Who

"It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not."
--Unknown

Boxer: No Problem With Killing, Just Fewer Of "Ours"

Email from "California Senator" (although her positions certainly don't reflect Californian's) and Republicrat Barbara Boxer, seeking donations for her PAC For A Sugarcoating ("PAC For A Change" my a**). Note how she has no problem with continuing the slaughter of innocent Iraqis, no problem with the New Crusades, no problem with stealing *our* oil that is under *their* sand...she just wants it done in a more efficient manner so that fewer Americans are killed and it thus becomes more politically palatable.

TLC
_________________________

Barbara Boxer's email contained the following passage:

Iraq

After three long years, the deaths of more than 2,467 American troops, more than 18,000 wounded, and the deaths of more than 40,000 Iraqis, it's beyond time to bring our mission in Iraq to a close.

The Bush Administration misled us into an elective war that we didn't have to fight. But our brave men and women in uniform have performed admirably, successfully meeting every goal that was set for them -- from capturing Saddam Hussein and freeing the Iraqi people to training Iraqi security forces and fostering the creation of an Iraqi government. Now it should be up to the people of Iraq to decide what kind of future they want.

That's why I'll be introducing a resolution when the Senate returns to Washington next week, calling for U.S. forces to be redeployed from Iraq within 6 months or earlier, if practicable. My resolution also calls for a quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon Marine presence to be deployed in the region.

It is completely unacceptable to me to see our government paralyzed over a failed policy -- a policy that is bringing so much pain to so many. The Bush Administration's open-ended commitment in Iraq is not only causing death and destruction to our brave troops, it's also serving as a catalyst for further terrorist recruitment.

It's time to change course. That's why I'll be introducing my resolution in the Senate, which is very similar in impact to Congressman Jack Murtha's House legislation, when Congress reconvenes next week.

Pharmaceutical Company Claptrap Proliferates

Today's Chronicle had a so-called news article that could just as well have been issued by the press office of any major pharmaceutical company. My letter to the Chronicle:


Dear Editor,

How sad that the Chronicle is publishing drug industry spin ("Cancer Therapies Proliferate"). The day that BigPharma comes up with a drug that cures cancer will be the day that BigOil comes out with an engine that runs on water.

There are cures for cancer, but you won't hear about them from BigPharma. And apparently you won't read about them in the Chronicle.

Disappointed In Arcata,

Terry Lee Clark

Purchasing The Governorship Of California

Developer gives millions for Angelides Westly questions his opponent's relationship with mega-donor

Angelo Tsakopoulos isn't a politician, but the wealthy Sacramento developer has assumed an unusually high-profile role in the Democratic gubernatorial race, steering nearly $9 million to campaigns on behalf of Democrat Phil Angelides.
Full Story

Petition: Voting Integrity Protection

Protect Our Democracy: Add your name to the VOTES Declaration
Join thousands of other Americans in protecting our right to vote by signing the VOTES Declaration and adding your thoughts for the elections official in your state.


I added the following comments:
Any reform must exclude machines from Diebold and other companies with a track record of fraud.

TLC

Stopping Terrorists Before They're Born

It's as if they're deliberately trying to alienate hearts and minds in order to promote war without end. And they're doing a darn find job of it, too. Follow the money, and you'll discover who's behind "US policy".

TLC


U.S. Troops Kill Pregnant Woman in Iraq
U.S. forces killed two Iraqi women — one of them about to give birth — when the troops shot at a car that failed to stop at an observation post in a city north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials and relatives said Wednesday.

Will America Suffer A Similar Fate

From today's New York Times. I couldn't help wonder...in a few decades, will there be a similar story concerning the globe currently in the oval office?

TLC


Hitler's Globe Highlights New Exhibit

BERLIN (AP) -- The globe Adolf Hitler gazed upon while contemplating world domination is in remarkably good condition but for one blemish -- the bullet hole directly through Berlin, inflicted by a Soviet soldier after the Nazi dictator's defeat in 1945.

Himmler Sworn In

If CIA employees weren't nervous before, today's "swearing-in" (as if anyone in DerBu$hler's administration has a commitment to honesty) of General Michael Hayden caught him in full-dress military uniform.

So much for civilian control of the CIA. A crystal-clear signal of NSA/military takeover if ever there was one.

TLC

No Oil Heir Left Behind

From Rolling Stone:

No Oil Heir Left Behind
The kids of the nation’s oil execs stand to reap more than $210 million if the Estate Tax is repealed permanently according to a congressional report. Forget Paris Hilton. They oughta call it the Lee Raymond Jr. tax. The kids of the former Exxon CEO — who recently took a retirement package worth $400 million — stand to inherit an extra $160 million that would otherwise go to pay for national defense, education, Medicare and other vital government programs.

What The Republicans Think Of Democracy

Source: Democracy Now

GOP Official Involved in Phone-Jamming Scandal Released From Jail
In New Hampshire, the former executive director of the state Republican Party has been released from jail after serving seven months for his role in an Election Day phone-jamming scandal. In November 2002, the official – Charles McGee – helped jam the phones of Democrats and labor groups making get-out-the-vote calls. Now McGee is back at his old job and next weekend he will be speaking at a two-day event to teach Republicans how to run for office at a so-called GOP campaign school. The state’s Democratic party has criticized the Republican party for continuing to associate with McGee.

"Unable" or "Unwilling"

Increasingly, Democracy Now has been spinning the news in ways one would not expect. My email to Democracy Now, followed by their dubious twist:


"Unable" or "Unwilling"? Be careful, with bias like this, some are going to suspect DN is becoming a spin doctor for DerBu$hler!

TLC
______________________________________________________


U.S. Sends 1500 More Troops Into Iraq; Italy to Pull Out All Troops
In Iraq it now appears the United States will be unable to reduce the number of troops it has on the ground this year due to the increasing violence and the decision by several countries to begin withdrawing troops.

Monument To War Without End

From the London Times, May 31, 2006:

Feuds threaten 9/11 memorialBy James Bone
New Yorkers have ignored pleas to contribute towards the $1 billion World Trade Centre project
ALMOST ten million New Yorkers were given the option on their tax returns this year to donate to the World Trade Centre Memorial. Just 14,707 did so.


Hummm, could it be that New Yorkers aren't as stupid as Bu$h and company think, that they understand there are far higher priorities than a monument to war without end? Has the London Times become just another propaganda mouthpiece for the Fourth Reich?

TLC

Greenhouse Gases Are A Good Thing

Global warming is a myth, and PBS is on your side! The lies keep getting bigger all the time:


In a May 24 segment on former Vice President Al Gore's current campaign to raise awareness about climate change, PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer anchor Gwen Ifill noted that "critics have called Gore 'alarmist' " and aired a clip from a recent television advertisement produced by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which she identified only as a "Washington think tank." But Ifill did not inform viewers that CEI is a conservative institution largely funded by the energy industry, which has a financial stake in opposing policies that seek to combat climate change. Moreover, Ifill ignored that, in the ads, which downplay the threat of global warming, CEI misrepresents several scientific studies.

Full Article, well worth reading

Al Gore: Bush is 'renegade rightwing extremist'

Mr Gore says: "If you have a renegade band of rightwing extremists who get hold of power, the whole thing goes to the right."
Full Article in the Guardian UK.

I wonder how much coverage this will get in the mainstream US press...

