Woman Accused of Cut & Run - Lost Legs in Iraq

Amazing - read the story.  Not only did she make a tremendous sacrifice in Iraq, serving her country (which it would seem her opponent had not) but I believe at this point in her life she would have a difficult time 'running' anywhere.  Get angry.  Vote.  Make it Right.

Technorati Tags: iraq, gulf, cut and run

Lest we forget, a reminder of that memo that the Republicans don't like to talk about.  It justifies their use of torture and how courts in recent times could rule that civilian contractors our "outside the law."  Which brings up a whole other discusson about war-profiteering.  I recall this wasn't tolerated in WW2.  Why now?

A reminder is always useful:  Justification for Torture Memo

Technorati Tags: Gonzalez, torture, memo, civilian, republicans

Time Magazine Article - Plan to Fight Al-Qaeda

Read above article.  The truth is that Bush and Condi Rice WERE presented with plans to fight Al-Qaeda and subsequently didn't act quickly.  They fired the one expert they had that could have helped them and botched everything thereafter.

Rice Denial

You can also see the now-famous Clinton blow-up at Chris Wallace on this page which, quite frankly, was long in the coming.  The neo-con administration likes nothing better than to go back to that old standy-by when  faced with tough questions they can't answer:  Why, let's criticize the Clintons!  In fact, even the not-so-reverand Jerry Falwell is taking the insults to Hillary next.  Oh, how they love to attack Hillary.  Especially the Christian Fascist Wingnuts - women in power scare them.  Except when they're women like Condi who do what they're told :)  LA Times - Falwell Comment About Hillary

The nation is over Bill Clinton and supposed wrongs.  You want something that Clinton didn't do well?  How about Rwanda.  Sleeping with an adult intern is somewhat irrelevant except perhaps to his own family.  Yet we spent hundreds of millions of tax-payer dollars to investigate him on this one issue.  And for what?  We haven't spent a fraction of that investigating illegal torture, breaks in the Geneva convention, wiretapping, etc.

So, fight back!  Progressives are mobilizing and like this message.  I think we've been complacent for too long, wanting everyone to have their say, thinking everyone will play fair.  The fact of the matter is that the current Republican-led admin. has proven that it is capable of torture, lies, voter fraud and anything else it needs to do in order to stay in power.  I say, let's be angry.  A record number of progressives are turning up to volunteer and donate money.  This country is getting scary and I think the same old neo-con spin about "security" and "war on terror" is not having the effect it once had.  I have confidence that people will examine the issues and facts and ignore the propaganda.

tags: clinton, hillary, rice, al-qaeda, terrorism, falwell

I'm riding public transportation for the first time in years.  And loving it.  So, I have a 25 mile commute in rush hour traffic and after facing 4 consecutive 1.25 hour drives I decided I was truly sick of listening to radio, CDs and facing drivers with massive road rage.  Add to that I was burning enough fuel even in my little Sentra and spending over $30/week on gas.  I did a little research and here's what I do:

• Drive 5 minutes to the park and ride
• Get on the express regional north>south bus
• go all the way to the Denver Tech Center
• Take a free shuttle bus straight to the client I work at
• About $2.00 one way

Round trip including drive, wait and transfer?  1 hr, 10 minutes on average.  The best part is that I get to read.  I've got tons of books not to mention my self study PMP (Project Management Professional) Prep Course (Project Mgmt Institute).  Now I'm 400 pages into the course and ready to prep for the PMP Exam itself which appears to be brutal.  If you have to spend an hour-plus each way commuting you might as well get something out of it.  Less gas, save a few bucks, less stress and get some reading done.

As I read up on project management principles I can't help but wonder how those running the country could benefit from solid PMI best practice.  I'll think on that one for next time.

Technorati Tags: project management, pmi, bus, public transportation, environment, gas, oil, pmp

Each and every day all I see is evidence that tells me I should be afraid to write what I write, believe what I believe and speak what I speak.  The US government is a 'rogue' nation just as some in Europe say.  Now we torture Canadian citizens.  Bush is attempting to rewrite laws (not to mention the Geneva Convention which is also binding law in the US) so that we can torture legally and so that he and his staff cannot be prosecuted for the laws they've already broken.

