If you had any illusions that our current Attorney General Michael Mukasey might work out to be less of a disingenuous Bush administration toady than Alberto Gonzales, I’m sorry to tell you that this week, Mukasey proved himself to be more of the same.
This is the same Michael Mukasey who ruled that an American Citizen - Jose Padilla - could be held as an enemy combatant for years without being charged of a crime.
The same Michael Mukasey who represented twin towers owner Larry Silverstein who claimed that because two planes hit his property, he was entitled to double his insurance claim.
So we shouldn’t be surprised at Mukasey’s latest address at the Commonwealth Club of SF last week. The Atty General’s speech demanded that Congress grant the president warrantless eavesdropping powers, and also give the telcom companies retroactive immunity for the eavesdropping they’ve already done on Bushs’ behalf. Expected behavior, to be sure - but what was unexpected, and outrageous was Mukasey’s rationale...
Mukasey claimed that officials “shouldn't need a warrant when somebody with a phone in Iraq picks up a phone and calls somebody in the United States because that's the call that we may really want to know about. And before 9/11, that's the call that we didn't know about. We knew that there has been a call from someplace that was known to be a safe house in Afghanistan and we knew that it came to the United States. We didn't know precisely where it went."
First off, regarding FISA law, Mukasey is either lying, or is ignorant of the law, which is alarming considering that Mukasey is the Atty General of the US. Pre-911 FISA law allows such a call to be intercepted without a warrant, so long as a warrant is sought within 72 hours of the event. My guess is, he knew that, but was betting that the American people don’t know the facts, so he could sway support for increased eavesdropping powers.
So that leaves with his claim that the government knew about a call from a safe house in Afghanistan that if intercepted, could have prevented 9-11 - yet incredibly, the government did nothing about it.
Is this a lie, or was our government that incompetent. MSNBC newscaster Keith Olbermann quipped “I’m betting on lying. If not, somebody in Congress better put that man under oath right quick.
I hope Olbermann is right and this is just another lie from the Bush administration to scare and distract Americans so they can subvert the Constitution even further. Because if Mukasey’s claim is true, this is huge news: The 911 Investigation revealed that the CIA and FBI had intercepted a variety of messages, but nothing was ever mentioned about the kind of call that Mukasey describes.
And whether it’s true or false, this should be a major story covered by all the mainstream news outlets. But it wasn’t. Sadly, the Mukasey story was mentioned a paltry 73 times last week, compared with 1043 mentions of Obama’s bowling score.
Hats off to Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald, who really took this story and ran with it. He contacted Lee Hamilton, Vice Chairman of the 911 Commission to find out if he’d ever heard about a pre-911 phone call from an Afghan safe house into the US that relayed information about the attacks. Hamilton refused comment, which Greenwald fairly characterised as unacceptable. The 911 commission should reply about whether Mukasey’s claim is true - the American people deserve to know, and Mukasey needs to be accountable for his actions.
Greenwald also contacted 911 Commission Executive Director Philip Zelikow. Zelikow did reply, basically saying that nothing like what Mukasey described actually happened, but leaving it at that.
But the story did get the attention of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, who along with two Subcommittee chairs, sent a letter to Mukasey demanding he explain his understanding of the FISA laws, and to justify his claim that the Afghan safe house call actually happened.
The Dept. of Justice finally responded, blaming restrictions within Executive order 12333 issued in 1981 by Reagan as the reason why the phone call could not be intercepted. But 12333 has nothing to do with FISA, and could have been easily rescinded by George Bush - and actually E.O. 12333 was amended twice by Bush before 9-11. So the DOJ response actually heightens, rather than resolves the misleading nature of Mukasey’s statement, which appears to be yet another exploitation of 911 in order to scare the American people and weaken the US Constitution.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
I might give 1/2 a damn about the election after all
This isn't being reported yet in the US media, but the UK and Australia are reporting that senior Dems are considering recruiting Gore for the presidential nomination to avoid an Obama/Clinton implosion!
I stopped caring about this election when Edwards bowed out. But this could burst my apathy bubble. C'mon, Al! We need you!
I stopped caring about this election when Edwards bowed out. But this could burst my apathy bubble. C'mon, Al! We need you!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Divide and Conquer
Newsmax posted a story recently about how Bill Clinton is doing a little campaigning for John McCain these days:
Remember, this is the Bill Clinton who passed NAFTA and the TelComm act of 1993 - both extremely right-wing in nature. This is also the same Bill Clinton who said in an interview a few years ago (I'm paraphrasing here), "Most of my career, I haven't had much money, and it's very nice at this point in my life to have some." Given his capitulation to the moneyed right-wingers during his term, I'm not surprised that Bill has enjoyed some payback from the wealthy people he helped with his policies.
