Thursday, November 30, 2006

Prison Nation: 7M in U.S. Jails, on Probation or Parole

A record 7 million people — or one in every 32 American adults — were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday.

More than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005. Prison releases are increasing, but admissions are increasing more.

Full wire service article, courtesy of the SF Chronicle, November 30, 2006

Petition: Urge Korean Minister to Stop Massacre of Cats and Dogs in Response to Avian Flu Outbreak

SIGN HERE

In response to an outbreak of avian flu (the H5N1 virus), South Korean officials are now in the process of slaughtering hundreds of thousands of animals within range of the outbreak site, including chickens, pigs, cats and dogs. Since there is no scientific evidence that humans can contract the virus from cats and dogs, killing them seems pointlessly cruel, but the practice of eating dog and cat meat in South Korea could fuel the slaughter. Please "Take Action" to urge the South Korean Minister of Agriculture to spare cats' and dogs' lives.

SIGN HERE

Rocky

"Don't tell me how rocky the sea is, just bring in the ship."
--Vince Lombardi

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Payment

"If we pay for the music we will join in the dance."
--French Proverb

Wild

"The wild, cruel animal is not behind the bars of a cage. He is in front of it."
--Axel Munthe

NYC vs. Eureka CA

New York City:

Bloomberg: Police Shooting Was "Unacceptable" and "Inexplicable"Here in New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg met with African-American leaders on Monday – two days after city police officers shot dead an unarmed 23-year-old man hours before his wedding. Bloomberg said it sounds like police used excessive force in the shooting.

Michael Bloomberg: "I can tell you that this is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired, but that's up the investigation to find out what really happened."

Source: Democracy Now, November 28, 2006


Eureka, California:

Can't we all just get along, but let's not address the humongous elephant in the room--whether the EPD screwed up in killing Cheri or Christopher or both, and whether the EPD has otherwise been conducting itself as a law enforcement, vs. a lawless, agency.

TLC

Memo To ABC News: Go Torture Yourself

My email to ABC's Nightline, with a copy to ABC News generally:

I watched with horror your segment of November 27, 2006, on whether caloric restriction can lead to a longer life, http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2683452. That story included reporting from a facility of torture in which monkeys, almost identical to humans in their DNA, and who experience the very same feelings and emotions of humans, are kept in small metal cages so that soulless corporations can profit from their enslavement. Your correspondent was completely indifferent and oblivious to the miserable lives that those innocent monkeys are forced to endure.

But of course, the Mickey Mouse network, which makes millions if not billions of dollars annually off of the pharmaceutical drug cartel, lacks the integrity or moral fiber to challenge "animal experimentation".

If there is to be "animal experimentation", let it be on heartless ABC executives, reporters, and other personnel.

Disgusted,

Terry L. Clark

Numbers

"Kill one person and it's murder. Kill 2,000,000 people, most of them under the age of 15, in a small country the size of California from 1991 to 2006 and we call it foreign policy."
--The Salina [Kansas] Journal's Anonymous Extension 333 call-in line, November 28, 2006

Here It Comes: Learing To Love Big Brother

Every breath you take, every move you make ... can be watched all right 

George Orwell had it completely wrong: ubiquitous sensing technology won't be the dictator's tool for enslaving ordinary citizens. Rather, it will give open societies the capacity for serious resilience in an increasingly connected world where danger knows no boundaries. 

Full Op-Ed by Thomas Barnett, published in Capitol Hill Blue on November 21, 2006.  The article is no longer there, so I tracked it down and have changed the Link to take the reader to Barnett's website where he has archived the article.  - TLC, 01-19-21.
.
Using Orwell in support of the establishment of a totalitarian society. Not surprising, not even delicious irony. Just sad. 

For those out of the reality loop, do a Google search on, using the quotation marks, "Total Information Awareness". 

TLC

Deja Vu All Over Again

"Who are we to judge what other communities are doing?" Vanier said. "This is a statewide problem. It's not something that we, within our boundaries of the city limit, should take on."
--Salina Kansas City Commissioner John Vanier, on Sunflower Electric's proposed substantial expansion of its coal-fired electricity generation plant


But he could just as well have been speaking, in Hamburg Germany, 1933, about the activities of the central government...

Gutlessness and Uselessness: It's still what's for dinner!


But then it gets better:

[Salina City Commissioner] Divine said she is concerned about global warming and the conservation of such natural resources as water, "However, I don't think that this resolution is appropriate for us to make. I don't think it goes far enough."
Divine suggested that the city develop a "comprehensive environmental review process" and develop an energy plan that focuses on conservation.
"If we're really serious, we need to get our house in order first," she said, "before we start pointing fingers anywhere else."
--Salina [Kansas] Journal, November 28, 2006


Ah, let's do nothing until we've reached perfection. At this rate, by the time Salina gets its house in order, the polar icecaps will have melted and the loss of the atmosphere should have Salina sizzlin' like the Sahara.

Is this like John Kerry's "I was for it before I was against it"?


TLC

Bribery

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
--Alexis de Tocqueville

Monday, November 27, 2006

Doublespeak: Official Language of D.C.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Charity 1.5

"Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it."
--John D. Rockefeller (1839 - 1937)

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Heart

"Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account?" --Jean Paul Richter

Friday, November 24, 2006

Eagles

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
--John Benfield

Update On Noah's Ark - Donations Needed To Fight The Government

See my previous Posts on Noah's Ark too!