TLC

Possibilities

"We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat."
--Queen Victoria (1819-1901) British Monarch

Breakfast With Dikeman

The Humboldt County District Attorney's race continues. Today's Eureka Reporter produced some doozies from challenger Dikeman:


ER: What about the [Cheri Moore] investigation’s importance to the campaign?
WD: I don’t know. I know that Paul is trying to make it a political issue, and I think that’s unfortunate, because I think he clearly has a conflict, and anything he says or does about the case has its roots in apparent bias.


Hummmm, and the support from the law enforcement has intensified since Cheri Moore's killing by the Eureka Police Department because...the EPD wants someone fair and impartial in the DA's office who, if the facts warrant it, will prosecute all law enforcement officers involved in misconduct, and keep on prosecuting up the chain of command until all have been dealt justice?



ER: But you’ve got a conflict, too. You’ve talked at length about receiving the endorsements of numerous law enforcement associations. But with the Eureka Police Department now the subject of scrutiny in the Moore homicide investigation, don’t you think those endorsements cut both ways?
WD: No. Ordinarily that wouldn’t be a problem, any more than it would be a problem for Paul to review the conduct of anyone whose endorsement he sought. Paul has made it a political issue, and he has made the endorsements I’ve received a political issue. And in that situation, I think it gives rise to the appearance of bias on my part, and if I were in a position where I was asked to review the Cheri Moore case, I would refer it to the attorney general’s office.
ER: Both your campaign manager and assistant campaign manager are officers of the Eureka Police Department. Do you think the community could have confidence in the impartiality of any conclusions you, as district attorney, might reach in an investigation involving that department?
WD: Yes. Some of the people who are working on my campaign are involved with police agencies. Their involvement and their commitment is in part due to their dissatisfaction with the job Paul has done. They’re giving of their time and energy, because they want the job done better.


Now here's where a sharp reporter would grill Dikeman on day-to-day life if he is elected. One does not have to have experience as a criminal defense attorney to know that it is common for law enforcement officers, who have roughed a person up, to turn around and charge that person with Resisting Arrest, Battery On A Law Enforcement Officer, etc. etc. . By doing so, they "justify" what they have done--especially if their victim has bruises or worse. Given the strong support of law enforcement, could Dikeman *really* impartially assess *any* such case that came before him? Would Dikeman, given his obvious conflict-of-interest, automatically refer every such case to the Attorney General's office?

Unfortunately, the ER let the issue drop at this point. In fairness, they dropped the ball in their interview with Gallegos as well on some of his answers that merited follow-up.



ER: Curious to some observers is that you have not been arbitrarily terminated.
WD: If I were to speculate as to why I would say, 1) there’s the remote possibility that I could file a civil action against Paul, 2) I think it would be politically disadvantageous for him to fire me because it would look like he was firing me for the wrong reason, and 3) I’m a great asset to that office. I don’t call in sick. I do what I’m told. I don’t complain. And I do what I do well. I’d be difficult to replace.


Hummm, he's been complaining since shortly after Gallegos took office. I hope he's got a Prop 215 Card for whatever he's smoking. Not much of a follower, obviously.

Indeed, complaining is what Dikeman seems to do best. During the Recall, Dikeman was largely silent on the propriety of Maxxam Corporation bankrolling an effort to throw out the person who was prosecuting it. (And note that Dikeman now refuses to take a position on Measure T, not wanting to bite the hand that bankrolled the "Recall" campaign that he hoped would put him in office). So much for leadership. As the saying goes, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way". Well, Dikeman has failed on the first two, that only leaves the third option...

One thing Gallegos doesn't get enough credit for is his tolerance of all the snakes in the grass that have been slithering about the DA's office since he was elected in 2002. Were Gallegos the political animal his detractors try to make him out to be, he would have cleaned house several years ago, and Dikeman would in that event now be in private practice or, better yet, another County...


ER: The current campaign has been characterized by harsh criticisms from both sides. Would you be able to go back to work for Gallegos if you lose the election?
WD: The answer is yes, and the reason I say that is because I love my job, and you don’t have to love your boss to love your job. It helps, but it’s not necessary.



The honorable thing would have been for Dikeman to resign following the failed insurrection, er, "Recall" attempt, of 2004. Obviously, "honor" is an antiquated concept in some quarters...


TLC

NY Times On Pelosi

What a joke! According to the New York Times, May 30, 2006:

"Ms. Pelosi, the California Democrat and House minority leader, lends herself to easy caricature by Republicans. She is an unapologetic liberal, with a voting record to match (the Republican National Committee chairman, Ken Mehlman, said she was neither a "New Democrat" nor an "Old Democrat" but a "prehistoric Democrat").

Apparently, they've been drinking too much chlorinated water at the Times. With liberals like Pelosi, who needs enemas? How dumb do they think their readership is?


TLC

More Support For The Deer

From The Salina [Kansas] Journal's Extention 333 Opinion Line, May 30, 2006:

"To the person who thinks deer are a dangerous pest. They are a creature of God, made by God, so they cannot be a pest."


Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks deer should not be slaughtered.


TLC

Bizarre Headline Of The Day

From The Salina [Kansas] Journal, May 30, 2006, on a story about a doctor who threw his children to their deaths and then jumped off the same balcony:


"Neighbors miffed by doctor's suicide"


Of course, there is nothing in the article to indicate anything other than shock, horror, and sympathy from the neighbors.


TLC

Beating The Drums For Bu$h III

Newt Gingrich is the latest:

"I just think his natural, personal ability is so great that people are going to realize he is not his father and he's not his brother. He's a very unique, charismatic leader with extraordinary capabilities. ... Jeb Bush may well be the most innovative (governor) in the entire country."
Full Story

Courage

"Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened."
--Billy Graham

Frist: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Separation Of Powers

In a break with his counterparts in the House, the Senate's leader said Sunday the FBI was within its right to search the office of a congressman under investigation in a bribery case.
Full Story


Could this have something to do with Frist wanting to protect his buddy, Deadeye Dick?


The FBI's raid on Jefferson's office may have had more to do with eliminating evidence involving U.S. oil companies in Nigerian bribery schemes (and, therefore, protect Cheney) than in nailing Jefferson.
Full Story (May 28, 2006)

Memorial Day

"On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation!"
--Thomas William Parsons


"That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end."
--Lise Hand


When we say "War is over if you want it," we mean that if everyone demanded peace instead of another TV set, we'd have peace.
--John Lennon

Dixie Chicks On Letterman

Great song, great performance. "Not Ready To Make Nice" indeed.

TLC

Frist: Gay Marriage and Flag Burning are Highest Priorities

Transcript and video. Bring on the American Theocracy!

The disconnect by so-called "leaders" just keeps getting more and more surreal.


TLC

CA Secretary Of State Primary

[Deborah] Ortiz favors electronic voting machines with proper safeguards; [Debra] Bowen favors traditional voting systems that are less expensive and easier to check for fraud.
Full Story


Well, that makes the Democrat party's primary for Secretary Of State's race a no-brainer. Unless you want Diebold and others behind the scenes casting your vote, Bowen's the obvious choice.

Now if you're not a member of the Democrat party, then better than Bowen is Forrest Hill, the Green Party candidate. And should the general election come down to Ortiz v. McPherson, the two increasingly merging parties will be offering no choice at all. In that event, it will certainly be time to vote for Forrest.

