no politics today...
I know there is other stuff going on besides the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but good lord it is awful and I just figure today, as we hear more about how 80% of New Orleans is under water, rescuers are pushing bodies aside to get to the survivors, and there's no power and hardly any food or clean water for those trapped in NO, Biloxi and the surrounding areas, I figure okay, time to send links about ways to help...
Red CrossSalvation ArmyHabitat for HumanityPeace --Alex
you know they're desperate when...
We got a
hurricane aftermath nightmare going on, the
Sunnis are marching and intensifying their protests against the potential new Constitution, worldwide arms sales are at their
highest since 2000, we're holding the
poverty summit here in NYC yet renegging on poverty funding committments, the latest ABC/Washington Post
poll says that a slight majority of Americans want George to ride his bike down to Camp Casey and meet with Cindy Sheehan,
John Roberts apparently wanted to prohibit (and probably still does) busing and racial quotas, and what does George want to talk about?
Overhauling
Social Security... you know they need a distraction when...
this is how the summer is ending...
It is August 29th and all of us, particularly I'm sure, a certain President in Texas, are wondering what the hell has happened to summer? Just when you thought you were on vacation...
But I'm sure George is biking the stress off as he continues to ignore Cindy Sheehan and
Al Sharpton and Martin Sheen who came to visit her...(even former Nixon-man Ben Stein said in his opinion monologue on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday that he believes that if Bush can find the time to ride his bike everyday, he can find the time to meet "with a grieving mother...")
And I'll bet he might have taken an extra loop of the grounds after he got the news that
Senator John Warner, head of the Armed Services Committee asked that Donald Rumsfeld testify before a panel on Iraq (George could be goin' "Whew! glad it's not just
me...") *"Excuse Mr. Secretary, could you tell us just what the f*** went wrong here?"*
Might have stayed out a little longer taking care of the brush when he heard that the Washington Post ("liberal rag...who the hell do they think they are? You know what I'm talking about Barney?" [reaches for another small pile of dead shrubbery]) reported a story about
Bunnatine H. Greenhouse (how do you do that to your child..."Bunnatine"? sorry sorry sorry) and how she has been demoted from her government contracting job for "poor performance reviews"...which of course means, she spoke out against Haliburton...Unfortunately you can say things like this and keep your job at the Pentagon:
"I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to KBR represents the most blatant and improper abuse I have witnessed" in 20 years working on government contracts," and George possibly asked Condi for a copy of this article from the Times about how
women are leading the anti-war fight so, after she left, he could gleefully burn it ("heh heh heh...see Barney? I'm not letting them get to me...heh heh heh...")...before Laura got home from doing errands..somewhere in Crawford...
and perhaps rested his
head in Condi's lap while she rubbed his temples-before Laura got home-after hearing that, despite there being a draft
constitution in Iraq being sent to Parliament, the Sunni negotiators have rejected it and have been protesting. Meanwhile Condi has been hiding articles about how, while she and the US talk big, the middleeast remains
fractious...("the people aren't supposed to know that Condi!!!...Hold me...")
and even he must have been fiercely embarrassed when hearing about this "when you have friends like this..." article mentioning a group from a homespun Baptist church who decided to protest at
funerals for American servicemen who had died at Iraq, saying that God is punshing American soldiers for defending a country that tolerates gays...it takes all kind of crazy, don't it? (and I'm
tellin' ya, these have got to be the same people who were at the March for Women's Lives as they not only had the "God Hates You!" signs, but apparently they are all from one family and if ever there were inbred lookin' folks...)
Thank goodness there was some good news for George, like hearing about how there has been a "near record level" of state legislative
restrictions this year on women's access to abortion services and contraception:
"Three states have passed bills requiring that women seeking an abortion be warned that the fetus will feel pain, despite inconclusive scientific data on the question. West Virginia and Florida approved legislation recognizing a pre-viable fetus, or embryo, as an independent victim of homicide. And in Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt (R) has summoned lawmakers into special session Sept. 6 to consider three antiabortion proposals."And don't forget, George, we got a hurricane going on...("I'm gonna need a vacation from my vacation!")
So in the meantime, we can at least take a little solace knowing that at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, a centuries' old
mosaic is being restored. It was rescued from it's destroyed villa in Turkey: The House of the Drinking Contest...("Hey, I think I went there!")