NOAH'S ARK wrote:
Subject: DONATIONS NEEDED NOW - PLEASE HELP - and please ask others to help as well Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2006 11:52:25 -0800

Hello friends

The time has finally come where we have the opportunity to get will get much accomplished –it has taken us this long to get the paper work needed from the city to move forward - finally after receiving the seizure hearing report and tapes the animal rights attorney Mr Rothstein has made it clear we still have a chance of over turning EVERYTHING.

Too many of the NA animals still wait in LBAC while good homes have stepped up and were denied – they are suffering – we get regular reports from insiders that have told us where to look and what to look for – god bless them for their courage – we believe it is for this reason that they still live.

We have heard from LT Quigley’s own words that only a few pets were sent to ONE hospital not many as was reported and that none of them were the black cocker maggie as was reported by another rescuer – MS Quigley made a detailed step by step accounting of her entrance to the facility and described the pets- shocking that her words do not match the photos – this was info sent to us by an insider at LBAC as to where to look to catch her in her many lies – it was the insider that pointed to the staged photos, it is ms Quigley’s own words that will now be her down fall ( we assume that is why she has been unavailable and the phones have been down so often at LBAC ).

We are all aware that hey have violated the Hayden law and have done many other unethical actions – here is our opportunity to make them accountable for it

It was always my position that the raid was illegal and that many things were staged for a photo opt and as the truth is finally surfacing – (has anyone seen the picture with the rather healthy and clean boxer sitting in what appears to be a rather disgusting urine soaked area – how did he stay so clean in an area so filthy??? – he was never in that area that’s how – they put him there)

They raided illegally and even if their argument was that there was no valid kennel licenses they still had to give notice to comply, giving NA time to get the proper permit- the fact is their was a license that is how NA was open and inspected for so long ( by ms Quigley her self)– they are doing a lot of tap dancing now – they are trying to hide from the anger of pet parents that have witnessed first hand the neglect and terrible conditions that they now live in – with out love.


The emails of anger and phones calls to the mayors office have made even the mayor start to talk about cleaning house – this is huge- the city council may not have known the degree of corruption and illegal activities till now – but they cannot say they did not know anymore.

We are now trying desperately to raise the 2500 retainer for the attorney, after seeing our files and their evidence he is willing to work at a rather reduced rate which will also include the WRIT that was necessary to stop this whole thing in the first place

If all goes well ALL the animals must be immediately released and those that are missing LBAC will be held accountable for it- that sit e most important part.

Where will those that are left go?

All have places to go except the cats – sadly we are still working on that – but once the animals must be released with out any adoption fees our hope is that more will step up

Please show support now by helping us raise the funds desperately needed to get the injustice over turned.

Click below or send a check to
5710 east 7th street #327 long beach calif 90803

paypal donations

Thank you

You can get the truth from this wonderful group below

http://najustice.blogspot.com/

______________________________

See also my previous Posts on Noah's Ark!

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Patiently

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
--Eden Phillpotts

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Gratitude

"Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life."
--Christiane NorthrupMedical Doctor and Author

Remembering JFK

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.

Thanksgiving

A time when, in the name of giving thanks for the gift and blessings of life, sentient beings that have done us no harm are killed for pleasure.

TLC

Adopt, Don't Kill

This season, be a part of a new Thanksgiving tradition - adopt a turkey!

http://www.adoptaturkey.org/

Shame On Sen. Barbara Boxer

California Senator Barbara Boxer wants us to sign off on her "Petition For Redeployment Of Troops From Iraq":

Dear Mr. President:

I agree with Senator Barbara Boxer that we should begin to redeploy our troops from Iraq now to allow Iraqis to begin to take charge of their own country and to remove our brave troops from the chaotic and dangerous situation there.

__________________________________________

My email to Barbara Boxer, Subject "Shame On You With Your Smoke & Mirrors":

So we move US troops out of Iraq, but continue to bomb the hell out of Iraq, spreading depleted uranium throughout the land, because it's still all about oil!

Thanks Barbara, but no thanks. Rep. Mike Thompson makes clear in his plan that we are disclaiming any interest in conquest, in Iraqi oil. Barbara, you still want the oil, you still want the US corporations to continue to reap their blood money, you just don't want to see the number of US deaths--Iraqis apparently aren't human, so their deaths don't count--continue to increase.

TLC

Petition to save Briarfields Animal Sanctuary

SIGN HERE

[T]he sanctuary is under threat of immediate shut down. Roscommon County Council have issued a 3 months closure notice on the grounds that the sanctuary has no planning permission and is a “nuisance” & “health hazard”. (Incidentally the sanctuary is on 7 acres of land, down a quiet by road, the nearest neighbours on either side are a quarter of a mile away & to the front are literally hundreds of acres of open bog.) No earlier complaints have been made.

Official statistics for 2005 show that almost 17,000 dogs were euthanised through local dog pounds, the vast majority of which were beautiful otherwise healthy creatures who just happened to be unwanted & surplus to requirements.

SIGN HERE

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Build

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
--Richard. Buckminster Fuller

Guardian UK: Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy?

An excellent article as far as it goes, identifying three CIA operatives at the scene, but leaving many questions unaswered. Still, very much worth reading. Once again, the U.S. corporate press gets left in the dust.

TLC

Monday, November 20, 2006

Ends & Means

"There is no greater fallacy than the belief that
aims and purposes are one thing,
while methods and tactics are another...
All human experience teaches that
methods and means cannot be separated
from the ultimate aim."
--Emma Goldman(1869-1940)
Source: My Disillusionment in Russia, 1923

Salon's Twisted Sense Of Propriety

Salon, usually a place of intellectual stimulation--and more than occasional titillation--ran an article,
"Diary Of A Turkey Killer", describing the author raising a turkey, Harold, for six months and then killing Harold. The article goes on to describe the delight the author experienced in eating her former companion.


