with the billions it already is making due in part to the Iraq war.

Posted by fm on August 29, 2005 at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Bush and Cindy Sheehan

hen President George W. Bush left for his five-week vacation in Crawford, Tex., his spokesperson said it was a time for the president to "meet with folks out in the heartland and hear what's on their minds."

indy Sheehan has given him that opportunity, but he prefers delivering speeches to partisan crowds in defense of his Iraq policy. If the president really wants to hear what is on the minds of Americans, he should engage in dialogue, not monologue, and encourage citizens like Sheehan to voice their concerns in unscripted, unchoreographed settings.

Posted by fm on August 28, 2005 at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Prudishness in America

By Rick Steves
Source: USA Today

Europe's light and easygoing approach to sex and nudity can provide some shocking moments for U.S. travelers:

• On a recent trip, my wife and I had to take the TV out of our children's hotel room, as the porn stations were free and available, going at it right there between Euro-sports and MTV.

• In Munich, workers take a summer lunch break in their Central Park. They lay out a blanket, fold their power suits neatly, and sunbathe fully nude, oblivious to wide-eyed American tourists passing by.

• Mediterranean beaches are topless - and would be much more so if not for a current concern for skin cancer.

• Germany's steamy mineral spas are co-ed.

• On billboards everywhere, lathered-up breasts promote the latest soap product.

From Norway to Naples, it seems Europeans have a relaxed attitude about public displays of nudity and sex. Even prim, churchgoing German hausfraus seem to accept that the human body and sexuality are facts of life, and displaying or talking about it in public is no big deal.

Meanwhile, in the USA, there has been a strong reaction from a dedicated minority to limit sex and nudity on TV and the airwaves. First, it was Janet Jackson's Nipplegate during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, then fines placed on shock jock Howard Stern's freak sideshow, and tape-delay broadcasts elsewhere to edit out profanity.

Travel shows aren't immune

Now I've found out that my own travel shows - which feature timeless classics of art such as Michelangelo's (nude) David and Titian's (nude) Venus - are being broadcast on PBS in some cities along with the disclaimer: "For mature audiences only."

I don't know whether to laugh or be outraged. As a tour guide for 25 years, I always laughed with my American tourists at the puritan fig leaves Victorians retrofitted onto great art. But today we live in a country in which some people apparently wish David's marble penis had a fig leaf and Venus wore a sports bra. This attitude can have serious consequences if it means trying to censor the media - namely, the TV and radio shows by which the American public gets much of its information.

For example, in February the House of Representatives approved a huge increase in penalties for broadcasting "indecency," raising fines from $27,500 to a maximum of $500,000 per incident. And the PBS children's series Postcards from Buster caused an uproar and lost its funding after showing a non-traditional family of two moms (which was condemned by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings).

This has a chilling effect on TV producers and stations. They are more likely to avoid words, images and ideas that could affront U.S. conservatives. This reduces the choices available to all of us.

Mingling with Europeans as I do for a third of my year, I listen to them when they give their perspective on America. "Here in Italy," brags my friend Francesca, "we see racy ads for phone sex on TV all the time, but we still have less teen pregnancy and fewer abortions than you Americans. Less rape and domestic violence, too. Why is that?"

Europeans more open

I wish I could answer, but I don't know why. Could it be that by allowing nudity and promoting sex education, Europeans create an open atmosphere that allows social problems to be treated, not just hidden?

Even the Europeans had to learn about censorship the hard way. During the Florentine Renaissance, the monk Savonarola turned his city into a theocracy. His moral vigilantes burst into people's homes. Anything considered too fleshy was gathered up and tossed onto a huge "bonfire of the vanities" in the city square. Eventually Savonarola's political base - those so afraid of immorality running rampant - saw the harm they were doing to their own society. The Florentines did a dramatic flip-flop, built another bonfire ... and burned Savonarola. They returned to the Renaissance love of beauty and free-thinking with a newly heightened appreciation of the separation of church and state.