TLC

"Hunting" and "Sport"

From The Salina [Kansas] Journal's Opinion Line Extension 333, May 28, 2006:

"Hunting is not a sport. The only way it could be a sport is if you give the animals guns and they could shoot at you, too."

Recharging The Batteries

In these troubled times, it's easy to get discouraged. The best cure for that I've found is Robert F. Kennedy's "Day Of Affirmation" speech, given at Cape Town University in South Africa on June 6, 1966.

Download the MP3 of the speech HERE, then burn it on to a CD because you will want to listen to it more than once.


TLC

I'm The Decider

I am me and Rummy's he, Iraq is free and we are all together
See the world run when Dick shoots his gun, see how I lie
I'm Lying...

Another sing-a-long. Audio takes a moment or two to begin. Enjoy!


TLC

Cheney's Got A Gun

A sing-a-long, including animation. Enjoy!

TLC

Change The World

"Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth."
--Archimedes
Mathematician and inventor of ancient Greece, 280-211 B.C.

Views

"When your views of the world and your intellect are being challenged, and you begin to feel uncomfortable because of a contradiction you've detected is threatening your current model of the world or some aspect of it, pay attention. You are about to learn something."
--Author Unknown

The Hayden Vote: Flushing What's Left Of The Constitution

Special credit and kudos to Pennsylvania Senator Arlan Specter for being the only Republican to take a stand on principle and vote against Himmler's promotion.


"Democrats" Voting Against (although Feingold's the only one that seems to have any principles that last any longer than an occasional photo-op):
Bayh, Ind.;
Cantwell, Wash.;
Clinton, N.Y.;
Dayton, Minn.;
Dodd, Conn.;
Dorgan, N.D.;
Durbin, Ill.;
Feingold, Wis.;
Harkin, Iowa;
Kennedy, Mass.;
Kerry, Mass.;
Menendez, N.J.;
Obama, Ill.;
Wyden, Ore.

Republicrats having more important things to do than stand up for our Constitution, who didn't even show up for the vote:
Boxer, Calif.;
Conrad, N.D.;
Inouye, Hawaii;
Rockefeller, W.Va.;
Salazar, Colo.

Republicrats who at least were honest enough to show up and cast their votes to flush the Constitution:
Akaka, Hawaii;
Baucus, Mont.;
Biden, Del.;
Bingaman, N.M.;
Byrd, W.Va.;
Carper, Del.;
Feinstein, Calif.;
Johnson, S.D.;
Kohl, Wis.;
Landrieu, La.;
Lautenberg, N.J.;
Leahy, Vt.;
Levin, Mich.;
Lieberman, Conn.;
Lincoln, Ark.;
Mikulski, Md.;
Murray, Wash.;
Nelson, Fla.;
Nelson, Neb.;
Pryor, Ark.;
Reed, R.I.;
Reid, Nev.;
Sarbanes, Md.;
Schumer, N.Y.;
Stabenow, Mich.


Source, and full list that you can print out, read and weep along with Jefferson, Hamilton, Washington, and the rest of the "old school"

TLC

"The High Ethical Standard Of The House Democratic Caucus"

Nancy Pelosi's letter to Congressman William J. Jefferson cites, "the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus".

Now let's see, Jefferson is accused of taking bribes.

Pelosi has been gutless and silent while good Americans are sent to be killed for corporate profits. While hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis are killed, physically scarred for life, and psychologically scarred for life. While Bu$h and his buddies plunder the US and other countries.

Who's lacking ethical standards here?

Not even close!

Jefferson's response to Pelosi's letter is an excellent reality check, although I doubt that Pelosi will "get it".

It would be interesting to have Pelosi required to undergo a complete drug screening--blood, urine and hair...what ARE they ingesting in DC???


TLC

Petition: Draft Gore

Need I say more? Click & Sign!

TLC

Fiction Driven Foreign Policy

Warmonger Douglas Feith was hired by Georgetown University under unusual circumstances. As we know, every professor needs a syllabus, and an appropriate one has already been prepared for him. A sampler--go to the website for the complete writeup:


This course introduces students to the use of fiction to promote foreign policy initiatives. Students will study the latest methods for undermining reality-based analysis using fantasy, fiction, treachery, torture and ad hominem argumentation.

Bill & Hillary: Still Gutless After All These Deaths

Great article on Salon today about Bill and Hillary's refusal to accept responsibility for the fact that Hillary voted for Operation Iraqi Liberation and still refuses to take any meaningful step to stem the slaughter they helped create.


Thousands of bodies in the ground
Brought home in boxes to a trumpet's sound
No one sees them coming home that way
Thousands buried in the ground

Thousands of children scarred for life
Millions of tears for a soldier's wife
Both sides are losing now
Heaven takes them in
Thousands of children scarred for life

--Neil Young, "Shock And Awe"


Thanks Bill, thanks Hillary, you gutless excuese for so-called leaders. How many more would you like to kill and maim?

TLC

Sign Of The Mini Devil

One of the entertaining things about The Salina [Kansas] Journal's Extension 333 Opinion Line is all of the comments from fundamentalists. Have they not thought through the ramifications of being part of something that proudly promotes the expression of opinions under a banner that is 1/2 The Sign Of The Devil?

TLC

Believe, Or Else

From The Salina [Kansas] Journal's Opinion Line Extension 333, in which people are allowed to spout off all sorts of things anonymously:

"To the person that thinks that the Bible is a story of fiction: Boy, come judgment day are you going to be in for a very rude awakening, and you will get exactly what you deserve."



I guess this translates into a message from the Almighty of, "You have free will so long as you do exactly what I tell you to do, or I'll burn your a** for all eternity"

TLC

Always Consider The Source

"Never accept a drink from a Urologist."
--Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American Journalist, Author, Humorist

Congress

"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
--Mark Twain (1835-1910) [Samuel Clemens] American Author, Humorist

Prince Charles Draws Prescription Drug Cartel Blood

A GROUP of Britain’s leading doctors has urged every NHS trust to stop paying for alternative medicine and to use the money for conventional treatments.

Their appeal is a direct challenge to the Prince of Wales’s outspoken campaign to widen access to complementary therapies.

Full Article and Text Of Letter



My letter to the London Times on their article, above:


Dear Editor,

It is delightful to hear that the pharmaceutical drug cartel is amassing its forces to take on Prince Charles. This makes it clear that Prince Charles is making progress against those who would turn Great Britain into a nation of prescription drug junkies.

Ask the pharmaceutical sales representatives masquerading as doctors to name a single drug invented in the past fifty years that has actually cured a condition or disease. There is no such thing. Why? Because that would cut into the cartel's profits. The cartel will not create a drug that cures any more than the oil cartel will allow an internal combustion engine to come onto the market that gets high mileage or runs on water.

Sincerely,

Terry L. Clark

Waiteth Not

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." --Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl, 1952

The Baying Sheep In Washington

House Leaders Demand Return of Seized Files
By CARL HULSE

WASHINGTON, May 24 — The constitutional clash pitting Congress against the executive branch escalated Wednesday as the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House demanded the immediate return of materials seized by federal agents when they searched the office of a House member who is under investigation in a corruption case.

The demand, by Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois, and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, underscored the degree of the anger generated among members of both parties on Capitol Hill by the search on Saturday night at the office of Representative William J. Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana, who has been accused of accepting bribes.

