birth, death and the interims

There’s No Hope at the Ballot Box: In Memory of George Carlin

22252 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:14:40 GMT

by Matt Reichel / June 28th, 2008 " The [second] errant claim made by the Obama camp is that he was against the war from the beginning. Now can someone explain to me how an impassioned opponent of war entering the U.S. Senate could possibly vote repeatedly to fund the war he was supposedly against from the beginning? Where was he when the Democrats took over the Congress and the anti-war American public was waiting for a leader in Washington to take charge of getting it done? One would expect a supposedly progressive and popular senator to do just that. Instead, he just went babbling on about how Iran should be wiped off the map if real evidence were found to demonstrate their intent to develop one measly nuclear warhead in a world plagued by the peril of 20,000 American nukes. While the grassroots gave Obama and the Democrats everything they needed to run this administration and its wars out of Washington, Obama was too busy stumping for the annihilation of Hamas, voting for the appointment of Condoleeza Rice, and calling out fellow Illinois Senator Richard Durbin for making the obvious comparison of Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and a Nazi concentration camp. All that I have learned from Obama’s brief tenure in the Senate is that he isn’t even the more progressive of Illinois’ two senators, and he most certainly is not a skilled leader. During a time when a good leader would be like Dennis Kucinich in the house and demand a debate on impeachment, organize members of Congress to vote against war funding, and spearhead a movement for a cabinet level Department of Peace, Obama was out writing books in preparation for his presidential bid. He was out praising Ronald Reagan and denouncing the ’68 movements for being naïve and divisive. Ronald Reagan is his man: the architect of the Latin American holocaust of the ‘80’s, wherein the United States dropped bombs everywhere from Nicaragua to El Salvador and Grenada. " more: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/06/there%E2%80%99s-no-hope-at-the-ballot-box-in-memory-of-george-carlin/

STOP THIS STEP TO WAR

22252 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:16:03 GMT

re: H.CON. RES. 362: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.CON.RES.362: "Subject: Stop Congress from fomenting another war We rarely send you action items on Saturday. We're doing so today because the House appears likely to vote on a bad resolution early next week. If you oppose starting a war with Iran then we must act now to oppose House Concurrent Resolution 362. This resolution has 169 co-sponsors, including 77 Democrats and 92 Republicans. The resolution calls on President Bush to . . . * Create an international blockade of Iran to prevent it from importing the refined gasoline it needs to run its economy * Subject all cargo entering or leaving Iran to stringent inspections * Tighten economic sanctions against Iran * Violate international treaties by prohibiting Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program from travelling abroad. If another country took such actions against us, we would consider it an act of war. In addition, passage of this resolution would end negotiations with Iran in Baghdad that the administration has recently signaled it was prepared to resume. House Concurrent Resolution 362 is a major step toward war." - http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/node/992 ------------------ implicit contradiction The disclaimer: "Whereas nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization of the use of force against Iran:" The contradiction: "(3) demands [DEMANDS] that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program;" Reasonably presuming that Iranian officials and traders will not timidly submit to such searches and obstructions, these demands implicitly constitute an "authorization of the use of force," if not a virtual declaration of war. How else can these demands be executed? PLEASE URGE YOUR U.S.REP TO OPPOSE H CON RES 362 http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml stevo

tortured interrogation

22252 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:36:56 GMT

Abu Ghraib? Doesn't Ring a Bell. By Dana Milbank Wednesday, June 18, 2008; [WaPo] Page A03 " If ever there was a case that cried out for enhanced interrogation techniques, it was yesterday's Senate appearance by the Pentagon's former top lawyer. William "Jim" Haynes II, the man who blessed the use of dogs, hoods and nudity to pry information out of recalcitrant detainees, proved to be a model of evasion himself as he resisted all attempts at inquiry by the Armed Services Committee. In two hours of testimony, Haynes managed to get off no fewer than 23 don't recalls, 22 don't remembers, 16 don't knows, and various other protestations of memory loss. It was an impressive performance, to be sure. But let's see him try to do that with a hood over his head, standing on a crate with wires attached to his arms. " http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/17/AR2008061702673.html

Bush is correct(!) on this one

22252 — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:51:49 GMT

Farm bill a major win for old politics "It’s a shame Obama has been mostly silent about this monstrosity of old politics." http://news.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view.bg?articleid=1094850&srvc=home&position=recent During boom in crop prices, lawmakers harvest subsidies "With food prices soaring, it takes some gall to force Americans to pay billions of dollars to millionaire agribusinesses. Yet that's what the latest farm bill would do." http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9301146

