Unknown News | Dialogue: Letters to the editor

"News that's not known, or not known enough."

Dialogue: April 7 - 13, 2007

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All in the family

by E13

April 13, 2007
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Will Congress finally cut off the Bush family's war profiteering?
by Evelyn Pringle, CounterPunch

Excerpt: On December 11, 2003, the Financial Times reported that three people had told the Times that they had seen letters written by Neil Bush that recommended business ventures in the Middle East, promoted by New Bridges Strategies, a firm set up by President Bush's former campaign manager, who quit his Bush appointed government job as the head of FEMA, three weeks before the war in Iraq began.

Neil Bush was paid an annual fee to "help companies secure contracts in Iraq," the Times said.

But Neil Bush is by no means the only Bush profiting from the war on terror. The first President Bush is so entangled with entities that have profited greatly that it's difficult to even know where to begin. Bush joined the Carlyle Group in 1993, and became a member of the firm's Asian Advisory Board.

Oh how boring. Nobody wants to talk about how Prescott Bush made his fortune in Nazi Germany ... but the tradition goes on. George Sr. and Neil, Marvin and Jeb are making theirs in Iraq and Afghanistan. (With a little help from son and brother George W.)

E13

Adios, Imus

by Angry Annie

April 13, 2007
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Further proof that a white man just can't get ahead in America (is what the right-wing liars will say).

CBS fires Don Imus from radio show

Excerpt: CBS fired Don Imus from his radio program Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation’s most prominent broadcasters.

Imus initially was given a two-week suspension for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and advertisers bolted from his CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast.

I wonder how many millions of dollars his severance package will be. Boo hoo. Don't let the solid gold door hit your well-padded ass on the way out of the building, Imus. And take the other hate-mongers with you -- Limbaugh and Hannity, Coulter and Savage et al. Enjoy a nice swim in the toilet together.

Angry Annie

Any Iranians out there?

by Kathy Fisher

April 13, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

To the fools who re-enlist and to the poor unfortunate soldiers who have no choice -- It is blood money for unpaid mortgages, credit card debt, fast, hardly driven cars, premature burial plans and broken-hearted widows' lost dreams ...

^{* * *} Do any of you know of a good Iranian blog website that I could go to? I want to find out just how Iranians are dealing with this threat of attack. Do they understand the horror this will be? What are they doing? Are there any groups inside Iran that are stupid enough to want this strike on Iran?

By April 16 everything will be in place for a military strike on Iran, anything after that date is open, and I'm getting more nervous by the day.

I heard Pelosi wants to go to Iran, another Kodak moment or does she know something?

BTW 40 cents of every devalued US dollar goes to military spending?

^{* * *} I look at it this way. If the PR guys can sell the sheeple crap any time of the day or night, I just might get to them too by using the same tactics, the same quick and often reminded hard sell, but of common sense, easy to remember, easy to digest facts, with just the right amount of guilt and nagging throw in. Add a short lecture and we will get to them, and if we don't we sure as hell know we tried!

They're not going to get their clothes cleaner, they're not going to get suckered into a four year lease on a new car, but they are going to save their own asses from blowing to kingdom come, and maybe stop WW3, Impeach a pResident that's become a Tyrant and a danger to the entire world, and maybe just maybe we can get the rest of the world to like us again!

Whoa, that's a hard nut to crack!

Kathy Fisher
klfisher@webtv.net

Where credit is due

by Tim V.

April 13, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re Copyright violation

I'd like to know what page on our website could give you or any reasonable person the impression that we're claiming to have written what we've reprinted. I'll re-edit the page that gives that wrong impression, so please send the URL.

It was this page:
Stinky badges -- July 19, 2005

Now if you can show me anywhere on that page where it says Douglas Dispatch, which is the paper you took it from, I'd like to see it. I consider myself a reasonable person, and I found the page misleading. I'd assume the Douglas Dispatch would as well.

I write for the same chain that owns the Dispatch. But I'm also just an iddy-biddy freelancer who finds his work showing up all over the web without credit. It was my sweat that put those stories together, not whoever the webmaster happens to be. The same goes for the Douglas Dispatch reporter whose work appears on your pages without credit.

If you're going to castigate the ethics of cops, you ought to spruce your own up a bit as well.

Best,

Tim V.

Aw, dang it all to hell -- you're right.

There's no credit at the top of the reprints on that page, just an "as originally published" link at the bottom. So your complaint is perfectly valid. If someone's new to what we do, then yeah, it looks like we're sitting on our butts here in Wisconsin, banging out accounts of the news from Arizona.

Of course, we don’t know diddly about what's going on at the Douglas border patrol station in Arizona. We don't know where in Arizona the town of Douglas is. We wouldn't know the first thing about the news from anywhere, if not for the hard work of reporters on the spot, people who ask questions and take notes and check facts and all that stuff -- people who really do write the news from scratch.

We do something different than that, and a lot easier. We read the news, clip articles here and there, and stick 'em on our fridge or web page and bitch and moan about what we've read.

There's no reason you should care about this paragraph, but we start every page with an empty template, and our template for reprints does include credit where credit is due, at the top of every article, reporter's name and publication, and a link at the bottom of every article. But ... once a month or so, when we prepare our collection of bad cop stories, we use a different template for that page, and there's been no credit at the top of each article. And that ain't the way it should be. And I'm the one who designed the template, so that's my fault. I've just altered that template.

Effective immediately, credit will be up front, impossible to miss, at the top of any article we reprint in future bad cop round-ups (as it already is when we reprint news on other topics). And I've fixed the page you read.

And I'm apologizing to you, kind stranger, and to an anonymous worker at the Douglas Dispatch, and by extension I'd like to apologize to any reporter similarly denied appropriate credit. Sincerely, you've brought to my attention a problem I hadn't been aware of -- and that's what good reporters do. Thank you.

Helen & Harry

Thank you. I appreciate that. And as somebody who has reported amply on police shenanigans, I also very much appreciate your web site.

Tim V.

Nothing to see here

by Wig

April 13, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Outrage????

Outsourcers corner market for U.S. skilled worker visas

Excerpt:

Instead of "media" outrage over this they are consumed with the Imus nonsense or the paternity of "Dannielyne".

Wig

Perplexed by copyright issues

by Larry C.

April 13, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re Copyright violation

I told our local library that some kind of new copyright law is needed to allow the Library of Congress, or other suitable group. to copy without limit, anything they wanted for the sheer purpose of archiving human knowledge and culture. Anyone who puts out their own work needs to accept that this is being done for their own protection. There is no reason why any given work at the library should end up missing or stolen, and there's no way to acquire another copy, because the publisher went out of business, and the library could only legally get another copy by buying an original.

In the area of music, untold millions of live concerts have been lost forever because of the copyright laws, and the companies that will not allow others to record the events. They claim the concert belongs to them -- what about the audiences who paid to see the performance? What if they just didn't show up, because they couldn't record it? Doesn't the show belong, to some extent, to them also? Without them, the music would neither be sold, not heard.

Here's a killer question for you -- what if we had no copyright or patent laws? Do you think our inventors and writers would just simply stop their work? Or would they drive to better our world at any price, be so over-powering, that they'd do it for themselves, if not for others?

I am perplexed by these issues, but I can tell you that the inventors of the toilet would have given it away for free rather than suffer from the consequences of not using it. And our soap and deodorant makers? Would they pay us to use their products if we stopped on our own?