Those of us who produce broadcast material on a shoestring will continue to expose Americans to other cultures and fine art. But we must proceed gingerly. Should we crop Venus? Bleep Boccaccio's bawdy language? Will Raphael's randy cupids be labeled child porn and Bernini's Rape of Proserpine as S&M? Can I film the Three Graces only from the waist up? And, if I do, is that indecency fine of $500,000 per painting ... or per nipple?

Rick Steves spends four months a year in Europe, writing guidebooks, leading tours and producing a public television series.

FAIR USE NOTICE
This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: US Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Free Musings has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Free Musings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.

Posted by fm on August 27, 2005 at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, August 26, 2005

Ugandan Children in Peril

special edition of NBC Dateline reports about the horrific atrocities committed on Ugandan children by Joseph Koney's army of maniacal criminals. Civil war has raged for 19 years, and it is being fought by children as young as 8.

ore than 30,000 children have been abducted by Koney to fight in his war. These children are torn from their families, beaten, mutilated, raped and killed if they refuse to follow orders. They are always on the go, with no home or family, little food and, certainly, no childhood.

he civilized world must come together to stop this annihilation. We must stop the bloodshed and save these innocent children.

Posted by fm on August 26, 2005 at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday, August 25, 2005

A Man's True Colors

was dismayed but not surprised to hear grand ayatollah Pat Robertson's call for the death of democratically elected President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. It is sad that Robertson's idiotic fatwa should garner national news attention. Perhaps he and his followers would be happier in a real theocracy like Iran.

at Robertson's call for the assassination of the democratically elected president of Venezuela clearly demonstrates that Robertson - televangelist, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate - is not a spiritual or religious leader but a full-fledged member of the military-industrial-religious fascism movement, which is the real threat to this nation.

Posted by fm on August 25, 2005 at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Church and State

vangelical programs on Capitol Hill seek to mold a new generation of politicians who will answer not to voters, but to God. This is the form of government that Iran espouses and that we are hoping does not prevail in the new Iraq. It is called a theocracy, and it is far from a democracy.

n order for this to happen in this country, the evangelicals will have to take over the courts and do away with the whole concept of an independent judiciary. They seem to be working on it. Am I the only one frightened by this? We obviously need to spend more money in this country teaching people how to think critically.

Posted by fm on August 24, 2005 at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

American Apathy

am outraged not only at the price of gas but the lethargy of the American public on this issue. When gas hit $2 a gallon, Congress held meetings, gas taxes were suspended and the public at least took notice.

ow that gas has exceeded $3 a gallon, the outrage is just not there. What will it take for Americans to rise up and tell this administration that $3 a gallon for gas is unacceptable? Like lambs led to be slaughtered, the public grumbles under its breath while the line to the slaughterhouse continues to move forward.

Posted by fm on August 23, 2005 at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, August 22, 2005

Homeland Security

ccording to the Bush administration, one of the reasons for the war is that fighting in Iraq keeps the terrorists from attacking in the United States. Does anyone really believe that the terrorists would have killed more than 1,800 Americans since March 2003 if we had spent the billions of dollars on homeland security that we have spent in Iraq? The fact remains that Americans are getting killed and wounded, regardless of where the bloodbath is taking place.

Posted by fm on August 22, 2005 at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Dangers of Dogmatism

lthough Hitler and Stalin were technically secularists, they killed millions. Both communism and fascism function as religious dogmas in that they spawn a "true-believer" mentality. A skeptical secularist has no interest in subscribing to quasi-dogmatic ideologies.

have no doubt that if religious groups in the past had had access to the weapons of the 20th century, this world would have ceased to exist a long time ago. Religious dogma and all dogma that demands the subordination of reason to faith is and always will be one of the most serious threats to humankind.