So while you think about how the heck you can slow down time before Labor Day, KEEP E-MAILING!!!! E-mail, call, fax, write, your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are paying attention! And pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
tacky...
Okay... I read this article this morning and was just washed over with a wave of
appalled...apparently, when soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried, not only are their name rank and years of life placed on the gravestone, lately pentagon slogans-"Operation Iraqi Freedom" or "Operation Enduring Freedom", etc-have also been
engraved on the stones. Families are supposed to be asked about having this addition to the stone, but many times they have not and they may not care to have the slogans there. Now, I certainly cannot speak for the families who want that on their child's gravstone-it's a very personal matter, but I cannot help but feel that the reasoning behind it is a tad shady
..."It just seems a little brazen that that's put on stones," said Jeff Martell, owner of Granite Industries of Vermont. "It seems like it might be connected to politics." I think I have to agree with him...
IN THE MEANTIME...Speaking of soldiers, as anti-war voices rise, George is left to say for a
third day in a row "We're not goin' anywhere, DAMMIT! Why won't ya listen t' me!"...yep, and he thought he was on vacation, heh heh heh...
And speaking of that, when George heads back to texas,
Cindy Sheehan will be back at Camp Casey as she has returned from checking in on her ailing mother...and is planning a bus tour for when her days in Crawford are done...
And just as George is ready to get back out on his bicycle, the Dems are pushing to get the 2,100 pages of
documents witheld on John Roberts, as apparently there's some stuff about the Contras in there that all may want to take a look at...
And speaking of things that ought to be looked at and looked into, an official at the Justice Department has apparently been
demoted cause he did what a lot of people who get demoted or fired for in this Administration...he said something the President didn't
like...
And speaking of things the President doesn't like, one is the
UN and his man John "Got Milk?" Bolton has spoken publicly for the first time since getting handed his position and of course what does he want? Changes at the UN...
And to continue in this vein...The Iraqis had to extend their
Constitution dealine again...*he's gonna have to ride a lot of miles to bike off that stress...*
So while you think of how you could perhaps find ways to pop up along his bike route with an anti-war sign/song/performance art piece, KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, fax, write your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!!! and pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
"what the meaning of is is..."
Apparently, "take him out" does not mean "assassinate" (even after you say something like: "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it,"), says Pat Robertson today after the deluge of press over his comments about assassinating Venuzeula's leader Hugo Chavez...really it was just a
misunderstanding...
And is it really just a misunderstanding with the American people that the latest Gallup
poll finds that, despite Bush saying that Cindy Sheehan does not represent the
majority view, 57% of Americans-um, a majority-believe that the war in Iraq has made the US
more vulnerable to terrorism with only 34% still thinking this a good idea...you might want to check those numbers again
George...rather, have your people check those numbers...
And speaking of numbers, Senator John Warner (R) has announced his findings on how
Rumsfeld was essentially trying to outsource joba at the Pentagon, manipulating base realignments so that more jobs would be outside the DC area...we hear this the same day that
1500 more troops have just been deployed to Iraq...
And further proof that not everybody is listening to George, 9
northeastern states have come together to reduce emissions from chemical plants. Bush refused to add this proposal to his energy bill, so the states are doin' it for themselves...
Looks like that's what we'll have to do now with this administration, OY!
Who needs enemies...
when you've got friends like this? I have seen some wacky people on cable, and not just local cable access channels, who make ya wonder if they should really be allowed to speak publicly...Pat Robertson is one of these people. I keep wondering what he's going to have to say to drive the men in white coats to come over with the special jacket. Apparently, suggesting the
assassination of a world leader does not count...(though, he does have a point about our not spending $200 Billion on a war when some covert team could go in...I was saying for years that if folks really wanted to get Saddam, why couldn't they just send in some SWAT team to go get him and bring him back here?...and does this mean perhaps that Robertson is a little tired of the Iraq war, hmmmmm?)
And speaking of people talking crazy, conservative talk show host
Michael Graham of WMAL has been fired after referring to Islam on his show as a "terrorist organization" (during the show that got him fired, he made this reference 23 times). The station was ready to take him back after a three week suspension, as long as he apologized and declared that his statements were "overly broad", but Graham has refused to concede saying that "...I will not apologize for something that is true." my first thought was "when you die and meet Allah, what are you going to say?" and my second thought was "well, you are just a dumbass...who looks like a pasty blond Richard Reed..."
