Childish international policy

From the AP:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. would hold direct talks with Iran if Tehran suspended its nuclear program.

[...]

Iran says its energy program is peaceful.

[...]

"We have contingency plans around the world. We had contingency plans with the Soviet Union, and we had specific targets. That didn't mean that we were planning to strike the Soviet Union," said Rep. Duncan Hunter , D-Calif.

He said Hersh interprets that "into an intent to attack Iran in the near future. That's not the case."

clickhereforallofit

Condi says she'll talk with Iran if they stop their enrichment program. Iran insists that their program is peaceful. The New Yorker says that the US is planning on attacking Iran; the Pentagon insists that just because they have contingency plans for Iran, it doesn't mean they're planning on attacking them.

What it all boils down to is that the US thinks they can have nukes and entire bombing strategies against other countries, just in case, but Iran is a rogue state because their nuclear enrichment program must be intended for more than just energy purposes.

What makes the US superior to every other government? Not a goddamn thing. What negotiations are they even talking about? Isn't Condi talking about negotiations regarding Iran's nuke program? So she's saying Washington will talk with Tehran about their enrichment program only after it's abandoned? How can you negotiate about something that no longer exists? That makes absolutely no sense and it's childish of the administration to make such blatantly biased assumptions about another government.

record numbers are plunged into poverty

From the AP:
the number of severely poor Americans grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005

I know there are several factors involved, but obviously the main one is that the Bush regime refuses to accept the idea that the government should help poor people. That's it, plain and simple. We can talk about all the technical and mystical economic details we want, the fact is that our government doesn't do enough to help it's impoverished population, by which I mean they do not appropriate their budget in a way that helps needy people. Fuck the war, fuck our nukes, fuck NASA (to a certain extent), fuck the psuedo two party system and the true one party state, fuck our support of Isreal and other violent regimes, fuck corporate welfare and the whole corporate system, and fuck George Bush.

Saturday Dog Blog? - Hooch

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a whole week and a day, I went back to Texas for Mardi Gras and I've just been real disinterested with everything right now. I thought today was Friday for some reason but I'm posting a dog blog anyway. Here's my brother's girlfriend's dog, Hooch. I'll get back to good blogging soon. Sorry.

Friday DAWG Blog

Here's a dog I saw at a parade last weekend:




(The term "dawg" simply referrs to the guy's clothes, not his ethnicity.)

White House opens doors to Iraq refugees

From the AP via Yahoo! News:

The Bush administration plans to allow about 7,000 Iraqi refugees to settle in the United States over the next year, a huge expansion at a time of mounting international pressure to help millions who have fled their homes in the nearly four-year-old war.

here's the whole thing

I thought this was very interesting. Back during Christmas break I recall thinking to myself, "What would all these right wingers [I was in Texas at the time] think if we let Iraqis take refuge in our country?". My immediate assumption was that most Bush fans would absolutely despise the idea of letting anyone from that region come here, regardless of their desperate situation. Of course, our government has no choice but to let at least some Iraqis take refuge in our country, since we started this goddamn war in the first place.

This article points out that 7,000 people is only 1% of the total Iraqis who've been displaced. Most go to Syria, but it's getting full. Some neighboring countries have already stopped letting new refugees into their countries, and the one's who are already there can't stay forever.

I read about this a few weeks ago, I can't remember where, but at the time I had no idea that the US was letting any Iraqis take refuge here. I guess all I have to say is that any pro-war asshole who objects to these refugees coming here is a complete hypocrite, and I'm sure most '04 Bush voters are scared shitless about them brown people comin' to our cuuuntry. To them, I say, "BAH!"