Posted by fm on August 21, 2005 at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, August 20, 2005

'Mission Accomplished'

his photo shows Bush delivering a speech to crew aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as the carrier steamed toward San Diego, Calif., on May 1, 2003.

he White House said on October 29, 2003 that it had helped with the production of a 'Mission Accomplished' banner as a backdrop for President George W. Bush's speech onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln to declare combat operations over in Iraq.

here is the vociferous outcry to impeach George W. Bush, as there was for former President Bill Clinton when he lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky?

ush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - which, in my opinion, is more menacing to this country than a deceit regarding sexual indiscretions. He also lied about the probable length of this war.

Posted by fm on August 20, 2005 at 07:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, August 19, 2005

Chuck Hagel on Iraq

en. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) was on CNN yesterday talking with Wolf Blitzer. He had a few interesting things to say.

Posted by fm on August 19, 2005 at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anti-War Protesters' Trial

here is an important federal anti-war protesters' trial scheduled to take place in Binghamton, N.Y., next month, right before the big anti-war mobilization in Washington, D.C., on September 24. Four protesters, called the Saint Patrick's Four, went into a military recruitment center near Ithaca, N.Y., just before the war started in 2003 and performed acts of civil disobedience. When they went to trial, the jury was hung - nine jurors voted to acquit the people, and they were dismissed.

owever, the DA announced he would retry them, and the federal government is stepping in: "They are now charged with federal conspiracy 'by force, intimidation, and threat' to impede an officer of the United States - a felony charge that carries punishment of up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They are also charged with criminal damage to property and two counts of trespass, charges punishable by up to an additional 2 years in prison."

The St. Patrick's Four and Resistance to the War in Iraq
By Bill Quigley
Source: Common Dreams News Center

Two years ago today, March 17, 2003, four peace activists in Ithaca, New York, poured their own blood on the walls, posters, windows, and a US flag at a military recruiting center in order to try to stop the imminent invasion of Iraq. They took action based on international law. Then knelt in prayer and waited to be arrested. Though one state court jury refused to convict them, today they face serious federal charges.

Last year the peace activists convinced nine members of a state court jury that their actions were consistent with international law. Daniel Burns, 43, Clare Grady, 45, Teresa Grady 38, and Peter DeMott, 57, all members of the Magnificat Catholic Worker community in Ithaca, admitted to the jury from the very beginning that they poured blood in the recruiting center in order to try to stop the war in Iraq. They testified they risked arrest in order to protect our sons and daughters in the military and to protect our sisters and brothers in Iraq.

The four argued that their actions were legal because the invasion of Iraq was illegal under international law. Because the United Nations had not approved the invasion of Iraq, the invasion was a series of serious illegal acts that constitute war crimes. And, under the Nuremberg Principles of international law, individuals have international rights and duties to prevent crimes against humanity which transcend the national obligations of obedience imposed by the individual state.

They further argued that if their actions were indeed illegal, they were authorized under the defense of necessity because the harm they caused was far smaller than the harm they were trying to prevent. They talked with the jury about Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, and the Boston Tea Party. They reminded us, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, that everything done by supporters of Hitler in Germany was illegal, it was only those who tried to stop him who were violating the law.

After twenty hours of deliberation, the jury locked up 9-3 to acquit them. As the jury was released, the crowded courtroom gave them a thunderous standing ovation. The power of the people to present their views about justice had prevailed over narrow law.

Later, the District Attorney announced he would not re-prosecute them, stating that he thought another jury trial would yield the same outcome.

Recently, however, the federal government jumped into the fray.

Last week the St. Patrick's Four appeared in federal court in Binghamton, New York to be charged on four federal charges arising from the exact same action.

They are now charged with federal conspiracy "by force, intimidation, and threat" to impede an officer of the United States - a felony charge that carries punishment of up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They are also charged with criminal damage to property and two counts of trespass, charges punishable by up to an additional 2 years in prison.

