Read this ( http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/28744 ) and tell me George W. Bush isnt a traitor to our country.

Happy Easter.

Top Ten Billy Joel Songs That Explain My State of Mind
(In No Particular Order)

1. I Go To Extremes
2. All for Leyna
3. Baby Grand
4. I've Loved These Days
5. Summer Highland Falls
6. Honesty
7. She's Right On Time
8. Somewhere Along The Line
9. Why Judy Why
10. Last of The Big Time Spenders

Ive been thinking about trying to post a more lighthearted entry now and then, but you can see how well that went.

Listening to the BobFest CDs (http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&EAN=74645323022&ITM=25)gets me mad all over again, though. The electriying version of Masters Of War is why I bought it originally, and it still gets me every time.



Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead



Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music



This president and his evil, fascist lying band of thieves need to be impeached, tried, convicted and jailed for crimes against humanity.

Some days you understand why the entire world hates us.

The President is right about the Dubai deal. It's not like we're giving them the security contracts, after all-its just the logistics and operations stuff-getting the cargo off the boats and onto the trucks. The security will be the same underfunded, woefully inadequate, half assed system we have now.

"WASHINGTON - Howard Dean, the Democratic Party chairman, said Sunday that Vice President Dick Cheney would need to resign if he had ordered a leak that resulted in the public exposure of an undercover CIA officer.
Dean cited news reports last week that I. Lewis Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, had testified to a grand jury that his ''superiors'' had told him to leak classified information to reporters to justify the Iraq war."


From The Salt Lake Tribune

Richard Cheney, aside from almost killing someone, has committed treasonous acts and must be impeached.

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Sword of The Short Path.

Get yours.

"Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires---a wiretap requires a court order.
Nothing has changed, by the way.
When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so.
It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."
---President George W. BushApril 20, 2004

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B15146AB1-24DC-4250-96D4-A25967541406%7D&siteid=google



Bastards.

They stood there in front of Congress and insisted they weren't price gouging, that their prices were dictated solely by the market.

Then they set profit record after profit record.

I'm sure they just got really, really good at their business all of a sudden.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060128-9999-1n28hollis.html


As if we needed more evidence the Bush White House is completely and utterly incompetent.

Here's a company with a potential treatment for radiation poisoning, which could kill hundreds of thousands in a nuclear terrorist attack. (Which, of course, the White House is underfunding the prevention of by ignoring the security of the Russian nuclear stockpile.) Yet George Bush's allegedly pro business administration will not give this company the support it needs to go forward with a life saving treatment.

Once again, if another disaster happens, America, YOURE ON YOUR OWN.

This administration doesnt care about you.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4599004.stm



I love it. A German computer firm has banned whining in the office. If there were an American company like this, I'd apply there in a second.

Steve Treder at the Hardball Times has a very good piece about the Negro Leagues museum in Kansas City.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-negro-leagues-baseball-museum/

"I must save this government if possible. What I cannot do, of course I will not do; but it may as well be understood, once for all, that I shall not surrender this game leaving any available card unplayed. - Abraham Lincoln

