Monday, October 31, 2005

Two Points Of View. . .

The Best Opposing Points Of View On The Current Happenings So Far
by Ernest Partridge and Bernard Weiner At The Crisis Papers Web Site


1.  "The Mountain Has Labored and Brought Forth a Mouse"  [Pessimistic]
       - - Ernest Partridge, (the October 28, 2005 posting)

2.  "Libby's Indictment: A Window Into the White House Cesspool"  [Opptimistic]
       - - Bernard Weiner, (The October 28, 2005 posting)


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A "Below The Fold" Bonus:

The best facts-list, to counter the coming right-wing propaganda attacks... Is Linked Here.


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It's The Enemy Within. . .

That Old Truism Is Coming True Once Again, This Time For America
by The Old Hippie Because It's Not Outside Forces - It's The "Us Destroying Us" That Is Reality


Read 

Recorded history is filled with many "great" nations and empires falling apart, and some even disappearing, from the rot of corruption from within, rather than from the attacks of enemies from without.  In every single case, the citizens of those "great" nations and empires "thought" it could never happen to them.  Just as a majority of the current citizens of my own nation, America, now believe.  Even some of my reality-based cohorts think America's Constitutional Democracy's structures will save the government "of, by, and for the people," rather than the reality exposed by Bill Moyers, in his book "Moyers on America: A Journalist and His Times," "...the soul of democracy is dying in America, replaced increasingly by government of, by, and for a corporate ruling class."

Is It Possible?  Like So Many Nations Before It - America Destroyed From Within?

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I am a realist, not a denialist.  I know it is possible that America can be, and most likely will be, if it happens, destroyed from within, not from without.  In my short 58 years on this mortal coil I've watched my nation go from respected to hated, from a sane guiding light to the world to the feared bully, from battling tyranny to being a tyranny - From what used to be a functioning Constitutional Democracy to the brink of an enhanced opportunistic and corrupt Corporatist Theocratic and Ideological state, with totalitarian safeguards, with a six-corporation controlled media. And I have witnessed the successful erosion of the Separation of the Church and the State, to the point that religious [nut-job Evangelical Christian] mythology is being allowed to be purposely and opportunistically confused with the reality of science.

I really don't think most Americans truly realize just how close we are to losing "America."  Throughout the whole history of this unique experiment of the American Constitutional Democracy, the American Revolution, the internal turmoil of the Civil War, the Great Depression, the two World Wars, the Cultural Revolution during the 60s/70s and the Vietnam War," never has our nation been so close to losing all of its protections from the "Separation of Powers."   Never.

Our once powerful protection of the Separation of Powers has now been consolidated into one corrupted party of the corporations, which is still in power, still doing all it can to take as much "power" away from the people and the other branches, and put it into the single branch of the Executive - the hands of the few - away from the "Republic" and into the corporate controllers of the "Empire."  And "they" are continuing to do so even in the face of all of the recent exposures of corrupt cronyism.

These are not "interesting times" we live in, they are very dangerous times, for the Constitutional Democracy, for the hope of real freedoms and liberties for all peoples, and not to mention for the reality of our environment. I can't deny that I find the fact that 39% of my fellow Americans still live inside the denial of this reality.

I'll end this with a not-so-off-the-subject thought. . .
"Art Without Science - and/or - Science Without Art - Is Neither."

There is a very purposeful and real reason that almost all institutes of higher learning's core school is called "Arts and Sciences."  Many knowledgeable people have said the best scientists are artists, and the best artists are scientists.  Think about it.  [and of course, as any true scientist or artist would say - there are always exceptions to every rule.]


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Sunday, October 30, 2005

For The Curious. . .

Some Non-Trivial Facts To Contemplate As The Investigations Continue
by The Old Hippie Because Knowledge Is Not Just Power, It Is The Only Path To Freedom


Libby Is The 1st White House Official Indicted In 130 years.  In 1875 Orville E. Babcock, the private secretary to President Grant, was indicted as a member of the "Whiskey Ring."