I know the whole "Christopher Walken for President" is a hoax, but man wouldn't you love to hear how he would handle folks like this? *my friend Eric and I had far too much fun creating conversations President Walken would have had with Kim Jong Il among others..."I just don't think,
Kim, that this is perhaps...the best..
path...for you to be taking right now..."*
And speaking of Christopher Walken speaking, I would like to believe that he would perhaps have avoided his
Pulp Fiction speech in front of the VFW crowd but it still would have been more entertaining than the
schlock Bush delivered yesterday and will continue to spew in Idaho today...there were some vets there who support Bush and the war, but even among Bush's supporters, many vets believe that the policy and planning was poorly thought out
..."I think the president was listening too much to his secretary of defense," said Dennis Guthrie of Redmond, Ore., a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars national council. "He should have been listening to Colin Powell."...see there's fighting to keep the country safe, and then there's inspiring a whole new load of terrorists...
And speaking of Iraq...who else is hearing the Doris Day classic "perhaps, perhaps, perhaps..."? Apparently, they came up with an draft for the constitution yesterday...but not all of it...and are still fighting over some stuff...and have delayed the vote
again (anyone see George's eye twitching when he speaks about how positive things are going over there?)
And speaking of things that are making George twitch, a
second military officer has come forward to verify that there was indeed a covert intelligence team sent out to check on terrorists and named Mohammed Atta as a leader of a terror cell a year before the 9/11 attacks...and weren't allowed to warn to FBI about this...
and while I'm not sure this is making George twitch, but it makes me twitch a little...how does a non-government outsider work the
Commerce Department? With a lot of help from the President's friends...
And then just for fun...here in NYC, the race for Hillary's seat is...entertaining. The GOP doesn't even fully support Jeanne Pirro and then..if anyone thought Bill was bad, he's got nothing on
Albert Pirro...
this sorta makes me think a bit about how the last time ted Kennedy was up for reelection, the GOP, desperate to have someone to run against him, found Jackie Robinson, Jr...a distant relation to Jackie Robinson, who happened to be Republican...and also happened to have a drug habit, and rap sheet for spousal abuse, and was just crazy...no one is presently running against Ted Kennedy again
this time either...
So before you call
Tucker Carlson (877-TCarlson) and ask him about how he feels about the Hillary/Jeanne run (or something like has he ever given his bowties to Goodwill? and does he know about the latest Gallup poll saying that Bush has a %36 approval rating?) KEEP E-MAILING! E-mail, call, fax, write, your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!!! And as always, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
a burning Bush in Utah...
Bush went out to the VFW conference in "heavily Republican" Utah to speak about "staying the course" in Iraq and say things like:
"The only way to defend to our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live," ...not mentioning that the terrorists weren't
in Iraq before we got there, but that's neither here nor there. Apparently, there have been protests going on including a peace rave that was broken up by police (as I heard it on Pacifica radio this morning, the police felt justified in breaking that one up and using force due to drugs most likely being used...you know, by Mormons...), and one of the main protesters has been the mayor of Salt Lake City. The ABC affiliate in Salt Lake wouldn't play a Cindy Sheehan ad, asking the President to meet with her, but the others stations apparently had no issue with this and veterans such as Chuck Hagel and John Kerry would also like some answers:
"When will he deliver to the nation and those sacrificing so much in Iraq a concrete plan for peace and victory?" the Massachusetts Democrat and Vietnam veteran said he wanted to know.
And speaking of
Chuck Hagel, this Vietnam vet should know of what he speaks when he says that Iraq is Vietnam all over again...did I hear "quagmire?"...(and I'm quite sure Mr. Hagel among others was not pleased to hear that this month they've hit the highest death toll in
Afghanistan since '01...but the Taliban-weren't they shut down some time ago?-won't attack people going to the
vote in a month...
Yet despite all this, it appears that not only are the Dems
split on how to handle John "should a homemaker really be trained to be a lawyer? heh heh heh" Roberts, they are also split on how to handle Iraq as there are some-do I smell....Joe Lieberman?-who support the war and are trying to stick with the President...