When Lincoln said that, it was a Civil War which threatened to divide our country. Today, there isn't a war between citizen and citizen, but between citizen and government. Why? Because the Bush administration has attacked the interests of the American people, squandered its fortune, and caused so many to die in war. Today's divide is not between north and south, but between the people and its government, a government which has proved over the last few years that it is created by and for the powerful rather than the citizenry of these United States.
There are times when a certain form of governance becomes toxic, where those in the public trust act not as civil servants, but as self-serving politicos. We are living in such a time.
The Congress no longer belongs to ordinary Americans; it belongs to the lobbyist who can cut the largest check. The Presidency no longer leads, but misleads. And the Judiciary (specifically the Supreme Court) is set to belong to the most vile, extreme, and un-American element of our society.
Democrats can either surrender this government to a party which seeks to destroy it, or we can take Lincoln's advice and play our available cards. To those who say filibusters--judicial, patriot act, etc--are too politically costly, I say that failure to filibuster is conceding that this nation isn't worth fighting for. Instead of worrying that we will be labeled "obstructionist," I say we filibuster Alito, filibuster the Patriot Act, filibuster time and time again until this crazy government comes to a screeching halt. Enough is enough. The list of scandals is overshadowed only by the list of names of the 2,190 whose deaths have yet to be honored by this administration.
At what point will our party realize that it's not just the midterm elections at stake here? Politics is secondary to the fact that our country has changed, drastically, over the last several years. What is that change? It is the unraveling of the American flag thread by thread. It is erasing the Bill of Rights letter by letter. It is, ultimately, about waking up one day and not recognizing this great society as the "America" we know and love.
This new year requires a new attitude by the Democratic Party. The party must acknowledge the gravity of the political climate today. It is not a time to crack jokes on Sunday talk shows; it is not a time to mince words or to parrot political consultants. It is a time to speak with the courage and conviction that is required when one is fighting for the heart of their country.
Democrats will not win by pledging to "do better." We will not gain a majority or even the Presidency in 2008 by approaching the American people as politicians. If we are to win, we must rediscover what it means to serve at the will of the people. We must show voters that we are willing to fight, not just talk, for their interests.
Time and time again, we've heard pundits gleefully recount the fact that the GOP is suffering, but the Democrats can't capitalize on it. It's true, to an extent. Where Bush is at 40% approval, he should be at 10%. Where we are ahead in congressional polling by 10 points, we should be ahead by 30. Why have we not been able to react properly to the plethora of scandals the GOP has laid before us? Because of fear.
Fear is what stifles the speech of our leaders, tying their tongues so they can't say the word "LIE." They write letters blasting the administration, but it is fear that holds them back from expressing the same level of outrage when speaking on national television. Fear is what caused so many Democrats to run away from Murtha's plan. We fail as a party not because we lack conviction, but because our words and actions are paralyzed by fear. We're afraid to be labeled as cowards, as commies, as traitors.
And in those rare moments when Democrats have spoken based on conscience rather than poll numbers, we, the party faithful, get all excited. The blogosphere buzzes with cheers for the "smackdown". Thousands of comments are dedicated to the discovery of "a spine." But what does it say about our party that we rejoice in what should be a commonplace event?
A Democrat speaking clearly, truthfully, and following through on his speech should not be an anomaly. It should be the norm in our party. Yet where there should be outrage and action on the part of our leaders, we get instead silence or mealy-mouthed platitudes and ineffective soundbites. "

From Daily Kos, (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/8/204534/2589)

That says it all. It is time for Americans to march to the sound of the guns and take back this government from the thugs and the fascists.

Who's with me?

In re: The War on Christmas- Is your faith so weak, so mindless and empty, that you need your particular religious message reflected back at you from EVERY corner of society? Mine isn't. I know what I believe, and I don't need anyone, or anything, other than my own personal church family and my pastor, to reinforce it.

Listening to: This American Life Christmas Spectacular. David Rakoff is a genius.

Reading: JFC Fuller, The Second World War. In talking about the origins of the war, he cites Clausewitz, who writes that there are two types of war-limited and total. Needless to say, we're really good at total war. We can kick your butt six ways from Sunday, every time, anywhere on the earth. Delbruck, a student of Clausewitz, continues (since Clausewitz died) that it follows that there are also two types of strategy, annihilation (total war) and exhaustion (limited war). Annihilation aims at just that-the decisive battle that eliminates the enemy force. Exhaustion aims at a political end through all means-maneuver, economic attack, political persuasion and propaganda.

Is there any doubt of the relevance of this to the Iraq war? Is there any doubt we are fighting (and losing) a limited war?

Clausewitz again, from Fuller, quoting Craig-”no strategical idea can be considered completely without considering the political goal”. No comment required.

Fuller also cites General Giulio Douhet in his book “The Command of the Air”-

“A complete breakdown of the social structure cannot but take place in a country subjected to this kind of merciless pounding from the air. The time would soon come when, to put an end to horror and suffering, the people themselves, driven by the instinct of self preservation, would rise up and demand an end to the war.”

Isn't it obvious that the insurgency is this sort of reaction?

I do this not to prove that I can read old military histories, but to prove how obviously wrong the planning and execution of this war has been. I know these people (the political leadership of this nation) arent readers, and they dont listen to outside advice.

Craig again, from Fuller, on World War I and the Germans' failure:
“The high command had failed...and had lost the war because it had disregarded the most important lesson of history, the interrelationship of politics and war.”

I disagree with nearly all of the goals of this administration. EVEN IF I DIDNT, George Bush should be impeached, and, really, jailed, because he is COMPLETELY, MANIFESTLY, GROSSLY incompetent. No THINKING person can disagree with that statement. I know Cheney is probably worse, but George Bush has to go. Not because I don't like him, though I don't, but because he has committed and allowed others to commit high crimes and treasonous misbehaviors.

Chuck Klostermann blows my mind again in the December 2005 Esquire.

He's talking about the reasons why we form the opinions that we do, and a BBC documentary called The Century of the Mind. Basically, the idea is that the central point of our opinion making is whether or not we believe the world and other people to be a rational place. All other opinions-politics, ethics, religion, whether or not Seal sucks-seem to come from that.


Fascinating notion.