Larry C.

I do believe that creators of something new and nifty deserve a paycheck. But from "fair use" to the RIAA, what seems a fairly simple, straightforward creator's right has have been thoroughly wronged, confusingly legislated, twisted like a pretzel, enforced absurdly, and abused to such an extent that I too am perplexed by it all.

Copyright, patent, and trademark law -- in a society where lawmakers are owned by corporations -- is just all screwed up and thoroughly ass-backwards from Disney to dustmop design.

Helen & Harry

I am not against authors and inventors being paid for this work. I want them being paid, and I'm not convinced the current protective laws are doing this. Most of the time, the inventor himself is the primary beneficiary of stolen ideas, since he valued the concept the most, and someone else found a way to successfully beat him at his own game. But if he was beaten, he ends up getting his improved product back at a cheaper price. Was his purpose to freeze the creative process at his own inferior level of operations, or get the best version of his idea a the cheapest price?

Edison ran into this problems with Tesla over alternating current. Tesla beat the crap out of him, and it's damn lucky for the rest of us that Edison couldn't patent electricity itself, and any form of it. In China, right now, thousands of people would be starving to death if they weren't bootlegging DVDs and other products.

I don't have a good answer for this, and if I had a good answer, probably nobody would listen anyway! They sure can't stand my gold certificates!

Larry C.

The first step in any meaningful reform of anything even vaguely connected to American economics is ending most legal protections of incorporation, ending the pretense that corporations are human, etc.

Helen & Harry

All the news about nothing

by SirJ

April 12, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Imus is taken way too seriously. He is always trying to irritate people. It's what he is paid to do. They fall for it way too often and let themselves be irritated. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Imus are all out for as much notoriety as they can get. This incident is a feeding frenzy for all three. I take "nappy headed" to be a slick way of saying "black." Turkish towels have lots of nap. So do blacks' heads. Rappers use the word "ho" so often it is losing it's original meaning, whore. Now it practically means any woman the rapper wants to look down upon. Whores are good for one thing only -- sex. Hence using the word "ho" is a way of affirming the viewpoint that women in general are good for one thing only -- sex. It is a male's way of trying to control something he can't -- his sexual desire. The whole thing is a big to do about nothing.

SirJ

There's always, always a giant distraction going on in the news, some utterly insignificant item is played up as if it's earthshakingly important. Sometimes I turn on the radio just to listen to CNN's shockingly shallow top-of-the-hour three-minute newscasts, and in three minutes time there's always room for a few celebrities and a cuddly pet or a cute kid, but never time to provide more than a sentence or two about anything that matters ... but not to worry, that sentence or two almost invariably sidesteps anything that matters anyway.

Helen & Harry

Pretend President

by Mr. Chuckles

April 12, 2007
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If anyone needed proof that we have a pretend President, check this: White House considers war overseer

Excerpt: The White House is considering naming a high-powered official to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and report directly to President Bush and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

That is what the "Commander-in-Chief" is supposed to be doing! The WH is attempting to outsource the presidency...

Or maybe they're looking for a fall guy. But with Bush bouncing around the country doing photo-ops it is clear that he is not devoting any significant amount of brain-power to fulfilling his duties as "war president".

Back in the day, FDR and Churchill spent a lot of time being actively involved in management. Bush on the other hand, aside from loving to dress up as a military man, has no measurable level of participation in Operations... or strategy or tactics... At best he is a cheer leader. Liar-in-Chief. Head Bullshit Artiste. Loserman...

And the "surge" is going badly. Petraeus has a new plan for Baghdad, to turn it into an open air concentration camp, subdivided into walled enclaves with permission to pass strictly controlled. The US deaths this month are 5 per day! Soon it will be 110 degrees in the shade, and every soldier will have his tour of duty extended by 3 months, regardless.

This is really a mess, and getting worse. Now that the Shiite police are openly operating as death squads, I see no hope whatsoever for the US to bring about peace -- except through genocide. This could go on 40 years, except that the US would bankrupt itself long before.

Mr. Chuckles

I can't find it in the fly today, but I remember an Onion article from a year or so ago, that had Bush-Cheney basically outsourcing Presidential authority. For comedy, for satire. Now it's for real. And good cripes, if they hire a ninth-grade drop-out whose only work experience is working the fry station at McDonald's and make her the war overseer, the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan will show immediate improvement.

I just wonder, what the holy hell does it take to get impeached if you're a Republican?

Helen & Harry

^{* * *} Iceberg alert for the USS John Edwards:

Dear John,

I read this article and decided that your candidacy is totally doomed unless you make amends with your neighbor Monty:

This is one vote Edwards never had

Excerpt: Monty Johnson was heading home Monday with a cooler full of catfish when he learned his new neighbor had turned him into a minor celebrity.

The first calls on his cell phone came from two lawyers asking to represent him in a slander case. Elizabeth Edwards, they told him, had called him a "rabid, rabid Republican." That wasn't all. The Democratic presidential candidate's wife also told The Associated Press she didn't want her children near Johnson because, she said, he once pulled a gun on workers investigating a right of way on his property.

Believe it or not, in many rural parts of the U.S. there is no "sheriff" nearby. No government protection near. It might take a part-time "deputy" half an hour to respond. Or more. Not everyone has Secret Service protection 24/7. Guns are essential for safety.

And country is country. If you can't get along with your neighbors in the country you are in a heap o' trouble.

I would hope to see you and Elizabeth having old Monty and wife over for a barbecue.. like tonight, if not sooner. Otherwise, your campaign is pretty much over because you gonna need the Southern good ole boys and the country folk on your side.

Best wishes...

Mr. Chuckles

I suppose it matters to some people whether Mrs Edwards is a bitch or not, or what John Edwards' Republican neighbor thinks of him. It doesn't matter hardly at all to me, though. I assume any Republican would either hate Edwards or say he hated Edwards if a reporter asked, and the Edwardses are rich so I assume they're both bitches. I don't think either of them would ever give me more than a moment and a handshake if I waited in line.

But your point, I reckon, is that this is the kind of stuff that matters to an average voter, and lordy, you're probably right about that. I used to think average was a synonym for ordinary, but these days it seems to just mean dim.

Helen & Harry

I dunno... if that article about Monty is right, and Elizabeth has been trash-talking her good ole boy neighbors, then the Edwards' whole campaign is bogus and doomed, because I think he would need the Southern vote.

Mr. Chuckles

Maybe I'm inoculated from this, because I've never been much of a fan of Edwards. He seems better than most of the announced Democrats, but that's saying so little ...

Helen & Harry

Shia and Sunni

by Chris M.

April 12, 2007
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US says Iran agents equip Iraq Sunni extremists

Excerpt: The US military on Wednesday charged publicly for the first time that Shiite Iranian intelligence agents were supporting Sunni extremists who are fighting American-led forces in Iraq.

Over the past two years, Washington and top US commanders have repeatedly accused Iranian elements of aiding Shiite militias in their sectarian fight against Sunni Arabs in Iraq and in waging attacks on US troops.

But displaying what he said were newly manufactured Iranian weapons found in Baghdad, Major General William Caldwell said US authorities were now aware of Iranian help to the Sunni extremists who lead the anti-American insurgency.

"We do have now some information that Iranian intelligence agencies have supported some Sunni extremist groups," the military spokesman said.