My response, Posted at Salon, titled "Coming Next From Salon...":

O.J. Simpson's book! Faux won't publish the book or air the interview, but Salon, having taken a sadistic turn for the sick, no doubt will give O.J. all the gratification the he, like Novella Carpenter, can take and bask in!

TLC

Be Open

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
--Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Skating

"I skate where the puck is going to be, not where it has been."
--Wayne Gretzky

Friday, November 17, 2006

Wasted

"The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started."
--Dawson Trotman

"How soon not now, becomes never."
--Martin Luther

ACLU Sellout On AETA

My previous Posts referred to a letter from the ACLU that reportedly had no problems with the AETA ("Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act"). Guess what? Those reports were true. You can read the ACLU's letter at their ACLU website:
http://www.aclu.org/images/general/asset_upload_file809_27356.pdf

Fortunately, the National Lawyer's Guild still believes in the U.S. Constitution:
http://www.nlg.org

For those of you who are card-carrying ACLU members: Now is a great time to cancel your membership, demand a refund, and join the National Lawyers Guild or some other organization that believes in the U.S. Constitution!

TLC

US Air Strikes on Afghanistan Top 2,000 in Six Months

It's a good thing they're just bombing empty deserts, because if the US was killing innocent civilians in mass numbers, the churches in the US might have to stop sucking up to the warmonger members that they hope will continue to try buying their way to Heaven, and/or soon die and leave their large estates to the church, so that the church can in turn build a bigger temple.

And then, when Jesus returns, those who run those churches will be unceremoniously thrown out of the temples they have built on the blood and broken bodies of others. Just like before.

TLC
_________________________________________

US Air Strikes on Afghanistan Top 2,000 in Six Months

The New York Times is reporting US air strikes on Afghanistan are again on the rise. Defense officials say the Air Force has conducted more than 2,000 bombings since June. That’s at least twenty times more than the number of airstrikes in Iraq over the same period.


Democracy Now, November 17, 2006

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Fly

"Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway."
--Mary Kay Ash, entrepreneur

Heart

"Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore, a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions. His decision to keep on that path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. He must look at every path closely and deliberately. There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily: 'Does this path have a heart?'" --Carlos Castaneda, 20th century mystic and Toltec warrior from The Teachings of Don Juan

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Hellfire and brimstone not enough to singe Haggard's hypocrisy

The spin in the Haggard controversy is alarming. If homosexual activity is bad, is it worse than betraying your family? Is it worse than condemning people for activities in which you yourself engage?

Sins are not determined by political agendas. They are determined by a higher source. Did Haggard — and perhaps some of his followers — forget that? Sadly, the answer seems yes.

Full Op-Ed, November 11, 2006--Kudos to the San Antonio Express News for running the item, and to the other newspapers such as The Salina [Kansas] Journal for also having the guts to carry it.

TLC

End The Charade

Letter to the editor by Glen Stovall, published in The Salina [Kansas] Journal, November 15, 2006


End the charade

We cower in fear and silence and with blood on our hands when our "Christian" leader systematically redefines what it means to be a Christian and to be an American, all because of Jesus and 19 men with box cutters.

We cower in fear and silence and with blood on our hands even in knowing that we have killed 650,000 Iraqis -- for oil and lies -- and have condemned generations to come because of depleted uranium, napalm and white phosphorus, all because of Jesus and 19 men with box cutters.

We cower in fear and silence and with blood on our hands after we learned of torture and secret gulags around the world, all because of Jesus and 19 men with box cutters.

We cower in fear and silence and with blood on our hands after we gave our "Christian" leader the right to torture and to imprison any of us without any recourse, all because of Jesus and 19 men with box cutters.

We cower in fear and silence and with blood on our hands knowing full well that loving your enemies does not mean killing them and knowing that living by the "golden rule" can never mean we torture anyone, all because of Jesus and 19 men with box cutters.

I hold out hope, faint though it is, that our ministers, priests and Christians everywhere will demand an end to this charade that calls itself "Christian."

-- GLEN E. STOVALL, Salina, Kansas

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Adventures

"Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively, unless you can choose a challenge instead of a competence."
--Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady

Blaming The Victims

My email to Democracy Now, followed by their inane story:

Now let's see, we invade a country that hasn't attacked us, and which posed no threat to us. Having murdered over 600,000 people, we now blame the victims.

And we're not going to stop killing innocents, we're just going to move our troops out of firing range, killing Iraqis from afar and relying more on Iraqis to kill other Iraqis, all to protect the profits of the multinational oil cartel.

How much do you make for pushing the Bu$h agenda? We want news, and perspective, not the same old crapola we can get from Tony Snow and the rest of the Fourth Reich.

TLC
_____________________________________________

Sen. Levin: "We Cannot Save the Iraqis from Themselves”

In Washington, Senator Carl Levin said Iraq was in a low-grade civil war and that it was heading into an abyss. Levin, who is set to become the new chair of the Armed Forces Committee, reiterated his call for troop redeployment. Levin said "We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves.”
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/14/1517230

Why Horrific Things Happen To Innocents

Another horrific story from the wire service, with the usual lack of investigative reporting--primarily alot of gory details. The short of it is, a young mother has been Charged with torturing her 8-year-old son, and with killing him.

Two things I would like to see are the mother's medical records going back ten years, and her prescription drug records.