US soldier refuses to serve in 'illegal Iraq war'

22252 — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:04:36 GMT

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080516144757.0ds7otes&show_article=1 >> Matthis Chiroux is the kind of young American US military recruiters love. "I was from a poor, white family from the south, and I did badly in school," the now 24-year-old told AFP. "I was 'filet mignon' for recruiters. They started phoning me when I was in 10th grade," or around 16 years old, he added. Chiroux joined the US army straight out of high school nearly six years ago, and worked his way up from private to sergeant. . . . "My decision is based on my desire to no longer continue violating my core values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation... I refuse to participate in the Iraq occupation," . . . Chiroux is one of thousands of US soldiers who have deserted since the Iraq war began in 2003, according to figures issued last year by the US army. But while many seek refuge in Canada, the young soldier vowed to stay in the United States to fight "whatever charges the army levels at me." The US army defines a deserter as someone who has been absent without leave for 30 days. Chiroux stood fast in his resolve to not report for duty on June 15. "I cannot deploy to Iraq, carry a weapon and not be part of the problem," he told AFP. <<

Biden: Bush's comments were 'bullshit'

22252 — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:20:49 GMT

>>May 15, 2008 Categories: Campaigns Biden: Bush's comments were 'bullshit' Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), piling on to Democratic complaints about President Bush’s speech in Israel today: “This is bullshit, this is malarkey. This is outrageous, for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, to sit in the Knesset ... and make this kind of ridiculous statement.”<< story: http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0508/Biden_Bushs_comments_were_bullshit.html 2 years ago, i saw Joe Biden as the Democrat's best hope in 2008; indeed . . . the only Dem qualified (by his intelligence, experience, wisdom, articulation and moral compass) to mitigate some elements of the foriegn policy disaster that is the most apparent and galling legacy of the Bush/Cheney regime. Like Howard Dean 4 years earlier, the candor that I admired in him was probably his political undoing. Whatever the reasons, voting Democrats failed to notice or appreciate how much more he brought to the podium (WAY more) than any of his opponents for the nomination. The article (linked above) prompts me to consider that he is surely the best choice Obama has for a running mate . . . someone who can shore up Obama's candidacy with articulate refutations of McCain's belligerent rhetorical posturing on foreign policy. Indeed, he's the only running mate that might possibly convince me to hold my nose and touch the flickering screen for Obama.

peace . . . at the End of Days.

22252 — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:50:50 GMT

>>Even some of the Israelis from the hawkish side of the spectrum noted with some wonderment the extent to which Bush has extended a message of warmth . . . "He didn't remind us even once of the words 'the Annapolis Process,' and I don't think it was coincidental," said Gideon Saar, a Knesset member from the right-wing Likud party. "He spoke about peace in Israel almost like it was something that will come at the End of Days." << http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0516/p06s03-wome.html

What's next for the Ron Paul revolution?

22252 — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:59:25 GMT

The effort to renew the Founding Fathers' vision is good for America. By John Dillin Christian Science Monitor from the May 16, 2008 edition http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0516/p09s02-coop.html

the pacification of sadr city

22252 — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:56:03 GMT

commentary: http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/11359

Red Flags on the New Hampshire Primary

22252 — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:40:25 GMT

1-12-08: Red Flags over New Hampshire New Hampshire's 2008 primary election may prove to be the most fascinating presidential preference race in history. - Both Democrat and Republican candidates have requested recounts - More than half of New Hampshire's elections administrators hand count paper ballots in public at the polling place, with a public chain of custody. The rest of New Hampshire's towns and cities use Diebold voting machines to count votes in secret, with a secret chain of custody. - Hand count and machine count locations, when calculated statewide, show an eerie statistic: Clinton Optical scan 91,717 52.95% Obama Optical scan 81,495 47.05% Clinton Hand-counted 20,889 47.05% Obama Hand-counted 23,509 52.95% - Two hand count towns reported "zero" votes for candidate Ron Paul to the media, even though they did have votes for him. The town of Sutton reported zero, but had 31 votes; the town of Greenville reported zero, but had 25 votes. The two towns had misreported results affecting exactly the same candidate in exactly the same way. - Results in many locations arrived up to four hours late on Election Night, surprisingly, from machine-counted locations -- not hand count locations; - A single private entity had control over coding for every memory card in New Hampshire. According to the contract for LHS Associates, this firm requires a right of access to any voting machine at any time, services the machines, maintains the machines and handles repairs, replacements and troubleshooting on Election Day. - Ken Hajjar, a key employee of this sole source private entity, LHS Associates, has a criminal record for narcotics trafficking. The state of New Hampshire knew of this conviction but approved the contractor anyway. According to a complaint filed with the New Hampshire Attorney General, Hajjar had called the Dan Pierce radio show in 1999 and threatened to rig an election. - A high number of "other" votes appeared in Manchester, where over 570 people apparently decided to go to the polls and choose none of the first tier OR second tier candidates. - The voting system in New Hampshire was updated, but to a version that had been proven to be vulnerable in studies in Florida and California. Instead of upgrading to newer versions which at least claim to address known security vulnerabilities, New Hampshire chose to implement none of the beefed up procedures or upgraded versions that other states are using. Citizens from many different states are now ex... More: http://blackboxvoting.org/