In his closing argument to the first jury, Daniel Burns asked the jurors to look at the defendants' actions in context:

"The immediate context for the justice of our action is the Pre-emptive Invasion of the War of Iraq. An invasion opposed by the United Nations, opposed by most nations in this world, and founded on lies about weapons of mass destruction, and an invasion that has cost a billion dollars a day, hundreds of American sons and daughters, and thousands of our Iraqi sisters and brothers.

"Also we ask you to look at the justice of our action in light of the context of international law. Why was the invasion opposed by the UN and many of our allies? Because International law only allows an attack on another country in self defense or with approval of the UN security council - and we had neither. And The Nuremberg principles provide a legal defense for people seeking to prevent war crimes.

"No jury would convict 4 people of breaking and entering if they broke into a burning house to try to save a child. Here, the building was on fire - as Iraq is now, and we broke in to try to save our troops and the innocent Iraqis. We did not save them, but justice says we should not be punished for trying.

"So, we end where we started. We ask for justice. We ask for justice for the people of Iraq and our troops, We ask for justice for world peace. We ask for justice to say no to pre-emptive illegal war."

On this St. Patrick's day, as the war in Iraq continues, we can only hope that international law, and the law of justice, will have a chance to prevail in Iraq and in the US. We can also be thankful to the many people, like the St. Patrick's Four, who are resisting the war in Iraq.

Bill Quigley is a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law. Bill is an advisor to the St. Patrick's Four. He can be contacted at quigley@loyno.edu.

FAIR USE NOTICE
This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: US Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Free Musings has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Free Musings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.

Posted by fm on August 19, 2005 at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday, August 18, 2005

By Dante Chinni

Journalism's Fear and Loathing of Blogs
Source: Christian Science Monitor

Mainstream journalism is running scared. It's watching its audience numbers decline and its public trust numbers drop. Newspapers, magazines, and network television news have been shaken by major scandals. The media have seen the future and it is blogging.

Or at least that's the story this year. "Mainstream journalism," however you want to define it, has been under siege so long it's hard to keep track of all the people, things, and outlets that were or are still going to destroy it.

Blogs, or weblogs - websites on which a person or a group of people opines about events, reports what's been heard, or simply links to other sites (many of which are also blogs) - are the latest concern among journalists who look at them with curiosity and fear.

Many believe blogs are a dangerous direct competitor to mainstream journalism - a way for individuals and interest groups to reach around the gatekeeper function that newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio have traditionally held. Some even see them as the future of journalism; an army of citizen journalists bringing the unfiltered news to a public hungry for the inside dope.

"The latest, and perhaps gravest, challenge to the journalistic establishment is the blog," Richard Posner wrote last week in The New York Times Book Review. Actually Mr. Posner wrote about a lot of challenges the media faced, but gave blogs a lot of space as he spelled out their advantages. They bring expertise. They bring flair and opinion. They bring more checks and balances than the mainstream media.

"It's as if the Associated Press or Reuters had millions of reporters, many of them experts, all working with no salary for free newspapers that carried no advertising," he explained.

Ah, yes, in the future news will be bountiful and free with no advertising. Can't beat that. If they throw in complimentary ice cream we've really got something here.

Let me just say for the record, I have nothing against blogs. I actually like them. Their formula of opinion, links, and reportage can be refreshing - though they are often short on the last part of that mix. And the voices they enter into the media dialogue sometimes offer perspectives that otherwise might never be heard.

But if you really look closely, all this "and in the future ..." talk seems a bit far-fetched for a number of reasons.

For all the bloggers' victories (like raising questions about memos in CBS's Bush/National Guard story) there are numerous failures (gossiping about John Kerry's affair that never happened or how the presidential election was rigged in Ohio). And most bloggers simply don't have time or staff to, say, launch an investigation into the internal workings of the Department of State. Getting leaks and tips is one thing, digging for the fuller story is quite another.