Let us never forget Andrea Yates.

And we live in a country where nearly nine billion--yes, BILLION--sentient lives were taken in the year 2000 alone because they taste good.

The "Social Workers", as usual, did a miserable job, filling out the paperwork, going through the motions, and hoping nothing happened, rather than doing what they were supposed to be doing.

The cops and newspapers are doing the usual hand-wringing over how such a horrible thing could have happened.

Connect the dots.

TLC

AETA--Purchasing A U.S. Senator

I received an email raising the question of whether Feinstein supported AETA due to a $25,850.00 expenditure by the University Of California.

My response:

While I agree Feinstein is for sale, I think her price is alot more than $26K. As of October 18, 2006, in an "election" that the Republicans offered no meaningful candidate because they already had Feinstein in their pocket--and the national Republicans didn't bankroll their "Republican" candidate--Feinstein had raised $7.9 million. With that kind of money, she wasn't bought off for pocket change. http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cid=N00007364&cycle=2006

Now one might assume Feinstein's campaign was bankrolled by the pharmaceutical drug cartel. Perhaps, but not directly: http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/indus.asp?CID=N00007364&cycle=2006

From a June 26, 2004, SF Chronicle article:

Major assets: Ownership stake in Carlton Hotel in San Francisco valued at $5 million to $25 million; a marital blind trust, $1 million to $5 million; annual pension income from city of San Francisco of $43,138; Tahoe condo, $500, 000 to $1 million, condo in Kauai, Hawaii, $250,000 to $500,000, both jointly owned with her husband, Richard Blum.

Liabilities: Mortgage of more than $1 million for Carlton Hotel rental property.

Miscellaneous: Her husband's investments are valued in the tens of millions of dollars.

Full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/06/26/BAG7B7CDMQ1.DTL

________________________________

But let's get to the meaningful stuff: Feinstein has a net worth of $43 million to $98 million, and that doesn't appear to include her husband's separate wealth. http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/pfds.asp?CID=N00007364

If we had investigative reporters in this country, and they are few and far between, they would "follow the money". And the question is, how did Feinstein get paid off this time? Stock options? Investments in companies she knew would see their stock value soar once AETA was passed?


Not on the same page yet? Then let's take a little look at the kind of money involved in buying a U.S. Senator:

June 23, 2006 -- URS Corp., which is partly owned by Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, and which obtained EG&G from the Carlyle Group in 2002, recently received a direct, no-bid contract to perform engineering work in Afghanistan. Since URS has very little experience in working in dangerous combat environments, the award has drawn the attention of Department of Defense oversight personnel. The contract was awarded through the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence in San Antonio, Texas for construction-related activities in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility. Retired Air Force General Joseph Ralston serves on URS's board. Ralston is also Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group, headed by former Defense Secretary William Cohen and serves on the board of Timken Corp., an Ohio-based major contributor to George W. Bush. Timken's owner, William Timken, serves as Bush's ambassador to Germany.

Source: One of the few genuine investigative reporters we have, Wayne Madsen: http://waynemadsenreport.com/2006_06170627.php


Anyone that would support a war of occupation, and use that war to line their own pockets, obviously has some serious moral problems...

So yes, I have no doubt Feinstein was bought and paid for on AETA. The questions remaining are, by who, how did the purchase go down, and what was the selling price?

TLC

Monday, November 13, 2006

Slippery Slope

"There is no 'slippery slope' toward loss of liberty,
only a long staircase where each step down
must first be tolerated by the American people and their leaders."
--Alan K. Simpson (1931- ) US Senator
Source: New York Times, 26 September 1982

Stunning Revelations: The untold story of Taser-related deaths

Three revealing articles. In Eureka California, following two killings by cops, there have been some urging that all cops have Tasers. Given the sadistic nature of the EPD, that would probably encourage even more widespread brutality, as these articles well illustrate.

--Stunning Revelations: The untold story of Taser-related deaths

--Passive Resisters

--Going After the Civilian Market


TLC

Tokyo Joe

Joe LIEberman, on Sunday's "Meet The Press", doesn't rule out becoming a Republican in name, effectively giving control of the Senate to the Republicans. Apparently, LIEberman has certain demands that have to be met, not yet made public, if he is to remain a Democrat-in-name-only. A nice recap by Salon's Alex Koppelman.

But it's not quite time to panic yet--What of Senate Republicans-in-name-primarily Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Arlen Specter? Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone has a great summary.

We live in interesting times...

TLC

Looking for 18,000 missing votes in Florida

A great article at Salon on Republican thievery, with the help of ES&S machinery, in Sarasota County, Florida.

In case you suffer from the delusion that the 2006 "election" was fair and honest, the item below is just one illustration of the many tactics used to disenfranchise voters. One has to wonder what the makeup of Congress would be if all of the voting machines this year, during the primaries and during the general (s)election, had recorded accurately. The biggest tragedy is the loss of Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who had her office stolen in the primary. Consider the myriad of attacks on democracy a Trial Run for 2008, when the Fourth Reich--unless the current Congress quickly gets its' act together--won't take "Democrat" for an answer...

TLC

The Best Congress Money Can Buy: AETA Passes

If you think it's wrong to torture animals, congratulations, you're a terrorist!

http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/2006/11/13/aeta-passes-house-recap

TLC

A Non Sequitur From Congressman Mike Thompson

Congressman Mike Thompson wrote:

From: "Congressman Mike Thompson"
Subject: From Congressman Mike Thompson
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:50:38 -0500

November 13, 2006

Mr. Terry Lee Clark

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, HR 4239. Your concerns are very important to me.