What Does "Indictment" Mean?  The Wikipedia link explains it clearly.

"The Office Of Special Plans" Was Not Housed Within The White House, Or Congress.
It was housed in the American Enterprise Institute - A right-wing [propaganda] think tank.

Bush's Current 35% Approval Rating - Is the lowest approval rating of any president since presidential approval pollings began in America... [excluding Nixon] over 80 years ago.

Reality Of This Corrupt Administration - The Replacements Will Be Even Worse - Every single "replacement" chosen by this administration has been far worse than the original.  e.g. Chaney's pick to replace Libby as his Chief-of-Staff is David Addington...  "Addington is, to put it kindly, a real piece of work."

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"Every Time We Think We Have Won - They Successfully Make It Worse."


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Thursday, October 27, 2005

As It Turns Out. . .

Us, The Reality-Based, The Not Fooled From The Start, Were Right
by The Old Hippie Because The Only Hope Is To Keep Smacking The Denial With The Reality


Way back in American ancient history, 1977, as I entered graduate school, if someone had said...

"...in less than 30 years this nation will be taken over, without any real revolt by the people, by insane ideological theocratic corporatists.  That the management of all of the federal regulatory agencies would be replaced with paid corrupt sycophants, ex-CEOs, and lobbyists for the corporations.  That all three branches of the government would be controlled by an unethical and opportunistic small radical cabal of the extreme right-wing of the Republican party,  That this nation would officially condone the torture of human beings, would invade a nation that was of no threat to us and had not attacked us, that there would be "free-speech-zones" and one could no longer hold up a sign of protest at a public presidential speech without being arrested, that the thousands of owners of our nation's media would be consolidated down into the hands of just six-corporations, all of which share members on their corporation's boards, that all of our laws that protected us, the masses, from the abuses of corporations would be reversed so that the corporations would be protected from the liabilities of their actions and products and profits...  That national elections would be conducted on, and controlled by, corporate digital machines with no hard-copy of the votes cast, and that it would be publicly exposed that the machines had been corrupted during the elections. . .  That all of it would occur - without any real revolt."

Most Americans would have laughed at their paranoia, rejected their theory of opportunistic corruption of our Constitutional Democracy out-of-hand - I did too. . .

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I was wrong, and slowly, mostly through the 80s, my eyes began to open to the reality of what was happening - A slow insidious corporate take-over of the American governmental structures, and then the final "slap-of-reality" - when Bush (the 1st) and Clinton/Gore signed NAFTA & GATT.  I knew it was just a matter of time until the unthinkable came about - We all saw the purposeful-manufactured political apathy grow in our nation, we watched the destruction of the labor unions, the consolidation of the media with its growing propaganda-as-news paradigm, the growing globalization of corporate power. . .

All that was needed was a major-event to happen, like the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, for the final push to be allowed to occur - The Neo-Cons even publicly stated as much, on the public record, in their "Statement of Principles" (June 3, 1997) at the Project for the New American Century.  Then "9/11" happened. . .  And the rest is, as they say, history. (but also reality.)

Now - As we all await the coming political storm from the special prosecutor's investigation -
Here are few things to contemplate. . .

"Ladies and Gentlemen: The Real George W. Bush" - AlterNet - Oct. 27, 2005

"Why Bush Is Unimpeachable" - Ted Rall via CommonDreams - Oct. 25, 2005

"The national government will maintain and defend the foundations on which the power of our nation rests.  It will offer strong protection to Christianity as the very basis of our collective morality.  Today Christians stand at the head of our country.  We want to fill our culture again with the Christian spirit.  We want to burn out all the recent immoral developments in literature, in the theatre, and in the press — in short, we want to burn out the poison of immorality which has entered into our whole life and culture as a result of LIBERAL excess during the past years."
-- taken from: The Speeches of Adolph Hitler, 1922-1939, Vol. 1, Michael Hakeem, Ph.D.
(London, Oxford University Press, 1942), pp. 871-872.


