April 21, 2009: TMZ reports on Sean Hannity's latest hairdo disaster while Fox News and Rush Limbaugh continue to undermine any attempts to repair the economic disaster brought on by the Republican Party. Did you forget to attend the tea-bagging? A lot of people did, or just didn't buy into the stupidity of it all.
As you can see elsewhere on this site Fox News, and in particular Sean Hannity ,missed the coming of the economic collapse well after the stock market tanked and claimed that the country's economic fundamentals were still strong? None the less, Sean and Rush are still pushing tax cuts and de-regulations in a supposed free-market enviroment. Somehow no one at Fox News figured out that when Alan Greenspan said that the free-markets would self regulate themselves, he was clueless. Or, are Sean and Rush, unable to make the Reaganomics connection here?
As self anointed political and economic messiahs Sean and Rush defend torture (and Dick Cheney) claiming that these tactics have worked since there have been no attacks on our country...well, as long as you ignore the fact that we were attacked on their watch. Sean Hannity claims that Los Angeles was saved by torture. That if we had not tortured there might not be a Los Angeles! Anyone catching the fear mongering drift here? If Rush and Sean aren't scaring you, their not doing their job.



Excerpts from Clint Reilly's article: The Cure
Nationalize bankrupt banks? Hell, let's nationalize our bankrupt health care system. We are the sole industrialized nation without health coverage? How does that make sense while American taxpayers are bailing out the financial system, the auto industry, and are being called upon to rescue free market capitalism from the abyss?
Our employer-based health care model is as bankrupt as Detroit's auto industry - which ironically was laid low by skyrocketing health insurance premiums.
A patented attack on "Socialized Medicine" has been the insurance industry's nuclear weapon in the long war to resist universal health care. For two decades, they have argued that the same industry that spawned AIG (which required a $150 Billion taxpayer bailout) is better equiped to manage health care than the U.S. Government?
The World Health Organization ranks France's health care system the best in the world. The United States is rated an embarrassing 37th!
Have you grown weary of the private sector's unanswered public relations war on government? Is our Federal Government perfect? Oh course not. But neither is it the corrupt and incompetent caricature portrayed in ads resisting oversight and regulations by utilities, banks, developers, insurance companies, and yes - Republicans.
The demonization seems increasingly hypocritical afater these same corporate titans and their political allies have squandered so much of our national treasure.
Who would you trust to manage America's health care? Insurance companies like AIG or the people's government?
The real question is: do you think access to health care is a right or a privilege? Who could say to any person who was sick that health care is not a human right? Only an Insurance Company (or a Republican).
For the whole article by Clint Reilly: The Cure



Nobel Prise winning Economist Paul Krugman has demonstrated scientifically and without any doubt that TAX CUTS DO NOT STIMULATE THE ECONOMY. He's confused why the Republicans would continue to push discredited policies such as Tax Cuts and De-regulation? Especially after so many AMERICANS, in the last election had voted against these kind of policies?
John Boehner: (Boner is pronounce Banner?) Just another Republican doing his job. No new ideas. Just more tax cuts for the rich. Funny thing is where was the trickling down the last 8 years? Never happened.
Lindsey Graham "The Stimulus Package Stinks, it's really a spending package" says Lindsey Crybaby Graham Ahh, duh, of course it's a spending package. Until the government stimulates the economy we will continue to be victimized as a country by the tax cut and deregulate Republicans that got us into this mess. Worried about the debt Lindsey? You should of thought about that before you decided to finance an illegal war that drove our country into financial ruins. C'mon, how about a little accountability for your actions before whining on the Senate floor...cause you know what the "stink" is Lindsey. It's you ,and your buddies trying to gut the middle class.
Newt Gingrich February 6th, 2009 Newt plays Matt Lauer for a fool on the Today Show promoting his new book that came out basically DOA. Newt's book is title: Ronald Reagan - Rendevous With Destiny. It's a yawner. Curiously Reagonomics and our country's Economic Collapse is Reagan's real rendevous with destiny. But, to hear it from Newt, sounds like someone is re-writing history. What are you afraid of Matt? Ask some real questions. This interview made you sound like you co-authored the book? No testical fortitude. Grow a pair, Lauer.
Richard Shelby, Alabama's Comb over King, wants the Senate to filibuster the stimulus bill. If you're better off than you were 8 years ago than Shelby is your man. If not, then you might want to pay attention to the purely partisan politics of this Senator. He tried to kill Detroit's automakers so as to benifit the foreign car dealerships and automakers in his state. Now he's trying to kill the American economy. Instead of taking responsibility for his party's economic policies the last 8 years that got us into this mess Shelby is trying to blame our current economic woes on the new Congress and new President? 