On November 4, 2005, Representative Thomas Petri (R-WI) introduced HR 4239. This legislation prohibits individuals from intentionally damaging an "animal enterprise" or any connected entity. An animal enterprise is a commercial or academic enterprise that uses or sells animals or animal products for profit, food or fiber production, agriculture, research, or testing. This definition also includes zoos, aquariums, animal shelters and pet stores. HR 4239 also requires any individual who harms, endangers or threatens a person associated with an animal enterprise or connected facility to be subject to criminal punishment. HR 4239 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee where it awaits further action. I will certainly keep your comments in mind should this bill come before the House for a vote.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me regarding HR 4239. Please continue to contact me regarding any matter of importance to you and our district.

Sincerely,

MIKE THOMPSON
Member of Congress
http://www.mikethompson.house.gov

You cannot reply to this email. If you would like to email me, please visit
http://www.house.gov/writerep

AETA--The Mindset Of Fräulein Feinstein

My response to Fräulein Feinstein, followed by her email.

TLC
_________________________________________

So, Senator, you find it morally acceptable to kill for profit? To kill because the victim tastes good?

Would it be "educational" to kill and carve open a human being? To, in the name of "research", to use animals that walk on two legs to "test" for "pain threshholds"?

What church are you a member of? Apparently, a member of the Church Of Satan. Or the Church Of The Almighty Dollar which includes, as its members, people who profit off no-bid contracts that perpetrate the killing of innocents in Afghanistan.

Disgusted,

Terry L. Clark
_________________________________________

senator@feinstein.senate.gov wrote:
From: senator@feinstein.senate.gov
Subject: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 13:21:07 -0500


November 13, 2006

Mr. Terry Clark

Dear Mr. Clark:

Thank you for writing me with your comments about the "Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act" (S. 3880). I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the
opportunity to respond.

This bill would amend the federal criminal code provisions regarding animal enterprise terrorism to toughen federal criminal penalties for threats of death or serious bodily injury against individuals, or family members, who are involved with animal enterprises. It would also modify the definition of "animal enterprise" to include all legitimate enterprises that use, or sell animals or animal products for profit, educational, or research purposes, as well as individuals and companies affiliated with such enterprises. The bill was introduced
after four separate hearings were held on the issue, after the Federal Bureau of Investigations testified about a rise in terrorist activities by animal rights extremists, and after a recent publicized incident at the University of
California, Los Angeles.

I am an original cosponsor of this legislation, which the Senate passed with an amendment by unanimous consent. This amendment clarified that the
substantive offense created by the bill requires proof of intentional damage to real or personal property, not simply a loss of profits, and also eliminated the misdemeanor of physical obstruction of animal enterprises. All First Amendment-protected activities, such as picketing, lawful protests and boycotts, and other peaceful demonstrations, are now exempted from the
bill's coverage. The final bill that the Senate-passed would clearly protect the actions of law-abiding protesters, while distinguishing and appropriately
penalizing the criminal activities of extremists.

Again, thank you for contacting me. I value your opinion and hope you will continue to keep me informed about matters of importance to you. If you should have any further questions or comments, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

http://feinstein.senate.gov

Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the Nation are available at my website
http://feinstein.senate.gov. You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list at
http://feinstein.senate.gov/issue.html.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Kin

"I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months before I used one as a [heart] donor. When we put him to sleep in his cage in preparation for the operation, he chattered and cried incessantly. We attached no significance to this, but it must have made a great impression on his companion, for when we removed the body to the operating room, the other chimp wept bitterly and was inconsolable for days. The incident made a deep impression on me. I vowed never again to experiment with such sensitive creatures." --Dr. Christian Barnard, surgeon

Deer

"Deer hunting would be fine sport, if only the deer had guns."
--William S. Gilbert

All Life Deserves To Be Loved

Friday, November 10, 2006

Bold

"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882, American poet, essayist)

Thursday, November 09, 2006

A Post-Election Celebration

Open the following Link in Internet Explorer. Enjoy. And reflect how much the world may have changed in just a few days!

http://www.warnerreprise.com/asx/neilyoung_rockininthefreeworld-newcut_450-v.asx

TLC

Remembering Ed

''I was told, 'You can be anything you want, kid. 'When you hear that often enough, you believe it.''
--Ed Bradley, CBS 60 Minutes Correspondent
June 22, 1941 - November 9, 2006

__________________________

Ed Bradley wasn't a black man, a network correspondent, or a talking head. Ed was a solid, insightful, reflective reporter, a great human be-ing. He will be missed.

TLC

Substantial Evidence

". . .we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice-President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration. There is at least a prima facie case that these actions that federal laws have been violated – from false statements to Congress to retaliating against Administration critics."
--John Conyers, Incoming Chairman of House Judiciary Committee.

The List

"As the Lord High Executioner said in The Mikado, 'I have a little list.'"
--John Dingell, incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Average

"...why be an average person? All the great achievements of history have been made by strong individuals who refused to consult statistics or to listen to those who could prove convincingly that what they wanted to do, and in fact ultimately did do, was completely impossible."
--Eric Butterworth, 20th Century Spiritual Teacher
from Spiritual Economics

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Living Will

A man and his wife are sitting in the living room and he says to her: "Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state dependent on some machine. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

His wife gets up and unplugs the TV.

--Unknown

Next

From The Salina [Kansas] Journal's anonymous Extension 333 call-in line, November 7, 2006:

"OK, everyone, now that Saddam Hussein is convicted when will we start on Bush?"