But the main reason blogs can't really supplant the mainstream media is what they cover. If you go looking for blogs about national politics, foreign affairs, celebrities or (yes) the media, you won't go wanting. In fact, every one of the country's top 10 most visited blogs deals with one of these subjects, according to www.truthlaidbear.com itself a "portal to the blogosphere."

That's not really that surprising. To be a serious blogger - one who can devote his time and energy to the job - one needs to make a name for himself, sell ad space, and get paid. And to make a name, sell ad space, and get paid, one needs a national audience.

In other words, if you live in, say, Grand Rapids, Mich. and are looking for the latest developments on the construction on the nearby highway, or the city council budget, or a millage dispute - things that impact people in very real ways - you're not going to have much luck in the blogosphere.

Even large cities and state capitals, except for those that are part of the media/government industrial complex, are relatively blog free. And it's hard to see how that will change.

The number of people interested in devoting their life to things like local zoning rules is a bit more limited than those interested in national politics. Getting paid to do it would probably be all but impossible. And that's a problem.

For all the fretting, blogging ultimately is bound to be less a replacement for the traditional media than a complement. The fact is, journalism's most critical responsibilities in a democratic society - seeking, reporting, and analyzing news and holding people accountable - aren't easy to fulfill.

People rightly point out that the media often fail at those tasks. It's just hard to see how making it a volunteer position or a part-time job could improve the situation.

Dante Chinni writes a twice-monthly political opinion column for the Christian Science Monitor.

FAIR USE NOTICE
This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: US Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Free Musings has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Free Musings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.

Posted by fm on August 18, 2005 at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Neighbor of Bush Fires

frustrated farmer from Crawford, Tex., who is apparently upset with the length of time the anti-war activists are staying in the area fired shots into the air near hundreds of protesters who began their second week of demonstrations against the Iraq war outside President George W. Bush's ranch.

arry Mattlage, who lives next to the Bush ranch where the president is spending a five week vacation, complained about the 200 protesters, media and government security officials occupying the road outside his own residence after firing a rifle into the air several times.

"Five weeks of this is too much. I just want 'em to pack their damn tents and go back to where they came from. We live here, this is our community. I got a right to fire up in the air," Mattlage said.

"I'm gettin' ready for dove season and y'all messin' up my dove huntin', so if y'all could please leave and go somewhere else, this whole community would be behind y'all."

"I shot at a bird, and missed it a while ago," he said. Asked if the gunshots had another message, Mattlage told reporters, "Figure it out for yourself."

hat would happen if a Mexican farm laborer or African American shot off a few rounds near the president's vacation home while a group of grieving mothers marched by?

oes anybody really think all that would happen is that the shooter would be given a good talking to by local police, not to mention the Secret Service or FBI?

t's amazing what you can get away with if you are a well-off, white conservative male. And not just in Texas.

Posted by fm on August 17, 2005 at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Bush's Extended Vacation

o President George W. Bush has decided to take an extended August vacation. Time to get away from the job for awhile. I'm sure Bush deserves a vacation, but instead of heading back to old, familiar Texas, why doesn't he take a trip overseas, maybe to some remote desert region, climb into one of those fun ATVs and relive some of his wartime experiences? Except this time he would actually be in the war.

Posted by fm on August 16, 2005 at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, August 15, 2005

'Progress' in Iraq

n a day of usual Baghdad chaos, America's secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, reported on great "progress" there.

here was news of more deaths of U.S. soldiers, Iraqi civilians and Iraqi police officers. Also, on the same day, the mayor of Baghdad was "fired" and the date for adopting the constitution was in jeopardy. On top of all of this, Rumsfeld actually admitted to a "new" problem: evidence that Iran is sending weapons into Iraq.

ust an average day in Baghdad. "Progress" indeed!