Obama may publically fund his presidential campaign

Over at Realart today, Ron posted an article about all the new Democratic congressman who are using loopholes that are getting them better perks than what the Republicans were getting before the lobbying "reforms" that the Democrats helped put it place. I went to PBS's NOW for the first time today, just to see what it was, and I found this article:

Obama's apparent intention is to keep open the option of using the public financing system as a way to fund his campaign if he becomes the Democratic nominee [...] if the Republican candidate agreed to do the same

clickhereforallofit

Of course, this is all just talk right now, and he may not even end up as the Democratic nominee, but it's still good talk. I've been kind of on and off about Obama, not sure whether he's really progressive or just using his image to appear that way while officially siding with corporate interests. Right now I'm turned back on to Obama, but we'll see what happens, as the media is all over him right now and it's only going to get more intense.

WE'RE starting it

Courtesy of Eschaton, this article explains how we're intentionally provoking a war with Iran.

In other.....stuff...I finally switched to the new blogger. I hate Google. Screw those guys. Nah, can't hate on them too much, after all, they've got the BEST image search you could ever dream of.

Lucky for me, the new Blogger didn't promt me to use a new template, as they did Ron at Realart.

Happy Carnival

Mardi Gras is literally outside my window. It's pretty cool.

Here's some media:

Friday Dog Blog freaturing: DON JUAN

Don Juan is a "chaweenie," he's a mix of two small breeds of dog, can you guess what they are? My brother's girlfriend found him living in her dog's house. He's pretty much the coolest dog ever.

Perry's Vision for Texas = Ted Nugent

This is old news but I just now found it so I'm posting it because it's really, really funny.

From Austinist.com

Below are a few comparisons between what Gov. Perry said in his moving speech and what his hired entertainment, Deadly Tedly, said and did on stage later that evening at the ball:

On Racial Prejudice & Hatred
Perry’s Inaugural Speech: “140 years ago a segment of our people was enslaved and considered less than equal. But we are overcoming past prejudice for the sake of the common good…[...]…Imagine the possibilities in a Texas blind to color, class and ethnicity, where no one is invalidated because of their heritage, but valued because of their humanity.

Ted Nugent at the Inaugural Ball: The Motor City Madman played his scorching set draped in a confederate flag shirt – a symbol of slavery in just about everyone’s book – showing his pride for the South and his disrespect for African-American heritage in one crushing blow of 70’s-era guitar force. Perry danced on stage in his tuxedo, grinning contentedly.

On Immigration
Perry’s Inaugural Speech: “My vision for Texas is a tremendous tapestry of diversity woven together by common threads. We are of many faiths, traditions, heritages, but we are all Texans. And in Texas, it is not your identity that matters most, but your ideals.”

Ted Nugent at the Inaugural Ball: During his performance, The Nuge shouted several offensive remarks about non-English speakers and made plain his disgust for foreigners in general and giving them what for. Illegal aliens and people lacking English grammar got a taste of real guitar attack that evening, thanks to the handy work of Theodocious Atrocious. Perry danced on stage in his tuxedo, grinning contentedly.

On Bipartisanship
Perry’s Inaugural Speech: “Texas is better off when Republicans and Democrats work together. Our potential is too vast to be spoiled by a politics leavened with partisanship. There is so much we must do together.”

Ted Nugent at the Inaugural Ball: During his set, Nugent made several comments about Perry’s competitors in the gubernatorial race, suggesting in particular that Kinky Friedman should be “court jester” during Perry’s reign and generally scorning all Perry's non-Republican competition. At the high point of his set, The Kansas City Bad Boy played a fierce guitar solo, at the end of which he screamed out “George W. Bush!” with frothy-mouthed bravado and barbaric angst. Perry danced on stage in his tuxedo, grinning contentedly.

On Moral Values
Perry's Inaugural Speech: “…I also believe no great society can be built, or maintained, if we cultivate in our children the vanity of self rather than the virtue of selflessness...Young Texans must never be taught about rights without also learning about responsibilities. [...]The fabric of our society is not government or individual freedom, it is the family. And the demise of the family is the demise of any great society.”

Ted Nugent at the Inaugural Ball: Terrible Ted actually sang the 70’s hit “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” to the assembled black-tie crowd, complete with pelvic thrusts, using his American flag guitar as a phallic prop in true rock and roll style. The stage was covered with machine guns and skulls as props. Perry danced on stage in his tuxedo, grinning contentedly.

Austinist has deciphered the code of Perry's Inaugural Speech. We see his true vision for the future of Texas. Forget peace, equality and a functioning democracy unburdened by partisan agendas. The future of Texas is rock and roll.

clickhereforallofit

Wal-Mart, unions unite on health care [what the FUCK?]

From the AP via Yahoo! News:

Executives from Wal-Mart and three other major U.S. employers on Wednesday joined hands with union leaders in setting a goal of providing "quality, affordable" health care for every American by 2012.

However, they did not propose any specific policies to achieve this goal, or commit to spending any extra money in the near-term to provide health coverage to more workers.

[...]

Despite praise from SEIU and Communications Workers of America leaders who called for universal health care for every American within five years, Paul Blank, the campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com, gave only tepid support for the plan in a prepared statement.

"If Wal-Mart is truly serious," Blank said, "we challenge the company to provide universal health care to all of its uninsured employees and their families today." Blank's group is funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers, which did not participate in Wednesday's press conference.

clickhereforallofit

"I smell a rat," would be an under-statement right now. More like, "I smell a week old beached whale in the middle of July."

Here's what I've come up with:
Lee Scott and those other suites are actually trying to undermine the national health care movement by claiming to be a part of it. They'll make some changes, claiming to be fighting for national health care by 2012, and when we don't get it, all of corporate America (including Lee Scott and the others) can say, "SEE, we can't have national health care, we tried! It didn't work! Lets move on," and every Faux News pundit will follow suite. They're trying to squash the effort for good by manipulating it to their own advantage from the inside! It's quite brilliant, if that's what they're doing.

I simply can not believe that these corporate guys are actually sincere about this. After all, they're not increasing health coverage for their own employees, even while they claim to be fighting for better health care. Then again, maybe this is the epidome of Wal-Mart's current practice: "we don't have to pay a decent wage, the government can pay the difference!"

Wal-Mart assists their employees in applying for welfare money. They make a point to inform their employees that "there is help available (just not from us)." The big boys at the top don't get enough of their own government assistance (i.e. subsidies and income tax breaks), they have to screw their workers out of a decent wage and make the biggest possible profit while their most loyal customers bitch and moan about welfare queens taking all of their hard earned money and praise Wal-Mart as the greatest store ever. This is the way it's always been, and it just got a few notches more looney.

What America Needs to Know About Rudy Giuliani

From Crooks and Liars:

You might recall that several New York firefighters died when the towers collapsed. Giuliani testified to the 9/11 Commission that firefighters had been given an evacuation order, but they chose to stay because they were rescuing civilians. This testimony was not exactly, um, true.

[...]

"On perhaps the most painful of these, the loss of at least 121 firefighters in the north tower, Mr. Giuliani suggested that they stayed inside the trade center because they were busy rescuing civilians — never mentioning that they could not hear warnings from police helicopters, that many of them never learned the south tower had collapsed or that they were having serious problems staying in touch with their own commanders.

[...]

It is clear, witnesses said, that even after the south tower collapsed, many, if not most, of the firefighters had no idea that they were in dire peril, or that it was time for them to leave. In contrast, police officers received strong guidance from their commanders to get out of the building, the commission reported, thanks in large part to the information sent to the ground by police helicopters."

The police could not talk to the firefighters, however, because the two NY departments used different types of radios set on different frequencies. Giuliani offered the 9/11 commission a lame excuse about the limits of technology, which is absurd on its face. In fact, there had been many complaints about the radios before 9/11, and the Mayor had done nothing.

[...]

Wayne Barrett (author of Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 and Kevin Keating (director of the documentary “Giuliani Time” were interviewed by Amy Goodman recently; see the transcript here. Wayne Barrett said,

"The firefighters were using the same radios that they used at the ’93 bombing, even though we found a report that was written in 1990 that said that they were already obsolete and that they were a danger to the life of firefighters. And the firefighters are still carrying those same radios eight years after the 1993 bombing."

clickhereforallofit

The list goes on, it's long and disturbing. I haven't even read the whole thing. Since Rudy's a presidential hopeful for '08, I thought it'd be good to discuss this. I'm still trying to decide whether all of this stuff was all his fault. I never really thought of Giuliani as a "lame-duck" mayor, as this post said, but I guess that's because I'm not from New York, and I've mostly seen Giuliani on old episodes of SNL, where he appeared often back in the day.

I'm also still not sure of what a mayor's job actually is...

Take that Bears, I hate you

The Colts avenged the Saints' defeat last night in one of the coolest Super Bowls I've ever seen.

I wouldn't call myself much of a football fan, but I sure as hell am a Saints fan after this season, and I'm glad that the team who kept them from playing in the Super Bowl got raped pretty hard, so I'm a Colts fan now too (and I think the Saints could have done much better against them than the Bears).

The Saints are the one thing that anyone in New Orleans can agree on. They're one of the only positive influences in the city; when they win, everyone feels good, even for just a little while. Watching the Saints do well is the footballical equivalent of eating a big bowl of gumbo on a sat'day afternoon, or biting into an overstuffed po-boy after work. A Super Bowl victory would have been so good for New Orleans, it broke my heart that they didn't make it. I'll start off next season rooting for the Saints, then the Colts, then maybe the Cowboys since I still consider Texas my home (and the Texans are a fucking joke).

Revisiting old wisdom

From the first chapter of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States:

What did people in Spain get out of all that death and brutality visited on the Indians of the Americas? For a brief period in history, there was the glory of a Spanish Empire in the Western Hemisphere. As Hans Koning sumit up in his book Columbus: His Enterprise:

For all the gold and silver stolen and shipped to Spain did not make the Spanish people richer. It gave their kings and edge in the balance of power for a time, a chance to hire more mercenary soldiers for their wars. They ended up losing those wars anyway, and all that was left was a deadly inflation, a starving population, the rich richer, the poor poorer, and a ruined peasant class.

You can paste this quote directly into our war with Iraq and pretty much anything we've ever done over there, changing "Spain" to the US. Skeptics would of course point out their knee-jerk disconnect where the American Indians were not a "direct threat to Europe's security" like them gol-dern terrrists is. What they would of course be missing, as they always have, is that Islamic fundamentalists would not have gained so much power in that region had we not screwed it up so severely already. This quote doesn't just apply to the current war that we're still losing in Iraq, it applies to our days as early back as the 1950's when we installed the Shah in Iran, and maybe even before that. Iraqis, Afghans, Kosovars, you name 'em, they're the Indians. We're the Spaniards, English, Dutch, Italian, you name them too. It's the same thing, with a big horrific attack on our soil to distort our rationality and still give war mongers' racist, nationalist, imperialist, and bigoted points of view any miniscule amount of substance.

This is one of those rants that seems like it should have been posted a long time ago, but I think that even though America is overwhealmingly against the war, most Americans are probably just physically and mentally tired of it. It's not some kind of ideological shift, it's just a repeat of Vietnam: the longer it goes on, the more we hate it. We still don't really question why the war is happening, or why it was allowed to happen in the first place. We're just fatigued and simply want it to go away.

If I don't stop now I never will.

Friday DOG BLOG

My dog snickers, once again.

Here's a video

Open Letter to President Bush 1-19-07

From Nader.org:

I have read your address to the nation on “The New Way Forward in Iraq” and wish to share some observations.

You say “where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.” You then quickly change the subject. Whoa now, what does it mean when you say the responsibility for mistakes rest with you?

Responsibility for “mistakes” that led to the invasion—which other prominent officials and former officials say were based on inaccurate information, deceptions, and cover-ups?

Responsibility for the condoning of torture, even after the notorious events at abu-Gharib prison were disclosed?

Responsibility for months and months of inability to equip our soldiers with body armor and vehicle armor that resulted in over 1,000 lost American lives and many disabilities?

clickhereforallofit

Just like every other Ralph Nader article I post, I don't need to ellaborate on it or give my own interpretation or opinion or explanation. It's just cool.