Apr 30 2008
Back in January Ilona Meagher, of PTSD Combat-Winning The War Within posted about a Justice Court being set up in Buffalo NY to help Veterans who get into legal trouble you can read her post Here
This Court came together with the help of the local Buffalo chapter membership of Vietnam Veterans of America:
Apr 30 2008
A journey through the past week has proven that America is not even close to being ‘post-race’ as some would have us believe. No, what this week has shown us is that while Americans may be able to get their collective head around the idea of voting for a black man, they will not do so if that black man has ever associated with an ‘uppity negro’. It seemed for about an hour-and-a-half Friday night that perhaps America’s view of the most recent ‘uppity-negro’ could be mollified by the smooth as silk dulcet voice of Bill Moyers, and the now-dressed-like-a-white-man-with-his-elbows-on-the-table Reverend cooing softly to the nice white fellow with the tie…
Ah, but alas, it was not to be. It was but a mirage. The NAACP speech was just too much, and absent Mr. Moyers whiteness to protect us by petting the Reverend softly and almost purring into his ear, our ‘uppity negro’ dared to…well, be ‘uppity’. And, America may not be as bad as it was, but, it just is not ready to listen to an ‘uppity negro’. God forbid they challenge the negro du jour with counter arguments–to do so would be to legitimize him! (Oh, and we white folks don’t have convincing counters–what the man said in Detroit was solid as a rock).
I leave aside one of our other favorite ‘uppity negros’ the good Reverend Sharpton who we all knew could not endorse Senator Obama because once he did, the filthy knuckle-draggers at Fox and elsewhere would have Senator Obama roped together with the Reverend Sharpton so that they both would cast an indistinguishable shadow for the next several months.
How truly pathetic it all is. By Sunday, Senator Obama was licking at the trough at Fox with his hat in his hand like a beggar selling pencils to passersby who could care less if he lived or died.
Monday gave us the Press Club. Uhoh! Uppity-negro, days away from the docile petting of Mr Moyers, and days after the NAACP, decided that the latter event was indeed more to his liking and told it as it is. Again, nothing he said was incorrect. But, no one cared to argue against him; no, they don’t have to. For, he is an ‘uppity negro’ and they need not apply.
Today, Senator Obama, appearing in white-face, a sandwich of bologna, wonder bread, and mayonnaise beside him for support, heaved one uppity negro so far under the bus that he may have come out of the backside of it as exhaust. But, no fear, the bus was ridden over his carcass over and over… The faux-liberals all breathed a sigh of relief, ‘whew…glad that is over with….’.
But, it isn’t over. It will not be over until the time that uppity negros are no more. And, I’ve got news for America: it ain’t gonna happen! And, this campaign, as it unfolds and winds its way through the streets of Denver will, God willing, make the ‘uppity negro’ the rule, and not the exception…
Apr 30 2008
Elizabeth Edwards Calls Racist GOP Wright Ad an “Assault Weapon”
Taking time off from her family vacation in Florida, Elizabeth Edwards commented on the GOP racist ad, “Extreme,” during an MSNBC interview, calling it an “assault weapon.” Elizabeth went on to support Obama’s decision to separate himself from Reverend Wright.
Watch the interview here:
Apr 30 2008
WTF? Are we going to import the rest of the Iraqi countryside too?
http://www.tdn.com/articles/20…
And Kansas, serves them redstaters right.
http://www.gulfwarvets.com/rad…
And webpages of the past can be so telling.
http://www.notinkansas.us/
Nothing says package store run like DU!
Apr 30 2008
Want to find out what your neighbors really think about the immigration issue?
Try putting one of these signs in your yard or window.
They were produced by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ), just in time for some May Day marches that focus on justice for immigrants.
The signs feature handwritten messages of "welcome" in six languages by people from many of Wisconsin's immigrant communities. The two-sided yard sign features "welcome" in Spanish and Hmong, single-sided 11×17 window signs feature either Spanish or Hmong.
The Milwaukee event is billed as a statewide action, organized by Voces de la Frontera and endorsed by Peace Action Wisconsin. The movement is growing and linking up with the antiwar movement.