Posted by fm on August 15, 2005 at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Cindy Sheehan Revisited

eorge W. Bush's inner circle, a collection of neoconservative ideologues with an agenda of their own rather than an interest in what is best for the United States, made no effort in 2001 to steer the President's attention toward pressing matters of national security. And they remain determined to keep the woefully disengaged chief executive focused on busy work around the ranch rather than life-and-death questions of how this country should position itself in a complex and dangerous world.

ush has been listening for too long to Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice. He should take a real vacation from the neocon fantasy factory of his misguided aides and sit down with someone who can introduce him to the reality of what is going on in Iraq and the world. The President should meet with Cindy Sheehan. And he should listen to this woman, who has sacrificed more than he or anyone in his inner circle ever has for America.

Posted by fm on August 14, 2005 at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Appointment Process a Sham

xcept for America, the world was largely in tatters following World War II. It was at this time that the U.S. promoted, and paid for, an institution that was to become the United Nations, created for the purpose of keeping the world at peace. But almost from its beginning it was the object of scorn by neoconservatives.

nd now George W. Bush has selected a neoconservative, U.N.-hating man named John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., just at a moment when America needs the world's help in a battle against the scourge of worldwide terrorism. The very terrorism made manifest by Bush's infamous decision to invade Iraq.

t is unfortunate that the White House has failed to give the Senate the documents it requested on Bolton. In our system of checks and balances, the Senate has a constitutional responsibility to examine the candidates appointed by the president.

o expect the Senate to give appointees an up-or-down vote when there is scant information makes the appointment process a sham, and it weakens our democracy.

Posted by fm on August 13, 2005 at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, August 12, 2005

Birth of an Orwellian Society

t is painfully obvious that surveillance cameras do not prevent serious crimes.

ven though they were caught on camera, the July 7 bombers had no problem making London look like Baghdad. Had it not been for their own stupidity, the July 21 bombers would have been successful as well. The police did nothing to stop them. If the politicians have their way, we will soon be living in 1984 instead of 2005.

hat are they going to do (to us) after America becomes a surveillance state and robberies, rapes, murders and terrorist attacks still occur?

Posted by fm on August 12, 2005 at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Starvation in Africa

ur compassionate, conservative president used phony information about Niger selling yellowcake uranium to Iraq as part of his justification for the current war on the hapless Iraqi people.

ens of thousands of malnourished children in Niger today face death from starvation. In March, an appeal to the world for $16 million in food aid for Niger resulted in $1 million in contributions. We are currently spending, conservatively, $4 billion a month in Iraq. That comes to about $133 million a day. Or about $5.5 million per hour. Therefore, devoting roughly two hours of Iraqi war spending could have possibly avoided the impending starvation epidemic in Niger. I guess preventing starvation in Africa doesn't get you too many votes from America's heartland.

Posted by fm on August 11, 2005 at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Cindy Sheehan's Vigil in TX

othing is more emblematic of American democracy than the idea of one person standing up for his beliefs and in the process becoming the catalyst for a national debate. In the arena of civil rights, Rosa Parks' refusal to sit in the back of a Montgomery, Ala., bus was such an act. During the Vietnam War, Daniel Ellsberg's decision to give the media the Pentagon Papers detailing the secret history of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia was another.

ow Californian Cindy Sheehan's August vigil on a sweltering roadway near President Bush's Crawford ranch has given a human voice and face to the revulsion of the carnage in Iraq. Sheehan, the mother of a 24-year-old Army specialist killed in Iraq last year, wants a face to face meeting with Bush to ask him what mission was worth her son Casey's life.

n a previous meeting a few months after his death, Sheehan says, the president seemed unaware of who her son was, addressed her as "mom" during the encounter and acted almost lighthearted. Now she wants a deadly serious discussion of why America invaded Iraq and how long the bloodshed will continue.

hose are questions on the minds of millions of Americans, who see the list of dead and injured American personnel growing along with the expenditure of billions of U.S. tax dollars, with no end in sight. Polls reflect the growing unease of the country with the president's handling of the war. Approval of the Bush war policy has fallen below 40 percent. As Sheehan questions the war, she is voicing the concerns of a majority of Americans.