Monday, November 06, 2006

Cautious

"Cautious, careful people always casting about to preserve their reputation or social standards never can bring about reform. Those who are really in earnest are willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathies with despised ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences."
--Susan B. Anthony
Salon has an item on Dick Cheney going on another hunting escapade the day before, and the day of, the midterm elections.


My Post at Salon:

I think there is something appropriately symbolic about Darth Cheney going out on (s)election day, and, to satisfy his sadistic impules and to otherwise get his jollies, killing sentient beings that have never done him any harm.


TLC

Smoke & Mirrors

Salon's War Room has an item about how Florida Republican Gubenatorial candidate Charlie Crist supposedly snubbed Bu$h and company by refusing to appear with Bu$h during his Florida swing.


My Post at Salon:

Maybe it's a snub...and maybe it's just an act to get some moderates to drink the purple Kool-Aid and vote for Crist. Given the unprecedented duplicity of the Fourth Reich, I'm not buying that Bu$h/Rover are genuinely offended.

TLC

Measure W--What The Times-Standard Doesn't Want You To Read

 UPDATE, August 9, 2019:

Tonight I was reviewing the article below, and was curious whether the Links still worked.

Of the five sources Linked in the article, all five articles have since been removed.  Dr. Joseph Mercola, as he so often does, kept the original Link but put in a different article.  The Wayback Machine didn't have a shot of his original article.

I have updated the Links to the other four articles.  Thank goodness for the Wayback Machine.

It's very interesting how our available information is being "sanitized"...

TLC
_____________________________________________________________________



My Op-Ed submitted to, and ignored by, the Eureka Times-Standard.

For those of you outside of the Arcata/Eureka area, Measure W simply provides that any substance added to drinking water for the purpose of treating people must be approved by the FDA.

For more information on Measure W, check out [the Arcata Safe Water website, which has since been taken down, but can still be viewed courtesy of the Wayback Machine, https://tinyurl.com/y39dbfw6]

TLC
___________________________________________________

If the Humboldt County medical and dental communities were genuinely concerned about children and the most vulnerable, they would be taking to the streets and raising large sums of money to protest the killings of Christopher Burgess and Cheri Moore, and demanding immediate action to help prevent future shootings by "law enforcement". Instead, a substantial majority of people in the health care business that have taken a public stand, with only a few honorable exceptions, are frantically trying to scare the voters of Arcata into voting down Measure W, the Safe Drinking Water Initiative.

Should Measure W pass, even more people might start pondering the implications of an industry that, for over 150 years, has placed dental fillings containing mercury in the mouths of children and other living beings. Patients might begin to question the silence of pharmaceutical sales representatives masquerading as doctors while vaccines containing preservatives including mercury and ethylene glycol (antifreeze), [There was a Link here to an article by Dr. Joseph Mercola, who has since rewritten the original article], have been foisted particularly on seniors, and upon young people under threat of expulsion from school and removal from the home by "Child Protective Services". It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or Robert F. Kennedy Jr., https://tinyurl.com/y69zdspm, to recognize we have a serious problem, Arcata.

Too many questions about the widespread harm caused by fluoride and mercury would eventually lead to class action lawsuits that would make the tobacco cases seem like a lovefest.

Likewise frightening to the medicine establishment is the possibility that people might have even more doubts the wisdom of taking toxic medications that serve to mask symptoms without doing anything to heal the underlying problem, which thus continues to fester. Over $21 billion was spent by the pharmaceutical drug cartel in 2003 to "influence" the opinions of medical practitioners, https://tinyurl.com/y52q25zv, and the recipients of that largess have no interest in departing the gravy train. Look at "your" doctor's pens, notepads, tissue boxes, coffee cups, clocks, and other drug paraphernalia, and you will see who has bought their loyalties and obedience.

Some claim the government is already adequately protecting the public. Not so: The pharmaceutical companies have the best government money can buy. See, for example, The Center For Public Integrity's well-documented analysis, https://tinyurl.com/y3g7o6yx.

And the corporate news media? It’s not going to bite the hand that feeds so well. Look, for example, at all of the advertisements there are in a typical half-hour of the evening network news. BigPharma spent more than $4 billion on advertising in 2004 alone, https://tinyurl.com/y6yulcpq, and that has bought much loyalty--and silence.

In the view of the dental-medical-pharmaceutical complex, fluoride represents a domino that must not be allowed to topple, for if it falls in Arcata, other cities will follow. The harm caused by fluoride is seen as mere "Collateral Damage"--and an opportunity to make even more money.

On November 7th, vote to protect children--and adults--from fluoridosis, thyroid problems, bone disorders, and other preventable maladies inflicted by the addition of fluoride to water. Vote "Yes" on Measure W!

Terry Lee Clark

A Telling Headline

One of the local papers has a front-page headline, "President Uses Saddam Verdict To Rally Voters".


Since when is setting up a kangaroo tribunal devoid of anything vaguely resembling a system permissible under the United States Constitution, as it existed prior to its repeal by the "Patriot Act", something to brag about?

TLC

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Christian Meth

Maybe this makes me a bad Christian, but I’m sorry, there’s a bit of satisfaction involved when a conservative, fundamentalist preacher gets caught mired in the same sleeze he condems on a regular basis.

Forget the gay angle for a minute: the man bought meth from a prostitute? I really don’t give a shit what gender said hooker happened to be, drugs and prostitution are wrong no matter what your religous beliefs.