At least we know one place where they are not divided and that is
Camp Casey. Cindy Sheehan may have had to take off for a bit to care for her stroke-laden mother, but apparently the camp has increased to around 2,000 protestors...and counting...
And speaking of Camp Casey, should you find yourself in NYC this Wednesday, you can head on over to St. Peter's Church on 54th and Lex, and see Gold Star Mother for Peace Sue Mederer speak about her own activism and her time on Camp Casey.
True Majority has all the info...
All right, as they are actually making me do my job here, I have to finish up and tell you to do what i can't do much of right now which is KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, fax, write your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!!! And pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
The GOP is twitching...
2006 is an election year and due to bad press about the war in Iraq and gas prices, even
Red State voters are telling their Congressfolk "This ain't right..."
And Wisconsin Democrat
Russell Feingold has this to add:
"There's a deepening feeling of dismay in the country about the way things are going in Iraq," Feingold said. He rejected Bush's assertion that a deadline would make it easier for insurgents to simply hang on. "I think he's wrong. I think not talking about endgames is playing into our enemies' hand."
He would like to see a full pullout by the end of '06. Rock on, Russell.
Didn't help, I'm sure, to hear about over 1,600
vigils happening around the country which included a registered 50,000 (according to
MoveOn.org) all in support of Cindy Sheehan and against the war. There were some pro-Bush supporters trying to counter the vigils, but from what I have read thus far, they were not well attended. Last night at Rockefeller Plaza, we dealt with one guy who shouted across at our candles "Go Bush! George W." only to have plenty of comebacks thrown right back at him such as "Why don't YOU got to Iraq? Why don't you send YOUR kids? Bush LIED!" etc. Silly, silly man: do not mess with the Peace activists. I have to admit that it was kind of amusing to have a peace vigil outside the Today Show windows cause the majority of the tourists just didn't know what to make of us. Though I must give it up to the older woman on a bus of Japanese tourists who flashed the peace sign to us through the window.
And I really don't think it helped George's condition to hear about a pre-war memo that divulged military strategists fears about gaps in the planning:
"One month before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, three State Department bureau chiefs warned of "serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian assistance" in a secret memorandum prepared for a superior."See, what those bureau chiefs failed to see was the title of the war memo: The Cocky Bastard Plan for Invading Iraq *"gaps? there are no gaps? they're just going to surrender, see us as liberators and hand Hussein over to us on a platter. It's a slam dunk, I tell ya!"*
Therefore, I'm sure those guys were like "I'm not lettin'
my kid sign up for
this"...as have a lot of
folks...which, if the administration and die-hard supporters think they can continue to do, well they got another think coming...
IN THE MEANTIME...
Rumsfeld has not had to make any more "surprise" visits to Iraq to boost morale...but he has been sent to Peru to "promote stability" in a nation that just shook up it's government. Um...Rumsfeld...promoting
stability...if he's promoting stability like he promotes progress in Iraq then Peru doesn't stand a chance...
So while you ponder what made the administration send Rummy to South America, KEEP E-MAILING! E-mail, call, fax, write your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION! And, as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on.
Peace --Alex
Get out your candles...
There are over 1,000 planned vigils in support of Cindy Sheehan tonight and if you check
MoveOnPAC, and enter your zip code, you'll be sure to find one in your area. And if there isn't one in your area HAVE ONE! I have not checked the number of folks expected at the one I will attending outside the NBC studios this evening, but the one in my home town, which had a 200 person limit, has gone well over that limit. There's gonna be a lotta candelight tonight across the nation, and hopefully enough to look like a bonfire in Crawford.
And speaking of
Ms. Sheehan, she is apparently going to be moving closer to the Texas White House as a
sympathetic neighbor has offered up his land for her ever-growing camp to set up...
IN THE MEANTIME...Sheehan wants to know what the great cause was for which her son died, something we'd all like to find out as the motive behind the war in Iraq has been changing with each tour of new soliders. I'd also like to find out why military lawyers in 2000 apparently
blocked an army intelligence group from warning the FBI about Mohammed Atta and the terror cell with whom he worked IN MID-2000...or why they can't set up a proper
exit strategy...and why they haven't figured out yet that the "Axis of Evil" policy was
not such a good idea (and sounded like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon)...and then there's boosting morale and public approval when things like
THIS keep
happening...despite all the
progress...