" Most people are satisfied with a world in which survival is for the fittest, "might is right," competition is required, and winning is called the highest good.
If such a system happens to also produce "losers" so be it, so long as you are not among them.
Most people are satisfied, even though such a model produces people who are often killed when they are judged "wrong", starved and rendered homeless when they are "losers," oppressed and exploited when they are not "strong."
Most people define "wrong" as that which is different from them. Religious differences, in particular, are not tolerated, nor are many social, economic, or cultural differences.
Exploitation of the underclass is justified by the self congratulatory pronouncements from the upper class of how much better off the underclass (victims) are now than they were before these expoitations. By this measure the upperclass can ignore the issue of how all people ought to be treated if one were being truly fair, rather than merely making a horrible situation a tiny bit better - and profit obscenely in the bargain.

Most people laugh when one suggests any kind of system other than the one currently in place, saying that behaviors such as competing and killing and the "victor taking the spoils" are what make their civilization great! Most people even think there is no other natural way to be, that it is the nature of humans to behave in this manner, and that to act any other way would kill the inner spirit that drives man to succeed. (at what?!)
Difficult as it is for truly enlightened beings to understand, most people on your planet believe in this philosophy, and that is why most people don't care about the suffering masses, the oppression of minorities, the anger of the underclass, or the survival needs of anyone but themselves, and their immediate families.
Most people do not see they are destroying their Earth, the very planet which gives them their life, because their actions seek only to enhance their quality of life. Amazingly, they are not far sighted enough to observe that short terms gains can produce long term losses, and often do...and will.
Most people are threatened by a concept such as a collective good, a one world overview, or a God who exists in unity with all creation, rather than separate from it.
This fear of anything leading to unification and your planet's glorification produces division, disharmony, and discord. Yet, you do not seem to have the ability even to learn from your own experience, and so you continue with the same results.
The inability to experience the suffering of another as one's own is what allows such suffering to continue.
Separation breeds indifference, false superiority. Unity produces compassion and genuine equality. This level of conciousness (separateness) could best be described as primitive."
From Conversations with God, by Neale Donald Walsh
My thoughts: Divisive ideologies imposed upon us by religious, political, and media voices only enable their agendas. Some of these voices have enjoyed undue credibility for far too long. (Many enjoy undue credibiltiy just by being on TV, Radio, Print, and now the Internet) Question the message. Question fear mongering ( a very effective tool -scare people into believing what you wish), look behind the curtain...what is the real intent here? Or, live out the consequences of obliviousness, which is NOT an option.

The Grateful Dead reunite for Barack Obama. For Paul Libertore's article in the Marin Independent Journal click: Grateful Dead reunite for Barack Obama
POW!From "Curtains Ordered for Media Coverage of Returning Coffins" by Dana Milbank (Washington Post, 21 Oct 2003):
Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets.
To this problem, the Bush administration has found a simple solution: It has ended the public dissemination of such images by banning news coverage and photography of dead soldiers' homecomings on all military bases.
In March, on the eve of the Iraq war, a directive arrived from the Pentagon at U.S. military bases. "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base, to include interim stops," the Defense Department said, referring to the major ports for the returning remains.
A Pentagon spokeswoman said the military-wide policy actually dates from about November 2000 -- the last days of the Clinton administration -- but it apparently went unheeded and unenforced, as images of caskets returning from the Afghanistan war appeared on television broadcasts and in newspapers until early this year [2003]. Though Dover Air Force Base, which has the military's largest mortuary, has had restrictions for 12 years, others "may not have been familiar with the policy," the spokeswoman said. This year, "we've really tried to enforce it."





Rupert Murdock
W
The last question responded to at a recent news conference went to a Fox News reporter that had been prepped. As the last question there would be no follow up question. The Fox News reporter asked W about the General BetrayUs MoveOn.org ad. And W responded,"And that leads me to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left wing group like MoveOn.org or more afraid of irritating them, then they are of irritating the United States military."
Smile!