Ok, let me get this straight. Iran, which is Shia and really dislikes Sunni Muslims, is now arming and training Sunni Muslim extremists -- who will use this training to kill Shia Muslims that Iran is supposedly backing.

What is wrong with this picture ???

Chris M.

Bon voyage, Mr Vonnegut

by Kathy Fisher

April 12, 2007
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Born in Indiana in1922 ... He fell several weeks ago and never recovered ... what a loss! RIP, KURT ... Good man!

Kathy Fisher
klfisher@webtv.net

Who said 'ho' first?

by Cassandra

April 12, 2007
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You probably saw Kurt Vonnegut's died. Ah, hell, I knew he couldn't live forever but I hoped :)

^{* * *} I haven't seen the transcripts, but someone told me Imus's producer or someone referred to as a boss called the college team 'hos' before Imus did during that conversation, and I haven't seen anything about that. This guy doesn't seem to be getting any flack for it. Any ideas why?

Glad he got dropped.

Cassandra

I know next to nothing about it. I've always had the impression Don Imus is an asshole, and he's said disgusting things before and apologized, time and time again. This is part of his schtick. The whole rigmarole smells like a diversion to me, everyone's all "shocked, shocked!, that Don Imus is shocking", it's like this week's Anna Nicole or Britney news -- pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, poof, boom! :)

Helen & Harry

Me too on the thinking he's an asshole. Last time I heard about him he'd said something offensive and then the media started talking about this program he has for inner-city kids where they get to visit his ranch.

The difference between this and Anna Nicole is that a lot more people got hurt this time, and I dunno of anyone who Britney has really hurt, and it sounds like her kids are going to be more closely supervised now.

Cassandra

Oh, clearly, Don Imus is an asshole in ways Anna Nicole and Britney and the rest aren't. Imus is intentionally trying to push people's buttons, while the glamous girls are just famous and trying to remain famous. But I'm not so much talking about the celebrities as the press that obsesses over them.

Don Imus's stupid wisecrack about "nappy-headed hos" probably didn't hurt anyone when he said it -- the people who'd be hurt by his everyday crude comments aren't listening to Don Imus. Anyone hurt by his words most likely heard his words or read his words elsewhere, like I did, like you did.

The whole hubbub just looks to me like more media manufactured filler -- it occupies air space, fills column inches on the op-ed page, but it means nothing. The Don Imus controversy goes down easier, offends fewer viewers, and fits more snug 'n' comfy between the ads than actual news coverage would.

As for Mr Vonnegut, I'd like to think there's a next generation of authors eager to smack ideas around with abandon as he did, but if there are youngsters writing a fraction as well they remain unknown to me ...

Helen & Harry

Mountains of mistakes, misinformation, and outright lies

by JR Mooneyham

April 12, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

MySpace prank gone bad leads to misuse of school resources, multiple lawsuits

Excerpt: The problems started in December 2005, when several students from Pennsylvania's Hickory High School posted fake MySpace profiles about their principal, Eric Trosch. All of the posts were mean-spirited; they accused Trosch of using steroids, marijuana, and alcohol; suggested that he had sex with students; and said that his interests included "Transgender, Appreciators of Alcoholic Beverages." In the year and a half since the four separate profiles were posted, the community has experienced the upheaval of multiple lawsuits, the most recent coming this week as Trosch sued the students involved.

In general, we're all of us vulnerable to this sort of thing. It's basically the grass roots version of the smears politicians face from Fox News and the like, as we corresponded on before. And where minors are doing the smearing, things just get still more complicated. Plus, there's that pesky free speech right...that protects you and me and -- foul-mouthed kids with a net connection.

And of course, some things will forever remain beyond provable, absolute truth-wise. No matter how outlandish. For instance, it can't be absolutely proven that aliens have never visited Earth. Or that you or I have never been abducted and returned without our knowledge.

Likewise, there's no way to prove your innocence of lots of vague charges on the net, such as I take it the principal faced here.

A Google exec said something a while back about possibly creating a credibility engine for net claims. More specifically, a sort of 'lie detector' for political statements, among other things. Based pretty much on the data available online and its sources. But I can see all sorts of problems with THAT! Ha, ha. Especially from a commercial corporation. Which has already displayed a preference for Republican spins. And so far the net itself has huge holes info-wise -- as well as mountains of mistakes, misinformation, and outright lies.

Making it impossible for anyone to post anonymously or under an alias would tighten things up a bit -- but also more easily allow a dictator to take control of us.

Forcing multiple tiers of net access upon us, wherein only those with adult licenses could see and do everything online -- while those without were restricted to the kiddie pool -- would have similar effects (and dangers) as mandatory accurate IDs of surfers. But I suspect the tiered net WILL come about at some point. At least in places like America.

Net-smears could get so bad eventually that the government creates something like an off-shoot of the federal witness protection program, where those unjustly smeared too badly are helped to make a fresh start with a new identity in another location, to try escaping the worst consequences of the smear. And where possible, those responsible for the smear will face stiff fines or jail terms.

The punishment part might be near impossible to do though -- for today maybe 75% of our top politicians and those responsible for our mainstream media would surely themselves be found guilty of such crimes, and face significant prison time.

Basically, a sufficiently bad net smear would be equivalent to identity theft in many respects. And the errors in Bush's no-fly terrorist list (as well as various credit industry reports on individuals) basically amount to a form of net-smear themselves.

JR Mooneyham
Walk Like a Kryptonian

Man, JR, sometimes you do a lot of thinking, more thinking than I deserve or can keep up with.

I read the article yesterday, so my facts might be a little forgotten by now, but it seemed to me the story was just full of gray areas. The principal overreacted in the first place -- but not a lot. He spent school resources trying to defend his name, but I'll wager the whole situation was new to him and he had to learn the internet ropes as he went along. The author of the article, I think, wants me to be all bothered that the principal is now suing the kids who smeared him, but I just don't have that much sympathy for snotty high school kids. I'll bet a lawsuit could've been averted if the kids had made sincere use of the phrase "I'm sorry," but if sorry is too hard to say or the principal doesn't feel in a forgiving mood, then it seems proper for the principal to sue if he wants to sue. That's among his rights.

As for all the other implications you see springing from this, I think we're entirely agreed, but you said it all better than I would've.

Helen & Harry

One of my major projects of the past 20 years now has been my future timeline. The work is ongoing. Topics like net smears and truths and implications open up that particular can of worms in my head.

JR Mooneyham
Walk Like a Kryptonian

Inneresting ... I usually cut myself short, change the subject in my own head, when I find myself wondering what the world will look like after I'm dead ... It's all a little depressing -- not so much the idea that I'll be dead (that's pretty much unavoidable) as what the world will be like ...

Helen & Harry

JR Mooneyham replies

The refusal to learn

by Wig

April 12, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Even 'secure' southern Iraq erupts into protest

Excerpt: The eruption of demonstrations in the south of Iraq this week could rob the occupation forces of what was considered a critical bastion of support. The southern areas of Iraq have long been said to be secure, and people there peaceful towards the occupation forces. Iraqis living in the south were also believed to be cooperative with the occupation to the extent that they supported administrative steps taken by successive Iraqi governments. The majority of the population of the south are Shia Muslims, and Iraq has had Shia-dominated governments under the occupation.

But demonstrations against the occupation and the United States by hundreds of thousands of angry Shias in Najaf, Kut and other cities across the south Apr. 9 mark a sharp break from a policy of cooperation. Protesters demanded an end to the U.S.-led occupation, burnt U.S. flags and chanted "Death to America!"