MEANWHILE...yesterday I wrote about an article in the Post talking about how there are Dems who might let John Roberts slide...well it appears that there are folks on the
left who aren't necessarily going to let that happen...
And heck, if all else fails:
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN FOR PRESIDENT!
And while you think about what his inaugural speech could be like, KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, fax, write your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION! And as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
Is it just me?...
Or is this just a comsically bad time? We had a plane crash in Greece this weekend, an earthquake in Japan, a plane crash in Iraq killing a whole slew of Spanish soldiers, a plane crash in Venezuela, the Gaza tumult and the we find out that not only did some guy scatter a bunch of the crosses planted at her protest site with chains attached to his truck, but Cindy Sheehan's husband from whom she's been separated, filed for
divorce on Friday. Show
Cindy some love...AND speaking of showing her some love and support, check
MoveOn about vigils being held tomorrow in your area. I'll be hitting one tomorrow that's going to be held outside the NBC studios (which already has a registered 317 supporters, including me and my friend Jeff). I also signed up my mom (she refuses to get a computer or cable) for one that will be held in my hometown. There are over 1,000 events so there's bound to be one near you!
IN THE MEANTIME...Speaking of people thinking about our soldiers...over the weekend, a
Marine and Iraq vet in Lawrence, MA apparently shot at noisy club goers outside his residence after one had thrown a bottle at his window. No one was killed, luckily, but it has been discerned that the vet has been suffering and getting help for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. His job while in Iraq? Due to the fact that he had some mortician experience before he went over, he had to take care of the bodies...yeah, that might throw someone over the edge...
And speaking about people on the edge, George apparently was "
optomistic" *twitch, twitch* about the Iraq Constitution today, despite the fact that they had to ask vote for an extension yesterday. Condie Rice is down in Texas for the time being, apparently holding his head in her lap, stroking his hair and saying "It's okay, Mr. President, it takes
time for a democracy to grow..."
And speaking of things making George twitch, we continue to follow the released paper trail of John Roberts. I was not pleased to the
Post headline this morning reading "Roberts unlikely to face a big fight". I understand if the Dems want to "come out of this with some dignity", but I am sure there are ways to keep up a fair fight
with dignity, particularly as it has been proven with just about anyone Bush has appointed to any post, the initial wrapping seems okay, but then, there's a lot of tape and the package is really hard to open; then by the time you get the package open, you see the poison fruitcake and are left horrified. You might want to send a little
note to your Senators about getting those Bush 41
records...
A couple things that are mildly horrifying about John Roberts:
During his Reagan era days (should I even bother writing that as we all know that that's the only info we got right now...), he wrote that he found a memorial service for aborted fetuses being held by anti-abortion doctors "an entirely appropriate means of calling attention to the
abortion tragedy"...
AND he apparently "
scoffed" the idea of equal pay for women doing the same work as men and "belittled three female Republican members of Congress who promoted the idea to Reagan..."
We have no idea how he feels about stem cell research, but he may want to be careful on that one as apparently it's messing with
Bill Frists' run-which is scary enough-for the Presidency in '08...
There;s more to write of course, like how the Administration is basically against the regulation of fuel economy for jumbo SUV's like
Hummers, and how, while the Congressional Budget Office did say that the
deficit was down due to corporate tax payments, nobody talked about how they also said that they do not see any improvement in the budget over the next ten years...and how this main surely be causing veins to pop out on george's head, but I'd like to get out of work on time.
But before you take off yourselves, KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call fax, write, your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!! And as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on :)
Peace --Alex
He really IS crazy!
For those of us who actually would like to see Bush snap in public, according to
Capitol Hill Blue, it could happen any time. His behaviour was "erratic" when Doug Thomas first wrote about it in 2004, but now with the plummeting approval ratings and all these people disagreeing with him of late-about the economy, stem cell research and even, who knew?, Iraq-he may not have hit the bottle again, but George is "
out of control" ...and this might explain the length-and frequency-of his vacations *"just let him clear brush, it makes the voices go away..."*
And speaking of people snapping around the administration...