Coral Great Barrier Reef 1996 Great Barrier Reef 1998
Not too long ago our oceans were abundant and clean. And now, most of the world's 17 major ocean fisheries are in decline, important coastal habitats are disappearing at an alarming rate, and climate change and pollution are harming corral ecosystems at an unprecedented rate. Coral reefs are often called the rain forests of the sea. And, like their terrestial counterparts, they're
in trouble. Since 1980, an estimated 20 % of the world's coral reef have been destroyed.
Our oceans are in serious danger. It's our responsibility to help ensure that the oceans are protected and conserved for future generations. The world's oceans, and their rich diversity of life belong to all the citizens of the world. Healthy oceans are essential for our planets health and well being.
Scientist have been warning about Global Warning for years, but only recently have Governments world wide acknowledged its significance primarily due to greater public awareness.
60 Minutes reported earlier this year about the decline of sharks in our oceans due to "shark finning" by fisherman that are selling the shark fins to the Chinese that regard "Shark Fin Soup" a delicacy. The soup in Chinese Restaurants can sell upward of $400 a bowl, and hence the over fishing of sharks. 60 minutes then showed video of corporate fishing vessels that would bring the shark up into the boat, cut off it's fins, and then throw the live shark back into the ocean to die. It was hard to watch. Sharks are the "Stewards of the Oceans". Their decline directly affects the health of our oceans. The sharks maintain the coral reefs and surrounding fish population. Without Sharks these coral reefs are dying.
With the Chinese Olympics forthcoming, the opportunity to create greater public awareness about these horrific acts that our destroying our oceans is now. Should the Olympics be boycotted? Do we need to embarrass the Chinese into doing the right thing? What do you think?
Write your Senators and Congressmen/women today!
For more information please click on: http://www.sharkstewards.com/ A great film by David McGuire
T


MR. RUSSERT: I want to ask you both about the economy. Jim Webb, when you were running, you said, “I’m not just running about Iraq, I’m running about what I see happening to the economy in this country, the divisions between rich and poor, as a Jacksonian Democrat.” And let me show you an op-ed piece that you wrote on Wednesday for The Wall Street Journal, and have both you and Jon Tester talk about it.
“The most important ... issue in politics today is our society’s steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America’s top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country. Few among them send their children to public schools; fewer still send their loved ones to fight our wars. They own most of our stocks. ... The top 1 percent now takes in an astounding 16 percent of national income. ...
“This ever-widening divide is too often ignored or downplayed by its beneficiaries. A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on hubris. When I raised this issue with corporate leaders during the recent political campaign, I was met repeatedly with denials and, from some, an overt lack of concern for those who are falling behind. A troubling arrogance is in the air among the nation’s most fortunate. ...
“With this new Congress ... American workers have a chance to be heard in ways that have eluded them for more than a decade. Nothing is more important for the health of our society than to grant them the validity of their concerns. And our government leaders have no greater duty than to confront the growing unfairness in this age of globalization.”
SEN.-ELECT WEBB: No, and I, I strongly believe that, that it’s the most important country—issue facing our country. We have corporate profits at an all-time high, wages salary—and salaries at an all-time low as a percentage of our national wealth. And it’s sort of a three-tiered problem, a very difficult problem; it’s going to take years, years to break it down.
The first is, what is fair trade in the, in the age of globalization? We can talk about free trade agreements, but when are, when are they not fair? China’s the best example of that, where we have a situation now rather similar to what we were seeing with Japan 20 years ago, but much more dangerous in terms of its size and our—and the issues of national security, where you have a devalued currency that is enabling them to bring goods into this country at a very low price. And at the same time, they’re using that money to help finance our national debt. We’re becoming dependent on them.
The second is, what has happened to the American workers in, in this environment. Because when you look at the movement from GATT toward the WTO, the American workers, the workers around the world, were not addressed as an, as an issue in terms of fairness. So we have situations here, a different type of, of economic and governmental system, where does—where do you pay health benefits? Where do you pay retirement benefits in the different countries? What’s equality of condition on a workplace that all goes to the worker?
And then the third is, who is benefitting from the bene—you know, from the, from the larger benefits of globalization? It’s not getting down to, to the workers. And that can be addressed, in my view, as a—at a starting point through corporate tax loopholes, there’re many of them; through how the tax code is structured that—in a, in a way that benefits the, the, the top 1 percent.
But this is an issue, it’s not just rich and poor anymore. It’s an issue of what is happening to workers worldwide and how the American worker fits into it. And that is my number one priority as a senator.
MR. RUSSERT: Jon Tester, do you share that concern? And would you be willing to roll back the 1--tax cut of the Bush administration on the top 1 percent and look at trade agreements?
SEN.-ELECT TESTER: Well, I, I think we do need to look at trade agreements for some of the reasons that Jim Webb just talked about. You know, as I go around the state of Montana, you see more and more people working more and more jobs, trying to make ends meet, and I’ve got story after story about folks who are really having trouble making their, their, their budget balance. And, and it ends up, you know, where we have a society where there’s no middle class, and, and the working poor aren’t being addressed.
And I think we do need to address, I think we do need to address it in the tax code, make sure we have a tax code that works for the middle class, small business, working families, family farms and ranches, and make sure that those people are empowered to move our economy forward. Those are the folks, really, that, that brought us here, was a vibrant middle class, and they’ve been forgotten about over the last many years, and it’s time to show them some attention.
And when you look at, look at the tax cuts from the Bush administration, let’s look at it from the middle class. Let’s look at those tax cuts that empower the middle class and move forward.
And I can’t agree more with what Jim said about the, the trade, free trade vs. fair trade, devalued dollars and workers’ rights in other countries. We’ve got to make sure these trade agreements work for us and other countries so we’re not continually pushing jobs out of this country.