Canadian Tortured --- See this Story

So, the Canadian secret police also own much responsibility in this but it was my country that did the "rendition" (a kind word apparently for sending wrongly-accused prisoners to foreign enemy nations so that we can torture them "legally."  I've asked before and I'll ask again:  why do we do things like this?  Even if this man were a heinous murderer/terrorist (and apparently he is not), why are we condoning torture?  Here are the things I find wrong with all of this:

• We are sending many of these prisoners to places we publicly call enemies (Syria)
• We are calling countries that actively torture prisoners our "allies" (Pakistan, Morocco)
• In order to torture that means we as a country not only condone treating people like this, but actively train and seek out torturers.  Think about that.  We hire and train people who enjoy torturing others (for no one will convince me that someone does this "for country").  The US is being accused of such niceties as:  sexual penetration with foreign objects, making people think they are drowning, cutting of sexual organs, beatings (some to death) --- Contractor Beats Afghan to Death
• If they can torture a Canadian, Muslim or not, why not a US Citizen?  Any US Citizen that speak out or criticizes the government.
• Aside from its inherent barbaric nature, torture does not produce reliable information.  Somebody who is suffering or thinks they may die will say anything, make up anything to make the pain stop.
• You cannot hope to beat an enemy (radical terrorists) by becoming like them.  This is so common sense that it is somewhat cliche.  Yet it is still true.  I don't strive to be like terrorists who torture their captives.  I want my country to be more.  It has been more.
• I agree with Colin Powell.  If we disregard the spirit of the Geneva Convention, we open the doors for every other country to do the same.
• Everyone has a right to know why they are being held, the evidence against them and what to expect.  No one deserves torture, not even the torturer himself

I'm so tired of this.  Senator McCain and his pals are at least holding to some semblance of morals and ethics.  I'll give them that.  But anything that falls short of banning rendition and all forms of torture is not enough.  This is madness.

Technorati Tags: torture, canadian, rendition, powell, mccain, syria, enemy combatant, prisoners

Those who know me know that I have over the years been somewhat "anti-TV."  That's not to say that I think watching TV is bad, it's just that I'm not a very...good TV watcher.  I have a horrible time remembering TV shows and what day/time they're on, unless they're on after 8pm Sunday nights :) (such as when the X-files was still good years ago or Grey's Anatomy last year).  Even then I miss a lot.  I suppose my ultimate resolution to this is to invest in a digital recorder like Tivo but haven't done that yet.

What has changed is that I recently decided I needed to catch up on good shows that I've missed over the last 5 years.  I think many of us are doing this, renting entire seasons after they're done on DVD.  No commercials, can watch as many as I want and truly get into it. Blockbuster Online and Netflix online are great for getting entire seasons.

Here are some I recommmend:

• Lost.  I'm watching Season 1 right now and am really into.  I'm not sure if this show can sustain itself for more than a few years, but so far it's good, except for a few sappy endings.
• Grey's Anatomy.  Ok, it's a chick-flick kind of thing but I still like it.  Sometimes gritty, sometimes funny, often soap-opera.  Renting Season 2 now.
• Firefly.  The until-recently little-known sci-fi show that never made it.  The 2005 movie, Serenity, was the culmination of this show that few people had heard of.  I bought the TV series.  Everyone should rent it.  Think rebel cowboys in space.  It's awesome.  And Serenity as a movie really works better if you watch it after watching all of Firefly.

Next on my list:

• Battlestar Galactica (the new one).  I've heard it's not cheesy like the 80s one and it gets rave reviews.

Anybody have other TV shows available for renting that they would recommend?