"Lest You've Forgotten. . ." - This Blog - Oct. 14, 2005

"Osama Bin Laden: More Media Whore Than Guerrilla Warrior" - Spiked - Oct. 21, 2005

"The New USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll" - 90% Believe... - Oct. 25, 2005


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Sunday, October 23, 2005

Possibilites. . .

3 Possibilities For Fitzgerald: 1. Fired, 2. No Report, 3. Indictments
by The Old Hippie Because Any Of The Three Scenarios Is Possible


1. Fired: Nixon had to go through two people before he finally got someone to fire the Watergate special prosecutor.  If Fitzgerald gets too close to destroying the corrupt power structure of this administration - It is a choice open to Bush, who has a history of sneering arrogance and hubris.  "Better the bad-press than the outright destruction" mentality that Nixon's administration expressed. [Link concerning this "distinct possibility"]

2. No [Public] Report: If there are no indictments, then no [public] report.

3. Indictments: Obviously this is the possibility that everyone believes going to actually happen.  But this possibility has a wide field of effects and affects for everyone involved, and on the future of the American Constitutional Democracy itself, not to mention the whole of this planet's entire political structures.

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I sadly admit, as a progressive reality-based American, that I hope for the indictments of the corrupted and treasonous.  I also hope that said indictments will set off a cycle of corrections to the damage that has been done to our American Constitutional Democracy.

Obviously, the criminally corrupted corporate profiteers, and the delusional ideologues, and the insane theocrats hope for the firestorm of no indictments/no report - but all of whom would easily accept the "fired" as a last hope of preservation.


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Saturday, October 22, 2005

Knowing Does Help. . .

It May Take Effort, But Knowing Helps, In Ways Not Always Understood
compiled by The Old Hippie Because Knowing Reality Is Our Only Hope Of Remaining Free


Patriot The Illusion of Normality - The Crisis Papers

Attacking the Judge - Crooks and Liars

Niger Uranium Forgery Mystery Solved? - AntiWar.com

The New Fitzgerald Website - Office of Special Counsel

Electronic Voting Corrupted? - GAO Report: "Yes." [via Brad Blog]

"Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception."
  --  Mark Twain, 'The Mysterious Stranger,' 1916, Ch. 9


Deforestation of Brazilian Rainforest Underestimated by at Least 60% - BBC News

The Ohio Restoration Project - Bill Berkowitz via WorkingForChange.com

The So-Called "Lies" of Joe Wilson - Larry Johnson via TPMCafe.com

"Facing a Nameless War - Name That War" - Tom Engelhardt via TomDispatch.com

Miers' Nomination: "Inadequate, Insufficient and Insulting" - Andrew Cohen



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Friday, October 21, 2005

Smack You In The Face Reality

Non-Ranting, Intelligent, Fact-Based & In-Your-Face, American Reality
by The Old Hippie Because A Reality-based Perspective Is needed For The Coming Political Storms

American Health Issues Attitudes - Wall Street Journal/Harris Poll - Oct. 20, 2005

The - Now Long Overdue - Coming Frog-March - Ray McGovern - Oct. 20, 2005

American Broadband Exceptionalism - AlterNet's "The Mix" - Oct. 19, 2005

The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe - EvolveTV.tv - Oct. 15, 2005

The Dark Side of Faith - (Original Publication) - Journal of Religion and Society - Oct. 2005

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"Those That Live Within History, See It The Least."


There is much more "in-your-face-American-reality," just follow the "Links of Interest" and "Blogs of Interest" in the right-hand sidebar of this blog and you will find the facts, the honest informed opinions, and the reality of the already begun, and coming, political storms - You do live in dangerous and interesting times - Do not allow yourself to miss the significance of this occurring history.


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Thursday, October 20, 2005

Waiting. . .