Organizers at Voces say:
The immigrant rights movement has made great progress over the last two years in defeating some of the most anti-democratic legislative proposals in the history of this nation. All three remaining presidential candidates support some form of immigration reform. However, we face continued efforts to criminalize both employers and workers through initiatives like the Social Security No Match Letters, increased raids that tear families apart, and anti-immigrant local and state ordinances that have led to increased racial profiling, civil rights abuses, and economic damage to local communities.
Last year at least 80,000 people of all races and ages from across the state marched in Milwaukee to support civil rights for immigrants. This year we must mobilize again in massive numbers to send a clear message of the need for change.
This year's themes:
* Stop the raids and separation of families
* Just legalization
* Access to driver's licenses
* Stop Social Security No Match Letters
* Fair International Trade Agreements for Workers
* Good Jobs and Health Care for all
* End the War in Iraq
If you’d like a sign, here’s the info: Window sign: $2 plus postage. Call (608) 250-9240 or email [email protected] to order. For PC fashionistas, T-shirts are $15. Be the first on your block.
Apr 30 2008
It seem to me there was Bluegrass around here more recently than September, but I couldn’t find it. Come to think of it,I can’t even remember who I’m subbing for on Tuesdays. Also, a promo for Thursday, since RiaD , after one week on, is going to ….something ….maybe one of these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q… or a graduation or something. Anyway, it will be very special.
Why bluegrass
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/f…
The inflorescence
http://online-media.uni-marbur…
Taxonomic controversy (Abstract)
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1224640
More than almost anyone wants to know.
http://64.233.167.104/search?q…
Beginning Lesson
There is some GREAT STUFF on the FRONT PAGE.
NEWS, ANALYSIS, INSPIRATION, HUMOR, (not counting RiaD’s joke)
ACUTE AND CHRONIC DEPRESSION and, of course, SEX.
Go fucking read some of it you Giggling Neo-Fascist Liverals!!
and, if you please, don’t rec this.
Apr 29 2008
[This is the second in a projected series of short posts I have inaugurated over at Fire on the Mountain. They will focus on one or another particular aspect of the economic situation and are designed as a corrective to the “out of sight, out of mind” approach of the mainstream media to the deepening meltdown. Feedback about the idea is solicited.]
The prospect of $4 a gallon gas, falling real incomes and the growing recession are obviously hitting the US auto industry hard. Other recent developments suggest things are going to get appreciably worse for Ford, GM et al, fast.
For one thing, the runup in commodity prices is sinking its teeth in. Netherlands-based AcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, has announced a $250-a-ton “surcharge” on steel it has contracted to sell its US customers. Other steelmakers, hit hard by higher raw material and fuel prices, are expected to follow. The spot market price of steel is up 40-50% from last year. (Hot-rolled sheet steel now runs about $1000 per metric ton at spot, to give you a comparison point). Supplies have tightened further as countries like Egypt, China and Brazil cut exports to ensure their domestic supply. (Need I mention that Hugo Chávez is renationalizing Sidor, Venezuela’s largest steelmaker?)
Apr 29 2008
I take Obama to task on a lot of issues, but it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t acknowledge that he does take some good positions in this campaign. An example is illustrated in yesterday’s column by the New York Times’ Paul Krugman, which states:
The impression that Mr. McCain’s tax talk is all about pandering is reinforced by his proposal for a summer gas tax holiday – a measure that would, in fact, do little to help consumers, although it would boost oil industry profits.
Obama opposes this silly and, ultimately, fairly useless measure. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, agrees with McCain.
Apr 29 2008
Yesterday, Monday April 28, 2008, the man who used to be the Chief Prosecutor at Guantanamo gave sworn testimony that puts the lie to the farce of the of the Military Commissions AcT (MCA) proceedings being used to try alleged terrorists. Col. Morris Davis told the tribunal hearing the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan that
Defense Department general counsel William J. Haynes II, who announced his retirement in February, once bristled at the suggestion that some defendants could be acquitted, an outcome that Davis said would give the process added legitimacy.“He said, ‘We can’t have acquittals,’ ” Davis said under questioning from Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer, the military counsel who represents Hamdan. ” ‘We’ve been holding these guys for years. How can we explain acquittals? We have to have convictions.’ “
(Note, there is no transcript available at this time.)