Full New York Times Spin



Oh my, Hastert & Pelosi have their undies in a wad. They haven't given a rat's behind about murder, kidnapping, torture, pre-emptive war, and all the rest of the atrocities that have been going on in our name since 9/11, but now all of the sudden they're concerned about the Constitution? The same Constitution they've been wiping their butts with all this time?

Give me a break!


TLC

The Most Precious

"This gift that I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable gift of mankind"
--Theodorus Gaza

Those Who Risk Everything To Save Some Of The Most Vulnerable

Behind the Mask is a unique documentary focusing on those individuals who take direct action to save animals.

This poignant work will inspire people to make compassionate changes in their lives. True stories of animals saved from horrendous circumstances will touch your heart, while interviews with the rescuers will inspire.

Watch the Trailer

Those Darned Civilian Terrorists Asked For It

US A-10 attack planes recently bombed an Afghan village in the dead of night for several hours, killing nearly 100 people, at least 16 of them acknowledged to have been innocent men, women and children.


Now, in a version of the notorious brutal cop's claim that the victim of his abuse "kept ramming his head into my baton," Pentagon spokesman Col. Tom Collins says, "The ultimate cause of why civilians were injured and killed is because the Taliban knowingly, willfully chose to occupy homes of these people."

Notice that he's not even saying that the victims invited or allowed the Taliban into their homes. In fact, according to reports, it appears that the Taliban forced their way into civilian homes in order to try to escape U.S. attacks.

Full Story



If we had reporting like the above in the corporate press, perhaps the public would get more excited about DerBu$hler's attacks on it...


TLC

Revoking The Constitution

The so-called 'War on Terror' is a police-state action against stateless terrorists--and as such it has no beginning and no end. If we were to accept the president's claim that it is a war, and that this justifies making him a de-facto dictator and Congress and the Courts vestigial, we are permanently revoking the Constitution and all the rights and the checks and balances that the Founders so carefully put in place.
--Dave Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky, "The Case For Impeachment"

120 Days In Jail--Or Die--Or Get Physically &/Or Mentally Scrambled

Seems like a pretty easy choice...


FT. BENNING, GA – Army National Guard Specialist Katherine Jashinski received a bad conduct discharge today and was sentenced to 120 days confinement after pleading guilty to the charge of “refusal to obey a legal order.”

Full Story


TLC

Persevering In Orwellian Times

Someone asked, "How do you explain what we do next,” and I said, “Dance. Fuck. Fight.” Make yourself indigestible to the system so that if you are ever swallowed up, you will be vomited out. I really think so. Make yourself unemployable. You’ll never get an interesting job if you’re employable. Get arrested, form a punk band and go to Indonesia and fall in love with someone who doesn’t speak your language. I’m not kidding."
--Greg Palast

Decimating The Mainstream Media

May 24, 2006 -- The so-called "Mainstream Media" is becoming a "Minorstream" Medium. According to WMR's media sources, the "mainstream media" can look forward to additional downsizing and corporate control.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, New York Times, ABC News...Full story


“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”
--George Orwell


TLC

Might Makes Right: Israel & The US, Dictators Of The Mideast

Not surprising, they learned so well from the US:


"Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday that Israel would be a "willing partner in peace" with the Palestinians, but would draw its own borders in the West Bank should it conclude it has no negotiating partner."

Full Story


Do what we want or we'll steal what you thought you had, be it oil or land.


"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun".
--Mao Tse-Tung


TLC

Great Job, Rummy

Violence aside, Baghdad is broken Water runs only an hour a day, power is on for 4 hours, and sewage runs in the streets

Wow, that Bu$h Administration really knows how to win hearts and minds!

Or is that, knows how to kill, maim, and gluttonously profit, while giving new generations ample reasons to despise this country?


TLC

UPDATE: Hercules Takes On Wal-Mart

The Hercules City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to take the unprecedented step of using eminent domain to prevent Wal-Mart from building a big-box store on a 17-acre lot near the city's waterfront.

The vote caused most of the 300 people who had packed Hercules City Hall for the meeting to break out in cheers and applause.

Full Story


See also my earlier Post on the events leading up to the May 23rd vote.


TLC

Education

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire".
--William Butler Yeats, Irish Poet and Dramatist

Karl Rove Comes To Humboldt County's DA Race

Well, it certainly seems that way.

District Attorney candidate Dikeman, darn that pesky First Amendment, has protesters outside the Humboldt County Courthouse that are concerned about on-the-record comments that Dikeman allegedly (on-the-record but allegedly? Go figure) made during a 1992 criminal trial: “My experience is that Native Americans who are employed by the tribe are a little more prone to associate themselves with the culture and beliefs of the tribe … and that they are sometimes resistive of the criminal justice system.”

The May 20th story goes on to state: "But Dikeman said his quotes were taken out of context and he does not exclude jurors based on race, religion or sexual preference." Hummm, I said it, I did it, but it doesn't count?

Today's story covers the Dikeman campaign's attack on the protesters and on his opponent, but still doesn't address how Dikeman didn't mean what he said.

I thought Karl Rove had enough to do without joining Dikeman's campaign. Deny the facts, attack the accuser and change the channel.


"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean--neither more nor less.''

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

''The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."

--"Alice In Wonderland", by Lewis Carroll


TLC

Petition: Stop The "Federal Marriage Amendment"

Another case of Bu$h and company being Dividers, not Uniters...divide & conquer, the atomization of society, that's the name of their game. Let your protest be heard at:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/fma_postcards


What is it about the thought of people caring for one another that cause the wingnuts to go into hysterics? But when it comes to bloodbaths for oil and empire, the wingnuts are quite content for that to happen. Who would Jesus fear, and who would Jesus slaughter for profit?

TLC

Malice Or Incompetence

When dealing with "Plausible Denial", it's often difficult to determine whether a particular government action is due to malice or complete incompetence that just happens to serve the government's purposes. Latest case in point: Thieves Steal Personal Data of 26.5M Vets. The official story: Thieves took sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, after a Veterans Affairs employee improperly brought the material home, the government said Monday.

Quite a blast to those veterans who served their country with honor, many of who gave up the best years of their life and will pay dearly for the rest of their life. This will give them something to grapple with besides, oh, say, the lack of medical and other benefits, and they won't have as much time to focus as much on opposing Operation Iraqi Liberation.

TLC

Believe, Or He's Gonna Kick Your Butt

"This is for the person that says that the Bible is fiction. Um, the Bible is truth. You obviously don't go to church. Whatever the Bible says, the Bible says. That settles it. I hope they get their life straight with God before Jesus comes back."
--Anonymous message left on The Salina [Kansas] Journal's "Opinion Line Ext. 333", published May 23, 2006

Intelligence

" A warrior of light who trusts too much in his intelligence will end up underestimating the power of his opponent".
--Paulo Coelho

Lies, Damned Lies, And Newspaper Headlines.

The Eureka Reporter has been up to its old tricks again of bait-and-switch.

This time, the front page of the ER’s print edition for May 21st screamed, “Local Activists Seek Peace Tax”. Horrors!!! We’re being taxed to death as it is, and now those darned peacenik hippies want to slam us with another tax! Quick, hold a séance and resurrect Howard Jarvis before it’s too late!

But when you open the print edition to page 3, the reader finds an accurate headline: “Local activists work for non-military tax fund”. And it turns out no new taxes are being proposed, notwithstanding the rather clear language of the front page. Instead, there is a proposal—one that has been introduced in the U.S. House Of Representatives every year since 1972—that taxpayers have the option of directing the taxes they pay be used only for non-military uses. The article, in stark contrast with the front-page print headline, is actually reasonably fair and accurate.

