Sep 14 2007

All politics is cosmic

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.
  – John Donne, Meditation XVII

We the People  of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
  – Constitution of the United States of America

We’re all in this together.
  – High School Musical

Rene Descartes really fucked things up. Here we had the Taoists and even the Christians – the ones who really “got it,” anyway – spreading the word that, really, there is nothing that separates us, that we are all, in fact, one, and that, by extension, our fates are inextricably bound up.

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me . . . Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
  – Jesus Christ, Matthew 25

Wow. Docudharma.

Leave it to buhdy to come up with a slick handle like that. It packs so much into it, I’ve got a karmic brain freeze: the logos and the ethos, the yin and the yang, the left brain and the right, the concrete and the cosmic.

Awesome. Tall order.

But, geez, the supporting cast here is definitely up to it. I feel like a Little Leaguer who’s snuck into the 1927 Yankees’ locker room. Holy crap – that’s Armando’s spot, over there. Ooooh – here’s where ek parks his cleats. And check this out – melvin and pinche used these towels!

So – what to write, what to write? Something “original” – ha!; as if that  were possible, truly. Maybe we’re a few monkeys and typewriters short still, but c’mon – what hasn’t been said already? I mean, really?

Wellll . . .

I guess what occurs to me in this vaguely Eastern milieu, grounded in gritty Western-style “democratic politics,” is this:

All politics is cosmic.

I mean, think about it: Why do people even do politics, anyway? What’s the point? Couldn’t we all just live in caves, and come out whenever we needed to kill something to eat? Isn’t that why God invented TiVo? And indoor plumbing?

Ah, yes, but too many caves and too much indoor plumbing, and suddenly people start rubbing up against each other. And unless I like all that rubbing,

Maybe – but somewhere back during that Ascent of Man, some Phi Beta Kaveman figured out that, huh, maybe it’d be better if Gork went after the mammoth and I stayed closer to home to build in an outdoor barbecue. Then, when Gork got back after a hard day at the tundra, I could let Gork use the barbecue, and he could share some of his mammoth with me.

Next thing you know, Gork has decided he doesn’t want to share any of his mammoth with me, and he’s pissed because he says I don’t have any mammoth to eat  only because I planned poorly. So now I can’t cook any mammoth meat, but

Sep 14 2007

Bush’s Prime Directive

(cross-posted at DK… )

I have seen the light.  Everything he says makes perfect sense.  Really.  You just have to unnerstand, ya hear?

If you wrap your mind around the Prime Directive of:

  Accumulate money for family and friends at any and all costs.

..you can then understand the cornerstones of his overarching action plan:

  1. Control oil, as much as possible, which long term requires that you maintain:

  2. regional (mideast) military domination presence within close striking distance of anyone who dare assert any actual sovereignty over it which will enable the fringe benefit of:

  3. enriching the military industrial complex management base which in turn requires:

  4. consolidation of powers in the US to fend off pesky libruls that catch on to the plan and dare notice the plight of most of the people in the US.

The largest economy in the world (US) is and has been based on petroleum.  Every sector spends money to buy petroleum products.

Controleum the Petroleum, and you will own the money spigot.

When you can wrap your mind around the fact that his presidency is really nothing more than the juiciest money grab opportunity in the history of humanity, you can understand that he will say anything… truth, morality, empathy, compassion, climate be damned.  He and his cohorts will simply contradict themselves and deny they ever said things right after they watch themselves say on a replay!

  * He’ll use fear (WMDs! terrorism! they’ll follow the troops back here! I
  don’t know about Google Maps, they can’t!).

  * He’ll exploit hope (we’re makin’ progress! just another six months!)

  * He’ll cite God (in whom his belief is another pure charade, I mean, c’mon,
  Jesus would’ve bombed Eye-rack too, right?)

  * He’ll use and abuse the concept of patriotism and treason.

  * He’ll silence and sequester away critics (habeus corpus, sschmaybeus
  corpsus) 

  * He’ll ensure the demand stays pegged (tax writeoff on a Hummer, anyone?
  C’mon, it’s good for the economy! Global warming?? BAH!, CAFE
  standards?? That’ll hurt my cash flow the economy!)

He’ll say and do ANYTHING to make sure everyone stays in line long enough for the full frontal assault on the US Treasury to accomplish its cleanout mission leaving nothing but promissory notes to foreign governments and bond holders.

He’ll even act really, really, really stupid. 

And we’ve all fallen for it.

No shame.  No empathy.  No morals.  His only god is money.

Absolutely nothing else matters:

  * Not 3700 plus American families devastated by the death of fathers,
  mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters… dismissed as ‘sacrifice
  for the country’ (actually the Boner called it a “small sacrifice”)

  * Not tens of thousands of other families learning how to cope with and
  support severely wounded mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and
  daughters

  * Not hundreds of thousands of Iraqi families wiped out, devastated,
  scattered like bits of paper blowing around in a strong wind..
  * Not the reputation of our country in the world.