The "Calm Before The Storm" Is Upon Us - Both Natural And Political
by The Old Hippie Because I Fear The 1st, And Sadly Hope For A More Devastating 2nd


Wilma, the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane in the history of the Americas, is expected to hit my home on Saturday, the 8th Florida hurricane in just the last two years.  Tom Delay is expected to be arrested tomorrow, The head of Procurement at OMB has already been arrested.  Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald is expected to hand down as many as 22 indictments of mostly White House senior staff and underlings this coming week.  I fear the winds, and resultant rising waters from Wilma - But I fear the coming political storm will not be strong enough. . .

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Even though much will be "corrected" in the coming political storm(s) - Much will not.

There are many good breakdowns of our nation's "broken political/governmental things" on the web, but one of the best "What's been broken, and how we can go about fixing it" articles was presented by Molly Ivins in her October 18, 2005 column at the FreePress.org's website, titled "Good Ideas On How To Fix Things."  I strongly suggest you read it.

Since we all - right and left - are waiting for the political storm(s) to hit - You might want to spend some quality time inside the following websites - If only for no other reason than simple perspective. . .

Crooks and Liars - Democracy Now! - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - This Modern World - Bob Harris - Cagle's Political Toons - All of which, and others, can be found in my personal website's "Truth" section.

You might even take this time, the "calm before the storm," to also visit many of the right-wing sites - And make real-life, reality-based, comparisons - Don't be like them - Don't believe it's all black & white, or it's "with us or against us" - It's not.

Don't ignore their "info-net," like they have been trained to ignore ours.  If you leave comments at their sites - Be rational, be polite, be non-judgmental, and be informative with linked sources - They are not the "enemy," that so many of them treat us as.  They are not stupid, many are just inside a denial of the reality of those they trusted.  It is "those they trusted" that are the enemy - Help them to understand that.  Many are beginning to actually listen. . .

The purposeful "repetitive simplistic complexity of the redundant complex simplicity" of the "enemies within" - is a far greater danger - than any natural storm or any group of terrorists.


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Tuesday, October 18, 2005

This Modern World. . .

Just A Cartoon That Expresses So Much Of Our Current Reality
by Tom Tomorrow of This Modern World


This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow

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Nothing else - You might enjoy my favorite Political Toons - Linked Here


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Saturday, October 15, 2005

It Just Gets Better (worse?). . .

"The Fall" Is Coming - It's Going To Be Nothing Less Than Interesting
by The Old Hippie Because The Coming Of "The Fall" Is Overdue.  May It Be Painful


"The Fall" Has Begun.  The (Political) Leaves Are Changing Colors, And Dropping:

As just a nobody-special-normal-American that has observed, studied, and written about my nation's "all things political" for over a decade, I still find it amazing how fast the political winds whip around, and change course within this now heavily damaged Constitutional Democracy.

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I was an undying optimist right up until Bush the 1st and Clinton/Gore signed NAFTA/GATT, and then I began to s-l-o-w-l-y become a pessimist, as I realized Clinton was a DINO, not the progressive everyone believed him to be.  It took quite a while for me to understand that the Clinton administration's move to the center, and toward a more corporate-friendly reality was happening behind all of the fog of America's political apathy of that time.

I, like many others, didn't see the religious right's sudden move into the fray of American politics, which started with Bush the 1st's administration, nor did we see the influence of, and the manipulations by, the Neo-Cons, which Bush the 1st had rejected as the "nut-jobs in the basement."

But both groups, the dismissed fringe-fundamentalist Evangelicals, and the long ignored Straussian Neo-Con Pax-Americana Empire "nut-jobs in the basement" found each other, through the opportunistic corporatist's funding, manipulation, and applied misinformation and propaganda of, and through, the conservative think-tanks, and their buying off of political sycophants, and financially corrupted corporate scientists.  It wasn't a conspiracy, as much as it was a mutual, and purposeful, opportunistic coming together of financial and ideological power.

And the rest, as they say, is history. . .  international free-trade polices, globalized free-market forces, privatization of national resources, expanding global corporate political power over the laws of governmental structures in all nations, the resultant rise of political chaos and terrorism, the consolidation of corporate power and influence within the United States, consolidation of informational media into the hands of a few corporations, the rise of misinformation and propaganda on a global scale, destruction of environmental treaties, laws, and regulations, destruction of social safety-net programs, and increasing resource wars. . .