all that gold

22252 — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 07:45:42 GMT

. . . reminds me that it's time to make my monthly donation of hollow plastic fiat currency to the Ron Paul presidential campaign. Today is another 100% grassroots organized fundraising push timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Here's what the candidate had to say about it yesterday: December 15, 2007 What an amazing mission you and I are on. What great ideas we uphold -- the legacy of the most important thinkers of liberty in our country's history, and the most important doers of liberty in America. At the top of that list are the donors and volunteers of this campaign. I could spend all my time thanking personally you and everyone who has done so much for our country's future, and not scratch the surface of what justice demands. But I want you to know how much I owe you, and everyone dedicated to the real America. You and I know our real country -- the America of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, of economic, civil, and personal liberty, of strong families and communities, of great businesses and professions, of strong peace and low taxes and sound money-all of which are under assault by the politicians who occupy our nation's capital. With your help -- and I can't do anything without your help www.ronpaul2008.com/donate/ -- I want to change all that. Together, we can restore our constitutional republic, and oust the mountebanks who violate the ideals of the Founders with income taxes, Federal Reserve inflation, deficit spending, preemptive wars, torture, secret prisons, and abolition of habeas corpus. How thrilling too are all the great Independent efforts in this cause, involving so many tens of thousands of patriots. Of course, since they are Independent, the election laws to do not allow me to coordinate with them in any way. But I will mention that this Sunday, I am really going to enjoy my tea at a party! We are making real progress. And goodness knows we need to. Help www.ronpaul2008.com/donate/ me keep our revolution going and growing. For freedom, peace, and prosperity, for the real America, all our generosity and hard work are justified. Sincerely, Ron

most excellent African spam

22252 — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 07:32:23 GMT

i've ever received . . . not surprisingly, from Ghana. It finally occurred to someone in the indstry that a picture is worth a thousand words, in literary context, of course; to wit: >> Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2007 14:37:14 -0800 (PST) From: DR FAYEE JUBRIL <jjubrilfayee05@yahoo.com> Reply-To: jjubrilfayee02@yahoo.fr Subject: gold for sale To: friendship142@hotmail.com X-Nonspam: Statistical 66% X-Antivirus: AVG for E-mail 7.5.503 [269.16.15/1174] My dear, How are you today?. I am Dr.FAYEE JUBRIL, 47 years old. A citizen of Ghana Republic, West Africa.Our community have 450kgs of gold dust for sales. We are local miners from Ghana. I am here in Cotonou, Benin Republic west Africa looking for a serious buyer of the gold dust. Below are the offers: Commodity : Gold dust (AU) Origin : GHANA Rebublic. Quantity : 450KGS Quality : 22 carat + Purity : 93 % Price :$9.500 per each kg. For further informations please kindly contact below contacts me bellow. E-mail:(jjubrilfayee02@yahoo.fr Tel: 00229-93 47 77 99 Regards. Dr.FAYEE JUBRIL. <<

terrorfried

22252 — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 02:14:14 GMT

to ward off (or provoke) "threats" such as this, we pay taxes and kill millions of Muslims! >> If you were watching the movie version of the terrorism trial that ended Thursday in Miami, Fla., you might walk out around the time the seven suspects take an oath to al-Qaeda in a warehouse. The scene would feel so contrived, such a low-budget mockumentary of itself, that you might not be able to stomach another second. . . . On Thursday, after nine days of deliberation, a jury acquitted one of the defendants, Lyglenson Lemorin, and gave up on the remaining six. The judge declared mistrials in those cases, and a new trial is scheduled for next year. . . . The entire situation was concocted by the government. The warehouse was paid for by the FBI, and the defendants moved their operations there at the suggestion of an undercover informant who was also paid by the FBI. The swearing-in ceremony was led by the informant — who at another point also suggested a plan to bomb FBI offices in Miami. "The case was written, produced and directed by the FBI," defense attorney Albert Levin said in his closing arguments. << full story: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1694430,00.html?