Another illustration that one cannot rely on corporate media headlines for facts.

TLC

Town Without Pity, Headline Without Meaning

The Eureka Times-Standard had a rather bizarre front-page headline on May 20th, “Town Without Pity”, lamenting the fact that there have been five homicides—including one committed by the Eureka Police Department—so far this year.

The article gives no insight, no analysis, into how Eureka got to that point. Rather, the article just gives a short recap of the year in homicides so far.

Could it perhaps have something to do with a culture corrupted by cradle-to-grave drugs? Children are given injections, drugs in various other forms, and consciousness-altering substances such as sugar from birth, they watch others practice "better living through chemicals", and then we wonder why they go on to become perpetrators, victims, or both.

However, the T-S article is not without merit. After all, it distracts the reader from considering all the deaths in Iraq brought about by the USA since Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) began, while doing nothing to encourage the reader to ask "Why?".

“Facts are stupid things”
--Ronald Reagan


TLC

Be All That You Can Be. Or Die.

The Eureka Times-Standard, on May 20th, had a front-page story about Matthew Scarano, whose death at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, is still being covered up by the military. The T-S headline reads, "I Fell Through The Cracks", with the subtitle, "Army releases cause of death for local soldier; family dissatisfied with investigation so far".

Well, the family should also be troubled by the lack of any real reporting by their hometown newspaper. This shouldn't come as a surprise, however. MediaNews Group, owners of the Times-Standard, was one of the major newspaper chains that did not care enough about the American people to reveal (August 4, 2005) the "Bush Bulge" story prior to the stolen 2004 "election".

Had the T-S did even a modicum of research, they would have received a lesson in what true investigative journalism is like: JoAnn Wypijewski's article at CounterPunch, "Malevolent Power at Fort Sill: The Army Slays Its Own".

Was Matthew Scarano given an overdose of Fentanyl by a military determined to "get him off the books" of Fort Sill? Or was Matthew Scarano conned by the military to believe that numbing the pain with an extremely dangerous drug the only way he could escape from imprisonment at Fort Sill?

Either way, you don't need a DNA test to see the military's "fingerprints" all over the place.

While the military demands loyalty by those in its ranks, that street all-too-often only runs one way.

In what column--"Us" or "Them"--does the death of a U.S. servicemember go when the death is caused by the U.S. military?

TLC

New ADD Drug: Meth

My email to Alternative Medicine Magazine:

I used the search engine on your site to look up "Methamphetamine", hoping to find some articles on how to get a person off that stuff. Lo and behold, you have it listed as an ADD drug.

In my opinion, there's not much difference between Meth and Ritalin, Concerta, etc.. However, I am surprised to see you are so far ahead of the times on this one.

TLC

What Price Our Children

The San Francisco Chronicle had an article today about fights over the quality of school menues. My letter to the editor:


Dear Editor,

Cutting through all the smoke, it all comes down to one simple question: “How much money will school districts require in order to allow businesses to maximize their profits by poisoning children with addictive FrankenFoods"?

Children, who are our future, should be provided only organic GMO-free food. Anything less is putting a price on their heads.

Sincerely,

Terry L. Clark

Torture: Still The New American Way

AT THE SENATE intelligence committee hearing Thursday on Gen. Michael V. Hayden's nomination to head the CIA, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked the nominee a simple question: Is "waterboarding" an acceptable interrogation technique? Gen. Hayden responded: "Let me defer that to closed session, and I would be happy to discuss it in some detail." That was the wrong answer. The right one would have been simple: No. Last year Congress banned cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment of detainees; one of its explicit aims was to stop the CIA's use of waterboarding, which induces an excruciating sensation of drowning and is considered by most human rights organizations to constitute torture. So why couldn't Gen. Hayden say clearly that the technique is now off-limits?

Full Washington Post Editorial

Those Darned Baby Terrorists

So much for winning hearts and minds...


Almost 100 people have been killed in a US-led air strike in southern Afghanistan, the governor of Kandahar province and military officials said today.

A statement released by US-led forces said 20 Taliban fighters had been killed in the attack on the village of Azizi, and that there were "an unconfirmed 60 additional Taliban casualties".

Earlier today, the governor, actually Khalid, said 16 civilians had died in the attack, which happened late yesterday and early today.

He said another 16 people had been wounded and taken to hospitals in Kandahar City, and put the death toll among Taliban fighters at 60. An injured civilian later died, a doctor said.

"These sort of accidents happen during fighting, especially when the Taliban are hiding in homes," Mr Khalid said. "I urge people not to give shelter to the Taliban."

Full Story


I wonder if that will become a new defense when it comes to criminal defense in the US: "Yeah, never mind that I knew exactly what was going to happen. I say it was an accident. That excuses everything".

Uh, what are the people in Afghanistan supposed to do when the bad guys knock on their door? Call 1-800-US-SAVE-MY-BUTT and a Marine squadron will be right there?

TLC

Vichy Iraq

Democracy Now has increasingly been derelict in calling things as they really are. Today's example:

With U.S. Guidance, Iraq Forms New Government
In Iraq, lawmakers have finally formed a new unity government, five months after the December election.
The New York Times reports the Bush administration played a major role in the formation of the new government.

Full Item


My email to Democracy Now:


Is it really "guidance" when one has a gun held to their head?

Is it truly an "election" when the US decides who comes to power?

Let's get real: So long as the US is dominates the so-called Iraqi government and treats that country as nothing more than a rebellious colony, let us call it as it is: Vichy Iraq.


TLC

DerBu$hler's Upcoming War On Journalists

The government has the legal authority to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday.

"We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected."

Full Story...


But apparently no obligation to prosecute those engaged in torture and kidnapping, illegal telephone eavesdropping, etc etc.


TLC

Hercules Takes On Wal-Mart

The Hercules City Council is scheduled to vote tomorrow on whether to use Eminent Doman to take land away from Wal-Mart.

"I don't want to have anything ghetto around me and my family,'' said Monique Howell


Wal-Mart promises to put up a fight that will cost the city dearly.

"We think it's clearly wrong for the city to take private property for political reasons,'' said company spokesman Kevin Loscotoff, predicting that litigation would cost the city millions of dollars.

Full Story...


I wonder if Eureka, California, will get a clue, or will it allow a Home Depot to cost the community jobs?


TLC


UPDATE: The Hercules City Council voted UNANIMOUSLY to use Eminent Domain to oust Wal-Mart!

UPDATE: "Thinning The Herd"

Credit where credit's due, The Salina Journal today published my letter protesting their editorial on deer hunting for "population control".

TLC

The Choice

"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice."
--Wayne Dyer

Prison Nation

Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 U.S. residents, behind bars by last summer.
Full Story...

And the power of the Prison-Indistrial-Medical Complex continues to grow...How much longer until we catch up with the Soviet Union of old...

TLC

Rumsfeld's Rare Moment Of Honesty

"Here we're talking about plastic knives and using an American Airlines flight filed with our citizens, and the missile to damage this building and similar (inaudible) that damaged the World Trade Center".
--Donald Rumsfeld, Interview with Parade Magazine, October 12, 2001

Generations

"If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people".
--Thich Nhat Hahn

What Price Life - Closure

The Kansas City Star reports in today's edition that a second opinion has been obtained by the family of Michael Todd, which has concluded that he is indeed brain dead. The family yesterday agreed to the removal of life support.