  * Not the other 99.95% of US citizens who will have been left holding this
  flaming bag of dog shit deficit.

  * Not even one of the most historic cities in the country, nor millions of
  its residents (hey, we can let the insurance companies ‘just say no,
  too! whoopee!)

  * Not the principles on which our once-great nation was founded.

They’re laughing all the way to the fucking bank… no, not one of “ours,” he emptied those out too…

Sep 14 2007

Four at Four

This is an OPEN THREAD, but it also features four stories in the news at 4 o’clock. It’s like trying to dunk a donut by grasping it by the ears.

  1. Bush and Abu RishaThe headline of the The Independent today reads: FATAL ATTRACTION — “Last week: George Bush flew into Iraq to meet Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, leader of Anbar province. This week: General David Petraeus told the US Congress how Anbar was a model for Iraq. Yesterday: Abu Risha was assassinated by bombers in Anbar.” From the story, “Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards were killed either by a roadside bomb or by explosives placed in his car by a guard, near to his home in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, the Iraqi province held up by the American political and military leadership as a model for the rest of Iraq. ¶ His killing is a serious blow to… Bush and the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, who have both portrayed the US success in Anbar, once the heart of the Sunni rebellion against US forces, as a sign that victory was attainable across Iraq.” The Washington Post gives news of the Abu Risha assassination equal billing to Bush’s televised speech. According to the Post, “Bush, during a visit to Anbar last week, met with Abu Risha and said the province suggested ‘what the future of Iraq can look like.’ Abu Risha was regarded by Americans as a rare leader willing to stand defiantly alongside U.S. forces, while able to both cajole and intimidate his fellow Sunnis into agreement.” The headline for The New York Times? Bush Says Success Allows Gradual Troop Cuts. The NYT places their story about the assassination beneath Bush’s propaganda speech, which according to the Times “Iraqi and American officials were caught off guard by the assassination, which came just hours before Mr. Bush addressed the American people about his plans for Iraq… In his speech, Mr. Bush acknowledged the killing.” The front pages of the three newspapers are shown below the fold.

  2. The International Herald Tribune reports that cracks now appear in allied coalition in Afghanistan. “The coalition established to stabilize Afghanistan after the ouster of the Taliban by U.S. forces in 2001 is weakening as countries fighting in the volatile south criticize the lack of military support from other NATO allies, defense officials said Thursday. ¶ Britain, Canada and the Netherlands face crucial decisions on whether to renew their commitments in the increasingly violent region where the Dutch contingent now commands alliance forces fighting a growing resurgence by Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. ¶ The intensifying debate in Europe comes as disarray in Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party following the resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to interrupt and perhaps end the Japanese naval force’s six-year participation in Afghanistan.” Plus DW-World is reporting that EU’s Afghan training mission hampered by fresh troubles and “Brigadier General Friedrich Eichele is returning to Germany just months after he was appointed to head the EU training mission in Afghanistan.”

  3. According to BBC News, the US chief scientist has told the BBC that climate change is now a fact. “Professor John Marburger, who advises President Bush, said it was more than 90% certain that greenhouse gas emissions from mankind are to blame. The Earth may become ‘unliveable’ without cuts in CO2 output, he said, but he labelled targets for curbing temperature rise as ‘arbitrary’… ¶ There may still be some members of the White House team who are not completely convinced about climate change…” He’s told the BBC, but will he tell Bush? More importantly will Cheney let him and will Bush even care? While the Bush administration is slowly waking from its global warming denial, Spiegel Online investigates what will become of Tuvalu’s climate refugees? “International legal experts are discovering climate change law, and the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is a case in point: The Polynesian archipelago is doomed to disappear beneath the ocean. Now lawyers are asking what sort of rights citizens have when their homeland no longer exists… ¶ Environmentalists have long worried about the fate of this tiny Pacific state. Now, however, international legal experts have also taken up the topic of its imminent demise. A nation’s ‘territorial integrity’ is one of the paramount legal principles. It’s unprecedented, however, for a country to completely lose its territory without the use of military force… ¶ Since it joined the United Nations in 2000, the island nation has managed to place its concerns high on the organization’s agenda. Its efforts seem to have borne fruit: Tuvalu is now regarded as a prime example of just how much damage climate change can do to a country.”

  4. News from the Los Angeles Times today that after a long delay, Japan launches their lunar orbiter. “Taking advantage of a lull in rainy weather, the Kaguya orbiter lifted off from Tanegashima island in southern Japan, propelled by a domestically built H-2A solid-fuel rocket. Its 21-day trip to the moon begins a yearlong mission that Japan’s civilian space agency, known as JAXA, is promoting as the most significant lunar expedition since America’s Apollo program of the 1960s and early ’70s.” The Guardian reports that “the successful launch of the 55bn yen Kaguya was greeted with relief among space officials. The agency was forced to cancel the planned launch of another lunar probe in 2004 after repeated mechanical and financial setbacks.” America should have never abandoned the Moon in the first place.