n a way, the White House set the stage for Sheehan's vigil by saying Bush's five-week hiatus at the ranch was really a working vacation to allow him to talk to everyday folks about the issues that concern them. The likes of Cindy Sheehan don't come along every day, but she wants to discuss an issue that concerns millions of Americans who want to hear answers that go beyond the familiar "stay the course."

ven Richard Nixon, often described as paranoid about critics, visited antiwar protesters at the Lincoln Memorial in 1970.

et Bush has not yet found it in himself to meet a grieving mother or invite her to the ranch to discuss his policies. Thursday Bush told reporters he sympathized with Sheehan but that pulling out of Iraq "would be a mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the foundations for peace." Sheehan responded that the best way to show compassion would be to meet with her and other parents of soldiers killed in action.

ush previously dispatched his national security adviser and an aide to meet with Sheehan's group, but that only increased the perception that Bush cannot bring himself to face his critics. Until the president addresses the doubts about the conduct of the war that Cindy Sheehan now symbolizes, the voices of the opposition will only grow louder.

Posted by fm on August 10, 2005 at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Publisher under Pressure

was disturbed to read that the Swiss heirs of C.G. Jung, world-renowned psychologist and cultural icon, have managed to persuade the German subsidiary of Random House to include the family's objections to Deirdre Bair's biography of Jung within the German edition of the book.

ontemporary Western standards of free expression certainly entitle the Jungs - or anyone else - to protest whatever they please, but I see no grounds for inserting such objections into someone else's book.

o make their objections known, the family members could have issued a news release, informed the world community of Jung scholars, even filed a lawsuit against the author or Little, Brown & Company, the American publisher of the original English language version in 2003. The German publisher's willingness to do the Jung family's bidding sullies Bair's book.

he decision also sets a terrible precedent. What will happen the next time someone objects to the content of a book by Knaus Verlag, the German publishing company? It would not be unreasonable for cranks to expect to be given the same opportunity it has given the Jung family. And what will other publishers be asked to do now that the Jungs have prevailed?

Posted by fm on August 09, 2005 at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, August 08, 2005

Dangerous Provincialism

isparity in federal road funds shows politics beats policy.

alifornia's Kern County is a region on the move. As the metropolitan centers of the state push ever outward, this relatively desolate county north of Los Angeles with a low human-to-black-bear ratio is dealing with its own housing boom. As such, growing cities like Bakersfield have a real need for transportation infrastructure to handle a population that increases daily.

ut that's not why that High Desert/High Sierra county was the big winner when it came to slicing up the state's share of the federal transportation bill, giving it $722 million to Los Angeles' relatively paltry $625 million. That happened because the county has a powerful benefactor in Washington, D.C.: Rep. Bill Thomas, who, as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is one of the few keepers of the federal government's purse strings.

t's bad enough that the country consistently shortchanges needy California when it doles out federal funds, as it does once again in this particular bill. But when fellow neglected Californians then perpetuate the inequity when carving it up among regions, it's shameful.

his provincialism results in the bizarre allocation of funds, best exemplified by the pork monster project funded last year in rural Alaska. The $233 million "bridge to nowhere" is size of the Golden Gate yet links one barely populated island to another where the moose traffic is probably higher than motor vehicles.

n this year's bill, Alaska is again the big winner, receiving $425.9 million, or $649.84 per resident. By contrast, California will receive about $3.4 billion, or just $95.54 per resident. Breaking it down even further, residents of Kern County will receive about $1,000 per resident, while Los Angeles will receive about $60 per resident.

ertainly, we're grateful for the money which will help fund, among other things, an expedited car-pool lane on the 405. But year after year of settling for the dregs is starting to get old. Few places in the country have as dire transportation needs as Southern California, and that should be the No. 1 consideration in funding federal projects.

hat's most disturbing about the process is the sheer nakedness of the politicking behind the allocations. Congressional members don't even pretend their decisions about distribution of federal funds are based on policy. It's all about securing your district or state some pork -- as much as possible, even if it doesn't necessarily serve the larger idea of America.

nd the representative who can wrangle the biggest chunk of cash for their district -- deserving or not -- wins.

t's high time that this type of corrupt practice ended. Federal funds should be doled out according to need, not popularity.