Say the whole thing is being blown out of proportion if you want, but I’m sorry, I think it’s news when we find out the President is being called weekly by a methed-up john.

--“Jimmy Jazz”, Post at Rolling Stone, November 4, 2006

An Example Of How Public Schools Can Truly Teach

One of the things I often comment on is No Standardized Test Left Behind, and the fact that children taught how to pass standardized tests. Below is an excellent example of how schools don't have to be wastelands.

TLC
__________________________________

'I'm just a number'
For a day, teachers recreate life in a Manzanar internment camp
By MICHAEL STRAND
Salina Journal

"We got yelled at, and I don't like being yelled at ... and we're all kind of scared ... we are all in trouble for something we didn't do."
--from the journal of Nealie Adams, fifth-grader at Garfield Upper Elementary in Abilene.

ABILENE -- Friday morning started with a surprise for many students at Garfield Upper Elementary School; after reports that a fifth-grade student had vandalized a local school, all fifth-graders were rousted from their classrooms, given numbered tags, marched to the rodeo grounds, and put in horse stalls for the day.

Each had been given only minutes to gather a few supplies and sell what they could for cash -- cash that would prove immensely useful in the new, closed society they were entering.

"Find out how much money your family has and what you can do to improve your conditions," said the bullhorn-carrying Dan Brown, who teaches social studies at the school.

The students, assigned five each to 21 different stalls -- each stall representing a family -- were told to get organized, and then the head of the family was allowed to leave the stall to buy cardboard to cover the bare dirt floors.

The point of the day-long exercise was to experience the uprooting and internment of Japanese-Americans at the beginning of World War II; altogether, 110,000 people were sent to the camps.

"It's weird. I've always been a person, a citizen and had rights. Now I'm just a number."-- Nealie Adams, aka No. 1000 C

Friday's exercise was part of a year-long study of the Japanese internment camps. The program was sponsored by Ball State University, the National Park Service, Best Buy and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Six Garfield teachers have visited the Manzanar internment camp in California, now a National Historic Site.
A woman who was interned in a Japanese camp is scheduled in a few weeks to speak to the Garfield students about her experiences.

And this February, two teachers and five students will spend several days at Manzanar, becoming experts on the camp; after that, they'll be involved in a live broadcast answering questions from students around the country. Garfield was one of four schools nationwide that was chosen to participate in the program.


No basic rights

"The kids are seeing what it's like not to have their basic rights," said principal Chris Cooper.

Each family was given different supplies. Some got scissors or string or tape -- and each student was given a different amount of money.

"It's not fair; it's not supposed to be fair," Cooper said.

It it forced students to think, pool their resources and quickly develop a functioning economy to allow everyone to get what they need.

Brown, among the Garfield teachers who's visited Manzanar, explained that those in the camps were paid a small stipend, ranging from $19 a month for a professional, such as a doctor, to $10 a month for less-educated workers.

With that money, they had to buy many of their supplies.

"I only got $20, and he got $120. I do not think that is fair. And some people only got $1."
--Nealie Adams


Matthew Allen, picked as the leader of family No. 1000, returned having spent $20 on two large sheets of cardboard; not long after, he returned with a deck of playing cards, which he bought for $5. He was later to resell that same deck for $20. Later in the morning, he was able to buy a small piece of cardboard for $5, and -- literally -- turn around and sell it to another family for $9.

In between fixing up their stalls and the frequent roll calls, always preceded by a siren sound, students spent time writing in their journals, describing what they were going through and how they felt.

Even in the stalls, some families had it better than others.

With a cold wind coming through, families in stalls at the edge of the barn ended up buying extra cardboard to use as windbreaks. Some got creative, building tables out of cardboard or using string to build clotheslines.
One family, Brown said, found their stall still had some old manure in it.

"I told them it was another problem they had to solve," Brown said, recalling that in the documentary film "Farewell to Manzanar," one man remembered his family's stall still smelled of horse urine.

Students participated in several exercises designed to help them understand what others had gone through.

In one, each was to count out 100 kernels of corn; when done, they should have had about 10,000 kernels, roughly the same as the number of people interred at Manzanar -- an area roughly the size of Eisenhower Park.

Another involved asking them to sign a loyalty oath -- with those who didn't spending time picking up rocks.
Regimented boredom

That a deck of cards might skyrocket in value might seem surprising -- except that life in an internment camp was a frustrating combination of strict regimentation and boredom.

"Boredom was a big part of life," Brown said, as he walked the stalls making sure no one was talking.

"Imagine at night," he told students. "Do you think it would ever be quiet in a place like this? You'd always have somebody coughing, or a family arguing -- and you'd hear it all."

Over time, he said, families interned at Manzanar nailed can lids over holes and gaps in the walls, to keep out the strong, cold winds that were common in the California mountains.

One exercise asked students to write about what other improvements they'd like to make to their stalls.

"Put a top on our stall, to make it a real home,"
--Nealie Adams


Long lines common

Besides boredom, long lines were a common event, and those were duplicated Friday.

Though it would have been easy to avoid the long lines, teachers planned it so that students were waiting for water, then waiting to use the rest room, then waiting to eat lunch -- though families with the most money were moved to the front of the line.

Inside the lunch room, two picnic tables, with a total capacity of two dozen students, was the designated eating area; the remaining 80 or so students sat in bleachers around the picnic tables, waiting their turns and watching the first group eat.

"People who lived in the camps talked about having to eat fast, out of consideration for the others," Brown said.

Family No. 1000 was in the first group to eat, based on the family's business ability: after starting with $30, they had managed to not only furnish their stall but end up with $125.