How unfortunate that Michael's family had to go to court and to the news media in order to have a qualified physician of their own choosing determine whether this 14-year-old was still alive.

For more details on how things got to that point, see my previous Posts,

"First, Do No Harm": Today, It's All About The Money

Killing To Cut Costs & Raise Funds


TLC

"Thinning The Herd"

Tom Bell, Publisher/Editor of The Salina Journal, wrote a most unpleasant editorial in the edition of May 16, 2006, titled:

"Get at root of deer problem
The herd is too big; we'll have safer roads when we do what's needed to cull the population"


The editorial pooh-poohs various non-violent ways of addressing the deer population, then comes up with this chilling paragraph:


"It is long past time to dramatically reduce deer herds through whatever means at our disposal, including placing bounties on deer, expanding hunting seasons, or even organizing large-group hunts that "drive" deer to kill zones or traps."



The editorial concludes:

"New signs, fences and high-tech sensors are good ideas. However, it is time to take solutions one step further."



Substitute the word "Jew" for "deer", and we're back in the 30's and 40's again.

My letter to the editor, below.

UPDATE: Letter published, May 22, 2006.


Dear Editor,

By golly, you've come up with the solution for many of society's problems!


We have a serious unemployment problem in the US--good paying jobs are being outsourced and sent overseas.

Time to "thin the herd".


There's too much oil being consumed, with the result that our future is being sold for short-term gratification.

Time to "thin the herd".


Housing is too expensive, too many people wanting a part of the American Dream.

Time to "thin the herd".


Too many "uppity" people in other countries wanting control of their oil, their natural resources, their destiny?

Time to "thin the herd".


Yes, there are many other solutions to the problems that confront our world, solutions that reflect humanity at its best rather than at its worst.

But human history is coated with the blood of innocents. No reason to stop now. So let us not do something that would help make this world a better place to live in, something that would reflect gentleness and mercy-in this case a deer population reduction program involving the equivalent of spaying and neutering, just as civilized cities do with cats and dogs. No, let's just go in with guns and start killing. That will certainly teach the next generation what being human is all about.

Although I understand Kansas has a little school finance problem. Too many children wanting an education.

Look out kids, Tom Bell may want to thin your herd too!

Sincerely,

Terry L. Clark

Necessity

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves".
--William Pitt (British Statesman), 1783

Strength

"There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up".
--Booker T. Washington

Vioxx Stroke Risk Could Last Years

The gift that keeps on giving...lucrative work to attorneys. And rest assured, Merck & Co will never be required to disgorge even a modest amount of the profits they made from Vioxx, let alone pay any bona-fide penalties. No Merck executive will ever go to jail.

But engage in peaceful protest, and the system WILL throw your tail in jail.

So to summarize: Kill = Sail
Try To Make The World A Better Place & Save Lives = Jail



TLC

Absurd Quote Of The Day

"This illustrates to me the dangerous nature of the men we have detained here"
--Gitmo commanding officer Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris, on a rebellion by human beings who are being held with virtually no rights, no future, no hope, and often for little or no reason.


TLC

Open Forum: Angelides v. Westly

California's Primary Election is June 6th. Here's my dilemma on the main Democrat gubenatorial candidates:


Phil Angelides
--Supported by a frightening array of hacks and interest groups.
--Realistic about the need to raise taxes, and he suggests he would go after the well-to-do (hopefully via eliminating some loopholes as part of this rather than just raising the rates)
--Has all the charisma of Bill Gates. If he's not smart enough to hire a decent image consultant, is he smart enough to be Governor?


Steve Westly
--NOT endorsed by the usual suspects. NOT indebted to all of the usual suspects (at least not yet).
--Sounds very strong on the environment--Look out Maxxam Corporation? And if we don't take some very strong measures on the environment, the numbers of the dead and injured are going to continue to escalate, and the rest won't matter much
--NOT endorsed by Worth Dikeman's base--thus might actually be receptive to concerns about police brutality and civil rights
--Very charismatic, would come across much better against HerrGoobrnator


Both:
--Too vague on specifics. And to the extent that Angelides has specifics, I'd find it more exciting to watch paint dry.


Your thoughts?


TLC

The Keystone Secret Service?

The curious story of the lack of documentation of Jack Abramoff's visits to the White House just got much curiouser:


[T]he Secret Service doesn't have the records - the White House does. That's because the Secret Service transfers their more comprehensive visitor logs, called WAVES (Workers Appointments and Visitors Entry System) records, to the White House every 60 days. If Judicial Watch, or anyone else, wants to find out how often Jack Abramoff visited the White House, they'll have to FOIA (and then probably sue) the Executive Office of the President.
Full Story...


What is not answered by that story, or a nice summary in Salon of Abramoff & the Secret Service logs thus far, is why the Secret Service does not have, at all times, instant access to detailed information on all persons who have ever been at the White House. Even your local police department can find out in a matter of moments every time you've called to report that your dog is missing. Yet the Secret Service, guarders of some of the most powerful people on Earth, can't check for unusual patterns in who shows up at the White House (WH) and for other events involving the people they are sworn to protect, won't get tipped off if someone who attended a WH function six months ago was just busted for espionage or some crime of violence, etc? The mind reels at the implications of such a level of incompetence and the huge security holes from such a practice!

TLC

Accomplishments

"How very little can be done under the spirit of fear"
--Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) English nurse

We Shade The News--You Figure It Out

Related to the question of news v. commentary is that of news framed in such a way as to steer the reader in a definite direction.

Case in point: "Police say severity of attack on homeless man warrants reward"

My letter to the editor and the editor's reply:


Headline shows bias in reporting of story?
by Terry Lee Clark, 4/22/2006

Dear Editor,

Your bias is showing (again) with the headline, “Police say severity of attack on homeless man warrants reward.”

The obvious implication is that the appropriateness of the amount of a proffered reward by law-enforcement agencies is dependent on one’s social standing, rather than the savagery of the crime.

Thus, if one of Humboldt’s social elites were harmed even in the slightest, that would merit a large reward, while an attack on a mentally challenged person should result in, oh, say, a review of the situation by the attackers’ peers…

Terry Lee Clark
Arcata

(Editor’s note: Our headline says exactly what you said we lacked: The severity of the beating warrants a reward, not the fact that he is homeless.)

_____________________________________________________

I love the non sequitur response. A member of our community was savagely attacked. There should be no question that a reward to find the perpetrators is in order. And yet the headline makes it sound as if the Arcata Police Department is on the defensive in offering a reward where a HOMELESS man is concerned. And the picture of the victim is added for good measure. Hummm, scraggly-looking man, doesn't look like you or me, not my concern, he probably had it comin', and heck, the people that did it did a public service, getting one of them HOMELESS bums off the streets.

How about a neutral headline, "Reward Offered To Find Those Who Beat Arcata Man". But, of course, that's not the purpose of misleading headlines. Rather, such headlines plant ideas in the minds of the gullible, and in the minds of those who do not have the time to read the article that follows. And then the paper can point to the decent article that followed and say "we're not biased--read the article--and the headline was factually correct". Some, alas, have learned the wrong lessons from Orwell.


TLC

"News" v. Commentary

The Humboldt Beacon, in its May 4, 2006 issue, had a front-page story on Rio Dell's interim city manager, and concerns by the Wolff family as to the propriety of the interim city manager's appointment.