Posted by fm on August 08, 2005 at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, August 07, 2005

No Pity for China

hina loses the bid for Unocal, so China-based CNOOC said: "The unprecedented political opposition ... was regrettable and unjustified."

hat do you think would happen if Exxon put in a bid for CNOOC? The Chinese simply would not allow their oil company to fall into the hands of an American firm. As a matter of fact, the Chinese (who are eating our lunch in terms of exports versus imports) probably would not allow any major Chinese firm to fall into the hands of an American firm.

Posted by fm on August 07, 2005 at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Time for Congress to Act

nother 14 Marines dead and for what? We are repeatedly assured by President Bush that progress is being made in the war and that our troops will be brought home when Iraqis can take their place.

n spite of this, evidence mounts that the resistance is as strong as ever and that given the numbers of troops we have there, the quagmire will continue for the foreseeable future. There is no evidence that Iraqi forces will ever be able to defeat the insurgency; after all, we haven't been able to do it either.

t should be clear by now that Bush and his administration are incapable of telling the truth and recognizing a colossal mistake when they see it. It's time for Congress to bring our troops home.

Posted by fm on August 06, 2005 at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, August 05, 2005

Lack of Leadership

t is truly sad in this nation today that so few in leadership positions are willing or able to lead.

e are entrenched in a needless war in Iraq, experiencing high national and trade deficits, seeing wages for most workers stagnant or growing only very slowly, paying high gas prices because of a series of poor energy decisions and seeing "oxymoron" used as a description for the term "affordable housing."

either these issues nor a host of others seem visible to those in D.C., and the nation is poorer for their neglect.

Posted by fm on August 05, 2005 at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Patriot Act Damage

fter listening to parts of the House debate on renewal of the Patriot Act, I can only conclude that, with the help of a majority of our representatives, the terrorists have won.

utting aside the rights that we have fought for for more than 200 years, the rights that defined America for more than 200 million citizens, on the off chance that we would catch some terrorists means the terrorists' task is done.

Posted by fm on August 04, 2005 at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

"Learners Inherit the Earth"

n his commencement address to Stanford's graduating class, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reminisced about the time, many years ago, when he was fired by the company he started. "It turned out that getting fired was the best thing that could have happened to me," he said. "The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

n quoting this passage from Jobs' commencement speech I am definitely *not* predicting that you will lose your job. My purpose is to encourage you to cultivate the frame of mind Jobs described.

ere's another angle on the perspective I hope you'll make into your permanent modus operandi: "In times of change, learners inherit the earth," wrote Eric Hoffer, "while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

Posted by fm on August 03, 2005 at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

One-Party Rule

agree with the concept put forth by some pundits, "One-party rule is in the offing", but I hasten to point out to them that this is hardly a new phenomenon. Ralph Nader was right in 2000 and 2004 when he described our two parties as simply two heads of one Corporate Party. Both feed from the same trough in Washington with armies of lobbyists writing the legislation for our so-called elected officials.

Posted by fm on August 02, 2005 at 05:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, August 01, 2005

Geography of Slavery in VA

morning of coffee and the classifieds in 1772 Virginia may have yielded the following reading: "THREE POUNDS REWARD. FOR taking up, and bringing home, NAT and CATO, two Runaway Slaves belonging to the Subscriber, living in Middlesex." The advertisement is one of more than 4,000 in a rich digital archive culled from Virginia and Maryland newspapers to offer a unique window into the history of slavery.

For more info, visit the Virginia Center for Digital History.

Posted by fm on August 01, 2005 at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)