Technorati Tags: firefly, tv, dvd, battlestar, lost, grey's

You honestly just have to listen to this.  Wolf Blitzer (what a name huh?) I have never considered a serious interviewer.  Usually I hear cake questions come out of his mouth and bubblegum answers.  This should have been one of those times.  But listen (or read, since I'm too cheap to buy the video) to Alberto Gonzalez attempt to answer if Osama bin Laden is the #1 priority for the US?

Wolf Blitzer Interview w/Gonzalez

Technorati Tags: gonzalez, blitzer, osama, laden, liberal, political, news, interview

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Theodore Roosevelt: 

"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."

"Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star", 149
May 7, 1918

I’m hearing a lot of talk by the Republican administration comparing the war in Iraq, “war against terror” and similar topics to the fight against Nazism in World War II. The term “Islamic-Fascist” and, even better, “Islamo-Fascist” then surfaces.

Is this accurate? Is this a war against fascism? Who is fascist? What is fascism? The Internet is a tough place to find accurate, verifiable information, so let’s start with the Merriam-Webster’s definition, commonly held as the American English standard:

fas·cism
Pronunciation: 'fa-"shi-z&m also 'fa-"si-
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian fascismo, from fascio bundle, fasces, group, from Latin fascis bundle & fasces fasces
1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality -- J. W. Aldridge>

So, a resurgence in nationalism as well as autocrat rule are at the very least components of a fascist regime as well as severe economic an social regimentation. Certainly most of us agree that Nazi Germany fit the bill. Possibly a list of autocratic dictators also qualify. Below are a list of possible fascist rulers that could only be described as ruthless dictators (that the US fully supported currently or in the past):

Hussein, Saddam (ironic, no?) - Iraq  Saddam Shaking Hands With....Rumsfeld

Abacha, General Sani
Nigeria

Amin, Idi
Uganda

Banzer, Colonel Hugo
Bolivia

Batista, Fulgencio
Cuba

Bolkiah, Sir Hassanal
Brunei

Botha, P.W.
South Africa

Branco, General Humberto
Brazil

Cedras, Raoul
Haiti

Cerezo, Vinicio
Guatemala

Chiang Kai-Shek
Taiwan

Cordova, Roberto Suazo
Honduras

Christiani, Alfredo
El Salvador

Diem, Ngo Dihn
Vietnam

Doe, General Samuel
Liberia

Duvalier, Francois
Haiti

Duvalier, Jean Claude
Haiti

Fahd bin'Abdul-'Aziz, King
Saudi Arabia

Franco, General Francisco
Spain

Hitler, Adolf
Germany

Hassan II
Morocco

Marcos, Ferdinand
Philippines

Martinez, General Maximiliano Hernandez
El Salvador

Mobutu Sese Seko
Zaire

Montt, General Efrain Rios

Guatemala

Noriega, General Manuel
Panama

Ozal, Turgut
Turkey

Pahlevi, Shah Mohammed Reza
Iran

Papadopoulos, George
Greece

Park Chung Hee
South Korea

Pinochet, General Augusto
Chile

Montt, General Efrain Rios
Guatemala

Salassie, Halie
Ethiopia

Salazar, Antonio de Oliveira
Portugal

Somoza, Anastasio Jr.
Nicaragua

Somoza, Anastasio, Sr.
Nicaragua

Videla, General Jorge Rafael
Argentina

Zia Ul-Haq, Mohammed
Pakistan

So, we've done a pretty piss-poor job of choosing friends and our choice of words (not to mention turning traitor on those same "friends").

“Fascism,” as coined by the administration, is often countered with the words “freedom” and “democracy.” Though the two are often thrown together there is a very tenuous connection at best. Democracy, we should remember, is not a form of government. It is a method of appointing public officials. This is critical to remember when the politicians throw the word about as if free countries can be formed simply by allowing some semblance of democratic election. Freedom is much more ambiguous though I’m sure most Americans would include in it: democratic elections, uncensored media (else how do you assure accountability within a government), freedom to practice beliefs (religious or otherwise) and some capacity to ‘make one’s own way’ by participating in the economy. Of course, there are fine points of argument for all of those, but I think that serves at a high level.