So much for the British claims of their success in the southern provinces.

^{* * *} Divide and rule -- America's plan for Baghdad
by Robert Fisk, The Independent [London, UK]

Excerpt: A former US officer in Vietnam who has a deep knowledge of General Petraeus's plans is skeptical of the possible results. "The first loyalty of any Sunni who is in the Iraqi army is to the insurgency," he said. "Any Shia's first loyalty is to the head of his political party and its militia. Any Kurd in the Iraqi army, his first loyalty is to either Barzani or Talabani. There is no independent Iraqi army. These people really have no choice. They are trying to save their families from starvation and reprisal. At one time they may have believed in a unified Iraq. At one time they may have been secular. But the violence and brutality that started with the American invasion has burnt those liberal ideas out of people ... Every American who is embedded in an Iraqi unit is in constant mortal danger."

The refusal TO LEARN from history is astounding in our military. Is it a conscious effort to rewrite or deliberately misread military failures? The article singles out Viet Nam as the principal failures of this "NEW PLAN". However, Napoleon as cited failed, The French failed in Viet Nam before the Americans followed suit disastrously. Hitler tried to use shadow governments . In Norway the Quisling fiasco. In France the Vichy fiasco. Perhaps the most preposterous use of this type plan was the Warsaw Ghetto attempt by the Germans in World War II. Yet ,here, the latest American military genius Petraeous is implementing the same failed strategy. Well I don't expect a lot of luck here. But Then "THE DECIDER" has DECIDED. SO there.

^{* * *} Navy vet imprisoned, tortured by U.S. officials

Excerpt: As hundreds at the luncheon finished their lobster salad, Vance, a two-time George W. Bush voter and Navy veteran, recounted the events of his imprisonment and the grief of his fiancé and family. They did not know if he was alive or dead, he said. They were already making inquiries to the U.S. State Department on how to ship his body home.

With friends like his he doesn't need any enemies.

He then drew a wider circle around his ordeal to include the countless others who have been held falsely without charge and denied normal legal constitutional protections under law. "My name used to be 200343," Vance said recalling his prisoner ID. "If they can do this to a former Navy man and an American, what is happening to people in facilities all over the world run by the American government?

Only the "Decider" has to know?

Wig

How many dozens of grounds for impeachment have been ignored, and how many grounds for prosecution at the Hague ... ?

Helen & Harry

In pain since the 1940s

by JGA

April 12, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

As a Veteran of World War ll. At an age of 88 years of age, I am registered at our local West Palm Beach, Florida, VA Hospital. At the start of the War, I had a Back and Hip injury while going through Basic Training. I was hospitalize for a 2 week period. I was then released and given pain pills and shipped immediately over seas. I was on these pain pills throughout my military service. Where I served in the European theater Of Operation from May 1942 till I returned home October of 1945 for discharge. On October of 1945 I was discharged but did not claim a disability as I wasn't informed of my rights to file such a claim. In civilian life I lived on pain pills and direct pain shots into my hip by my Civilian orthopedic doctors.

I retired and moved from Madison, Wisconsin to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This back and hip injury pain was with me all the time. As the VA was building a new VA hospital in West Palm Beach I applied for military medical service. I also filed for a disability. They denied my disability stating that all my military records were burned in a Kansas Military storage warehouse fire. I went through much correspondence with the VA with repeated denial of my claim because of my records being destroyed. I search for others GI's that went through Basic training with me, to vouch of such injury as being witness's to this injury. But to no avail could I find a living GI who was in Basic training with me.

My claim has been denied and claimed as OLD AGE RESIDUAL. I don't think the conditions of fighting a war helped in reaching the age that the last of us Veterans find themselves health wise, as we now wait for deaths Reapers To Cut Us Down. But still my Comrade Disabled American Veterans Chapter #42 Organization extended me a life time membership.

The VA Hospital has put me on program that I would have to pay for some services and my medicines. This hospital being over crowded, with an estimated almost 40,000 veterans go through it's door during the winter season. I have retained my civilian doctors as I was on Medicare and supplement Florida B/C B/S. My medicines cost me almost $300.00 per month. With no Insurance for these medicines as I am registered with the VA for some of the medicines which some they cannot supply. It's been a burden on myself and my dear wife who has gone through two bouts of Chemo Cancer treatments for the past 4 years. We are very fortunate that she is on Medicare and Bankers Life Supplement, but still out of pocket expenses. Our health insurance costing us almost $6000.00 in yearly premiums. Not knowing what will come next.

If ever Wal-Mart would do something for us Veterans is to open up their Generic $4.00 drug plans to the thousands of Veteran that now live in Florida and other parts of the world as permanent and part time residence. WAR WAS HELL, BUT DEATH IS FINAL. Thanks for hearing me OUT.

JGA

Thanks for telling your story -- what a colossal collection of outrages you've endured.

Wal-Mart is a cold-hearted corporation, they care only about profit, so I doubt they'll come through for you. But what really infuriates me is how you've been treated by the United States government.

This is just the opinion of a middle-aged nobody, but -- You shouldn't have had to pay a dime for your meds over the past sixty-some years. You served the nation when the nation needed you, and your health care is supposed to be part of the deal that comes with that service.

Screw the warehouse fire, screw the excuses and red tape -- and screw the bureaucrats who've made your life miserable. They ought to be fired and prosecuted, each and every one of 'em. The only requirement there ought to be, for you to get the meds you need, is an occasional visit with a doctor -- all costs paid by the government, of course -- and a phone call from you when you're ready for a refill -- paid for by the government, of course.

Kind stranger, you gave your government your service, put your body and yourself on the line for America, and basically gave your nation your health, for the rest of your life. And in return, your nation has given you, apparently, six decades of the runaround. That's infuriating. Unjust, improper, and infuriating.

Wish I could offer more than just my righteous indignation.

Helen & Harry

No telling what extremes

by Maureen S.

April 12, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re Who's next to get screwed?

Who's next? I would say that it's all of us!!! All of us who aren't "rich" beyond need; this is yet another example of what is happening to America; the undermining of our infrastructure by the Bu$hit administration (thanks for the term Blue! lol) is beyond comprehension. However, it certainly supports Kruschev's statement to Kennedy so many years ago: "We will bury you from within;" the disaster is that it's not Russia that's doing it, it's our own government!!! WE, THE PEOPLE, need to get out in the streets in masse!!! In numbers greater than the '60s protests!!! And we all need to vote in upcoming elections, whether local or not; especially the national elections and we also need to ENSURE that our votes are counted. The GOP is scared ... so be watchful; there's no telling what extremes they will go to this time to keep their power! And we have to make sure they don't succeed!!!

Maureen S.

Copyright violation

by Tim V.

April 12, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

While I appreciate your site, I'm a full-time journalist and I've noticed an increasing number of web sites using all or parts of copyrighted stories without displaying where they come from or who wrote them. That's a violation of copyright.

When I read your page, it at first appears that you have written information you've gleaned from other new sources. It's only when the reader hits the link that he finds out where the story actually came from, verbatim.

It is against the law to display a copyrighted story without permission anyway. It's doubly so when you post it without making the identifying information immediately obvious.

Regards,

Tim V.