As you will see from my letter to the editor, below, which the Humboldt Beacon printed (not available in the Beacon's online edition) in its issue of May 18, 2006, this was a great opportunity to ponder the question of the difference, or perhaps the balance, between news and commentary.

Kudos to the Humboldt Beacon for printing my letter, and without any flippant non sequitur afterward.

TLC

____________________________

Dear Editor,

Your front page pseudo-news article on events in Rio Dell (May 4, 2006) contained several fascinating passages, most infamously: “Steven Wolff verbally attacked several Rio Dell functionaries loudly and in very strong language, forcing his juvenile children to join in a youthful chorus of agreement”

How exactly did Mr. Wolff accomplish this act of “forcing” upon his children—how was the will of these fragile innocents bent to his dominance? With a gun? A bat? Grabbing them by the throats? Threats of severe bodily violence? Puppet strings?

Given that, according to your piece, Mr. Wolff was conducting himself in a most improper manner toward innocent children, I expected to see a picture of Mr. Wolff being hauled off in handcuffs by the police for his cruelty. But lo and behold, no picture, no arrest.

Could it be that there was no “forcing” of Mr. and Mrs. Wolff’s children into anything?

If you cannot afford to hire a bona-fide Reporter capable of covering news accurately and impartially, you should skip covering events where such a person is needed, and maintain a shred of journalistic integrity. One would not expect, or want, a legitimate reporter to have a mind shaken clean like an Etch-A-Sketch. On the other hand, the bias and agenda in your commentary-not-marked-as-such, was completely over the top.

Sincerely,

Terry Lee Clark

Fencing The Border

And the sign said anybody caught trespassing would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and yelled at the house, Hey! what gives you the right
To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in
If God was here, he'd tell you to your face, man you're some kinda sinner
--"Signs" by the Five Man Electrical Band

Indeed, is the proposed 370-mile fence along the US-Mexico border *REALLY* to keep out people who are willing to work their a**es off for low wages in order to build a better future for themselves and their family? Or to turn the US into a Prison Nation?

We don't have the money to inspect every cargo container destined for US ports--in fact, the US just looks at 5 percent--but we do have the money and resources to save this country from people who want to work for a living and are willing to fully fund, through their labors, the supposedly-bankrupt Social Security program.

TLC

Legislation

"You [should] not examine legislation in the lightof the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do andthe harm it would cause if improperly administered."
--Lyndon B. Johnson(1908-1973) 37th US President (1963-1969)

Attitude

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
--Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

Drugs: Determing The Lesser Of Evils

And they are *ALL* evil. But on rare occasions, they can be a temporary necessary evil until you can find a solution that actually and safely addresses the underlying health challenge.

Red Flags Daily's "Letter Of The Week" for the week of May 17, 2006!

Permanent Link: http://www.redflagsdaily.com/letters/2006_may17


TLC

Forever Pregnant, Forever Drugged

From today's Washington Post:

New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.

Among other things, this means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control.

Read on...


My letter to the Washington Post:


Dear Editor,

Given that the bulk of the conventional medical industry and most government officials are thoroughly corrupted with pharmaceutical money, the notion of "treating" all women capable of bearing children according to Federal mandate will be just another bonanza for the pharmaceutical drug cartel. "Treat" diabetes or asthma? "Take your drugs or else". "Cure" diabetes or asthma? "There's no cure, now take your drugs or else, and we'll send in the Federal Drug Advocates (FDA) to haul off to jail anyone that tells you different".

Sincerely,

Terry L. Clark

Killing To Cut Costs & Raise Funds

Michael Todd's situation continues to eat at me, so I sent the letter, below, to the Lawrence Journal-World.

TLC
_________________________

Dear Editor,

My heart goes out to Michael Todd and his family.

First, he is nearly killed by a gunshot.

Now the government wants to finish the job.

Rest assured, if this were Donald Trump's child and Donald was paying cash to government agency University Of Kansas, KU wouldn't be trying to kill the child to cut expenses or harvest the child’s organs to bring in more revenue. Instead, KU would be doing everything in its power to save that child, rather than the bare minimum needed to avoid a lawsuit.

What price a human life? Ask KU. They’ve obviously figured it out.

Sincerely,

Terry L. Clark

"It Can't Happen Here" Department: Eugenics

Often it is said that, "[Fill-In-The-Blank] Can't Happen Here". The San Francisco Chronicle did an enlightening article on the American Eugenics movement that not just DID happen here, but also without which it is questionable whether Hitler would have been able to kill as many as he did:


[T]he concept of a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed master Nordic race didn't originate with Hitler. The idea was created in the United States, and cultivated in California, decades before Hitler came to power.

More...


TLC

FeinsteinSpeak

If anyone can figure out what Feinstein's position actually is from her canned email, go for it!

TLC
________________________________

May 17, 2006

Mr. Terry Clark

Dear Mr. Clark:

Thank you for writing to me about open access to the Internet and the policy of network neutrality. I appreciate hearing from you.

It is vital to Americans and to our economy that we provide access to an open Internet with a balanced playing field for network, service and information providers. Giving consumers more access to and choices over information and services available over the Internet should not compromise other providers. Should legislation regarding network neutrality come before the Senate I will be sure to keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for writing. If you should have any comments or questions, I hope you will feel free to contact my Washington, DC staff at (202) 224-3841.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

"First, Do No Harm": Today, It's All About The Money

Fourteen-year-old Michael Todd is brain dead, University of Kansas Hospital doctors say, and should be taken off life support. His family disagrees and says doctors just want to harvest the boy’s organs.
Today, the two sides may take their dispute to court. Rest of story...


Rest assured, if this were Donald Trump's kid and Donald were paying the hospital cash on the table, KU wouldn't be trying to kill the child and harvest his organs. It's all about the money.


TLC

Consistency

"Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds".
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Help For Those With Vision & Stroke Challenges

Factor isolated that regenerates nerve fibers; Previously unknown molecule spurs regeneration in the optic nerve.

Fascinating article. Original article from Children's Hospital Boston here, reprinted at Science Daily.

TLC

Reichstag Video

Videos Released Of Plane Crashing Into Pentagon

Yawn. Steven Spielberg or George Lucas wouldn't have needed over 4 1/2 years to do this.

TLC

Land Of The Cowed, Home Of The Silent

An excellent article by Jay Bookman, deputy editorial page editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:


This is supposed to be America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

But I'm beginning to have my doubts, about the free part and the brave part, too.

This America, this increasingly strange America, is looking more and more like the land of the cowed and the home of the silent.

Read on (free signup required)


TLC

Fashion

"I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashion".
--Lillian Hellman (1905-1984) US writer

Selling Children For Hospital & Pharmaceutical Profit

ABC News has learned that a Massachusetts hospital is currently recruiting pre-schoolers to test the safety and effectiveness of a powerful antipsychotic drug called Quetiapine.

Full story


Even if you believe all of the allegations levied at Michael Jackson, the worst that was ever alleged was psychological scarring. BigPharma, however, knows no limits in the pursuit of profit.

Another reminder that those who have children, and the rest of us too, need to stand up for the most vulnerable among us, and not roll over just because the drug pusher happens to be wearing a jacket and tie.


TLC

More On Government Spying On The Press

Wayne Madsen has been reporting on this for awhile--see his post today summarizing his previous articles--but it's not "official" until reported by the corporate media, i.e. ABC and Salon.