pro-life news

22252 — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:41:36 GMT

i needed some good news today . . . surely there's more to be found, but this was a good start . . . could become a trend! N.J. General Assembly Votes to Repeal Death Penalty Thursday, December 13, 2007; 5:29 p.m. By Keith B. Richburg Washington Post Staff Writer NEW YORK, Dec. 13 -- New Jersey is set to become the first state to legislatively abolish the death penalty since the Supreme Court restored it in the mid-1970s. Opponents of capital punishment hope the state's action may prompt a rethinking of the moral and practical implications of the practice in other states. New Jersey's Democratic-controlled General Assembly voted 44 to 36 to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without parole. The action followed a similar vote by the Senate on Monday. Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat and a death penalty opponent, has said he would sign the legislation. full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301302.html?hpid=moreheadlines

the time

22252 — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:30:30 GMT

for peace? i hope. looking at the world around me for the past day or two, i'm pretty certain that the days and weeks ahead, let's just say between now and the new moon on the 11th . . . and thereafter, if we're lucky --will be trying times for our souls. Not that all times haven't always been. I suspect that every spirit on this planet that is manifest in human form came here and did such for only that reason: to be tried; and has been since birth. well, it's happening folks. THE game is picking up. Maybe it has something to do with our little buddy Pluto and his alignment with the Galactic.center --who really knows and who really cares? All I know is that my antennae are vibrating at an inordinate frequency and I'm pretty sure it's not just me. Everywhere I looked yesterday, people were freaking out or seemingly teetering on the verge of doing so. For to many aeons we've been playing the earthly game of dualities with half of our hearts --and do we really know any other way? Quite often I've believed that we do, yet just as often as I think I've got a "grip" on both ends of the serpent, i turn around and bite my tail. I think we all do. I just wanna share an observation that I think the game, or the war, or whatever you wanna call it, is comiong to a critical point. In every little "thing" or relationship (what is duality if not relationship?) I feel a culmination beginning to occur. Be it a conflict or a resolution, this is "the time" --as we see time. In fact, it may be the moment, the ONLY moment or the Eternal moment; but as long as we are accustomed to marking time and seeng things in simlarly linear terms, let's say that we are mooving on such a line and say that the line is getting very very HOT about now (or at least that's what my buzzing antennae are telling me. And in each moment, as always, we're being asked (or asking ourselves) to choose between making peace or war between those things that we see as being within and/or outside of ourselves. I've been seeing (these recent days) a great number of petty conflicts marked by presumptions and accusations --too many to bother listing in any specific terms; however, everyone seems to be grappling with urges to go at someone elses throats. It seems to be happening in almost everyone I know. Little surprise, really, since we've been tried and trying for so long to move ahead by "winning" our struggles with life, rarely pausing to consider that the consequence of every victory is indeed a loss forthat or those that we prevail over. And little surprise that we are all feeling the pain, since we are all One and every bomb that has ever fallen or bullet fired, or stone hurled has surely landed somewhere; be it upon the children of Iraq or the children of the world, or more likely, on the child within --the one who came here to be tried and judged either worthy or not, as if good and evil were fixed virtues, and those that were one could somehow be separated from the other. Okay, enough. I just wanna say that if you feel a conflict today, please try to own and contain it within yourselves, because no matter how hard and far you throw that stone, it's only gonna hurt someone like you, or, as we ARE all one, someone who IS you. "We" can work with this energy, or we can fight against it --and it's not really THAT hard to see where our choices will lead us at the end of the day. It's not the other guy, it's not the Geminis vs. the Scorpios. It's just us. Let's TRY not to hurt ourselves too badly today.

BLACK FRIDAY:

22252 — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:15:54 GMT

WHY THIS ONE IS ESPECIALLY DARK, By Carolyn Baker http://carolynbaker.net/site/content/view/224/ "These are the good ole days, my friend, and these are also the dark new days. Happy Thanksgiving; savor every bite."

left/right fusion item of the day

22252 — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 03:13:41 GMT

progressive reasoning: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/finally-action-ron-pau_b_69042.html

when numbers speak

22252 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:25:05 GMT

current message: One for One first impression and reflection: quite appropriate for this day reflecting further back over the span of my time on tribe, i've regrettably lost track of more than a few of you, but it's always nice to see ones returning now and then, and having your blogs presented on my home page or having your charts saved or available somewhere when you participate in astro discussions, and simply to have whatever familiarities retained from previous encounters when a your avatar pops up in a thread. please don't go away! one for all

what most people don't get

22252 — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 05:26:23 GMT

"While the project usually turns up a range of underreported issues, this year's stories all fall somewhat neatly into two categories - the increase of privatization and the decrease of human rights. Some of the stories qualify as both." (excellent summary) http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/18/censored http://www.projectcensored.org/

Roanoke at the end of a very hot day.