Regards right back atcha. It's possible we've been sloppy on occasion, but our standard template for republication (pretty much unchanged over the past several years) gives completely obvious credit at the top of anything republished, and a link at the bottom. I'd like to know what page on our website could give you or any reasonable person the impression that we're claiming to have written what we've reprinted. I'll re-edit any page that gives that wrong impression, so please send the URL.

I expect that a few well-publicized lawsuits will shake out the way iddy biddy websites like ours are allowed to operate, and decide whether republication is fair use or a violation of copyright. But until some giant newspaper, news network, or wire service sues some pipsqueak blogger, we're guided by our conscience. And our conscience is clear.

Helen & Harry

Tim V. replies, Larry C. replies

Like Lucy's sign says, 'The psychiatrist is in'

by Larry C.

April 12, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re Barter blues

It's interesting that you're from Madison, WI. I used to work in Madison, OH, and a printer there introduced me to the problems with fractional reserve banking. He devoted his whole life to defending the Constitution, and died on July 4th, 2003. His name was Jack Greenways. Maybe you knew him.

The idea of a currency based on hours begs the issues of how one knows the hours were worked, and how to value the hours. Even though most people use hours to measure work, the question of how much value to put per hour is always up for debate. This is why I haven't been moved to start any kind of currency based on time. It might work, but we have something better.

My barter system is worth more than its weight in gold, as proven by the certificates that I own. The value is agreed upon by dealers all over the world. It's so damn good, nobody can even conceive of it, which is why nobody wants to use it! They just can't believe it's for real! You can carry the "gold" without the weight! You can send it to someone without additional postage. All you have to worry about is tracking it, because it's so great, it's worth tracking! Is that the real reason why nobody wants it . . . you cannot cheat it. It's too great for cheaters! The Ithaca hours can be cheated! Liberty Dollars can be cheated! But my barter system is cheat-proof! If you don't pay for the gold, you don't get it! If you don't treat it right, it will kick you right back!

Thank you for the sounding board to vent my frustration. Free psychiatry will work just fine for me!

Larry C.

Six fallen

by The Canadian

April 11, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Hey, those 6 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan belonged to the Mech Inf Regiment that I once trained with, known as the Royal Canadian Regiment or RCR. If they had to be taken, I'm glad they were taken fast. They will never pass a fault. It is a good and honorable Regiment and the oldest of Canadian Regiments.

Pro Patria!

VRI

The Canadian

Are condolences in order? I've tried putting myself in your military-issue shoes, and my guess is that these soldiers' deaths trigger a messy mental mix of pride, a sense of almost 'family' since you knew and experienced the same training, and anger at lives wasted for diddlysquat. I know camaraderie, but of course its meaning in the military sense is far more foreign to me than anything Canadian.

Googling for an answer to a different question, your tag line VRI seems to stand for Victoria Regina Et Imperatrix, or from the Latin, roughly, Queen Victoria, Commander in Chief. She's been dead more than a hundred years, but I guess it's a traditional thing?

Helen & Harry

The Canadian replies

The Imus effect

by Kathy Fisher

April 11, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

As for Don Imus, let's talk hypocrisy. Long after this current distraction is over we will still have a shit-head war criminal in office who needs to be dealt with, and a bogus war based on lies that has to be stopped... Case closed.

I can hardly wait to see the next distraction they throw at us to get us off track again. Let's please get back to the things we all agree upon, the important issues. This is a stinking waste of our valuable time.

Kathy Fisher
klfisher@webtv.net

Imagine there's no Kennedy

by Chris M.

April 11, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re Yes, the problem *is* the Fed

The ills of our nation *can* be corrected, but the Fed has to go first. We must seize the right to coin our nation's currency away from this cabal and put it back into the hands of the people, where the framers of the Constitution intended it to stay.

As I recall and understand it, doing away with the "Fed" was one of the things that JFK was trying to get done. Now he is dead. Imagine that.

Chris M.

Important news for parents of young children

by JR Mooneyham

April 11, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

American children the past decade or two seem to have suffered from much more asthma, allergies, and ear infections than past generations. It looks like we've now found a way to strike one of these off the list.

Meningitis vaccine provides immunity to ear infections
Use our New York Times login unk.news and password unknown

JR Mooneyham
Walk Like a Kryptonian

Twofer

by Wig

April 11, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Volunteer Army???????

Military pay soars

Excerpt: The struggle to entice Army Soldiers and Marines to stay in the military, after four years of war in Iraq, has ballooned into a $1 billion campaign, with bonuses soaring nearly sixfold since 2003.

The size and number of bonuses have grown as officials scrambled to meet the steady demand for troops on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan and reverse sporadic shortfalls in the number of National Guard and Reserve Soldiers willing to sign on for multiple tours.

^{* * *} Judge rejects Padilla torture argument

Excerpt: A federal judge refused to dismiss terrorism charges against Jose Padilla over claims that the alleged al-Qaida operative was tortured in U.S. military custody, removing one of the last major obstacles to the start of his trial next week.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke stressed in a 12-page order filed late Monday that she was not passing judgment on the torture allegations. Rather, she said the effort to dismiss the case for "outrageous government conduct" was faulty on legal grounds.

Justice not only blindfolded but GAGGED.

Wig

Three Buddhists walk into McDonald's

by Kevin Good

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re Easter prayers at McDonald's

Doesn't surprise me. There are good peaceful people everywhere. Despite their appearance you weren't afraid to talk to the Buddhists and Buddhists weren't afraid to talk to you even though you looked to them like Chevy Chase in the movie Vacation. You know you just might be on to something here.

All that said I think y'all, I mean the whole bunch of ya, need to find an eating establishment that's a little more kosher.

Kevin Good

A positive outlook

by Watcher

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re When the dark curtain finally closes

You know, I'll be happy when it dose collapse. I've been struggling my whole life and I still come out on top, I'm used to it, I'm a survivor. It will be great to see the rich elite a-holes and all the people who act like their shit doesn't stink lose it all, I can't wait.

Watcher

Your cheerful and optimistic perspective brightens my spirits, puts a smile on my face -- does everything but changes the kitty's litter. (Probably sounds like smartassery, as I read what I've just typed, but it's meant sincerely.)

Helen & Harry

Watcher replies

Let them eat heat rays

by Kathy Fisher

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Airman burned in ray-gun test

Excerpt: An airman suffered second-degree burns during an evaluation of a non-lethal heat-ray gun this week in south Georgia, officials said.

The injured airman was taken to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta after the incident Wednesday. He was not identified.

Another gift bestowed on the populace to be used in the coming global super war on the world!

Why build and invent things to feed and aid the starving masses when you can build weapons to achieve Strength and Honor in battle.

^{* * *} I fell asleep at my keyboard ...

Meanwhile the sheeple's complacent ignorance puts the nails in our coffins. And as we try and save lives with so little precious time left, do they know or even care that they are actually helping the Bush regime's on going slaughter.

After my catnap I suddenly awake ... Is it over yet?

^{* * *} Iraqi insider details 'shocking' U.S. missteps

Bush's war terra forced the country into civil war. I along with so many wrote about this and warned everyone what would happen but they didn't listen. They shocked and awed these poor people and tried to sell it as the right and only thing left on the table to do. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that this was/is exactly what the Neocons wanted to do in the first place! Our dictators ignore the Iraqi people when they band together with their neighboring countries and demand we get out and end the occupation. In my opinion they have forced them to become radicalized.

^{* * *} Imus, like the Easter egg, white and in very hot water!