Of course, if we wait for the corporate media to determine "truth" for us, we'll all be wearing swastikas--or be locked up in the Haliburton concentration camps--before we realize what has happened.

TLC

Spying On Reporters Too

It should come as no surprise that DerBu$hler is spying on reporters. The only question is, when will it come out that they've been recording reporters calls and other communications too. Ye ol' First Amendment isn't worth much if you can't get the information in the first place. When will the NSA formally change its initials to KGB?

TLC

Feeding Mass Distractions

Actual email from "CBS Breaking News":

"A grand jury has indicted a third member of Duke University's lacrosse team on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense".

What in the world makes this "Breaking News"? Will it affect the lives of thousands or millions?

Or is it just another example of the elites distracting the masses from what is *REALLY* important?

TLC

American Taliban Complain DerBu$hler Not Conservative Enough

Today's New York Times has an article about the wingnuts who are unhappy with Republicans for not doing enough to oppose gays, obscenity and abortion.

It's amazes me this concept that God created gays so that they could be hated by "true believers". What then does God do with these people who have fulfilled the Divine Mission after they die? Are they subjected to eternal damnation for accomplishing their mission?

TLC

Goodby National Guard, Hello Blackwater

Having sent a substantial portion of the National Guard to Iraq, DerBu$hler now wants to send National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border. Come the next domestic disaster, we can thus look forward to Blackwater mercenaries filling the role of the National Guard, just as they did in New Orleans. Only problem is, the Blackwater mercenaries in New Orleans foreshadowed the coming--if we just passively stand by like the German people did in the 1930's--of the Fourth Reich.

TLC

Truth

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad."
--Aldous Huxley(1894-1963) Author

Al Gore's SNL Appearance

For those of you who missed it, you can watch Al's appearance on SNL as President Of The US here.

TLC

Best Government Money Can Buy

Candidate for the Humboldt County Fifth District Supervisor position, Jeffrey Lytle, has proposed that his challengers agree to take a 25% cut in salary if elected. The position pays a whopping $70,000 a year.

Of course, half-decent housing in Humboldt County starts at $300K a year.

Hey, how about we reduce the cost of government even more, and outsource it to India! Or maybe to people in Chinese prisons.

Some of the main problems with starving government officeholders is that, 1) The people who will end up running are going to be wealthy or in somebody's financial pocket; 2) Those running, if elected, will not be able to devote the amount of time required to do the job properly, either leaving them doing a half-assed job, or at the mercy of information fed them by special interest groups.

The Humboldt County budget for 2005-2006 is $221.9 million.

Now it's not like Mr. Lytle is going to put $17,500 (or is he talking 25% of the after-taxes salary, which would make the amount even less) back in the government coffers. No, instead, he says he will donate that money to nonprofits of HIS choice. How nice. He's not even pretending to be interested in saving taxpayers money.

I, for one, want public officials that are given a decent salary, one that attracts some of the sharpest people around, not compensation so low that it limits service to the wealthy, invites corruption or promotes incompetence.

TLC

Selling Human Beings: Back In Fascist

News item, courtesy of KSAL Radio:
"A new program implemented by the Kansas Army and Air National Guards will give traditional Guardsmen up to $2,000 for every new recruit they get to enlist with the National Guard. The program, called 'The Guard Recruiting Assistance Program', encourages Guardsmen to bring in new recruits from among their friends, co-workers, and those they know in social settings".

Could this "generosity" have something to do with recruiting efforts tanking?

Hey, and there's another $2,000.00 available for burial expenses!

Selling human beings: It's not just for southern plantation owners anymore.

TLC

Battle Cry for Theocracy

Meet the Shock Troops of the Christian YouthIf you've been waiting until the Christian fascist movement started filling stadiums with young people and hyping them up to do battle in "God's army" to get alarmed, wait no longer.
Full article

TLC

Discarded Troops: More "Collateral Damage"

Ever wonder what happens to those who get injured during military basic training, or who for some other reason can't complete it? You might think those people would be getting discharges, honorable or otherwise but at lease discharged. All too often, you'd be wrong. Counterpunch has a troubling article, "The Army Slays Its Own". The title says it all.

TLC

Value

"Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived."
--Thomas Paine

Re-Elect Al In '08

Nice article by Wayne Madsen in, of all places, the Salt Lake Tribune!

TLC

A Short History Of Phone Company Duplicity

Courtesy of the ever-great Dave Lindorff. His call to Verizon, and a trip down memory lane to 1976 when phone companies were likewise selling out.

TLC

Nancy Pelosi: With Fiends Like This, Who Needs Enemas?

From today's Washington Post:

Seeking to choke off a Republican rallying cry, the House's top Democrat has told colleagues that the party will not seek to impeach President Bush even if it gains control of the House in November's elections, her office said last night.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) told her caucus members during their weekly closed meeting Wednesday "that impeachment is off the table; she is not interested in pursuing it," spokesman Brendan Daly said.

___________________

One less reason to vote for Republicrat Feinstein...

TLC

Government & Your Phone Records: The Bigger Picture

Another great cxposé by Greg Palast, connecting the dots on the bigger picture of private phone companies selling your privacy down the toilet--the phone companies, evil as they are, are just the proverbial tip. Kudos to USA Today for what they did reveal, but there's lots more. As Greg points out, the New York Times had some good information, but didn't understand how it fit together or the wider scope.

TLC

Moderation

"Moderation? It's mediocrity, fear, and confusion in disguise. It's the devil's dilemma. It's neither doing nor not doing. It's the wobbling compromise that makes no one happy. Moderation is for the bland, the apologetic, for the fence-sitters of the world afraid to take a stand. It's for those afraid to laugh or cry, for those afraid to live or die. Moderation...is lukewarm tea, the devil's own brew."
--Dan Millman, 21st century philosopherfrom The Way of the Peaceful Warrior

We Can Change The World

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
--Apple Computers

The High Cost Of Oil: 100+ Dead Penguins

Today's SF Chronicle had a sad story about the death of more than 100 oil-covered penguins off the coast of Argentina. Another 110+ penguins are being treated for their injuries.

Fill 'er up...with the death of more innocents. A horrible way to die...and yet the oligarchy refuses to require vehicle fuel standards with teeth, refuses to promote safe alternative energy sources, and breathes not a word about going through the U.S. Patent Office for suppressed technologies that would put the brakes on this spiral into war without end.

TLC

Then They Came For Myspace...

The totalitarians in Congress are now going after "social network sites", according to an article on CNet today. It's a very thin line between "social network sites" and blogs such as this one. Let us not be silent, for they are diligently coming for other outlets of speech. Freedom of speech has little value if the audience is cut off from ever hearing it.

TLC

Moments

"You must know that in any moment a decision you make can change the course of your life forever: the very next person stand behind in line or sit next to on an airplane, the very next phone call you make or receive, the very next movie you see or book you read or page you turn could be the one single thing that causes the floodgates to open, and all of the things that you've been waiting for to fall into place."

--Tony Robbins (1960-) American motivational speaker & writer

Bush III: 8 More Years

I was wondering when they were going to get around to announcing that Jeb is going to replace DerBu$hler in 2008.

You didn't *REALLY* think they planned to voluntarily surrender power in 2008, did you?

Or that they were installing Diebold and similar machines around the country just to help their friends make a little extra money, did you?

TLC