National Lampoon NostalgiaCongressman Charles Rangel just learned an important lesson.
He may be the new and powerful chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, but there’s someone who wields even more clout: the new and powerful speaker of the House of Representatives. No sooner had Rangel announced plans to introduce legislation reinstating the draft than Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it wasn’t going to happen.
For Democrats in the House, Pelosi’s decision is smart. Having won back the majority, Democrats have barely a year to convince the American people they made the right decision. They’ll use that time trying to enact a handful of specific, family-oriented proposals: raising the minimum wage; making college tuition tax deductible; cutting interest rates on student loans; and fixing the prescription drug plan. The last thing they want or need is a controversial push for a draft, opposed by 70 percent of Americans.
So the draft is dead. Too bad. Because on the merits, if not the politics, of the argument, Charlie Rangel’s absolutely right: When a nation goes to war, all Americans should share the sacrifice. But that’s not the way it is in Iraq.
Almost 3,000 Americans have been killed so far in this senseless war — which we started, remember? But it’s no skin off the back of most American families. They have no connection to a war that will soon have lasted longer than World War II. Only a small slice of Americans have sons or daughters serving in Iraq. For the rest of us, the war is simply something we hear about on television. We’ve been called upon to make no sacrifice to support the war: no rationing, no shortages, no higher taxes. Meanwhile, we’re content to let other people’s kids fight it for us. Some call it “patriotism lite.” Congressman Rangel’s even harsher. “I don’t see how anyone can support the war and not support the draft,” he told CBS’s Bob Schieffer. “If you do, you’re a hypocrite.”
Contrary to what opponents argue, calling for a revival of the draft is in no way a slam on today’s volunteer military. Just the opposite. We have the finest military in our history today: highly educated men and women with broad geographic and economic diversity. The only problem is: They’re already stretched too thin, and they bear the entire burden of the war.
As several Iraq veterans told me on my radio show: “We’re proud of our service in Iraq, and we’re willing to go back. But we don’t think we should have to fight this war all alone.” And they shouldn’t. Indeed, if it’s important enough for our country to go to war, it’s important enough for all Americans to participate. Otherwise, maybe we shouldn’t have gone to war in the first case.
And that’s the larger point Rangel is trying make, by renewing his call for a draft. The truth is, had conscription been in place, we would never have gone to war in Iraq. As Congressman Rangel told CBS’s “Face the Nation”: “There’s no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm’s way.”
Today, the surest way to end the war would be to extend the military summons to sons and daughters of the rich and powerful. You could bet the ranch on this: Once first twins Jenna and Barbara were called upon to put on the uniform, troops would be coming home from Iraq within hours.
True, the draft by itself is not enough. What this country really needs is a system of national service for all Americans, giving young people the choice: two years of mandatory service to the country, either in the military or in schools, hospitals or national parks — in return for a guaranteed college education. But until we get the whole enchilada, the draft is a good place to begin. And, of course, once we add Iran, Syria or North Korea to our war plans, the draft becomes absolutely essential. Otherwise, there simply won’t be enough troops to go around.
Congressman Rangel has the facts and the logic on his side. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to win the day.
In the interest of pure fairness, we should bring back the draft. In the interest of pure politics, it’s not going to happen. 
"BRING BACK THE DRAFT!"