Another family member, Quade Baugh, didn't think it fair that those with money got to eat first.

"I think it's OK," Nealie said. "We were careful with our money. I do care about the others, but we were careful with what we had and the others weren't."

Paige Adams, whose family was last in line for lunch, had a different view.

"Eat faster, eat faster," she and others kept shouting at those who got to eat first.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright Salina Journal
http://www.saljournal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=8714&format=html

Sides

" I will always be on the side of those who have nothing and are not evenallowed to enjoy the nothing they have in peace."
--Frederico Garcia Lorca

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Begin

"The best day of your life is the one
on which you decide your life is your own.
No apologies or excuses.
No one to lean on, rely on, or blame.
The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey -
and you alone are responsible for the quality of it.
This is the day your life really begins."

--Bob Moawad

Anti-Gay Rev. Ted Haggard's Resignation

Salon has a great summary on the significance of Colorado Rev. Ted Haggard's resignation following allegations of a three-year relationship with a gay prostitute. The item is by Lauren Sandler, author of "Righteous: Dispatches From the Evangelical Youth Movement." Well worth the couple minutes it will take you to read.

TLC

Petition: "Dog beaten, dragged, left for dead"

Sign Here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/231802504

On October 11th, in the town of Didsbury Alberta, a couple out for a walk found a female collie-lab cross lying in the street. The dog's injuries were so severe, the veterinarian called to the scene had to euthanize the animal on the spot. The dog's legs were bound together with duct tape, and its head was wrapped in a bag. There was a tow rope around the dog's neck. The dog's neck, pelvis, back and skull were fractured. Investigators believe that the six or seven year old dog had been beaten prior to being tied up and hitched to a vehicle, then dragged for blocks. There was no apparent motive to the crime.

Daniel Charles Haskett, 19, of Didsbury Alberta has been charged under the Criminal Code with injuring/endangering an animal and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. His 17 old accomplice, whose identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is charged with the same offences.

Sign Here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/231802504


I added the following comments, which are apparently viewable only by the Petition author:

The perpetrators should be charged to the fullest extent of the law, including but not limited, if appropriate, with theft, burglary, disorderly conduct (their actions were intended to anger others). The Prosecutor should insist on jail, and the Sentences be ran Consecutive, NOT Concurrently. Further, the Prosecutor should insist that Probation be Denied. Further, in the event that Parole is ever granted, the Perpetrators should be required to pay for and receive intensive one-on-one counseling (not mind-altering drugs), and to do substantial community service including giving talks on what they did.

TLC

Sign Here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/231802504

A Tale Of Two Worlds

In Kansas, cops get busted for speeding tickets; in Eureka, California, the Blue Code Of Silence protects cops from murder charges!

TLC
________________________________________

Letter to The Salina [Kansas] Journal by Douglas Dee Powell is a lieutenant in the Phillips County Sheriff's Office, November 2, 2006:


'Code' not followed

I recently read your editorial about the New York Police Department officer who was upset over receiving a speeding ticket in Reno County, and want to relate a similar incident.

On July 20, 1999, I stopped a 14-year retired police supervisor from New City, N.Y., and his 12-year police veteran wife for speeding 47 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone. A second officer a half a block ahead of me had them locked on his radar speeding 49 mph.

Both the man and his wife wrote letters to my supervisors, the municipal judge and the city attorney complaining how they were disgusted about how we lied about them speeding, and accusing us of hiding. They felt like they were victims of "out of state-itis." The couple contested the ticket and appeared in Municipal Court in October 1999. The judge found them guilty. They appealed the decision to district court, where the judge found him guilty.

The driver made a comment to me that I would not have a career in his department because I did not follow the "code blue of silence." I had never heard of such a thing.

I commend the state trooper for maintaining standards of equality and understanding that no one is above the law.

-- DOUGLAS DEE POWELL
Phillipsburg

• Douglas Dee Powell is a lieutenant in the Phillips County Sheriff's Office.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Risk

"It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen."
--Herodotus 485 - 425BC, Greek Historian

John Kerry: Still The Coward Of The Country

Kerry apologizes for gently pointing out the truth: Bu$h is a moron.

It's no wonder the "Democrats" keep getting their tails kicked. And Kerry wants us to believe he won't tuck tail if he's the Nominee in 2008.

At least the Republicans are honest about their desire for Fascism, while the "Democrats" continue to lie about their complete gutlessness and acquiescence to Fascism.

TLC

Bush AND Cheney Stumping For Kansas Rep

Two articles of note:

--October 31, 2006, announcing that DerBu$hler is coming to Topeka Kansas to campaign for incumbent Rep. Jim Ryun.

--The other, covering Darth Cheney's campaigning in Topeka for Ryun back on October 12th.

Together, these articles show that where Diebold and other machines are *not* in place, along with the corrupt officials needed to make the machines "work", Bu$h is in far deeper trouble than has come out in the corporate media. And that, if *this* is one of Bu$h's top priorities the Sunday before the (s)election, there may be far more voting machines that will *not* be counting the votes accurately next Tuesday than suspected.

Note also that Jim Ryun is a celebrity of sorts for holding world records in track:

Note that Ryun got 56% of the vote in 2004.

This should be a slam-dunk for Ryun, were the public's contempt for the Fourth Reich not so deep.

And control of the House & the Senate should be a slam-dunk for the "Democrats" this year, were it not due to the fact of who controls the voting machines--which votes are counted, and which are added or subtracted.

TLC