Declarations of Independence

We need to assert a new Declaration. It would be simple. Just substitute the words "King of England" with "current administration."
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the current administration is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

OK. Time to recharge my batteries.

It's an Occupation, Not a War

The war's over, right? Wait. I thought all combat missions had ended and America prevailed!? What about "Mission Accomplished" and the prez on the USS Abraham Lincoln back on May Day (May 1), 2003? I don't know who could forget that display. Guess somebody didn't see it.....



No End In Sight
This new documentary comes out tomorrow. Originally trained as a political scientist (M.I.T.), Charles Ferguson has authored three books and many articles dealing with information technology and various aspects of its relationship to economic, political, and social issues. You can read his other street creds at the film's website.

After watching the trailer, there's really nothing new to me, nothing I haven't seen or heard already. I hope it will reach outside of the choir, however, and open more eyes to the hard truth of it. War is failure no matter which way you look at it. This occupation was a PLANNED failure. The mess that's been made in Iraq was and is purposely manipulated, manufactured as to give this administration and the war profiteers all the reasons to remain there, plundering and pillaging.

Why Is Toyota Stalling on Prius's Plug-In Battery?

If Toyota's hybrid system already has the ability to accommodate a larger battery for converting to a plug-in hybrid, making it possible to get up to 100 mpg, what are they waiting for? According to Bill Reinert, Toyota's U.S. engineer in charge of advanced vehicle planning, the large batteries don't yet exist. However, they're working on it as we speak.

In the meantime, a growing number of Prius customers are successfully converting their Priuses to plug-ins. Take a look at CalCars Prius+ plug-in hybrids, an organization at the forefront of a large initiative to build demand among highly receptive markets to encourage auto makers to produce 100+MPG "no-sacrifices" high-performance, clean hybrid cars, according to their website.

Clean My Ride - Project Phin

Found this on Muckracker.com. Check it out here. Sarah Silverman, Matt Damon, Jennifer Garner are among the conscientious players in this effort. I'm not sure Flex Fuel is the answer, but the video series is worth watching. Sarah Silverman's bit with her mother is classic!


Phin's site is http://cleanmyride.org/. I agree with him. WE need to put pressure on Congress. The oil/gas industry already has flanks of lobbyists seducing scores of congressmen. Our strength must be in numbers and we'll have to make it loud and clear that we're watching and paying attention to what they're doing. Are they representing us - we the people - or are they representing corporate interests to the detriment of all society?

Sicko In Top Five Grossing Documentaries

If you haven't seen Sicko yet, it may be coming to a theater closer to you since its distributer is expanding the movie to hundreds more theaters around the country.

Michael Moore is promoting a free trip to any one of the countries with socialized health care systems featured in the movie to whoever sees the movie tomorrow or Saturday. Just mail your name and ticket stub to 'Sicko' Night in America, 888c 8th Avenue, Suite 443, New York, NY 10019. Unfortunately the free trip is only one weekend to one of three cities that would each take weeks to fully appreciate. However you will get a tour by a representative from the country-of-your-choice's fine universal health care system, "who will give you a personal tour so you can see how they treat their fellow citizens," Moore said today in his email newsletter.

Vancouver here we come!

Fair Elections?

Does money influence elections? Wouldn't you say money is the single biggest factor in outcomes of major political races? It's a popularity contest. Candidates spend a majority of their budgets on the media -- the advertisements, the press releases, the photo ops, the radio and TV spots.

When candidates receive money from corporate donors, they are less likely to say negative things about their corporate sponsors. In fact the candidates will be their sponsors' promoters. So voter's really aren't the "deciders" of elections. I'm not saying don't vote - we live in a democracy and it's our duty to do so - but changing the way political campaigns are funded needs some serious consideration.

Thankfully there are a few socially conscientious people in Congress who are trying to make this change. Senators Dick Durbin and Arlen Spector are pushing a new bill called the, "Fair Elections Now Act," S.1285, which sets up an alternative election fund for candidates who voluntarily agree not to take private-interest money and would be available to all qualified congressional candidates in both primary and general elections. Listen to Jim Hightower's commentary for today. And if you really want to exercise your democratic freedom, pick up the phone and call your reps in Congress to tell them you're in support of this common-sense measure that would put public interests ahead of corporate interests.

The same thing happens with corporate media. They take money from corporate sponsors for advertising, public relations campaigns, etc and become gatekeepers by spinning, erasing or minimizing any derogatory or negative publicity about a company that's made a serious error, broken the law, harmed the environment, shafted its employees and so on. When the media in this country is in the hands of only a few mega corporations, gatekeeping is much easier to do. The consequences of censorship and other forms of disinformation are harming our fragile democracy. Just like corporately funded political campaigns.

I'll soon post a list of links to independent or alternative media outlets that take little or no corporate money, that are non-profit and believe in the fulfilling the vitally important role of fourth estate. Getting our news and information from more than one source should be standard practice. If we only get our information from TV or cable, we only get a small slice of the whole picture.

For a good laugh

Funny video montage of Kathrine Harris in an interview on Fox. Maybe her restless leg syndrome is making her wiggle around and point her breasts at the camera. You can't help but belly laugh at Fox's absurdity and ignorance. I couldn't stand to watch it at all before I learned to laugh at it. Nevertheless, what Fox and Co. have done and are still doing to modern journalism is a travesty and hopefully more people will become aware of this.



For anyone who doesn't know who Katherine Harris is, she was Florida's Secy. of State who decided not to allow a recount in Florida's 2000 presidential election. She was in on the fix.