Old Don Imus got caught being a hypocrite. What else is new?

It is bad for the rappers to use these slang slanderisms and it's worse when it comes out of the mouths of those who would criticize the rappers or anyone else who speaks in this disgusting vernacular.

Sharpton sees though the Bush regime's games and hatred, Imus does not. Sharpton doesn't condone the rappers or anyone's use of this gutter talk and never has. Imus thought he was being cute and hip. Thought he could get away with it.

I'm happy someone took him to the mat about this. That's not free speech, it was slander! It's mean, dumb and it's hurtful, certainly not funny no matter who it comes from. To say it is OK because some hip-hoppers and rappers do it, the comparison is way out of line, nonsense, and a bad excuse in favor of an arrogant overpaid radio talk show host.

Hey, Imus, you look like a corpse! Go home and lay down!

Kathy
klfisher@webtv.net

His punishment, two weeks' vacation, is just free publicity. It'll make his ratings spike high when he returns, and I'm unable to find any report anywhere that suggests his "two weeks suspension" is without pay.

Helen & Harry

Arsenic, Bush-Cheney, and hatred

by JR Mooneyham

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Please be careful about feeling hatred too much or too often. It's not good for your health. In general it seems best to try to somehow have fun while working against such awful entities and events. For me, it's sometimes looking at my actions as merry mischief upsetting the king's apple cart. Or looking at things as trying to shield the innocent and helpless from evil or accident, rather than hating the evil itself. ... MORE ...

JR Mooneyham
Walk Like a Kryptonian

Subdue and kill

by kirwan

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re Peace on earth, NOT earth to pieces

It's difficult to be both 'Christian' and a 'Patriot' by this governments definitions of the latter term ~ so I guess that the decision to slaughter just 'happened' to override those antique principles that apparently have become outdated ... but since they obviously didn't 'believe' in those guidelines in the first place -- what does it matter?

The natives have a saying that talks about the need for people to both walk-the-walk as well as talk-the-talk: but then how could those directly responsible for the massacre of millions of native people be expected to uphold something so quaint as the words in that link below ... after all Christians had a "Manifest Destiny" yet to achieve, while the natives only wanted to live their robust lives in harmony with nature and in their own lands: While Christians on the other hand wanted only to subdue nature and kill it, because for them Nature was, and IS, the Enemy!

kirwan
Kirwan Studios

Reaching out

by Cassandra

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Doctor sues hospital he says kicked him out after Muslim ritual

Excerpt: The hospital released a statement saying that medical personnel "did reach out to Dr. Hussain several times after this incident to discuss his concerns."

The statement says Hussain canceled a meeting with hospital staff. "We are disappointed that he feels the need to file a lawsuit," it says.

Perhaps Dr. Hussain felt it necessary that people know about this, which couldn't have happened had he accepted their 'reaching out'.

^{* * *} My psychiatrist listened to me talking about complementary treatment [in this case, aromatherapy] earlier and nodded, saying 'they have successfully treated combative older men, like men with Alzheimer's, by rubbing lemon oil.' I said 'We need to rub it all over George Bush'. He doesn't talk politics, so he looked down at his notes, but I think he was grinning.

^{* * *} Re Easter prayers at McDonald's

I hope gods bless Don *and* his Tibetan monks.

^{* * *} Re Anal fixation

He sticks his teensy-tinsy li'l dick in wherever he can and confused your site with some random stranger in a bar. This is not a comment on his gender preferences - there are reportedly lotsa straights who love anal - just his judgment.

Cassandra

Neutron and phosphorus bombs

by Wig

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

US accused of using neutron bombs

Excerpt: The former commander of Iraq's Republican Guard has accused the US of using non-conventional weapons in its war against the Middle East country.

Saifeddin Fulayh Hassan Taha al-Rawi told Al Jazeera that US forces used neutron and phosphorus bombs during their assault on Baghdad airport before the April 9 capture of the Iraqi capital.

Take it with a grain of salt?

Wig

Well, I don't know anything about neutron bombing Iraq, but the U.S. has used phosphorus weapons against Iraqis -- and lied and said they haven't.

Helen & Harry

Gag this

by jon a.

April 10, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

A good American would defy and ignore the gag order. I would have gone before Congress and told the story publicly. Damn them!

jon a.

I don't know whether you've read a recent page or an older link on our website, so I'm not sure which American under which gag order you're referring to. (I just searched our site, and Google says we've mentioned gag orders 23 times.) Rather sad, isn't it -- that there have been and continue to be so many Americans under so many gag orders, any one gag order can be lost in the sea of gags ordered. ...

Helen & Harry

Peace on earth, NOT earth to pieces

by Kathy Fisher

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

I am not a deeply religious person nor do I go to church. But I am trying to see where it says "Make war onto your brothers and sisters, kill them and take all their possessions..."

I don't see it here. Do you? Perhaps Bush is reading a different version?

Peace on earth, NOT earth to pieces

Kathy Fisher
klfisher@webtv.net

kirwan replies

De-Rothbardification

by Bryan

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re If you have time left for reading

If your reading time is short, forget Rothbard. It's mainly background and an academic basis for understanding banking. The Creature From Jekyll Island is a very interesting work - an historical mystery, almost a page turner. It covers the same things as the Rothbard book, but in a piecemeal narrative.

Bryan

Crucible for confrontation

by E13

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Keep your quarrels out of Iraq talks, rivals told

Excerpt: Iraq must not become a crucible for confrontation between the US and its regional foes Iran and Syria, the foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari warned yesterday, adding that Iraq's security should be the "only issue on the agenda" of a major international conference aimed at finding ways to stabilize the strife-torn country.

"We are saying keep your quarrels and fights away; we have enough on our plate," Mr Zebari said in an interview with the Guardian. "We are getting caught in the middle and the tensions are affecting us immediately and directly."

It seems that some of these messages from the Iraqis do not make it without distortion all the way to the United States of America.

^{* * *} Women in Israeli "democracy":
No divorce without husband's written permission

It's called a "get", and without it, there is no remarriage in Israel, nor other rights of a divorced woman, including child support, etc.

E13

Yes, the problem *is* the Fed

by Phil H.

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Don't blame the market for housing bubble
by Ron Paul, U.S. Congress

Excerpt: The Federal Reserve provides the mother’s milk for the booms and busts wrongly associated with a mythical “business cycle.” Imagine a Brinks truck driving down a busy street with the doors wide open, and money flying out everywhere, and you’ll have a pretty good analogy for Fed policies over the last two decades. Unless and until we get the Federal Reserve out of the business of creating money at will and setting interest rates, we will remain vulnerable to market bubbles and painful corrections. If housing prices plummet and millions of Americans find themselves owing more than their homes are worth, the blame lies squarely with Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke.

Yes, the problem *is* the Fed. It is the wellspring of thievery that makes all other financial malfeasance possible, and untold injustices necessary in order to perpetuate itself -- including the income tax and wars of conquest.

Some time ago I heartily recommended G. Edward Griffin's The Creature From Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. This book tells the secret history of the creation of the Federal Reserve and the manner in which it has completely and intentionally controlled the boom/bust economic cycle of our nation for the benefit of the private interests that own it, since 1913. Griffin does this in exhaustive yet simple and riveting detail, all of which can be corroborated with other sources.

The ills of our nation *can* be corrected, but the Fed has to go first. We must seize the right to coin our nation's currency away from this cabal and put it back into the hands of the people, where the framers of the Constitution intended it to stay.