Apr 29 2008
Every now and then change comes in like a tidal wave. Most often, however, it happens so slowly and incrementally that you hardly notice until one day, you look back and recognize the miles that have been traversed. It can be important every now and then to stop for a moment and celebrate the little things in order to keep up the energy for the long run.
A few months ago, Edger introduced the idea of the “ripple” effect to Docudharma. As we all know and see every day, it has now been incorporated into the current banner.
I thought it might be interesting to talk a bit about those small changes that make up the ripple effect as it is being manifest in the hearts and minds of those of us here at Docudharma and spread out there into the world.
If you take a moment to think about it, what has changed in you or in how you live your life as a result of blogging here at DD or elsewhere that might have gone unnoticed if you didn’t take a minute to reflect? Some of those changes might be big enough that they spring to mind right away. Others are more subtle. And some might still be looking like internal changes that haven’t quite found a direct manifestation out there in the world. Others might have had a direct impact on how you live your life and the choices you make.
I’d be happy to share a couple of mine and then would love to hear from you in the comments.
Apr 29 2008
The New York Times reports Consumer confidence plunges as home prices crash. “Americans’ confidence in the economy continued to plunge this month as their homes lost value at the fastest rate in two decades.”
The slump in home prices was more severe than the worst point of the recession of the 1990s, the last time values fell so far, so quickly…
The fall in home prices has also cut into Americans’ home equity and forced many to grapple with mortgages now worth more than the house itself. The problems have contributed to a deepening gloom, which was reinforced on Tuesday by a grim confidence survey released by the Conference Board.
The private report, which surveys up to 5,000 American households, dropped to its lowest point since March 2003, at the start of the invasion of Iraq. Americans feel worse about the economy’s prospects than any time since the mid-1970s, and many are bracing for job losses.
The index fell in April to 62.3 from a revised 65.9 in March and 76.4 in February, the Conference Board said.
George W. Bush is whining that Americans shouldn’t blame him for the dismal economy, rather, according to the Washington Post, Bush blames the Democrats for the sliding economy. “In a news conference at the White House, Bush declined to characterize the economic troubles as a recession, saying he would not get into a debate about ‘words’ and would let economists decide the terminology.” La-la-la… I can’t here you.
Bush claimed he has “repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems. Yet time after time Congress chose to block them.” He is annoyed that Congress is blocking his promise to big oil to throw open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploitation. He also accused Congress of blocking big energy handouts and “provisions needed to increase domestic electricity production by expanding the use of clean, safe nuclear power.” Because what Americans really need is to keep feeding big oil profits to keep the economy humming along.
The Bush administration’s destruction of our environment continues unchecked. 
The Washington Post reports a Federal judge has had to order the Bush administration to classify the polar bear. U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken “ordered the Bush administration to decide by May 15 whether the polar bear deserves protection under the Endangered Species Act. The decision… forces the Interior Department to determine whether climate change is pushing polar bears toward extinction. The agency proposed listing polar bears in December 2006 because warmer temperatures are shrinking the sea ice they depend on for survival, but officials have delayed a final decision on the matter for months” while the Bush administration auctions off oil leases in the polar bears’ habitat.
In addition, the Los Angeles Times reports Groups sue to get gray wolves back on endangered species list. “A dozen environmental groups sued the federal government Monday in an attempt to reverse a decision to remove gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered species list. Since the delisting went into effect March 28, at least 35 wolves have been killed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming… Environmental groups also requested a preliminary injunction to stop wolf kills until the lawsuit was resolved. The suit says federal officials ignored scientists who said a connected population of 2,000 to 5,000 wolves was necessary to ensure long-term genetic viability of the wolf in the northern Rockies.” Some Americans seem obsessed with killing animals for “sport”.
Four at Four continues below the fold with another assertion that the vice president is above the law, finding a long lost relative from 300 years ago, and a giant CO2 sucking sound.
Apr 29 2008
Get your outrage on.
Too slight to quote, you just have to click the links.
Glenn Greenwald- Why the Jeremiah Wright story deserves more attention
Rachel Sklar- WHCD: Swanky, Sweaty and Star-Studded