Almost all of it controlled from within the corporatized fundamentalistic and ideological American governmental structures created by the opportunistic coming together of the three groups - The greed of the corporatists, the religious fervor of the fundamentalists, and the power hungry ideology of the Neo-Cons - And all was "fine" with all three, as long each was getting what it wanted, and the separate protests and dissents of the masses remained suppressed. . .

The level of their successes has been staggering and mind-blowing, and I, like many other reality-based Americans were stunned by the lack of response by the American people, to the point that I lost my optimism, became even cynical.  So much of the bad/wrong was so obvious, so in-your-face, so openly arrogant, and so successful. . .  Three straight corrupted national elections, the emptying of the federal treasury, the shift of wealth into the hands of the few, the destruction of the manufacturing base and middle-class, the consolidation of the media, the corporate/fundamentalist/neo-con take-over and loading of all of the American regulatory agencies with industry lobbyists and ex-CEOs, the destruction of the Separation of the Church and the State, the politicization of Faith-Based initiatives, the corporately controlled privatization of many nation's natural resources, "free-speech zones," the marginalization and demonizing of dissent and protests. etc., etc., etc. . .

There seemed to be no hope of stopping it, even in the face of lost jobs, even in the face of the exposed lies, even in the face of the mounting deaths, even in the face increasing global warming realities, even in the face of increasing attacks on the rationality of science, even in the face of obvious and openly sneering arrogance. . .  But then came the smack-you-in-the-face realizations from Katrina, Rita, record temperatures, record rains, floods, mud slides, wildfires, high gas prices, exposed cronyism, exposed incompetence, exposed bigotry, exposed treason, exposed criminality, exposed vulnerability, exposed reality. . .

Then the fundamentalists sensed that they were not "getting what they wanted" - a stacked supreme court, and they reacted.  They have turned on "their own" in a big way.  And one grieving mother exposed the "noble cause" for the "noble lie" that it is.  And one honest prosecutor is exposing the "leaders" for the treasonist criminals that they are. . .

And it turns out that maybe there is hope after all, even though much of the environmental damage is irreversible now, there is hope. . .  Our nation's Deist Founders may have done a better job of constructing the protections of our Constitutional Democracy than they, or I, knew. . .

I am becoming ,cautiously, optimistic once again.


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Friday, October 14, 2005

Lest You've Forgotten. . .

This Now Proven Criminally Corrupt Administration Is Still In Power
by The Old Hippie Because The "Allowing" Is Still Being "Allowed" - Isn't It?


From the lobbyists created energy bill that does more insane damage to our nation environmentally and economically, and which increases the already obscene profits of the oil and coal corporations

even more than any sane rationality can contemplate, to the indicted house majority leader still openly twisting-arms for that bill, to the senate majority leader under investigation being still in power, to the open sneeringly corrupt in-your-face no-bid contracts still going to Halliburton, which is still paying the VP over $200,000/yr., not to mention that the VP is "rumored" be one of the targets, along with his chief-of staff, Libby in the treasonist outing of Ms. Plame, along with the president's own top-man, Rove, to the arrest of Safavian, the head of procurement in the president's office of management and Budget, to the exposed connections between all of them to Abramoff and the mob.

 Your Right
And finally, lest you've forgotten - to the unconscionable bigotry of wealth and class exposed by Katrina and Rita, to the selection of a supreme court judge based on her religion, and the ongoing/never ending exposure of arrogant lies, and justification of torture, the loss of so many innocent lives for the noble cause of greed, not freedom, not democracy, not security, and on and on. . . But yet - With all of this exposed reality, exposed corruption, and exposed destruction. . .
They are still allowed to continue on?!?  Unchecked and unpunished, as they continue to destroy?