Justice Sunday: Part Deux happened last night-a gathering of evangelical Congressman and lobbyists trying to essentially trying to overturn the separation of church and state (cause it's not a theocracy
here, just over
there with those heathen muslims...)-and
Tom "You can't touch me!" DeLay spoke, at one point mentioning how we're all being threatened by "activist courts"...um...isn't that what
you're trying to do with the judiaciary? or is just me that sees forcing in judges that only support your views as "activist"? Could just be me...
In the meantime, Newt Gingrich is at it again..."
cheerfully". One of the truly most frightening little men on the Hill, presented a 58 page PowerPoint presentation on how the conservatives cannot just be a little majority in the house but a vast "governing majority". Conservatives, according to Newt, "need to be 'relentlessly repetitive, because we are educating those who agree with us against the hidden values of the Left..." All right, the first images that came into my head after reading this were:
*MIND CONTROL!! It's f-in' MIND CONTROL!!
*Time to check the cool-aid
*Dr. Strangelove
*being captured by some Republican Congressional page, dragged off to a dark room, tied to a chair, and one of those hypnotic black and white spiral wheels will be placed in front of me as someone whispers "death tax" over and over and over...
And speaking of some folks who might have gotten that treatment...
The Homeland Security office had been working for two years on new employee
rules which were to be implemented today, but then a judge checked them out and essentially said "Um, you're forgetting about the unions and benefits and uh, you're pretty much scamming your employees..." (good judge)
AND
federal judges apparently have decided to make it more difficult for poor people to fight for medicaid...(bad judge)
Then there's that Bush neighbor and
his gun..."just praticing for
Dove season..."
And speaking of Iraq and things that make the President unstable...um, have you heard anything new about the
Iraq Constitution?. I don't want to have to be the guy who's got to go up to Bush and his brush clippers and say "Um, Mr. President, they've voted on an
extension..."
And to finish this all off, Paul Krugman has an editorial in today's Times to which I simply have to say
"DUH!"...yet maybe more people will pay attention this time...
So as you think of ways to further push Bush over the edge, always remember this one: KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, fax, write your friends and your family, the press, your CONGRESSFOLK and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION! And as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
Bush and pulling out...
Wow, that could be taken the wrong way...
ANYWAY...Bush apparently confused the nation further as he spoke from Crawford, Texas about potential
troop pullout from Iraq. He talked about sending several thousand
troops home possibly in the spring, but then also said that if we pullout "before the mission is over", it's a "sign of weakness" to the terrorists. So it remains fuzzy on when troops could come home, and it looks like, depsite acknowledging Cindy Sheehan, he's not making any plans during his remaining
4 or so weeks of vacation to meet with her.
IN THE MEANTIME...
speaking of Iraq...how 'bout that
Constitution? Apparently it's due Monday...I think it may be time to ask for an extension..
and just so y'all know, I know the President keeps talking about how we are safer today, but I do wonder if we had actually gone after Osama Bin Laden in the first place, if we'd be getting this kind this kind of
threat...
And as things are a little crazy with taking care of all this business, it appears that nobody wants to stay working in the
Justice office...
And speaking of justice, this weekend, the people that brought you "Justice Sunday" are bringing you "
Justice Sunday II" (don't you think they should've stopped with just one?), though this time, they are getting more criticism from religious leaders such as the Rev. C. Welton Gladdy of the Interfaith Alliance saying: "'Those in public office must never make religion the lens' through which constitutional matters are decided." Has anyone told this to George?
And
Tom Delay-remember him?-must be drinking Pepto today as
Jack Abramoff has been indicted on casino fraud...to start...
So while you ponder how Bush is going to explain his iffy Iraq agenda-and will he escape his people and try to do it for himself?-KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, fax, write, your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!!! And as always pass it on, pass it on, pass it on...and send some love to Cindy Sheehan...
Peace --Alex
soooo useless....