It begs the question: how far would Bill Clinton go for a little more wealth and prestige? Would he sell out his own party? Or could there be a larger, more nefarious strategy?
John McCain is struggling to win the support of hard-core right-wing Republicons. But he has until November to build his campaign, unchallenged by fellow GOP members. Meanwhile, and inexplicably, the Clinton-Obama war continues, and with each day, it chips away a little more at the Democratic Party. Voters get more disillusioned as Clinton's rhetoric gets nastier. Obama and Clinton are spending to defeat each other, using campaign funds that would be better spent to educate the country as to McCain's unsuitability for the nation's highest office.
I can understand Bill Clinton taking pot shots at Obama to help his wife, but why does he need to build up McCain at the same time? My hypothesis is that the Clintons are basically doing the same thing Rush Limbaugh is doing.
As you'll recall Limbaugh has launched what he calls Operation Chaos, which calls on Republican voters to switch sides and vote for Clinton during the primary so that Obama can't gain a reasonable lead. The greater strategy is to keep Dems divided all the way into the convention in order to give McCain a greater chance to win.
Let's face it: though Obama doesn't have the necessary lead that would stop Hilary's campaign in its tracks, there's no way that she can get the delgates she needs to win the nomination. Yet she just declared that "she likes a long movie" – in other words, she's gonna drag this thing out to the bitter end. And by doing so, the big loser is the Democratic Party.
This prolonged battle, combined with the both Clintons' praise of McCain over Obama, have me seriously considering that their loyalty probably lie with the GOP and the Corporatocracy, not with the Democrats or the American people.
For the second time in a week, Bill Clinton offered high praise for Republican presidential nominee John McCain — the candidate who could end up squaring off against Clinton’s wife Hillary.Right now, it looks like his allegiance stands with Hilary first, John McCain second. His allegiance to the Democratic Party is either off in the distance, or non-existent.At a stop in rural Pennsylvania on Thursday, Bill told the gathering that McCain is a “moderate” who “has given all you can give for this country without dying for it.”
He said McCain is on the right side in opposing the torture of enemy combatants and on the global warming issue, which “just about crosses the bridge for [Republicans].”
Clinton also told the audience that the race should not about the past, but about who is going to do more for the country in the future, ABC News reported. That person, he said, is Hillary.
One week ago Clinton expressed similar sentiments at a gathering in North Carolina, calling McCain a war hero who had demonstrated his love for his country.
Clinton noted that McCain supported campaign finance reform and “he doesn’t think global warming is a myth … so it is not going to be all that easy to beat him.”
At that same campaign stop, Clinton angered the Barack Obama campaign by saying that McCain and Hillary share a love of America — without mentioning Obama.
“I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country,” he said.
“And people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics.”
By not mentioning Obama, he suggested to some observers that he believes Obama’s patriotism is lacking.
Remember, this is the Bill Clinton who passed NAFTA and the TelComm act of 1993 - both extremely right-wing in nature. This is also the same Bill Clinton who said in an interview a few years ago (I'm paraphrasing here), "Most of my career, I haven't had much money, and it's very nice at this point in my life to have some." Given his capitulation to the moneyed right-wingers during his term, I'm not surprised that Bill has enjoyed some payback from the wealthy people he helped with his policies.
It begs the question: how far would Bill Clinton go for a little more wealth and prestige? Would he sell out his own party? Or could there be a larger, more nefarious strategy?
John McCain is struggling to win the support of hard-core right-wing Republicons. But he has until November to build his campaign, unchallenged by fellow GOP members. Meanwhile, and inexplicably, the Clinton-Obama war continues, and with each day, it chips away a little more at the Democratic Party. Voters get more disillusioned as Clinton's rhetoric gets nastier. Obama and Clinton are spending to defeat each other, using campaign funds that would be better spent to educate the country as to McCain's unsuitability for the nation's highest office.
I can understand Bill Clinton taking pot shots at Obama to help his wife, but why does he need to build up McCain at the same time? My hypothesis is that the Clintons are basically doing the same thing Rush Limbaugh is doing.
As you'll recall Limbaugh has launched what he calls Operation Chaos, which calls on Republican voters to switch sides and vote for Clinton during the primary so that Obama can't gain a reasonable lead. The greater strategy is to keep Dems divided all the way into the convention in order to give McCain a greater chance to win.
Let's face it: though Obama doesn't have the necessary lead that would stop Hilary's campaign in its tracks, there's no way that she can get the delgates she needs to win the nomination. Yet she just declared that "she likes a long movie" – in other words, she's gonna drag this thing out to the bitter end. And by doing so, the big loser is the Democratic Party.