A little more below the fold…

Here are the front pages for the newspapers mentioned in the first story. Click on each newspaper thumbnail to enlarge.

        

Sources: The Independent, The Newseum for August 14, 2007.

So, what else is happening?

Sep 14 2007

Free Beer and Everybody Gets Laid

(Xposted at DK, as a cheap PR tactic)

This Dinette set could be yours!

A BRAND NEW CAR!

A full set of Encyclopedia Brittanica!

But don’t order yet! We will also send you six steak knives!

How about not going down in history as abetting a war crime and ethnic cleansing?

How about keeping your frikking jobs?

Hey Congress….HEY AMERICA!!!

What is it going to take?

Really….what can WE do to help? What is it going to take to stop the killing? How can we who, ya know …..CARE…. about all the frikkin DEAD PEOPLE convince you to stop this shit?

Yes, yes, I know….this is a repetitive exercise, it has been diaried before. We have all said the same things, brought up the same points, Yelled the same invective time and time again. It is tiresome and tiring and there really is nothing NEW to say….The only problem is….PEOPLE ARE STILL DYING!

In droves.

While you twiddle your thumbs and kiss Bush’s ass.

So….what will it take? You take money from lobbyists, from the MIC….how bout if we double it? Really, we are good for the dough.

Because when it comes down to it, there aren’t that many of you to bribe! Just some Bush Dogs and the few Republicans is all it will take to END THE WAR. There are a BUNCH of good Dem Congressfolk and Senators who are just as pissed and impatient as we are, it is really just a few of you that are holding up all the “The War Is Over!” parties ….and all the praise that could be yours, if you just come out and state publicly that YOU are the Hero who is going to change h/is/er vote and be The One to End The War.

We can make this happen, just let us know your price.

We consider it a small price to pay.

For you Democrats…if it is your jobs you are worried about, how about this….we will donate to your campaign and even work to get you re-elected…ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS STOP THE WAR….and I guarantee you will have folks falling all over you to thank you and we will even try to get your names in the history books and shit.

We have tried appealing to logic, compassion, financial considerations, political realities, the polling data….you name it, we have tried to use it to get you to stop the occupation. So far….no luck. So let’s try appealing to your base instincts.

Really, I mean it, we can do this.

All YOU have to do is not fund the war and I promise….Free Beer and Everybody Gets Laid.

Call me.

Sep 14 2007

Fred Thompson Can’t Remember His Shiavo Law & Order Episode

Poor Grandpa Fred, he has no idea where he is or what he is doing. Thank god that trophy wife of his helps pull his puppet strings all day, or he might just sit in a chair all day demanding more go-carts on his pancakes. But now that they have trotted the zombie remains of Ronald Reagan out on the road and into the public sphere, let the gaffes begin!

Today Grandpa Fred was in Florida, where he signed autographs, and unfortunately talked to the cameras.


Thompson gives no opinion on Schiavo
  By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
http://news.yahoo.co…

THE VILLAGES, Fla. – Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson gave no opinion Thursday when asked about efforts by President Bush and Congress to keep Terri Schiavo alive, saying he does not remember details of the right-to-die case that stirred national debate.

Thompson was asked in an interview for Bay News 9’s “Political Connections” program whether he thought Congress’ intervention to save the life of the brain-damaged woman two years ago was appropriate.

“I can’t pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best,” Thompson said. “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”

Just one big problem with this not remember the case stuff:

“Law & Order”
Age of Innocence
Original Air Date:
12 October 2005 (Season 16, Episode 4)

Plot Outline:
The bombing death of a husband set to remove the feeding tube of his wife, who’s in a persistent vegetative state, focuses the investigation on the protesters.

Fred Dalton Thompson  …  D.A. Arthur Branch

So, not only can he not remember the details of the Terri Schiavo in real life, he can’t remember when he tried the case on TV.

Poor Grandpa, maybe it’s time just to call it a day before you show just how bad your memory has gotten. Or how stupid you are. Because there are people out there with photographic memories with access to Google, and your gaffes will be remembered as the comedy gold they are.

Sep 14 2007

Friday fun around the webs

To accompany the release of the Red List, a few videos of what we
stiil have left of the web of life. Some you’ve seen before.

You need to watch this first one very intently to catch the surprise.

Before I forget, I wanted to point everyone to emPivot. It is a site
and community about specifically green videos, which are lost in the
shuffle at Youtube, etc. Note that it is not a rah rah site but a
resource site: you can find the denialist film The Great Golbal
Warming Swindle there, and a comprehensive debunking of it:
Scam of the ‘Great Global Waming Swindle’.