22252 — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:12:15 GMT

Chippewa. 1991-2007

22252 — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:30:01 GMT

I just buried the old dog Chip. He was kind and caring to most living creatures, particularly his adopted child, Abner the cat. He had a pretty good life and he'll be deeply missed by many.

"Pushed" by Jennifer Block

22252 — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:27:08 GMT

This promises to be interesting --includes a section on Cynthia Caillagh's prosecution re: the death of Julia Peters and the history of midwifery legalization in VA. Interview with Jennifer Block, Author of "Pushed" http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2007/06/21/interview-with-jennifer-block-author-of-pushed AMAZON INFO: Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block (Hardcover - Jun 30, 2007) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738210730/vbfreedomus Editorial Reviews: From Publishers Weekly "According to writer and editor Block (Our Bodies, Ourselves), "the United States has the most intense and widespread medical management of birth" in the world, and yet "ranks near the bottom among industrialized countries in maternal and infant mortality." Block shows how, in transforming childbirth into a business, hospitals have turned "procedures and devices developed for the treatment of abnormality" into routine practice, performed for no reason than "speeding up and ordering an unpredictable...process"; for instance, the U.S. cesarean section rate tripled in the 1970s, and has doubled since then. Block looks into a growing contingent of parents-to-be exploring alternatives to the hospital-and the attendant likelihood of medical intervention-by seeking out birthing centers and options for home-birth. Unfortunately, obstacles to these alternatives remain considerable-laws across the U.S. criminalizing or severely restricting the practice of midwifery have led the trained care providers to practice underground in many states-while tort reform has done next to nothing to lower malpractice insurance rates or improve hospital birthing policies. This provocative, highly readable expose raises questions of great consequence for anyone planning to have a baby in U.S., as well as those interested or involved in women's health care." Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Library Journal, 5/15/07 "A stirring discussion of reproductive rights, informed consent, and the rights of the mother vs. the fetus... Recommended."

balsamic moon in aries

22252 — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 00:07:13 GMT

you all heard the news. I heard it about 10 minutes after my electricity went out yesterday. My daughter's solar panel let me online long enough to read updates for a day. Blacksburg is our nearest-by college town . . . familiar ground. Wet ground. The warm day before gave way to a light winddriven snow in the evening and Monday woke up to heavily gusting grey skies. The Sun came out today and an Aries New Moon has slipped into Taurus just in the nick of time (to suit my tastes). Tragedy reminds us that Love is better than hate.

Petition to Revamp the 2007 (US) Farm Bill

22252 — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 06:50:07 GMT

I have just read and signed the petition: "Give Poor Farmers a Fighting Chance" Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. We are trying to reach 10,000 signatures - please sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/741974128 Give Poor Farmers a Fighting Chance Dear Senator / Representative: As your constituent, I feel very strongly that you should reform the 2007 Farm Bill. [Your personal comment here.] Devised during the Great Depression, the Farm Bill was designed to give American farmers a safety net when the market bottomed out. Today's Farm Bill gives out large government payments to producers of a small number of crops. Most American farmers get little or none of these commodity subsidies. Meanwhile, these subsidies don't alleviate the biggest problems in rural communities: lack of medical services, poor schools, population loss, and environmental degradation. While the Farm Bill underperforms in the US, it also hurts farmers in developing countries. By encouraging the overproduction of crops such as cotton and rice, commodity subsidies create a glut that drives down world prices, undermining the livelihoods of millions of small farmers around the world. All in all, a revamped 2007 Farm Bill can help poor people and rural communities in the US and abroad lift themselves out of poverty. Together with your other constituents, I urge you to reduce misguided agriculture subsidies and redirect the money to the programs that need it most: conservation, nutrition, rural development, and the research and development of renewable sources of energy. Your vote could help Americans-and even poor farmers abroad. Thank you for your time. * * * * * * * * * * * Click here for more information: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/741974128 Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well. Thank you!

not to worry

22252 — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 02:12:22 GMT

We're not contending with the all powerful Wizard of Oz, but rather diminutive old men trapped in fright behind their curtains. - a slightly borrowed notion