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All political damage has been reversible in our history, and even this corrupt administration will lose its power in time - But - This time it is different in one very crucial aspect, the damage to the environment by political action, and non-action.  By this administration's breaking away from all of the international environmental treaties, and their purposeful, and insane, non-action on ending our addiction to oil/gas/coal for energy, and their lying denial of the realities of global warming to protect the profits of the oil/gas/coal corporations, have now put us all into a situation where a lot of the environmental damage is already irreversible.

The melting away of the northern sea ices, and its decreasing albedo, is already irreversible, and the resultant rising temperatures in the north that are melting the permafrost, and bogs containing now bubbling methane gas, is a fact, and now known to be irreversible.  (1998, was the warmest year on record, 2002 next, then 2003, and 2004 4th, with 2005 coming in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, this year, depending on how Siberia reacts between now and the end of the year)

The political ramifications of this irreversible environmental damage is also going to cause irreversible political "resource wars," and political anarchy, and political chaos planetwide, which in the cases of energy, water, and food has already begun - and the coming die-off is going to be huge. . .  Incomprehensibly and staggeringly huge. . .

Its never too late, at least to mitigate some of the worst damage, but it must start with getting rid of this criminally corrupt American administration as quickly as possible, as their continued "allowed" power to damage further, in the face of the irreversible environmental realities, is now quite frankly, insane.  Even if by some miracle every single corrupt politician worldwide was replaced by sane, rational, knowledgeable persons - The die-off from the already irreversible damage would be staggering.  Every day that we "allow" the corrupt to remain in power is only going to make it, the irreversible damage, and the die-off worse.

Doom & gloom?  You bet.  But it is reality.  The longer you deny it, the more likely you, or your children, or your grandchildren. . . will be one of its victims - If not already. . .


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Monday, October 10, 2005

Using. . .

"Sound" & "Junk" Science Decreases Knowledge -But- Increases Profits
by The Old Hippies Because This Decreased Knowledge Is Beyond Dangerous To All Of Us


SCI·ENCE - Latin scientia or knowledge, from scins, scient- pr.p. of scre, to know

There isn't "sound" knowledge, or "junk" knowledge, there is either knowledge, or the lack of knowledge.  A lack of knowledge is the hallmark of ignorance, which is not the same as stupidity, which is defined by a lack of intelligence or care - whereas ignorance is only marked by a lack of knowledge.  i.e. "ignorance is curable, stupidity is forever."

Sound & junk science are Orwellian terms created for the sole purpose of decreasing over-all knowledge within the masses to increase the profits of the few, at the expense of the many.  By profits, I don't mean just wealth, even though that is a large part of it, but also the opportunistic profits of power, and the justification of ideologies over the rationality of knowledge, and the dangerous stupidity of denial. . .

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It isn't a grand conspiracy, as much as an evolved and manipulated opportunistic coming together of insane greed corporatists and fringe ideological fundementalists, as has happened many times in the history of this planet.  But this time, here in America, it is much more dangerous, because it has been allowed to be enhanced by convinced neo-cons that are lost within their visions of uber-Pax Americana empire, to prosper, and grow into an actual enhanced conspiracy-of-opportunity, that has, not only abused, but truly taken-over the structures of our Constitutional Democracy.  i.e. "The stupidity of the allowed ignorance is destroying us."

And just one of the ways it is being purposely and opportunistically accomplished is by the "The War On Science," by the criminally opportunistic, the ignorant innocents, and the insane ideologists, many of which call themselves "Republicans," which in my mind is an insult to the true reality-based knowledgeably rational Republicans, who just recently have begun to make their voices heard also.

The best investigation into this "war on science" I've found so far can be found at This Link

AlterNet also has an excellent interview with Chris Mooney, the author - Linked Here
[ see "Multimedia Options" (upper-right box) - I listened - It's worth the time ]


AlterNet also has allowed Mr. Mooney to present an excerpt of his book - Linked Here


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Sunday, October 09, 2005

Humor. . .

