Whatever half-hearing convention the Republicans cobble together in Minnesota this week, you’re going to hear the same lies they’ve been peddling for years. Under the weight of the Bush administration’s failures, though, even pretense is collapsing. Let’s finish off the job.
Here are their top five lies:
1. Republicans are Fiscal Conservatives
Bush is leaving office with the deficit through the floor.
2. Republicans are Strong on National Security
Republicans have been running against Jimmy Carter since 1980, despite the fact that Democrats have strong traditions of military service and tactical skill in wartime. So where is the proof that the GOP can win wars or keep our country safe?
3. Republicans Defend Individual Rights
Another good joke. You want to tell me how Democrats might take your gun away? Let me ask you this: what good will the Second Amendment do you without the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth?
4. Republicans Represent Family Values
By their own standards, Republicans have failed to live out the values they affirm. A corrupt party full of self-loathing homosexuals (for whom I have pity) and child molesters (for whom I have only anger) can no longer claim to represent anyone’s values - whether it be conservatives or liberals.
5. Republicans Just Want Everyone to Have the Same Opportunities
When Republicans rail against affirmative action, universal health care, or social programs, they claim to want a society where everyone “starts in the same place.” But as we’ve seen above, Republicans always create at least two sets of rules. One for the politicians, another for the voters.
Click below to see the complete information on the five biggest Republican lies.
WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING that the Jewish conquest of Palestine was driven by great need, Zander argues that "we never admitted that our return requires from the Arab a sacrifice of the first order."
Deploring the fact that the Jews have refused to accept any guilt, he writes: "We have blamed everybody but ourselves; and very few of us have indeed accepted the full share of responsibility for what has been done."
He continues in a passage that could have been written yesterday: "The main task, as in all periods of the whole movement, remains the solution of the Jewish-Arab problem. It is obvious that ultimately peace with our neighbors is required if the Jewish state is to survive. At present we are trying to achieve this peace by force and to build up in feverish haste the military strength which is to guarantee our security. But under no conditions can force be enough."
Reading and listening to the daily comments by Israeli political leaders and commentators, one cannot help but admit that reliance on force remains a central pillar of our policy and general approach. Against this prevailing attitude, let us consider the wise and courageous words written 60 years ago by Walter Zander, a thoughtful attorney, living in Gerards Cross near London: "It is obvious that this situation creates a particular responsibility and obligation on our side. The spirit of mutual retaliation and vengeance - aiming at subduing the opponent by fear - is not only utterly senseless, but, as far as we Jews are concerned, fundamentally wrong. We Jews should have a deeper insight and should be able to see both sides of the problem. It is we who aim at a change of the existing conditions, and it is therefore our duty to find a solution. The initiative for this task must remain with us."
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 3–A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists offers the most comprehensive documentation to date of how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organizations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue. According to the report, ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science. "ExxonMobil has manufactured uncertainty about the human causes of global warming just as tobacco companies denied their product caused lung cancer," said Alden Meyer, the Union of Concerned Scientists' Director of Strategy & Policy. "A modest but effective investment has allowed the oil giant to fuel doubt about global warming to delay government action just as Big Tobacco did for over 40 years." Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco's Tactics to "Manufacture Uncertainty" on Climate Change details how the oil company, like the tobacco industry in previous decades, has :
raised doubts about even the most indisputable scientific evidence
funded an array of front organizations to create the appearance of a broad platform for a tight-knit group of vocal climate change contrarians who misrepresent peer-reviewed scientific findings
attempted to portray its opposition to action as a positive quest for "sound science" rather than business self-interest
used its access to the Bush administration to block federal policies and shape government communications on global warming
The HJC just voted 20-14 to hold Karl Rove in contempt!
WHAT THIS MEANS: The decision by the HJC to hold Karl Rove in contempt is a recommendation to the full House, who can now vote to adopt the recommendation with a contempt resolution by a simple majority vote. Should they pass a contempt resolution, the Sergeant-at-Arms for the chamber would be ordered to arrest Karl Rove and bring him to the floor of the House to answer to the charges and to be issued punishment. The case would then be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who would in turn refer it to a grand jury. If convicted, Rove could face between one month and one year in jail.