Phil H.

Well, my first response was that this is why I could never support Ron Paul. The problem is the Fed? Not predatory lending by much smaller banks? And he'd probably happily remove all regulation of banks ... Oy ...

I have some inside knowledge from a few smallish banks, and there's just no doubt in my mind that management at these banks knew what they were doing -- ruining people's lives -- as they wrote those ridiculous sub-prime loans. I don’t think it's possible to convince me not to hate those bastards for what they've done ... but on giving his article a chance, I can see Paul's point and yours, and I don't mind spreading some of my hatred around in a broader circle.

Griffin's book is on my list now, although I don't promise I'll get to it soon. It's always easier for me to get a new idea through my head when it's explained by someone I know and respect, like you, someone who's talking to me, than by reading a book ... especially a book about banks and economics and such ...

Helen & Harry

Far from being a dry, academic treatment of banks and financing, think of the Griffin book as a murder mystery, which is exactly how it reads -- who killed our democracy, and how did they get away with it? You'll be amazed and furious to learn what he so deftly explains.

Phil H.

Chris M. replies

Easter prayers at McDonald's

by Don Nash

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Went to the desert for Easter. Mostly so's Mary could see her grandkids. So, we do the quick stop at McD's for a gut-buster breakfast before the hiking stuff and what the hell? There's three Tibetan Buddhist Monks sitting at a table in McD's and waiting on some gut-busting breakfast for they-selves. Tibetan Buddhist Monks in Wendover, Utah? Holy Easter busting guts. Never no never in three lifetimes could I or would I have figured to get to see three Tibetan Buddhist Monks at the local McD's.

So after I can quit slobbering on meself, that gut-busting McD's thing, I go over to the Monks and offer a little offering and ask them could they PLEASE oh PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR AND McD's Syrup, offer up some prayers for peace. You know, it isn't like we couldn't use the prayers. The Monks said they'd be more than happy to, and what do you know. On Easter and in the middle of the desert and prayers for peace.

There's hope kids, lurking out there on the horizon and just when one least expects any hope to raise it's well-worn head, well it does and just like that.

Don Nash

Kevin Good replies, Cassandra replies

Petraeus surge?

by Wig

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

by Gen. David Petraeus, military.com

Excerpt: As the commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, and having given some 2-1/2 years of my life to this endeavor, I would like to take this opportunity to call for support of the new security plan. I ask all Iraqis to reject violence and the foreigners who fuel it with their money, arms, ammunition, training, and misguided young men. Beyond that, I ask, as well, for all Iraqis to notify Iraqi or coalition forces when those who would perpetrate violence on their fellow citizens or security forces enter their neighborhoods.

Just what does Petraeus expect ? How would he react to an occupation of the United States? Would he be marching side by side with those "occupation coalition forces" dictating the policies of a puppet government?

^{* * *} Seven NATO soldiers killed in Afghan blasts

The forgotten war ...

^{* * *} Saudi kingdom’s current account surplus to reach sr245 billion

Of real interest is this little nugget:

Excerpt: Sfakianakis said "The growth in Chinese products is not a surprise, however, as we estimate that around 11 percent of the products exported from China into Saudi Arabia are from US-owned firms based in mainland China?"

Wig

Voluntarily enslaved people

by Robert J.

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re A bold Stand for random Capitalization

Like others have mentioned before me, it is not a secret. Tony Robbins has been peddling it for years, as well as the forum and countless others.

A concept is only good until it isn't. Where the multifarious reality of "the secret” breaks down is where it becomes useless. The first thing they teach you is that you can't control what others do, only your reaction to it.

Visualizing, believing or wishing on a star is not going to change the fact that the power brokers of this world don’t give a damn what you want. You serve two purposes for them on this planet, one is your economic animal status the other is to participate in the illusion that you have a vote in your future. Voluntarily enslaved people are far easier to manipulate.

I have seen this many times, people trying to fit new concepts into an old matrix. You can't begin to see that the very people you expect to solve the problems are the ones that created the issues. Its like trying to pierce the end of a ballpoint pen with the end of another ballpoint pen.

One last point: George Bush isn’t smart enough to have engineered any of this. He is just a sad little man. It’s very complicated destroying old ideas and replacing them with newer more uncomfortable ones. I am afraid that is what is required, good luck.

Robert J.

Anal fixation

by mike reisner

April 9, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

i did not know wisconsin had any b.igger asshole than david obey, but you proved me wrong

mike reisner
mreisner@avci.net

What methodology are you using to collect your comprehensive database of rectal aperture measurements?

Helen & Harry

Cassandra replies

When the dark curtain finally closes

by Robert J.

April 8, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

The uncomfortable reality is that we are screwed. There are no good options available to us at this point. The only thing I can think to do is to help minimize the suffering of those that care enough to find a safe place to ride out the storm. I don't believe it will do any good to struggle against this. The snowball has picked up too much speed to be stopped now, even if you could reform our broken government into a compassionate and functional democracy. The economic, geopolitical damage has been done. ... MORE ...

Robert J.

Money, possessions, power, influence

by JR Mooneyham

April 8, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

This article goes well with the notion of the benevolent alien mushroom people helping humanity I write about in 'My first day in the afterlife'

How mushrooms will save the world

^{* * *} Female chauvinist pigs?
Raunch culture is everywhere
by Helen Redmond, CounterPunch

Excerpt: Raunch culture is everywhere and impossible to avoid. Its toxic presence is found in all mass media outlets: internet, television, radio, films. And even bars and restaurants.

There has been a truly staggering explosion of television shows whose plots brazenly and unapologetically revolve around displaying women's body parts. Not a brain to be found. Fembots. Stepford Wives. The success of these shows depends on the copious use of soft-core pornographic imagery. Shows like: Girls Gone Wild, The Real World, Pussycat Dolls Present: Search for the Next Doll, The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, America's Next Top Model, Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire, and The Girls Next Door. Notice how often women are referred to as "girls." Decades after the movement for women's liberation, even a seemingly simple change like referring to females correctly has not been achieved. In most of these programs women compete against each other for male approval and attention. The contestants reinforce the worst female stereotypes, that women are conniving, backstabbing, jealous, insecure, and crybabies. And they are also "bitches," the second most popular word to refer to women, after "girls."

Personally, I think the blame largely belongs to the out-of-control Republican propaganda machine over past years, as described in 'The enormous hidden costs to society of 'right-wing' political governance'

REFERENCE

Specifically:

"The Dr. Strangelove legacy

So remarkably, inadvertent as it surely is, never-the-less right wing policies appear to be bringing about certain elements of the presumed military elitist fantasy depicted in Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove: that is, that should the world suffer some great future calamity, a handful of elite males will likely enjoy large personal harems of women with which to repopulate the world. For right wing policies in general look prone to pressuring the overall eligible and virile male population to shrink across the board...reducing both the number and quality of available males, thereby forcing females (especially certain minority females) to look further afield...and for more women in general to remain unmarried and available as well."

REFERENCES (the web page contains live links to some articles):

"-- Where Are All the Educated Bachelors? By Geraldine Sealey; ABC News; December 12, 2003; abcnews.go.com

-- Degrees of Separation Gender Gap Among College Graduates Has Educators Wondering Where the Men Are By Michael A. Fletcher; Washington Post; June 25, 2002; Page A01

Males declined in work force participation between 1970 and 2000 while females made gains.