A Lot Of Seriousness In The Jest
by Mark Fiore, Political Animation Humorist


[ Right Click in box below - Then click on word Play to start the animation ]

Fiore's Animation Gallery   |   Next Mark Fiore Animation

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Nothing Else At This Time - As The Above Animation Kind Of Covers It - Right


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Saturday, October 08, 2005

Hey - Red State Americans. . .

You Really Do Not Want To Read The Following - It'll Just Piss You Off
by The Old Hippie Because Your Arrogant Ignorance Allowed And Supported It All


Read 

First: Red states have the 1.) Highest divorce rate, 2.) Highest Domestic Violence rate, 3.) Highest teenage pregnancy rate, 4.) Highest sexually transmitted disease rate - Don't believe it?  You are capable of using the internet, use your favorite search engine, look it up - You are being used.

Second: Your children are dying, and being diseased, for nothing more than the profits of a very few that do not care about you, your children, your grandchildren, nor about your freedoms, liberties, and/or security.  Your beliefs in your God, and your nation, are being manipulated by these very few - You are being used.

Any more allowed denial is lethal to our nation - And to you and yours.

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Third: (to the non-nut-job-Evangelical Bush supporters) The power of the manipulated ignorance of the Evangelical nut-jobs is destroying your way of life.  These people actually -really- believe "The Rhapsody" is coming, and your support of Bush is allowing them to destroy the Separation of Church and State - The very tenet of the founders original intent in the creation of this Constitutional Democracy, which is in the way of their maximized profits. - You are being used.

Fourth: Whether their hearts are in the right place, or whether they are in it just for the profits of wealth, and/or power, and/or recognition - The O'Reillys', Savages', Coulters', Hannitys', Limbaughs', Robertsons', Falwells', Reeds', Gibsons', Bennetts', born-again-politicians', MSM corporate CEOs', born-again-generals' (e.g. Boynton,) are all dangerously wrong, and the manipulative power of the corrupted moneyed and/or corporate interests of the few behind them all, that has proven to be lethally destructive to the rest of us, ("us" being what the Bush family publicly refers to as the "fodder units.") - You red-state people believing -allowing- their words to be something other than the proven lies and/or distortions that they are in reality - (A reality that has become obvious to all rest of us fodder units,) - is being used - You are being used.

Fifth: You, your childrens', and your grandchildrens' jobs have been outsourced to other countries, in many cases you had to train your own replacements, and you were told by those you trusted that this was good for you and your nation - and you allowed it.  Your children, and even some of you, have been manipulated into a war of corporate profiteering by lies and distortions by those you trusted, and you were duped into allowing it, while their children openly -sneeringly- remained out of harms way - and you allowed it - You are being used.

Sixth: Forget the conspiracy theories, look at what has happened to your life.  You no longer have the legal ability to stand up to abuses by corporate greed, because you allowed, and as of today 37% of you are still allowing, "them" to change and/or destroy the very structure of this nation's checks and balances against the legal power to abuse your financial, social, and privacy rights.  Your future hopes are being used - you are being used.

Seventh: The successful theft of the entire national treasury. . .
Eighth: Our legal ability to protect the environment from corporate abuse and greed. . .
Ninth: America is the #1 top polluter of the planet, but only 5% of the population. . .
Tenth: America uses over 25% of the planet's resources, but we are only 5% of the planet. . .
Eleventh: America is the only 1st world nation without universal health care. . .
Twelfth: America legally -allows- condones and actually does torture human beings. . .

You - the "red-staters" - Have allowed it all - Have supported it all - You are being used.

Just A Note:  "It's The Allowing, Stupid"

The exposed insulting shame of Americans continuing to "allow" these insanely bigoted ideological born-again deadly corrupt corporatists thieves to remain in positions of power, is the problem behind all of the other exposed problems.

The fact that so few American citizens actually comprehend this, and continue to "allow" them their "freedoms," admittedly is beyond my own comprehension.


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Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Bombshells #10. . .