This prolonged battle, combined with the both Clintons' praise of McCain over Obama, have me seriously considering that their loyalty probably lie with the GOP and the Corporatocracy, not with the Democrats or the American people.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Hope during wartime
I have been watching a few online films lately - quite a few listed on brasschecktv.com, and I'm in the middle of a film called Zeitgeist - The Movie, which apparently has two versions - 2006 and 2007. Oddly enough, these films have transported me to a more spiritual mindset.
The more I look at humankind, the more I am convinced that we are on path to destroy this planet and make it inhabitable for ourselves, not to mention other creatures. It's amazing how a people so clever can be so stupid - or at least willfully ignorant - at the same time.
This is an unusual post for me - I usually like to deal in specifics, but not today. Today, I have more questions than answers. Though I feel a sense of out and out doom for the empirical world we live in, I also feel an odd sense of hope, as if there is some way we can, in some form, transcend this spiritual plane, even as we destroy it.
I look at myself, here in the position where I probably spend most of my waking hours, in front of the keyboard, tapping away, occasionally glancing out the window at the blue sky and the towering Spruce Pines next door.
Given the amount of information I know about the world and the way it works, and the pace at which we are quickly losing our humanity, I marvel that I still feel like I am here for a purpose, and it's a relatively noble one. Is it because in the last year, I have attracted a bright, talented 6-year-old into my life? Or is there something more immediate I will do that might benefit mankind?
Our radio show, Making Progress on WPVM, has a stronger reach online than it does through the airwaves, though I don't worry about whether the show reaches 6 people or 6 million. I hope it makes a difference to at least a handful of people, and I keep doing the show without needing to know what size impact it makes.
Or maybe there's something else that I'll be doing in the near future that will make a difference? Somehow, I just trust that before my lifespan is over, I will have done something worthwhile. Sometimes, I just what to know what that something is.
Maybe growing our own food, and loving those around us is all we can really do - and all this bloviating about the state of our nation, corporations and politicians is more for the benefit of my own peace of mind than to actually bring about change to these institutions.
Maybe I have to keep doing these simple tasks until the tyrants wielding the power in this country come for me - or maybe they never will come, and I'll just keep on with my routine of typical day-to-day stuff mixed with whatever activist cause gets under my skin at any given moment.
As dark as history and current events tell me that our situation is, I still am filled with hope. And I still have time to turn away from the news feed and listen to the chatter of the birds, and feel warm sunlight on my skin.
Today, my mood leans toward hope and optimism in the face of a mountain of evidence that suggests my sense of hope is ill-founded. Maybe that's the best we can do as humans?
The more I look at humankind, the more I am convinced that we are on path to destroy this planet and make it inhabitable for ourselves, not to mention other creatures. It's amazing how a people so clever can be so stupid - or at least willfully ignorant - at the same time.
This is an unusual post for me - I usually like to deal in specifics, but not today. Today, I have more questions than answers. Though I feel a sense of out and out doom for the empirical world we live in, I also feel an odd sense of hope, as if there is some way we can, in some form, transcend this spiritual plane, even as we destroy it.
I look at myself, here in the position where I probably spend most of my waking hours, in front of the keyboard, tapping away, occasionally glancing out the window at the blue sky and the towering Spruce Pines next door.
Given the amount of information I know about the world and the way it works, and the pace at which we are quickly losing our humanity, I marvel that I still feel like I am here for a purpose, and it's a relatively noble one. Is it because in the last year, I have attracted a bright, talented 6-year-old into my life? Or is there something more immediate I will do that might benefit mankind?
Our radio show, Making Progress on WPVM, has a stronger reach online than it does through the airwaves, though I don't worry about whether the show reaches 6 people or 6 million. I hope it makes a difference to at least a handful of people, and I keep doing the show without needing to know what size impact it makes.
Or maybe there's something else that I'll be doing in the near future that will make a difference? Somehow, I just trust that before my lifespan is over, I will have done something worthwhile. Sometimes, I just what to know what that something is.
Maybe growing our own food, and loving those around us is all we can really do - and all this bloviating about the state of our nation, corporations and politicians is more for the benefit of my own peace of mind than to actually bring about change to these institutions.
Maybe I have to keep doing these simple tasks until the tyrants wielding the power in this country come for me - or maybe they never will come, and I'll just keep on with my routine of typical day-to-day stuff mixed with whatever activist cause gets under my skin at any given moment.
As dark as history and current events tell me that our situation is, I still am filled with hope. And I still have time to turn away from the news feed and listen to the chatter of the birds, and feel warm sunlight on my skin.