Wow, I feel as useful as a book in the White House Residence. Just TI-RED after a couple of late nights, which included watching the
Yankees LOSE last night at Yankee Stadium (as I sat in my Red Sox earrings and t-shirt that reads "I support two teams. The Red Sox and any team that beats the Yankees."). Due to a mild confrontation happening in the vacinity of my section, I missed the doofus who decided to jump into the netting...but luckily had a great view of Chicago's firstbaseman making a fantastic one-handed catch of Bernie William's crushed ball that ended the game. PLAY LIZA FOR ME, BABY! *for those of you who do not understand the reference, at the end of games at Yankee Stadium, if the Yanks win, there is a recording of Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York". If they lose, it's Liza Minelli.*
IN THE MEANTIME...
the main reason to write today is to mention how The White House, apparently to make sure there aren't any other little "
surprises" amidst the 50,000-odd pages of Roberts documentation during the Reagan-era which to me sounds like their getting out the shredder and big black magic markers...*"abortion comments? oh no he had none of those...anything you've heard is false...save for the stuff they played on George Stephanopolis...*...See, I wanna see what happens if the Dems finally are able to get their hands on the sure to be finely scrubbed Bush 41 era documents...
Speaking of the Democrats...there's a new study out, and apparently the Dems are indeed suffering from a
culture gap with the people. Yes, it's true, the people don't just care about the economy and they really do think gay marriage will hurt them...GAH! Will someone please call George Lakoff?!
And speaking of the people and how they vote, Ohio is fighting back. They have 3
ballot items up for vote to ensure better voting policies...just hope they aren't using Diebold machines...
AND now for the "Things George doesn't want to hear...particularly while on vacation" category:
The Pentagon apparently witheld information on
Mohammed Atta and three other 9/11 hijackers...
And do ya think
this will be part of the new Iraqi Constitution?
And more and more groups are urging support for Cindy Sheehan, the mother who lost her son to the war in Iraq and has decided to camp out in Crawford til George talks to her. Want to help? Check out
Code Pink,
MoveOnPac,
True Majority, and
Faithful America among others.
Get in touch, sign the petitions, donate and then KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, fax, write, your friends and family, THE PRESS, and you Congressfolk and let them know-and Cindy Sheehan-that you are PAYING ATTENTION!! And as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on :)
Peace --Alex
must...get...laptop...
Yep, I was away again, this time doing a shoot for an Oxygen network promo (yeah, me and Oprah are like THIS), then heading up to NH to see my stoopid seestor for her birthday as well as catch some friends doing a fab production of
Tartuffe up at The Barnstormers in Tamworth...where there was NO HUMIDITY (yes folks, there are places where you do not step out your door into a wall of what feels like hot breath). But I have returned to my thankfully air conditioned reception area (which conserves more energy than the whole energy bill Bush just
signed) and the Blog must continue!
Okay...FIRST...One has GOT to give props and support to
Cindy Sheehan who is camped out in Crawford, Texas, waiting for George Bush to drop on over and tell her why, if Iraq is such a great cause, he hasn't sent his own children over there. She, like many other mothers out there, lost a son to the "global some-other-word than-"war" against violent extremism" and wants to know the truth about why we are over there and sacrificing our children. Apparently, some of Bush's people have spoken to her, and lord knows the press sure has, but Bush himself hasn't found the time on his
vacation (his
50th in FIVE YEARS, by the way) to drop on over. If you want to support Ms. Sheehan and other protestors out there, check out
Code Pink.
And speaking of the men and women over there...there are already a number of articles about the trauma they are suffering over there...and much to George's dismay I am sure, there are sure to be
more...
And speaking of George, last I wrote, I mentioned an opinion poll that showed that even
more people think he's just not doing his job...AND HERE'S ANOTHER ONE! This
AP/Ipsos poll came out last week and shared more than just who disapproves and approves, this one checks up on how honest people think the Prez is (or not) and how up to 56% of folks feel that George's confidence is mere
arrogance (you just figured that out NOW?!?!). *I can just see one of his advisors patting him on the back "Go clear some brush, Mr. President, that oughta clear your head..."*
IN THE MEANTIME...As the Supreme Court nominee business goes on without George, one justice, Justice John Paul Stevens is speaking out on the "
serious flaws", of the death penalty. He's not saying that perhaps we ought to finally drop the practice, but after a number of cases using DNA evidence to prove innoncence, and other loophole issues having arisen, he apparently has written quite the scathing critique and wants something to be done.