BACKGROUND: Karl Rove has made a career out of distorting facts to destroy political rivals. In the case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, he went even further: he deliberately put a political opponent in prison based on trumped up charges. The GOP couldn’t beat the most successful Democratic politician in recent Alabama history at the ballot box. So instead, at Karl Rove’s direction, the Bush Justice Department used U.S. attorneys to cook up a false criminal case against Siegelman in order to hand the Governor’s Mansion over to the Republican Party.
It’s no surprise that Karl Rove puts politics before due process, democracy and civil rights. That’s why even when faced with a subpoena from Congress, Rove has refused to testify. Unlike Don Siegelman, Karl Rove is breaking the law.
Rove believes that he is not only above the law, but that he controls it. He’s wrong.
“On October 21 (1948) the Government of Israel took a decision that was to have a lasting and divisive effect on the rights and status of those Arabs who lived within its borders: the official establishment of military government in the areas where most of the inhabitants were Arabs.”
I had given up on finding an American with a moral conscience and the courage to go with it and was on the verge of retiring my keyboard when I met the Rev. Thomas L. Are.
Rev. Are is a Presbyterian pastor who used to tell his Atlanta, Georgia, congregation: “I am a Zionist.” Like most Americans, Rev. Are had been seduced by Israeli propaganda and helped to spread the propaganda among his congregation.
Around 1990 Rev. Are had an awakening for which he credits the Christian Canon of St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem and author Marc Ellis, co-editor of the book, Beyond Occupation.
Realizing that his ignorance of the situation on the ground had made him complicit in great crimes, Rev. Are wrote a book hoping to save others from his mistake and perhaps in part to make amends, Israeli Peace Palestinian Justice, published in Canada in 1994.
Rev. Are researched his subject and wrote a brave book. Keep in mind that 1994 was long prior to Walt and Mearsheimer’s recent book, which exposed the power of the Israel Lobby and its ability to control the explanation Americans receive about the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Rev. Are begins with an account of Israel’s opening attack on the Palestinians, an event which took place before most Americans alive today were born. He quotes the distinguished British historian, Arnold J. Toynbee: “The treatment of the Palestinian Arabs in 1947 (and 1948) was as morally indefensible as the slaughter of six million Jews by the Nazis. Though nor comparable in quantity to the crimes of the Nazis, it was comparable in quality.”
Golda Meir, considered by Israelis as a great leader and by others as one of history’s great killers, disputed the facts: “It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist.”
A rare and endangered blue whale, one of at least four feeding 11 miles off Long Beach Harbor in the Catalina Channel, spouts near offshore oil rigs near Long Beach, California. Getty Images David McNew
Talk of the Nation, July 18, 2008 · In a time of ever-increasing energy prices, this week President Bush overturned a long-standing executive order banning offshore oil exploration in certain parts of the country. The move is largely symbolic at this point, as additional congressional action would be needed to fully open up offshore oil drilling.
Offshore drilling has also turned into an election-year issue, with presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain supporting ending the drilling ban, while the campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama says opening up offshore drilling "would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for 30 years."
Robert Kaufmann, director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University, talks about the realities of offshore oil drilling, including how much oil there might be, when it would be available and what the consequences could be.
I've been watching the media, the oil industry and those it has control over in our government try to take advantage, yet again, of the American people in crisis. Eyes open, search engines in full gear, RSS feeds linked and yet I wait, for one expert that can prove to us how drilling now in sensitive areas will lower gas prices now. People in leadership positions, betraying the trust of those they lead, corporations that long ago abandoned allegience to their country's stability and well being, collusive media we can't even call journalism any longer.
Below are some links, explore them at your leisure, but do explore them:
"The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. Total domestic production of crude oil from 2012 through 2030 in the OCS access case is projected to be 1.6 percent higher than in the reference case, and 3 percent higher in 2030 alone, at 5.6 million barrels per day. For the lower 48 OCS, annual crude oil production in 2030 is projected to be 7 percent higher—2.4 million barrels per day in the OCS access case compared with 2.2 million barrels per day in the reference case (Figure 20). Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant." http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html
On MSNBC Live, Andrea Mitchell discussed Sen. John McCain's call to end the moratorium on offshore oil drilling with RNC deputy chairman Frank Donatelli, but did not mention that Donatelli was a registered lobbyist for energy sector clients ExxonMobil and Dominion Resources before joining the RNC. Click here to read more... http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180004
Perhaps, Senator McCain has a geological study that shows the Florida coast has enough oil to be the next Saudi Arabia. However, his campaign has not produced this evidence to date, which means that the EIA analysis provides the only projections that we have on which to assess the merits of drilling in these restricted areas.