Democracy by itself does not ensure freedom. The irony of course is that Nazis were repeatedly elected democratically in Germany  Nazi Elections. Hamas was elected through democratic elections in the Palestinian Territories and is now being dismantled by Israel (right or wrong, a discussion for another day) and there are/were Hezbollah members democratically elected in Lebanon. In fact, the last thing America really wants or needs is free and honest democratic elections in places like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt (all allies of the U.S.) where such elections would likely bring about some degree of Islamic Fundamentalist thought in governments ruled by royalty or dictators and where the common people are fed up with those same rulers.

One of the key components of instituting a fascist regime is actually convincing the people, through repetitive propaganda, that certain actions are necessary.

Propaganda Link

This includes having an enemy that never goes away (the Jewish people in Nazi Germany). It also includes fabricating new ‘truths.’ The idea is that if you repeat something often enough and with enough charisma, no matter how false, the common people will believe it and then, of course, line up to democratically vote for what you want. After a period of time, the façade of democratic voting can simply be done away with in the interest of “national security.”

If all of us, like the administration, use Nazi Germany as the fascist example then here are common elements of fascism:

• Relentless propaganda aimed at convincing the populace of the validity of false truths
• The incessant false truth that there is only one party/group that can “protect” the country and backing this up by constant fear messages
• Identifying an enemy that is the cause of all national woes and can be used to wage constant war
• Constant, aggressive expansion and occupation of other sovereign nations
• The erosion of human and civil rights, the worst of which is advocacy of torture and/or execution in the name of national security, but also includes control of all media (newspapers, tv, etc.) in order to continue the relentless propaganda
• Insertion of corporate policy into legislation (thus controlling econonomies)

Given the above, are there “Islamic-Fascists” and is the comparison by the administration to World War II accurate? No, not entirely. Al-Qaeda, if instituted as a government would certainly qualify as perhaps a religion-based fascism - but currently it's spread out in cells across the world. Iran we could lump in there. But as well, can we not lump in America’s “greatest allies” in the war against terror like Pakistan? Where is freedom in Pakistan? Instead, the USA needs to look at itself in the mirror and consider the following:

Propaganda is rampant and spin words are repeated over and over such as the above-mentioned World War II comparison and fantasy declarations such as “promoting democracy in the Middle East”

• The implication that only the Republican party can “protect” America
• The culture of fear, centered on one enemy generically called “Islamo-Fascist”
• Illegal and unfounded attack and occupation of sovereign nations (Iraq, who was also a former ally)
• Worse, the advocacy of torture in the guise of “professional intelligence gathering” Bush Administration Likes to Torture
• Rewriting laws that have worked fine for 50 years to prevent criminal prosecution of those who promote the above fascist ideas
• Attempting to rewrite history in order to promote the propaganda Disney Mickey-Drama
• Allowing fundamentalist religion to direct the course of national policy, thereby adding to the culture of fear and mistrust
• Corporate lobbyists controlling our foreign policy

The USA is on a dangerous path. While paying lip service to democracy and freedom, it simultaneously slides closer to fascist ideals. Its self-professed greatest allies are monarchies and fascist dictators. Our Pakistani "Ally"

Where did 9/11 hijackers come from? Not from Iraq. By all accounts, some from our allies (Saudi Arabia among others). What are we trying to promote?

Americans need to stand up and say something. Enough with the silence. I’ve asked it before and will ask it again, “Do you really want American ideals ground into the dirt in the name of ‘national security?’” Someday, it could be your or I in Guantanamo based on the proposed legislation to rewrite basic laws  Revisionist Laws to Protect Their Crimes

Thomas Paine:  "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself."

How frequently we forget history. Who were the US allies of the past? See above.  See below.

Reagan = Taliban?

Our “great ally” in the war against, terror: Pakistan. A pardon to Osama?

Our Ally Pardoning Osama?

Technorati Tags: liberal, iraq, patriot, history, human rights, torture, osama, propaganda, fascism