Today, my mood leans toward hope and optimism in the face of a mountain of evidence that suggests my sense of hope is ill-founded. Maybe that's the best we can do as humans?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Electile Dysfunction
I just read on Raw Story today that the gap between Obama and Clinton has narrowed to the point of being negligible. The report goes on to cite recent polls that show Mc Cain is ahead of both Obama and Clinton at this point.
Republican operatives must be dancing with glee. I can't help but think this is a direct result of Limbaugh's edict, which prompted thousands of Republican voters to switch party affiliation to Democrat in order to influence the Democratic primaries. The other ingredient is the distorted Media, which has been pounding on picayune details in order to smear both Obama and Clinton, while enabling McCain by repeating his ridiculous assertion that Iran is helping bring Al Qaeda to Iraq.
The sad thing about this divide-and-conquer strategy is that the majority of the American people seem to be falling for it. Recently, I rewatched the movie Idiocracy, about an American 500 years from now that has been so dumbed down that they don't even know how to grow plants. I'd say we're not far from there, now.
It's bad enough that the Media and Corporatocracy have eliminate all the presidential candidates that would offer true change. Neither Clinton, Obama, nor McCain will end this war or confront the corporate power structure that increasingly wreaks havoc over our lives and prosperity.
Between the 3 remaining candidates, Obama is the clear choice. He's not a choice I'm excited about, but since we are forced to play "the least of the evils" game yet again, he's the obvious pick. The worst of the evils is of course McCain. If he gets elected, war with Iran is certain (that is, if Bush doesn't start the war before leaving office). If McCain is elected, we will be in Iraq for generations to come, and the economy will continue to flounder.
And of course, recent polls show that McCain is poised to win the presidency should current sentiment remain unchanged. Of course, once a Democratic candidate has been chosen, this could shift - unless this bitter battle for the nomination continues all the way through the convention and is inevitably decided by Superdelegates instead of voters.
What concerns me is that a Republican candidate could be in the lead - even in this early stage. Given the disastrous consequences of 7 years of Republican rule - the tanking economy, uncontrolled inflation, war without end, unchecked corruption, the widening gap between rich and poor - a Democratic win should already be guaranteed.
Republican operatives must be dancing with glee. I can't help but think this is a direct result of Limbaugh's edict, which prompted thousands of Republican voters to switch party affiliation to Democrat in order to influence the Democratic primaries. The other ingredient is the distorted Media, which has been pounding on picayune details in order to smear both Obama and Clinton, while enabling McCain by repeating his ridiculous assertion that Iran is helping bring Al Qaeda to Iraq.
The sad thing about this divide-and-conquer strategy is that the majority of the American people seem to be falling for it. Recently, I rewatched the movie Idiocracy, about an American 500 years from now that has been so dumbed down that they don't even know how to grow plants. I'd say we're not far from there, now.
It's bad enough that the Media and Corporatocracy have eliminate all the presidential candidates that would offer true change. Neither Clinton, Obama, nor McCain will end this war or confront the corporate power structure that increasingly wreaks havoc over our lives and prosperity.
Between the 3 remaining candidates, Obama is the clear choice. He's not a choice I'm excited about, but since we are forced to play "the least of the evils" game yet again, he's the obvious pick. The worst of the evils is of course McCain. If he gets elected, war with Iran is certain (that is, if Bush doesn't start the war before leaving office). If McCain is elected, we will be in Iraq for generations to come, and the economy will continue to flounder.
And of course, recent polls show that McCain is poised to win the presidency should current sentiment remain unchanged. Of course, once a Democratic candidate has been chosen, this could shift - unless this bitter battle for the nomination continues all the way through the convention and is inevitably decided by Superdelegates instead of voters.
What concerns me is that a Republican candidate could be in the lead - even in this early stage. Given the disastrous consequences of 7 years of Republican rule - the tanking economy, uncontrolled inflation, war without end, unchecked corruption, the widening gap between rich and poor - a Democratic win should already be guaranteed.
Friday, March 14, 2008
How does your garden grow?
How are you preparing to deal with the upcoming financial crisis? The answer might be as close as your back yard.
Ron Paul is one of the many harbingers who is predicting that the financial woes we're experiencing are only the tip of the iceberg. Times may get tough, but the good news is - we're all in this together.
The Coporatocracy is expert at jacking up the prices for the very things we depend on, like energy, health care and food. There's lots of good tips on how to save energy on the internet (I suggest getting a wood stove installed during the warm months - it'll pay for itself in the first 2 years if not sooner). Now that Spring is upon us (the redbud two blocks over is already blooming), I think it's time for people to consider how they can counter the ever rising food prices.