Suppose we raised average fuel efficiency to 40 MPG by 2030; this would save us more than 5 million barrels of oil per day, 25 times as much as we would get from Senator McCain's offshore drilling. Since many cars sold today already get more than 40 MPG, this is hardly an unrealistic target. Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles in '07 http://www.dot.gov/affairs/fhwa1108.htm. Wherever we set our targets, the simple arithmetic shows that it is far easier to have an impact on oil markets through conservation than drilling in environmentally sensitive areas. http://www.truthout.org/article/john-mccain-wants-drill-your-toilet
I think it's important to consider that the merger of Exxon and Mobil in 1999 created the largest multi-billion dollar business in the US with almost monopoly-like power to exercise on the consumer marketplace. There was no immediate impact on the petroleum market because it takes a couple of years for a merger to restructure its business strategy and operations. So perhaps might want consider this. Prior to the merger average of price of gasoline through the 90's went up and down in a range from $1.00 to $1.25 per gallon. Since the merger the prices have had a steady increase, to where they are 400% more today.
In response to the Republican plan, House Democratic Caucus leader Rahm Emanuel proposed to increase fuel efficiency expand drilling on federal land. The idea is to fine Big Oil if they don't produce oil from leases that they already own. This is supposed to call attention to the fact that the oil industry is only producing oil from 20-30 percent of federal oil leases it currently owns and cast doubt on the prospect that selling more leases will actually increase offshore drilling. http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/18/14012/8082
Wow, check out stimulator! Servin' one up to investigative journalism. Thanks man!
Naomi Klein’s speech at the National Conference for Media reform was not included on the conference website. subMedia contacted Free Press, the organizer or the conference, to ask why The Shock Doctrine author’s speech could not be found online, and the person explained that Free Press is a non-profit organization and that I should reefer to the disclaimer on their website which reads:
"Despite our best efforts, we feel that some of our speakers encroached on electoral space during their remarks at the National Conference for Media Reform. It is not in our interest to disseminate these recordings. We are reviewing all of our video content and will add that which we determine to be free of electoral statements to this page."
I don’t quite understand how these things work, but whatever. Two sources have told me the reason Free Press did not include the speech was Klein’s criticism of Barack Obama. It would be pretty fuckin lame if it were true.
But fuck it, I got a hold of a copy of the speech and here it is.
"We CANNOT tolerate a leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus who supports George Bush and McCain's War in Iraq. We CANNOT tolerate a Democratic chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee who endorses and stumps for McCain. We call on the Senate Democratic Steering Committee to strip Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship and his leadership role."
Andrea Tung signed less than a minute ago. Dennis Grabowski signed 1 minute ago.
He's a despicable wishy-washy political character . . . . people of Conneticut should be embarrassed !
Roy Clendaniel signed 1 minute ago. Lois Kain signed 2 minutes ago.
Lieberman is not only an embarrassment to the Democrats, he is also a horrible example of a person of the Jewish faith. I would NOT want him "watching my back"
Todd Cooper signed 3 minutes ago. Aimee O'Neill signed 3 minutes ago. John Barnes signed 4 minutes ago.
Joseph Lieberman is political and social cancer. He's a disease in the heart of American politics.
Sheila Fortner signed 5 minutes ago.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
fred thomas signed 6 minutes ago. kendall johnson signed 6 minutes ago.
Lieberman can think he knows what is best for us, but he has to DO what we tell him to do, that's the job. Much like the position he holds now is by way of the Democrat party, think all you like but do the job or your fired.
Anonymous signed 7 minutes ago. Kevin Schneider signed 12 minutes ago.
The Republican must go.
Therese McNally signed 12 minutes ago.
Enough with the right's failed agenda and Lieberman's turncoat position. We want a real democrat representative of the party.
Anonymous signed 13 minutes ago. Anonymous signed 14 minutes ago. Pamela Franzen signed 14 minutes ago.
Joe must GO!
Elyse Littenberg signed 15 minutes ago. Robert Weisberg signed 16 minutes ago. Anonymous signed 16 minutes ago. Nick Gibbons signed 16 minutes ago.
No one exemplifies the politics of fear better than Joe Lieberman. I would highly encourage objective observes to read the transcript from This Week on ABC which aired on 07/06/08.