And speaking of flaws in the system...Did you know that Congress voted for a
Civil Liberties panel last year? And did you know that this panel has not met
yet? Critics, which include a number of Republicans, presently call it "a toothless, under-funded shell with inadequate support from President Bush"...wow, doesn't that sound a bit like, oh, I don't know, everything that is supposed to actually help the
people that the administration puts together?
And speaking of the Supreme Court, we can't not have a John Roberts update...apparently, despite the upwards surge of minor heart attacks and strokes among conservative Republicans at the news that
John Roberts had a "limited" role in a '96 pro-bono case dealing with gay rights (that he surprisingly never mentioned in his 100-page questionaire for Congress), the GOP still backs their leader's man. Even Grover "shut up, it's a family name" Norquist, had to say that GOPers are "generally happy" *cringe* with him...
I know there's more to type, but they're making me to my JOB over here. But as I take the phones and sort the mail I do as you do and I KEEP E-MAILING!!!! E-mail, call, write, fax your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!!! And as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on...
Peace...and rest in peace Peter Jennings...
--Alex
Bush's man at the UN
Yes, Bush, thumbing his nose at the Senate, decided to go with that recess appointment option and is sending
John "Yosemite Sam" Bolton here to New York to represent us at the UN. Won't that make the UN more of a terror target? Or does it just mean we're going to hear about more about temper tantrums ("what do you MEAN he went over my head? I don't CARE if that's who he reports to, I'M the AMBASSADOR!")? The
cronyism continues...
And speaking of cronyism,
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia passed away and Bush pal Prince Abdullah now takes over...
Oh and wait, there's more...
Judge Roberts...we still don't have his Bush 41 records, but one can only imagine that if he was as influencial in the Reagan administration when it came to civil rights issues-among other subjects-as declared in this article, then it could be possible that he had the same-or more-influence during the Bush 41 years...hence, wouldn't it be nice to see those records, hmmmm? particularly when it would be good to see the evolution of his opinions as he and his conservative "band of brothers" worked at "creat[ing] new legal precedents that impeded minority rights in employment, housing, voting and education..." No wonder George likes him so much ("he has a good heart...")
And speaking of John Roberts and that night he blacked out and joined the
Federalist Society-cause that can be the only reason he can't remember being part of a FS steering committee (though he apparently never paid the membership fee...so he wasn't really a member...supposedly...though you don't
need to pay dues)..it's either blacking out, or the fact that the Federalist Society is "the source of ever-swelling myth, mystery, insinuation, denial and debate." And I'll admit, that is I was connected with the people who were helping out Swiftboat Veterans, Paula Jones, and Kenn Starr, I'd probably deny my membership as well...
And speaking of denial, it's time for the "things George doesn't want to hear" category of the day:
Yes George, even MORE people think you suck at your job, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll. It was %48, but now
%50 of people find you "unfavorable"...
And now let's move to Iraq:
"In a lawsuit filed in federal court here in December, the former C.I.A. officer, whose name remains secret, said that the informant told him that Iraq's uranium enrichment program had
ended years earlier and that centrifuge components from the scuttled program were available for examination and even purchase." Yeah I don't think George's advisors read that article for him today...
And the spin team are sure to be working on the news that two Gitmo prosecutors complained about how they feel the war crimes trial system for detainees "had been secretly arranged to improve the chance of conviction and to deprive defendants of material that could prove their innocence."
And I just think that George's people will not appreciate the
photo that goes along with the article in the Times about how Iraq's going to have a constitution by the deadline...really they will...
And now for "Stupid Republican Governors of Democratic States)...
George Pataki, a pro-choice advocate, has decided to veto the bill that would allow women and girl access to the "morning after" pill.
"The governor revealed his position after he was asked about plans by Naral Pro-Choice New York, to start a nationwide television advertising blitz intended to pressure him into backing the bill."
He also was stirred, like Mit Romney of MA, by his plan on running for president and the need to keep the conservatives happy...Well, Romney did not get his way, and perhaps this will merely be symbolic (and just silly) for Pataki as well...
At least we have some hope from
Ruth Conniff...
And with that I say, KEEP E-MAILING!!! E-mail, call, fax, write your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!! Like the women I met at a fabulous networking party I went to Saturday night; several of whom are looking to head to DC in
September, and one of whom brought up another good group to check in on called
Demos. And as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