A Select Few Bombshells That Clears Much Of The Manufactured Fog
compiled by The Old Hippie Because I Truly Believe It Might Help Clear The Fog


Your Right   1.  Kofi And The Scandal Pimps - AlterNet

  2.  Delay Indicted For A 2nd Time - By A 2nd Grand Jury!
        - Houston Chronicle - October 3, 2005


  3.  Broke The Law ... Blistering Report - N. Y. Times

  4.  "Why?  Because This Was America." - Editor & Publisher

  5.  "What's the Difference?" - Cindy Sheehan

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  6.  O Brother, Where Artificial Thou? - Grist Magazine

  7.  Zogby Polls Out for 2006 Mid-Term Elections - Zogby International

Reminders. . .

 1.  21 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak - Thus far, the media coverage of the outing of Valerie Plame has focused on a few central figures, most of all Karl Rove.  But the evidence that has come to light to date suggests involvement by numerous Bush officials at all levels across multiple departments.

Think Progress has created a comprehensive database cataloguing the connections of 21 administration officials to the outing of an undercover CIA agent.  It will be updated regularly to reflect news developments on the case and will serve as a reference for anyone looking for the most up to date information on the investigation.

Here is what ABC’s The Note has to say about it:

In an age when the general public would be shocked at the degree to which major news organizations are wholly dependent on interest groups for their research, this one will get some Gang of 500 bookmarking.

Check it out and spread the word.

 2.  62 per cent of Americans Disapprove of the president's handling the situation in Iraq.

 3. . Loyalty Before Competence Another nomination of someone with no experience in the position that Bush has nominated them for.

And Lastly. . .

"I Remember Democrats" - William Rivers Pitt speaks to what most of us see and feel.
I too remember Democrats and the reality of a true opposition party's significance. . .


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Sunday, October 02, 2005

Word. . .

sl. - An Exclamation Indicating Deep And Complete Agreement
by The Old Hippie Because These Rants! Are Informed, Knowledgeable, And Needed - Word


The Good Rants: [Some are anger, some almost over the edge, but none are irrational, nor liars]

"If You Want To Impress Me, Go To Baghdad." - A Soldier Serving In Iraq

"A Field Trip For Conservatives" - Etan Thomas

"The Greatest Strategic Disaster In American History" - Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William Odom

"The Elephant In The Room" - Greg Saunders

"Betty's Diet Plan" - Robert Greenwald


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"Hook, Line And Suckers" - Mark Engler

"The GOP's Spreading Plague" - Joe Conason

"Rogue Soldiers Or Rogue President?  Scapegoating Small-Fry" - Ray McGovern

"John "Five In The Noggin'" Gibson's Abortion Lunacy" - John Amato


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Saturday, October 01, 2005

Knowing Does Help. . .

It May Take Effort, But Knowing Helps, In Ways Not Always Understood
compiled by The Old Hippie Because Knowing Reality Is Our Only Hope Of Remaining Free


Patriot The New PIPA Survey Report Is Out - PIPA

Our Imploding President - TomDispatch.com

Expanding Orwellian Attack On Environmentalism - AlterNet.org

Can Bush Be Ousted, Or Is This System Too Far Gone?

Venezuela Has Moved All Monies & Investments Out Of USA

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.  A popular gov- ernment without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both."
  --  James Madison


Here on the Moon - via Michael Moore

Dismantling The VA - Military.com

"The Senator's aide chuckled rather loudly and said, "What VA?  By the time this administration is done there won't be a VA."  Our conversation had begun with a discussion of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA's) healthcare budget, and quickly came down to a single, simple point.  VA is being dismantled."


Bush threatens defense bill veto, warning on prisoners - Reuters via Yahoo News

[From BuzzFlash]  "Bush threatens to veto defense bill if Senators attempt to probe torture abuse or set policies to ban it. If ever there were a statement about priorities, this is it."

[From The Article]  "The White House on Friday threatened to veto a $440.2 billion defense spending bill in the Senate because it wasn't enough money for the Pentagon and also warned lawmakers not to add any amendments to regulate the treatment of detainees or set up a commission to probe abuse."



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