I'm firmly of the opinion that you cannot 'spoil' a vote, or 'steal' a vote simply by running in opposition and stating your issues. I suppose you could by hinting at or agreeing with one audience, and then later changing your mind on that issue. I suppose you could by hiding key details about previous business dealings that may in the future cause harm to our reputation. I suppose you could by backing an electronic voting system proven to be easily hacked and compromised. I guess a mobile team of legal experts filing complaint after complaint in courts across the country to challenge your opponents right to be on the ballot, that could do it. Convincing the media not to give your opponent air time wouldn't hurt the effort...the stealing of votes that is. A perpetual whisper into the wind 'He's Crazy' just to tie things up in a neat little package. Certainly, all good ways to steal votes. But when you simply put yourself out there, and say it like it is, no splash graphics or multi-million dollar budgets, and millions of people vote for you and not your opponent? I think that's called your opponent 'Losing Votes'. Can you imagine, had Mr. Nader been given equal air time and not been blocked from ballots, how many millions of people would have cast their vote for him? There is a reason he resonates with so many Americans, this summer take the time to learn about Ralph Nader. You have nothing to lose by listening, and maybe doing a little followup, what you have to gain is priceless, American Pride.
I had planned on including a few other candidate quizzes here, only a few include any other names but the D and R candidates. But a strange thing happened on the way to democracy. Two had taken down all but O and M, one was questionable because when I took the quiz again just to verify that all was well it wasn't. I found myself suddenly facing Sen. Obama!
There are key policy issues we disagree on, so there was something hinkey going on. A quick check finds most of Nader's answers reduced to one or two lines, with most being listed as "decline to answer". Are we talking about the same Ralph Nader? First of all, I can't imagine him declining to answer anyone, about anything, much less issue questions related to his own presidential campaign. Second, even faced with being hard to reach for comment (He's not, give him a call) there are decades and decades of spoken and printed words to draw from for these answers.
Not only that, but check out the world's leader in targeted ads. Again, decades of references behind him, and 2 out of 4 targeted ads based on Ralph Nader pull Obama and DNC results? C'mon. Well, this is a pretty good illustration of the obstacles facing the Nader/Gonzalez campaign. I hope you take the time to review what this legendary man has to say, and imagine what he can do for us.
Or at the very least, basic methodology and communication problems between data providers and users. Either way, it seriously calls into question all of the reports and decisions that have utilized the data. Not only those that have been made in the past, but have been made recently regarding our consumption now and in the future. It's a fishy, fishy situation with incredible coincidental timing, don't you think? I'll be keeping my eye on it.
Hooking Your Toilet to the Kitchen Tap -Sierra Club
"Atlanta, GA -- In most states, it's illegal to connect your toilet so that it drains through your tap. But on a larger scale, the Bush EPA is prepared to declare that this is, in effect, allowed under the Clean Water Act. At least that's what the agency told a conference of water managers here will be permitted by a new agency rule.
According to a new agency rule, anyone -- an industry, water agency, municipality -- can take dirty water from any body of water, use it (as long as they don't make it dirtier), and then dump it into a clean body of water -- without applying for a Clean Water Act permit. The industry or agency dumping the water can take as much dirty water as it wants, move it as far as it wants, and dump it wherever it wants -- regardless of the impact on the body of water."
Previously I've blogged about the blatant disregard for our environment demonstrated by our Environmental Protection Agency; EPA Missing in Action, and similar in-actions by other Bush Administration agencies; Crossing a Line and Villainous Nominee . Now we can add that the Department of Defense, under criticism during the Bush Administration for contracting out vital military tasks putting into question the nation's security, has Contracted Out Contractor Oversight. The 'Fly in your Face' attitude doesn't stop there, Bush's FCC is now being asked to probe the Bush administration's Propaganda Program! A bit like having inmates of cell block C check cell block D for paraphernalia. Let's not forget the USDA, that decided to shut down a congressional audit and advise it's employee's not to cooperate. It seems to me there are an awful lot of 'Long Term Plans' being laid last minute by the bought and corrupted officials placed in our agencies by this administration, especially considering his 'New Rule' of 'No New Rules' from agencies after June 1st.