The downward slide of men in the changing economic environment looks set to exacerbate family problems, reduce the number of eligible bachelors, and over-crowd the prison system.

-- Death of the Male By Alan Zarembo; NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL, Sep 16 - 23 issue; MSNBC; found on or about 9-10-02

The overwhelming majority (90%) of young white male employees in USAmerica are destined to experience a smaller rise in income over their lives than their father's generation did.

-- Ninety percent of young white male workers now doing worse than they would have 20 years ago; EurekAlert!; 20-Feb-2002; Contact: Joel Schwarz; joels@u.washington.edu; 206-543-2580; University of Washington

Over 75% of unemployed US citizens say stress on their families rose since loss of their job.

-- Could Lack of Work Kill Your Marriage? By Marilyn Gardner; The Christian Science Monitor, Inc., and ABC News; June 6, 2003

Money is the foremost issue usually argued over by married couples. So, in general, the more money a married couple possesses, the fewer fights and arguments they have.

-- Study Explains Money Problems in Marriages By Lee Dye; ABCNEWS.com; found on or about 6-5-03 [this is a temporary URL maintained by ABC, with older content regularly replaced with newer items]

From 1962 to 2001, the average unemployment rate during years for which Republican presidents submitted budgets was 6.75%. The average rate for years when Democratic presidents submitted budgets was 5.1%.

-- Just for the Record Part IV; P.L.A. - A Journal of Politics, Law and Autism by Dwight Meredith; October 27, 2002; citing LINK

From 1962 to 2001, the average growth rate in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) during years for which Republican presidents submitted budgets was 2.94%. The average rate for years when Democratic presidents submitted budgets was 3.92%.

-- Just for the Record Part III; P.L.A. - A Journal of Politics, Law and Autism by Dwight Meredith; October 27, 2002; citing LINK

"the economy needs to be growing by more than 3 percent -- and possibly well above -- for jobs to be added"

-- For Bush, Time to Mend Economy Is Running Out By Dana Milbank; April 5, 2003; Page A01; Washington Post

As of mid-2003, it appears economic growth of more than 3.5% may be required to reduce US unemployment.

-- What Postwar Pickup? By Rich Miller, Michael Arndt, Faith Keenan, and Christine Tierney; Businessweek; MAY 9, 2003

-- Missing the good old 9-to-5 job? By SETH HARRIS; Jun. 05, 2003; The Miami Herald

Bush may become the first President since Herbert Hoover to have fewer Americans employed at the end of his Administration than there were at the beginning. 3.4 million US jobs have disappeared on Bush's watch so far.

-- Bush Faulted for Jobless Rate By Dan Balz; Washington Post; July 4, 2003; Page A04

-- No Job Could Mean No Wife; AlphaGalileo; 13 August 2002; David Young, University of Ulster; pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk; 028 9036 6178

-- Wives' employment increases marital stability; Eurekalert; 24-Jun-2002; Contact: Vicki Fong; vfong@psu.edu; 814-865-9481; Penn State

-- UF study: Marriage can reduce life of crime; Eurekalert; 12-Sep-2002; Contact: Alex Piquero; apiquero@ufl.edu; 352-392-1025; University of Florida

-- Whites join slide into poverty as US incomes fall by Matthew Engel in Washington; September 26, 2002; The Guardian

-- Census: U.S. Poverty Up, Income Down (washingtonpost.com) By Steven Pearlstein; September 24, 2002

-- Census: U.S. Poverty Up, Income Down Poverty Rate Rose in 2001 for First Time in Eight Years As Household Income Fell, U.S. Says; The Associated Press/abcnews.go.com; apparent datestamp Sept. 24 2002

-- Amnesty finds race factor in US death sentences by Julian Borger; April 25, 2003; The Guardian

"an unmarried mother is 42 percent more likely to marry the father if the child is a boy"

-- What makes a difference in Mom's life? Whether it's a boy or a girl; 5-May-2003; Contact: Steven Goldsmith; sgolds@u.washington.edu; 206-543-2580; University of Washington

No other nation on Earth was known to have more people in prison in 1999 than the USA; USAmerica was spending $39 billion a year to maintain its prison population at the time.

50% of the prison population was black, although blacks made up only about 13% of the total American population then.

-- Soaring U.S. Inmate Population Sparks Debate By Will Dunham, Reuters/Yahoo! Politics Headlines, December 29 1999

One of the positive effects on daughters of having a father around is apparently a bit more protection against behavioural problems in general, and the consequences of such, like teenage pregnancy. Thus, the more fathers who are 'missing in action' due to illness or death stemming from their greater vulnerability to environmental stresses, or the greater likelihood of financial distress and/or imprisonment in nations like the USA, the more teenage girls in such countries that will find themselves suffering from a lack of education and employment opportunities, depression, and subsequent greater vulnerability to sexual predators and other types of exploitation.

-- Absent fathers linked to teenage pregnancies by Rachel Nowak; New Scientist; 15 May 03

-- Where's Poppa? Absent dads linked to early sex by daughters Science News Online by Bruce Bower; July 19, 2003; Vol. 164, No. 3

" The United States has the highest birth rate and highest rate of teenage pregnancy of any wealthy industrialized nation."

-- Political Shades of Green Clash By Miguel Bustillo and Kenneth R. Weiss; Los Angeles Times; story.news.yahoo.com; Mar 24, 2004

-- New York officials say rising number of young girls work in sex trade Associated Press/sfgate.com; December 7, 2002

More and more teen prostitutes in America are coming from middle-class homes. Average age? Thirteen. Some are much younger (like nine). Many seem to do it for excitement or cash-- sometimes both.

-- Newsweek: Law-Enforcement Officials Note Marked Nationwide Increase in Teen Prostitution; Trends Show Kids Getting Younger, More from Middle-Class Homes; found on or about Aug. 11, 2003; prnewswire.com

"Teenage prostitution among runaways is not new, but the problem has never been so severe..."

-- Police Investigate 12-Year-Old Prostitutes Working For Teenage Pimps; January 26, 2004; nbc4.TV

"What's gonna be next? It's getting crazy, and it's all down to money. Money and fame...Somehow the whole value system has been upended."

-- Spike Lee, director of "Malcolm X" and "Do the Right Thing."

-- Spike Lee blasts Jackson's Super Bowl strip; Associated Press; ajc.com; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 2/4/04

"Money has displaced every other traditional value."

-- Simulating human neurosis; Jorn Barger August 2003; robotwisdom.com

"Children are being taught to glorify materialism"

-- Gary Ruskin, executive director, Commercial Alert, Portland, Oregon.

-- Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an ad? By Shelley Emling; July 20, 2003; Austin American-Statesman

One implication of this for childrens' developing value systems: people who have more (money, possessions, power, influence) are superior, better, smarter than those with less -- perhaps no matter how the difference came about. In short, the ends justify the means."

JR
Walk Like a Kryptonian

All of Christendom

by Robert H.

April 8, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

Re What is the death toll now?

I am a Christian and I could NOT agree more with your article.

George W. Bush is a horrendous disgrace and has given ALL of Christendom a bad name.

Robert H.

A few words from the bunker

by Mr. Chuckles

April 8, 2007
PERMANENT LINK

It may be -- perhaps -- that the Bear Case has once again been overstated with respect to immediate, devastating impacts on average Americans. (Note: I am not saying go out and sell gold, repatriate foreign cu