Food prices are expected to rise in some cases by 25-50% this year. Part of the reason has to do with the plunging value of the dollar, (in 2002, the Euro was worth less than a dollar - it's now worth $1.56). All imported foods have shot up, because it takes more US cash to buy them on the open market.
The other factor jacking up the price of food is gasoline. Did you know that when you buy a head of lettuce, you're paying more for transportation costs than for the lettuce itself? As the price of gasoline skyrockets, food prices are only going to get higher - that is for food that you buy at the supermarket, most of which comes from other parts of the nation, if not the world.
One other factor affecting the price of food is the worsening water shortage. Thanks to global warming, we're losing more and more precious fresh water each year. Global warming has also brought extreme droughts to more than half of the nation, and especially to the southeast where I live.
We can't expect politicians or corporations to help us out of this mess. We have to take responsibility and change our buying habits if we truly expect to find any relief.
I propose that in between trips to the grocery store, each of us also make a trip to your nearest garden store to buy mulch, starter soil and seeds. You can't afford to water your lawn anyway, so why not produce most, if not all of your vegetables from the land around your home?
Forget the protests, the letters to your senators and congressbums - they're not going to change any policies that will help you "put food on your family" as Bush so famously and erroneously quipped.
Get out in the wild open spaces of your yard and till the lawn under. Sow vegetables and fruit bearing plants. Get together with your neighbors and diversify your crops so you can share the harvest. If you start now, you can be reaping (and eating) some of the fruits of your labors by late April. And once late summer comes, you'll have such a bounty of produce that you will be able to avoid many of the soon-to-be-astronomical prices at the supermarket.
My lovely and resourceful partner Beth has created a blog called An Urban Plot, which can help you find the resources you need to get started.
I used to be the kind of guy who mowed the lawn once every 3 months whether it needed it or not. Last year, I discovered the joy of shopping for my salad fixin's in my own back yard - and that includes luxuries like shitake mushrooms! It's easier than I thought it would be - and it sure is nice getting out under the sky with my hands in the soil. It reminds me I'm alive.
Ron Paul is one of the many harbingers who is predicting that the financial woes we're experiencing are only the tip of the iceberg. Times may get tough, but the good news is - we're all in this together.
The Coporatocracy is expert at jacking up the prices for the very things we depend on, like energy, health care and food. There's lots of good tips on how to save energy on the internet (I suggest getting a wood stove installed during the warm months - it'll pay for itself in the first 2 years if not sooner). Now that Spring is upon us (the redbud two blocks over is already blooming), I think it's time for people to consider how they can counter the ever rising food prices.
Food prices are expected to rise in some cases by 25-50% this year. Part of the reason has to do with the plunging value of the dollar, (in 2002, the Euro was worth less than a dollar - it's now worth $1.56). All imported foods have shot up, because it takes more US cash to buy them on the open market.
The other factor jacking up the price of food is gasoline. Did you know that when you buy a head of lettuce, you're paying more for transportation costs than for the lettuce itself? As the price of gasoline skyrockets, food prices are only going to get higher - that is for food that you buy at the supermarket, most of which comes from other parts of the nation, if not the world.
One other factor affecting the price of food is the worsening water shortage. Thanks to global warming, we're losing more and more precious fresh water each year. Global warming has also brought extreme droughts to more than half of the nation, and especially to the southeast where I live.
We can't expect politicians or corporations to help us out of this mess. We have to take responsibility and change our buying habits if we truly expect to find any relief.
I propose that in between trips to the grocery store, each of us also make a trip to your nearest garden store to buy mulch, starter soil and seeds. You can't afford to water your lawn anyway, so why not produce most, if not all of your vegetables from the land around your home?
Forget the protests, the letters to your senators and congressbums - they're not going to change any policies that will help you "put food on your family" as Bush so famously and erroneously quipped.
Get out in the wild open spaces of your yard and till the lawn under. Sow vegetables and fruit bearing plants. Get together with your neighbors and diversify your crops so you can share the harvest. If you start now, you can be reaping (and eating) some of the fruits of your labors by late April. And once late summer comes, you'll have such a bounty of produce that you will be able to avoid many of the soon-to-be-astronomical prices at the supermarket.
My lovely and resourceful partner Beth has created a blog called An Urban Plot, which can help you find the resources you need to get started.
I used to be the kind of guy who mowed the lawn once every 3 months whether it needed it or not. Last year, I discovered the joy of shopping for my salad fixin's in my own back yard - and that includes luxuries like shitake mushrooms! It's easier than I thought it would be - and it sure is nice getting out under the sky with my hands in the soil. It reminds me I'm alive.
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