"While the White House called the deadlines "simply good government," some legal specialists said the policy would ensure that rules the administration wanted to be part of Mr. Bush's legacy would be less subject to being overturned by his successor. Moreover, they said, the deadlines could allow the administration to avoid thorny proposals that are likely to come up in the next few months, including environmental and safety rules that have been in the regulatory pipeline for years. "
you'd think someone would have put a stop to the actions being taken, permanent actions, detrimental actions that if implemented for even a short time will have long lasting devastating effects. In light of these slap in your face words and deeds;
Extraordinary steps must be taken to stop the last minute actions planned by this criminal administration. A precedent needs to be set for not only the top guy, but all the little trickle down guys and gals as well. Education, communication and technology have opened up the world, we need to pay attention to the faces we present and take responsibility for our voting actions.
You know, there is nothing quite like releasing a politically nuclear book during a presidential election to cast speculation and doubt on an authors integrity and intent. Below is a sort of loose chronology of the events, and while I didn't really follow this story, it appears that threats of this book have been dangled before us for a couple of years at least. The book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception, is commented on by the Washington post which received an advance copy. They refer to the criticism of Bush as "striking, given that it comes from a man who followed him to Washington from Texas." I believe this man probably has a lot to say and is probably very brave for saying it. I hope as I muddle through the details of this story it becomes clear the reason for the timing on the release of this book, and that the reason is a good one.
For several months I've blogged about the 'unnamed' contributors to the mortgage crisis that had yet to really be named. Check Confessions, Opinions,Rocket Science or Fraud for some background on my perspective. Today the Senator from Pennsylvania Robert P. Casey Jr. speaking at the Housing & Urban Development Secretary Confirmation asks Nominee Steven Preston, regarding standards that apply to the appraisal issue, "it's my understanding that HUD has eliminated the test for appraisers, and just want to get your sense of that, I've been deeply concerned about this aspect of the challenge that we have with housing, that we have independent appraisals, that we get them done in a very professional way, that the people that are doing the appraisal work have the kind of skill and background and education. I have an amendment on that that was included in the legislation we passed Tuesday. Senator Martinez and I worked together on appraisal issues and I appreciate his work on that as a former HUD secretary and now as a United States Senator, but I wanted your sense of that in terms of the testing issue and also with regard to relaxing of repair and inspection requirements, just get your perspective on both those issues."
Here you will find some detail of Mr. Casey's thinking on the appraiser issue. While his concern seems to stem from a 'Flipping' scheme, the effects of his efforts should have the desired results across the board. In my own experience as well as from looking at defaulted loan information it is clear that these appraisers had their hands in more than just some flipping scheme. Wherever sales prices jumped that is where you will find the 'bumped' appraisal value. From including comparables far outside the usual range without substantial justification to adding imaginary outbuildings and other improvements and who knows what else.
S. 2860 Fair Value and Independent Appraisal Act information.
Throughout his career, Nader has confronted head-on the downside of nuclear, automobile, genetic engineering and other industrial advances.
And now he's questioning the enormous amount of time we spend in front of our computers.Has Google and the information revolution that it leads made our society better?Or is it just another mass diversion from the reality of the corporate takeover of our democracy?
At Googleland, Nader took questions for an hour. And then sat down for an eight-minute interview with Youtube.Nader/Gonzalez is confronting head-on the reality of the corporate takeover of our democracy.
As you know this week, we are raising money to get Nader/Gonzalez on the ballot in the Land of Lincoln - Illinois.
In just five short days, 462 of you - on-line and face-to-face at Nader/Gonzalez rallies on the West Coast - have donated $43,718.
This is probably the most inspirational, moving performance I have heard in years. Take the time to listen to and copy this, listen to it daily like I do, you will find it comforting, moving, sorrowful and joyous and maybe more.
Resolving the mortgage fiasco is going impossibly long, and while words like 'fraud' and 'scam' have been floating since the beginning, they are really only now making big news. Unfortunately they still haven't much referenced the collusion between the lenders and appraisers, and in taking it a step further, the local assessor officials. I began blogging at the beginning of this mess, Not Rocket Science and Confessions of a Mortgage Broker, trying to illuminate the 'Big Picture' in my view regarding the chain of events and participants. Appraisers and local property assessors played a bigger role in my situation than has been discussed in any meaningful way, and as events unfold it becomes more and more clear that my situation mirrors the national situation pretty closely. That having been said, I do not suffer from a 'impending doom' adjustable mortgage, and I did manage to buy my properties before the effects o
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author’s speech could not be found online, and the person explained that Free Press is a non-profit organization and that I should reefer to the disclaimer on their website which reads:
