Message from ~@~
The more I thought about what happened to Dah's place, the more upset I became; not to mention the support coming in from Dah's friends and their desire to keep this page alive. So, until 'things' are figured out, I moved stuff over here and will add a few thoughts.
'Balz'ac - 2 March 2005
Confidently Paranoid
Hunter S. Thompson
Sun, 27 Feb 2005 11:04:56
Source: http://devilsavocado.gnn.tv/By Hunter S. Thompson
From ‘Kingdom Of Fear’ 2003
2-26-5Let’s face it, the yo-yo president of the U.S.A. knows nothing. He is a dunce. He does what he is told to do, says what he is told to say, poses the way he is told to pose. He is a fool.
No. Nonsense. The president cannot be a Fool. Not at this moment in time, when the last living vestiges of the American Dream are on the line. This is not the time to have a bogus rich kid in charge of the White House.
Which is, after all, our house. That is our headquarters, it is where the heart of America lives. So, if the president lies and acts giddy about other people’s lives, if he wantonly and stupidly endorses mass murder by definition, he is a loud and meaningless animal with no functional intelligence and no balls.
To say this goofy child president is looking more and more like Richard Nixon in the summer of 1974 would be a flagrant insult to Nixon.
Whoops! Did I say that? Is it even vaguely possible that some New Age Republican whore-beast of a false president could actually make Richard Nixon look like a Liberal?
The capacity of these vicious assholes we elected to be in charge of our lives for four years to commit terminal damage to our lives and our souls and our loved ones is far beyond Nixon’s. Shit! Nixon was the creator of many of the once-proud historical landmarks that these dumb bastards are savagely destroying now: the Clean Air Act of 1970; Campaign Finance Reform; the endangered species act; a Real-Politik dialogue with China; and on and on.
The prevailing quality of life in America-by any accepted methods of measuring-was inarguably freer and more politically open under Nixon than it is today in this evil year of our Lord 2002.
The Boss was a certified monster who deserved to be impeached and banished. He was a truthless creature of former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, a foul human monument to corruption and depravity on a scale that dwarfs any other public official in American history. But Nixon was at least smart enough to understand why so many honorable patriotic U.S. citizens despised him. He was a Liar. The truth was not in him.
Nixon believed, as he said many times, that if the president of the United States does it, it can’t be illegal. But Nixon never understood the much higher and meaner truth of Bob Dylan’s warning that “To live outside the law you must be honest.”
The difference between an outlaw and a war criminal is the difference between a pedophile and a Pederast: The pedophile is a person who thinks about sexual behavior with children, and the Pederast does these things. He lays hands on innocent children, he penetrates them and changes their lives forever.
Being the object of a pedophile’s warped affections is a Routine feature of growing up in America, and being a victim of a Pederast’s crazed “love” is part of dying. Innocence is no longer an option. Once penetrated, the child becomes a Queer in his own mind, and that is not much different than murder.
Richard Nixon crossed the line when he began murdering foreigners in the name of “family values”- and George Bush crossed it when he sneaked into office and began killing brown skinned children in the name of Jesus and the American people.
When Muhammad Ali declined to be drafted and forced to kill “gooks” in Vietnam he said, “I ain’t got nothin’ against them Viet Cong. No Cong ever called me Nigger.”
I agreed with him according to my own personal ethics and values. He was right.
If we all had a dash of Muhammad Ali’s eloquent courage, this country and the world would be a better place today because of it. Okay. That’s it for now. Read it and weep….See you tomorrow, folks. You haven’t heard the last of me. I am the one who speaks for the spitit of freedom and decency in you. Shit. Somebody has to do it.
We have become a Nazi monster in the eyes of the whole world-a nation of bullies and bastards who would rather kill than live peacefully. We are not just Whores for power and oil, but killer whores with hate and fear in our hearts. We are human scum, and that is how history will judge us… No redeeming social value. Just whores. Get out of our way, or we’ll kill you.
Well, shit on that dumbness. George W. Bush does not speak for me or my son or my mother or my friends or the people I respect in this world. We didn’t vote for these cheap, greedy little killers who speak for America today- and we will not vote for them again in 2002. Or 2004. Or ever.
Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?
They are the same ones who wanted to have Muhammad Ali locked up for refusing to kill “gooks”. They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. They are racists and hate mongers among us-they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis. And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not.
FUCK THEM.
NOTE: Hunter was working on an article 'pointing out' 9/11 was an INSIDE JOB:
http://www.total911.info/2005/03/hunter-thompson-was-working-on-wtc.html[BREAKING NEWS: Blue Dress Found In Robert Novak's Closet. [LINK MISSING] Source says, "It really needed to go to the Laundry."]
~@~ February 28, 2005
Let's look at it this way,
this is Your World,
this is Your World on DU.
I am a 'Vet' and use Veteran as a news keyword. The following description appeared on one of the readers this morning, "Heads roll at Veterans Administration, Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal blamed", by Bob Nichols, who is a Project Censored [click to visit] Award Winner.
Bob's article tells of 11,000 soldiers, out of 580,400 soldiers, who served during the first Gulf war, that have died from DU.
He tells of another 325,000 soldiers (as of year 2000) who are now on "Permanent Medical Disability"... bringing the figure to: 336,000 out of 580,400 soldiers with problems, or who have passed away from DU [click to read].
Here is an older article by Tom Flocco titled, "Depleted uranium symptoms linked to U.S. soldier's mysterious death" that asks, "Whether Pentagon Misled Congress and Families of Dead Soldiers by Employing ‘Pneumonia’ and ‘Cigarette-Smoking’ Claims To Cover Up Prior-Knowledge Of DU Safety Issues and Negligence" [click to read].
If you prefer, there is a video/audio FLASH titled, "Understanding 4.5 Billion Year Half-Life of Depleted Uranium" [click to view].
~@~ February 25, 2005
KISS, or keeping it simple, is often overlooked when presenting Internet information.
Dahbud's "Humor As An Art Key Activist Treatise" [MISSING AT THE MOMENT] covers this phenomena, provides links to studies on 'television watching and short attention span', and offers suggestions to 'writers on the web', on how information should be presented.
It is my opinion Dah's information is correct and here is an example of something that happened to me today.
I use RSS readers to scan areas of interest on the net and saw a description, "Open Letter to Richard A. Clarke regarding War Games, 9/11 Timeline and Myers/Rumsfeld Testimony", that caught my eye.
On going to that page [click to read], which was about five printed pages in length, there were three links.
The first link was about four printed pages [click to read], the second link was about three printed pages [click to read] with references, the third link was a page with about one and a half of printed pages [click to read] with lots of references.
Here is the [click to read] original article located at: 9/11 CitizensWatch.
My point is, in order to get a complete picture of what was being said, I had to read about seventeen printed pages from multiple sites.
According to Dah, "There is a statistic out here that shows a page has to catch one's attention within twenty seconds or the visitor will move on."
In order to see if I am correct, if you make it here, reading, [REMOVED] which will produce an error page, that can be tracked, and I will post the access percentages after a certain period of time.
~@~ February 24, 2005
Some of you may know I worked for Nobody for President as campaign manager; which is an anti-apathy campaign, using humor, to get people to register and vote for the candidate of their choice and support Nobody's goal of putting "NONE OF THE ABOVE" on voter ballots.
Did you notice above, "vote for the candidate of their choice"? This is because out of all choices for President, Nobody is Perfect.
Did you know fifty plus percent of people who could register and vote, do not register and vote. This is proof Nobody is Winning the Presidential Elections.
The major reason for not voting is, "lack of choice and not wanting to vote for the lesser of evils".
With the above 'in mind', consider the following,
If you don't like the politician,
become one yourself.I assume you're thinking, 'big chore, becoming a politician' or something similar (grin), but thanks to the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association [click to visit], here is a guide that could be applied to all elections: "Five Steps to Freedom (one step at a Time)". The steps are, Step 1 Register to Vote / Step 2 Get Acquainted / Step 3 The Campaign / Step 4 The Primary / Step 5 Run for Office and are listed below. The source for text was ABATE [click to visit].
Texas Motorcycle Rights Association
Five Steps to Freedom
(one step at a Time)Property of Texas Motorcycle Rights Association Rt. 6 Box 598 Alvin, Tx. 77511 (800) 222-0913
Permission to reprint, alter or use any and all of this booklet is granted to all MRO's (August 1996)TEXAS STATE CONSTITUTION
Article 1 Sec 2: "All political power is inherent in the people, all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient...."
EDUCATION
In order for us to become effective in our endevors we must educate the biker community as how to work within the legislative process. This process can be as simple as registering to vote or how to run for a political office and win. We have simplified the process into five steps. These are the basic guide lines on how to get involved and to what level you wish to proceed. By no means is this intended to be an detailed do's and don'ts document, just a basic how to get started and get yourself through it guide.
FIVE STEPS TO FREEDOM
Each trip begins with one step. The reason so many people fail to accomplish goals is they attempt to do everything at once. How about if you humor an old brother and try it this way one time. As I tell my bro's, don't look at the big picture, just do your part, one step at a time, and the whole will come together just fine. Try it.
STEP 1 REGISTER TO VOTE
Before you can have any input in the political process you must become a registered voter. Registering is easy and it is free. To qualify as a registered voter you must be18 years of age, a US citizen and a resident of the county in which you register. The Texas Election Code, Section 13.001(a)(4), allows that a convicted felon may petition for reinstatement of their voting rights 2 years after having satisfied their judgment to the court. Contact your voter registrar at your local courthouse or call the Secretary of State office for details. 1-800-252-8683.
You can pick up a voter registration card at any courthouse or post office in the state. Fill out all necessary information and drop into any mail box where mail is retrieved.(no postage necessary) You must be duly registered 30 days prior to an election to be eligible to vote in that election.
Upon receipt of your voter card you will need 4 pieces of information. Your precinct number (which will be on the card). Each county is divided into voting precincts. The location for voting in each precinct will be published in your local paper or can be found at the local courthouse prior to each election. Except in special cases the location will generally remain the same. It is not necessary to re-register as long as you vote at least once each two years or don't move. The other three bits of information may or may not be on your voter certificate. The State of Texas is divided into 150 State Representative Districts,31 State Senatorial Districts and 30 US Congressional Districts. If this information is not on your voter certificate, it can be found at your courthouse. Each state is also represented by 2 US Senators You must then learn the name, address and phone number(both local and capitol offices) of each of these people. They are the ones to contact when you have any questions or requests concerning political happenings. They are the ones you will vote for or against each two or four years as the case may be. These four elected officials are the ones who will vote on issues for you personally. It is also a good idea to get the same information for the County and Precinct Chair of each Party.
You are now a registered voter. You have all the necessary names, addresses and phone numbers of those people you must deal with in order to be politically effective. Congratulations, You have completed step 1. It has cost you very little time, no money and is probably one of the biggest decisions you have made during this lifetime. You are now in a position to truly have a say in the political future of your city, county, state and country. It is now imperative that you become familiar with the voting record of those 5 people who supposedly serve your needs at both the state and federal level.
Thus begins step 2!
STEP 2 GET ACQUAINTED
It is now time to make use of the information you have gathered. Elected officials are normal people and can not be expected to have all the answers. They depend on their constituents to keep them informed. Today most of their information comes from paid lobbyist. You must change this situation. They will look more favorably on a friend than someone paid to influence their vote.
Sit down and write a letter to each of the top 3 elected officials in your district. Your letter should be hand written, no more than one page and cover only one subject. Pick any current subject in which you are interested. Identify yourself, explain how you feet about the issue and why. Ask how they see the issue and ask for a response. Example:
Dear Senator Anyone;
I am an avid motorcyclist but both my spouse and I drive automobiles. I am quite disturbed by the current push for No-fault insurance in Texas. Everything I have been able to learn about this subject is negative. It appears to me, that drivers with good driving records and especially those who ride motorcycles would be unfairly treated under such a plan. Hawaii and Canada have both repealed their No-fault as being too costly.
I would like to know how you feel on this issue and how you would vote on the issue should it come before you in the next session. If you support No-fault I would like to know your reason for doing so.
I await your reply.
Respectfully,
John Doe
VRN 186701/9
(VRN is voter registration #)Since our interests are primarily motorcycle related it would be good to list any MC Club or Rights Organization to which you belong. This will establish your standing for the future.
Each official should receive at least one letter per month. Comment on quotes they have made to the media or action taken on a specific issue. Watch for announced meetings the officials will attend and be there. Introduce yourself at the first meeting and make it a point to be certain they are aware of your presence at all future meetings. Don't miss an opportunity to praise any official when they have performed well. The best way to do this is thru the Letters to The Editor section of your local newspaper. These papers are read by the official or his staff each morning.
You have now established yourself as a person who is knowledgeable, active in the political arena and a registered voter and are therefore seen as a constituent who deserves consideration. Officials are visited by paid lobbyists on a daily basis. They realize these people are not really interested in a piece of legislation except in how it affects their salary. It is refreshing to have someone who really cares about an issue to share information with them. Remember these are plain men and women, just like you. For the most part, they ran for office to make a difference. Having arrived in the capitol they came to realize things are not always as they seem. Change doesn't't come easy when the status quo has been established for years. That is why we need more of us up there.
Never lie to an official to make your case seem more solid. They have heard them all and you will only brand yourself as a phony. Don't offer a compromise you are not certain your Association will honor. Let the official realize you will always be above board on any issue. Treat each official with whom you come in contact with honesty and integrity as if dealing with a friend and you might just find you are. Always address only one issue per letter or visit unless requested to do otherwise.
You have now established rapport with those elected officials in your District. They know you as an honest, caring person, interested in your community and registered to vote. You have taken Step 2 and passed with flying colors. Your new political future is moving closer to reality and all you had to do was take one more step. Pretty simple trip so far isn't it?
NOW move your left foot back in Front and let's take Step 3.
STEP 3 THE CAMPAIGN
Much has been written about how best to support a candidate of your choice. There are as many ways as there are candidates. All probably work equally well if done properly. Since Motorcycle Rights Organizations always suffer a shortage of funds, we will deal here with personal involvement.
Your prior contact with the candidates has given you a choice as to whom you will support in the election and why. (This Association does not tell members how to vote but we do make recommendations based on past performance or information gathered). Personal involvement in a campaign is better and receives more notice, from a candidate or their staff, than a cash donation. Others may disagree and I won't argue with their views. This Association began on the assumption, a rider becoming educated in the process and getting personally involved can make a difference. This theory has been proven to be correct. Flyers are picked up at the campaign headquarters at a designated time and passed out on the street, in shopping malls or anywhere not prohibited by law. You may volunteer as often or as sparingly as you wish. Once or twice a week about 2 hours per day is generally sufficient.
Stuffing envelopes is the best way to become familiar with other campaign workers, the candidate and their staff. You will meet with other workers to collate, fold and put campaign material into envelopes to be mailed later. This task gets your candidates message out and allows you time to interact with others who could be helpful to our cause in the legislative session. This is the perfect job for someone not adept at going out and talking to strangers but can be group friendly.
The next form of service in a campaign is working on phone banks. For this task you will show up at a designated time and location which will have several phones installed. You will be given a list of names to call and to convince the person with whom you speak to not only vote but to vote for your candidate. 2-3 hours per evening, twice a week is considered sufficient but if you can give more time, do so. For this assignment you must have a strong clear voice and have no problem speaking with strangers. As a phone solicitor you won't have as much time to interact with other workers but your services won’t go unnoticed.
Putting up yard signs is the tried and true method of involvement in a campaign. Again you can do as much or as little as you choose. You will need a crew and a pickup for this job and it is normally done on weekends. If you choose to do the standard job, you will pick up assembled signs at a predesignated location. You will be given a list of specific area to cover and a list of addresses where the occupants have agreed to allow signs to be erected. It doesn't hurt if you can provide extra locations for this project. You will generally spend most of the day saturday and possibly sunday afternoons on this assignment. You will travel to each location and speak with the occupant if possible. Identify yourself and verify their willingness to allow the signs to be posted. Place the sign(s) in the location of their choice and move on to the next location.
If you have the time and manpower and really want to get involved you can run the entire sign campaign. If this much involvement is possible it will really be beneficial to you in the future. Signs will be picked up unassembled and you will not only distribute them but assemble them as well. If your interest runs in this direction we will be more than happy to train you and your crew as to the best methods possible to conduct this very important undertaking. As you move on to Step 5 you will see why this is so important). This is the ultimate in volunteer duty. By accepting this much responsibility you show yourself as willing to go the extra mile. You also are freeing up other workers and cash to be used by the candidate elsewhere.
The campaign is over and election day has arrived.
Put your right foot forward one more time and take Step 4.
STEP 4 THE PRIMARY
You have worked hard and hopefully your candidate will be victorious. Win or lose you have made friends and proven yourself to be a hard worker and a staunch supporter of those who have the same feeling on the issues as you do. You have also seen how important citizen involvement is to the political scene. It is now time to put that knowledge to work and take advantage of the delegate process.
Get out and meet with your neighbors. There is a saying, (Good fences make good neighbors), open your gate and Bar-B-Que Pit and let your neighbor be your friend. Explain our goals and ask for their support to become a delegate. Offer transportation to the polls, even if it means using 4 wheels.
1. Vote in the primary of your choice:
a. When you sign in to get your ballot ask for the time and place of the caucus meeting (they won't volunteer this information)
b. If it is convenient, it is best to vote close to closing time so you won't have to return later.
2. The Caucus Meeting:
a. Call to order at the appointed time by the precinct chair.
b. Preparation of list of qualified participants in attendance. (only those who voted in the primary are qualified)
c. Announcement of the Agenda and basic rules of procedure.
d. Nomination and election of temporary officers of the Pct. meeting. This is where you need your friends!
e. Announcement of time and location of county or district meetings and temporary committee meetings, if known.
f. Nomination and election of delegates to the county or district convention, whichever the case may be in your precinct.
1. If the number present is less than the number of delegates and alternates needed, names can be picked from the list of those who voted.
2. The above is usually the case. That is why your participation is so important. Know which, if any, of your supporters voted but were unable to make the Caucus and get them appointed as delegates.
3. Resolutions:
a. The caucus chair asks the floor for any resolutions to be considered for the county convention.(Our list of resolutions will be prepared in advance and you will have several copies)
b. Raise your hand and say "Mr. Chairman, I have(how many) resolutions to be entered for our precinct. Each resolution will be read, seconded and voted. Our people will have the same resolutions in each precinct so don't panic if some don’t pass. Note the source of opposition for future reference. After all resolutions are introduced and voted and all announcements made, the meeting will adjourn. (generally less than an hour).
The County or district Convention is a miniature State Convention. The committees have been chosen and will do their work. The number of delegates from each precinct will be announced and the precinct delegates will each elect their delegates for the State Convention. The Resolutions passed at this Convention shall move forward to be considered at the State Convention. The State Convention is the culmination of this whole process. This will be three days of hard work and glorious pleasure as payment for going the distance. As we progress we can place enough members on each committee to truly affect our future. There are 254 counties in Texas. If we could get just 10 State Delegates from each county we could control either Party. Since we are not interested in control for it's own sake we can interact with others to form a party which is fair to all. Only by gaining support of others can we guarantee our right to ride free for years to come.
This is just a simple outline of the process. If you have chosen to become involved we will provide workshops for more specific training prior to the actual Primary. Having taken these 4 steps you have moved into the realm of knowledge as to real workings of Texas politics. You are as adept at the process as any county chairman currently in office. It is now time to step completely into the arena. For years we have worked to put biker friendly people in office. Now it is time we reap the full benefit of our training and labor.
Place your left foot forward again and take Step number 5.
STEP 5 RUN FOR OFFICE
Having taken the 1st 4 steps, as outlined, you have become well known to the movers and shakers in the local political arena. It is now time to toss your hat into the ring and become a candidate for public office. Again we shall outline how this can be accomplished with very little cash outlay by you. This step will in no way cover every aspect of this task. It simply gives the basics on how to start using the knowledge you have gained through the 1st 4 steps.
Pick an office you would like to hold. It is generally wise to start with a local office, but not always necessary. Contact your county courthouse or office of Secretary of State and declare your intent to run. You will receive the necessary forms, which explain in detail the requirements to get on the ballot for the office you have chosen. There is generally a filing fee for most offices. These fees can, however, be waived by receiving enough signatures of registered voters. I recommend the petition because if you can't get the signatures (generally 500 or less) then you can't win an election anyway and it will have cost you nothing but time. Select your treasurer and campaign staff, get on the ballot and let the fun begin. You and your friends have already run campaigns for other candidates so this is just a matter of repeating the process but the rewards are much higher.
Timing is a key ingredient for making your 1st campaign a success. If possible it is best to seek an office which has no incumbent. An incumbent always has the advantage over a challenger unless they have totally screwed up. Few people are really well informed during an election, relying completely on the media for their information. They will vote for an incumbent, thanks to the media, simply because they recognize the name. Sad but true. Also, anything an incumbent says or does is covered by the media news while you are ignored. A good way to overcome this bias is to have several of your friends write the Letters to The Editor section of the local papers on a daily basis. Have them tell what you are saying and doing and ask why there is no media coverage. This will get your name and message before the public at no cost.
If you must face an incumbent it is best to wage this campaign when a particular issue, which directly affects the office you have chosen, has galvanized the public to action. Study the issue from all angles. If your position is different from the incumbent and the voters are vocal, the time is right. Go for it!! Attend all meetings in your area and speak out. Talk to any group which will have you. Talk to individuals on the street, in stores or anywhere you encounter them. Set a goal to meet every voter in your district. You can’t, of course, but don't stop trying.
A few friends willing to use their phone to make calls to local voters will fill the need for a phone bank (no charge). Several can get together at each home or office and have fun while taking turns making calls. You will, of course, have to purchase signs and campaign literature. If you have a friend in the business, great. If not, these can be purchased from a mail-order house at reasonable rates.
The rest is up to you. State your position honestly, forcefully and often. You must sell not only your ideas but yourself. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know, but if you will tell me how to contact you I will find out and get back with you "then do it!" Point out differences between you and your opponent but always do this in a positive manner. Never make negative remarks about your opponent. Instruct your campaign, workers that they are never to say anything negative about them. Stick to the issues. Get your views before all the voters possible. A good way to end each speech is to encourage people to vote. Example: "I want to thank each of your for attending this meeting and giving me the opportunity to express my views. It is extremely important that each of you vote in this election. I encourage each of you to vote, even if you choose to vote for my opponent. Only if you all vote can the winner truly be the choice of the people. If any of you are not registered to vote we have voter registration cards here which you can fill out tonight or take home with you." Don’t use a prepared speech. Speak from the heart and you will probably touch hearts.
Having won your 1st elective office you have realized the true American Dream. You have become someone who can make a difference using hard work and the help of friends, rather than money. The Five Steps are now complete but your journey has just begun.
Congratulations - Good Luck - God Bless
Having taken these five steps you have now lived up to your duty under the Constitution. If you have convinced enough friends to make this journey with you, you have just returned control of this state to your Posterity.
SPECIAL THANKS
Thanks to NCOM, MRF, Senator Dave Durenberger, Jesse McDugald and all the MRO Leaders from across the country who have inspired me. Thanks to all or members who have carried the load and made our Association Successful.....
Property of Texas Motorcycle Rights Association Rt. 6 Box 598 Alvin, Tx. 77511 (800) 222-0913
Permission to reprint, alter or use any and all of this booklet is granted to all MRO's (August 1996)
Removed From FlyingSnail's main page February 24, 2005
SCOTT RITTER SAYS:
U.S. PLANS JUNE ATTACK ON IRAN,
‘COOKED’ JAN. 30 IRAQI ELECTION RESULTS
by Mark Jensen, Saturday, 19 February 2005
http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/2295/2/Scott Ritter, appearing with journalist Dahr Jamail yesterday in Washington State, dropped two shocking bombshells in a talk delivered to a packed house in Olympia’s Capitol Theater. The ex-Marine turned UNSCOM weapons inspector said that George W. Bush has "signed off" on plans to bomb Iran in June 2005, and claimed the U.S. manipulated the results of the recent Jan. 30 elections in Iraq. [click to continue reading] - - - [Voice opinion on News Hounds BLOG ?]
HOW CONVENIENT! START A NEW WAR IN JUNE WHEN SCHOOL IS OUT, INITIATE THE DRAFT IN JULY, AND AVOID ANY STUDENT PROTESTS UNTIL SEPTEMBER == 4 STARS 4 KARL ROVE 4 CLEVERNESS
William Thomas's page [click to visit: willthomas.net] has a great quicktime video on the Draft that has been converted locally into FLASH FORMAT [click to watch Draft Flash], in order to reach a larger audience. The location of the original .mov file is [click here to go to http://www.willthomas.net/911/Bush/Draft.htm].
Experts See Military
Draft as Inevitable
By William Pitt, Fri
Feb 18th, 2005 at 09:16:06 AM EST
Anti-war activists fear revival of selective service
By Mike Billington
The Delaware News Journal
02/17/2005There may come a day when Uncle Sam wants Wayne Flenniken for the U.S. Army.
In many ways, he's an ideal candidate for military service. At 15, he already has finished high school and is enrolled at Delaware Technical & Community College studying Spanish and English. There is a problem, however. Wayne doesn't want any part of Uncle Sam's Army - or anyone else's, for that matter.
"I don't believe in war and I don't like the military in any way, shape or form," he said. "I don't think anyone should be forced to die prematurely."
That's why he went to a draft resistance training session Friday in his hometown of Newark. It's why Wayne has begun building his case as a conscientious objector.
The United States no longer has a military draft and hasn't since 1973, when it converted to an all-volunteer military.
But some anti-war activists say it's only a matter of time before the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress bring it back. Meanwhile, conservatives and moderates outside the administration have taken a hard look at America's military commitments and are urging Congress to beef up the Army and Marines.
Many elected officials say there is no way the draft will be brought back any time soon.
"Our current all-volunteer force is highly effective, well-trained, well-disciplined and capable of handling our global and national security commitments," said Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del. "[Defense] Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have continuously stated their opposition to reviving the draft and the House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected such a proposal last year. I personally oppose it."
Others aren't so certain. - The rest.
[click to continue reading blog responses]
'Real agenda' told it like it is
Feb. 8, 2005 - Editor of the Reformer:
Thank you for your brilliant editorial ["The real agenda"] on Friday, Feb. 4. I have forwarded copies to Pat Leahy, Jim Jeffords and Bernie Sanders.
The words are especially appropriate in the light of Bush's punitive budget. It describes the terrible danger our nation and people are facing from a president and administration that is guided more by cupidity and cruelty than by the moral values that have long been the hallmark of the American people.
The editorial's summation tells it as it is: Bush's "Ownership Society" is nothing more than the same old "us against them" vision of the world where they who have, get. It's a vision where taxes aren't viewed as the membership dues we pay for a civilized society, but instead are seen as theft. It's a vision that rejects the democratic ideal of mutual support and collective responsibility. It's a vision that rejects the idea that government exists to promote the general welfare, and not to merely help the rich grow richer.
It is a dreadful warning, but one which we ignore at our peril. - Robert Deacon, Bellows Falls
We'll Miss You Hunter
Writer Hunter S. Thompson Kills Himself
Feb 21, 2005 7:08 am US/Central
ASPEN, Colo. (AP)"He may have died relatively young but he made up for it in quality if not quantity of years," Paul Krassner, the veteran radical journalist and one of Thompson's former editors, told The Associated Press by phone from his Southern California home.
"It was hard to say sometimes whether he was being provocative for its own sake or if he was just being drunk and stoned and irresponsible," quipped Krassner, founder of the leftist publication The Realist and co-founder of the Youth International (YIPPIE) party.
"But every editor that I know, myself included, was willing to accept a certain prima donna journalism in the demands he would make to cover a particular story," he said. "They were willing to risk all of his irresponsible behavior in order to share his talent with their readers."
What is Perchlorate
and Why Should I Know About It?The Real Agenda
Brattleboro Reformer, February 04, 2005 - 2:15:36 AM ESTRunning beneath the Bush administration's talk of creating an "Ownership Society" is something they won't come right out and say openly: They are crafting a long-term strategy to render the Democratic Party impotent for decades to come.
It's no secret that virtually every act of the Bush White House is done with political considerations in mind, usually camouflaged with Orwellian language.
"Tort reform" is a code phrase for defunding the trial lawyers, one of the Democratic Party's biggest financial backers.
The No Child Left Behind Act and support for school vouchers for private schools are designed to destroy public education and the teacher unions that reliably back Democrats.
Expanding the North American Free Trade Agreement to the entire Western Hemisphere is not just about free trade, but destroying labor unions, another reliably Democratic group.
Packing the federal courts with conservatives ensures that the most odious elements of the Bush agenda will be upheld.
Permanent warfare in pursuit of empire ensures that dissent will be equated with treason and will keep people too scared to speak up.
But initiatives such as these are just the warm-up act compared to the crown jewel of their "stick it to the Democrats" strategy -- privatization (a word now banned by the Bush administration) of Social Security.
By diverting part of the money we currently pay in Social Security taxes into the stock market, Americans will become part of what conservative strategist Grover Norquist calls "the investor class."
Here's where it really gets diabolical. If privatization becomes a reality, every issue from that point on can be framed as a potential threat to people's retirement funds. Environmental laws. Labor laws. Corporate taxes. Liability laws. The whole regulatory framework of modern corporate America will suddenly be transformed into a drag on stock earnings and a direct attack on the retirement funds of millions of Americans.
It's not much of a leap from there to call the entire idea of the maintenance of the welfare state into question. The next step of the grand Bush strategy is to remove taxes on investment income and put the federal tax burden squarely on the shoulders of wage earners. When this happens, the cries to cut government spending will get louder and the legitimacy of government will get attacked further.
This feeds into the master narrative of conservatism that we've heard for decades -- if we can eliminate all the constraints on capitalism, society will flourish. Every major social program enacted since Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal -- most especially, Social Security -- is held up as examples of government interference in the natural order of economics.
We know what the natural order of economics looks like and what the end result looks like. The stock market crash of 1929, and the Great Depression that followed it, was the unhappy ending to a decade of wild speculation fueled by laissez-faire economics. It took Roosevelt's New Deal to save capitalism from itself.
Bush's "Ownership Society" is nothing more than the same old "us against them" vision of the world where they who have, get. It's a vision where taxes aren't viewed as the membership dues we pay for a civilized society, but instead are seen as theft. It's a vision that rejects the democratic ideal of mutual support and collective responsibility. It's a vision that rejects the idea that government exists to promote the general welfare, and not to merely help the rich grow richer.
Social contracts? Safety nets? Collective responsibility? To the Bush administration, these are concepts they view as being as quaint and obsolete as the Geneva Convention. There is little doubt who will be able to join Bush's Ownership Society and who will be on the outside looking in.
Nobody Knows the Truth about Education
Bush Administration Escapes Government Accountability
Federal Money Left Behind
Leave the Child Behind and Destroy Education
How Many SCHOOLS HAVE CLOSED In Your State?
[BREAKING NEWS: 'A Clean Break' (from James Bamford's 'A Pretext for War') - The Blueprint for the new Bush policy had actually been drawn up five years earlier by three of his top national security advisors. Soon to be appointed to senior administration positions, they were Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and David Wurmser. Ironically the plan was originally intended not for Bush but for another world leader, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.(3 pages)]
[BREAKING NEWS: The Bush tapes, regarding the President's drug usage, and new book, are a clever attempt at news diversion instituted by White House genius, Karl Rove, and (fwiw) the reason why Bloggers are not covering it.]
[BREAKING NEWS: AARP Releases Swift Boat Veterans ad; Return of the Circle Jerks. An undisclosed source, named Chris, said, "I couldn't take it any longer, you know, watching those guys in tuxedos, carrying flowers, kissing one another. [snip] long ago, on those small boats, with the humid jungle weather. You know, where you end up wearing nothing but a towel because the sweat is running down so bad that you feel both dirty and hot. Well, one day, we're in our towels, sitting real close to one another in a big circle, and having a great time. [snip] when that ivy league p***y, Kerry, shows up, saves us from an attack, and then called us a bunch of 'jerk offs' [snip] From that day on, we vowed to get even and [continue reading]