Here’s an octopus with a novel trick for confusing predators:

Those seem to call for an encore from the octopus’ cousin, the amazing
flamboyant cuttlefish:

En garde!

Some of you have certainly seen this one. But it’s worth posting again
anyway. This is how you give a talk, folks. Hit the  gray expando rectangle
at lower right for a large screen view:

I’ve been spending a lot of time here: Your Guide to the World’s
Hoofed Mammals

This place is just unbelievable. You want to talk website design? Have a
look at Greenovia, a Romanian landscaping company. Check out the
detail on the leaves.

Have a nice weekend. Don’t sweat the small stuff, but don’t forget
the small stuff. It all starts at home.

Sep 14 2007

Liberal

Often left wing bloggers describe themselves as progressives, shying away from the L word–liberal, and that upsets me.  Saint R Reagan succeeded in making “liberal” a dirty word and instead of fighting back, too many moved on.  Well, I’m a freakiin liberal–a proud liberal, an unambiguous liberal, a fanatic liberal, a civil rights liberal, a human rights liberal, an environmental liberal, and a drinking liberal.

I want a liberal party–and it should be called The Liberal Party.  I want it to run in primaries against DINOs, I want it to withhold donations to candidates until they meet and greet us–and bend in our direction.  If the dems run a shit like Ford–we run against him.  The fear of us siphoning votes and donations will give us a voice and respect.  The Conservatives took over the Republicans that way, and we’ll have to fight the devil’s fire with some venom of our own.

Right now, many here are pissed off at the weak kneed Dems in Congress–the dogs- and have no power to scare them.  They know we’ll be responsible and vote for them as the lesser of two evils–and that’s why they take our money and run.  No more–at least for me–my money goes to those that are pure–liberal pure.  I’m 62, my kids future has been put at risk because of compromises made.

  Civil rights for African Americans is less attainable than it was in the late sixties, healthcare is less attainable to almost 50 million Americans–many of color–our cities are deteriorating in the “darker’ neighborhoods–and NCLB is screwing up education–especially in Black/Brown neighborhoods.  Shit, even evolution is questioned–and those making scientific asses of themselves get more respect from the media than do liberals.

Our planet is at risk, our country is fighting a war ignited by lies and without purpose.  We are hated by many of the world’s people because of this war, and expose our bigotry by trying to harass potential immigrants. 

I could go on, but you get the point.  We need a new Liberal party to force the Democratic Party to the left.  If Dems win elections with “moderates,” the country won’t get better, it will just get worse more slowly.  I’m sure Pelosi is a good person, but she’s doing a terrible job and we have no organization to force her out–and I hate her.  Her lack of courage is literally killing some of America’s finest.  We need a mechanism to put the screws to her and to her colleagues.

Sep 14 2007

Nadler Follow Up

Love the concept of two diaries per day – rather than add this to the long essay I posted last night, I can now publish another.  Very cool, Buhdy and crew!

Anyway, just received this in an email from a friend and constituent of Nadler re the Gonzales resignation.  He received it from Nadler’s office today.  Hmmm, wonder if he knew we were talking about him?  😉

Check out his closing statement.

Dear XXXXX: 

Thank you for informing me of your desire to have Attorney General Alberto Gonzales removed from office.  I appreciate you taking the time to share your views.

  There is no question that Attorney General Gonzales has shown great disregard for the rule of law.  Furthermore, his tenure has displayed a fundamental lack of respect for the oversight responsibilities of Congress.  For example, when called to testify about the Department of Justice surveillance activities, Mr. Gonzales assured Congress that no civil liberty abuses had occurred under the PATRIOT Act.  We now know that he was aware of several such instances.  We must also never forget that it was Attorney General Gonzales who wrote the early justifications for the Bush Administration’s undermining of the Geneva Conventions, allowing torture, rendition, and indefinite detention to exist under the color of law.  For these reasons, I have long demanded his resignation.  I am pleased that on August 27, 2007 Attorney General Gonzales decided to step down.

  It is important that Mr. Gonzales not become the sacrificial lamb of the White House.  The resignation of this Attorney General does not absolve the Bush Administration of its various abuses of power.  Investigations must still continue into the actions of a Department of Justice that is riddled with scandal.  To that end, I continue to call for a Special Prosecutor to investigate the Attorney General and, specifically, the false statements made to Congress and the other apparent criminal violations by those in the Executive Branch conducting the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program.  Those entrusted with enforcing our nation’s laws must also abide by them.

  Thank you again for conveying your views.  Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I may be of assistance on this or any other matter of concern.

Sincerely,

JERROLD NADLER
Member of Congress

Sep 14 2007

Is It As Hopeless As ‘The Long Emergency’ Says It Is?