Another song

Mercy, mercy, why didn't we hear it?
Mercy, mercy, why did we read it buried on the last page of our morning papers?

The plan was drafted, drafted in secret.
Gunboats met the red tide, driven to the rum trade for the army that they created.
But the bullets were bought by us, it was dollars that paid them.

Please forgive us, we don't know what was done in our name.

There'll be more trials like this in mercenary heydays.
When they're so apt to wrap themselves up in the stripes and stars
And find that they are able to call themselves heroes
And to justify murder by their fighters for freedom.

Please forgive us, we don't know what was done.
Please forgive us, we didn't know.
Could you ever forgive us?
I don't know how you could.
I know this is no consolation.

Please forgive us, we didn't know.
Could you ever believe that we didn't know?
Please forgive us, we didn't know.
I wouldn't blame you if you never could, and you never will.

10000 MANIACS
Please Forgive Us
Blind Man's Zoo 1989

FDA continues to protect big business over citizens

Surprise. Here's yet another example of the FDA protecting the interests of big business over the interests of American consumers. Read it here at MSNBC.com.

An Italian research team recently published a new study showing aspartame, widely used in soft drinks, may cause leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer in rats. The article interviewed Michael Jacobsen (Kudos to Reuters for the great source) of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit group that for many years has monitored and reported on various health issues and poor nutrition. Check out Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks Are Harming America's Health.

The FDA won't admit that Americans are over consuming soft drinks at rates that exceed its recommended daily amount. Aspartame is not only used in sodas but in chewing gum, candy, diet foods, and many other processed foods and beverages. It's also sold in individual packets for people to use in coffee, tea and whatever else. So they can't just take soda consumption alone into consideration when studying the effects of this chemical sweetener. Americans have a serious sweet tooth problem, and the daily cumulative amount of aspartame in an average American's diet must be high. If one does this day in and day out for years, what are the effects? In the last 10 years, I've noticed the number of people drinking sodas for breakfast has incredibly increased. Observe for yourself. And it's not just kids I see with bottles of syrupy carbonated water (not to mention the new array of energy drinks), it's adults too.

The FDA's talking head said the department hadn't reviewed the new study, yet it somehow already knew the study's findings weren't "consistent with those from the large number of studies on aspartame that have been evaluated by FDA, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies."

So are they just testing for carcinogenicity? What about other possible ill health effects like obesity and diabetes?

According to the Rueters article:

Jacobson said researchers in previous studies all killed rats at the age of two years. Allowing the rats to live longer may have been a better way to assess the natural risk of cancer.

The CSIPI said the Acceptable Daily Intake of aspartame in the United States is 50 mg per kilogram of body weight, equivalent to a 50-pound (20 kg) child drinking 2.5 cans of diet soda a day, or a 150-pound (68 kilogram) adult drinking about 7.5 cans a day.

The Italian researchers found a cancer risk at the very highest doses — double the U.S. Acceptable Daily Intake.

And what about all the high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, maltodextrin, sucralose, fructose, and all the other -oses that are added to processed foods? Next time you're grocery shopping, take a look at the ingredients of every cereal box on the cereal isle. You may only find one to three brands that don't have at least two kinds of sugar listed near the top of the list. Usually cereals contain up to five different types of sugars. Many kids (and adults too) add sugar on top of their bowls of cereal. Have some more sugar with your sugar! A tolerance for sweetness is quickly built up so that it takes more and more to satisfy the sweetness urge.

It's too obvious. The correlation between the rise of obesity, cancer and chronic illness and the increase of sugar consumption in this country is glaring. Here's another article by CSIPI about this. Read it here. This article was written in 1999. Sugar consumption has continued to steadily increase.

We should hear more discussions about a problem in the FDA called the revolving door, which is when people who've worked in executive and administrative positions at food and drug companies go to work for the FDA, the very industry that is supposed to regulate the businesses from which they came. It works the other way around, too. FDA employees go to work for the companies they used to regulate, and sometimes back again to positions within the government. To know more about this, check out the book Food Politics by Marion Nestle. Visit her website here.

CNN & Blitzer Nailed by Michael Moore

Just love how they threw in at the end that Mr. Moore is more of a left-wing promoter than Hugo Chavez. Still it didn’t make up for the nailing Blizter got from Moore. Nice! He’s an American patriot and hero and completely correct about the mainstream news media in this country. He knew, like millions of Americans, before the invasion of Iraq that it had nothing to do with 9/11, that it was a fictitious war and he had the balls to say it. All the rest of the corporate media stenographers had their balls tucked tightly between their legs.
Enjoy!!! Live CNN Interview with Michael Moore
Then for a another good laugh, check out Moore's TV Nation Health Care Olympics. Hilarious, but also to the point. Click here to watch.

OK for government to spy on US citizens?

Court dismisses case regarding Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping

Why?
Plaintiffs in the case, including prominent journalists, attorneys, scholars and national non-profit groups, couldn't say for sure that they were spied on or harmed by the spying if they were being spied on. LAME.
In an ACLU press release on July 6 it said that,

As a result of today’s decision, the Bush administration has been left free to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Congress adopted almost 30 years ago to prevent the executive branch from engaging in precisely this kind of unchecked surveillance.

However it went on to say that this decision didn't legalize warrantless spying by the government and that only one judge has discussed the merits "clearly and unequivocally" and declared it was unlawful.
The press release says it's more important than ever for Congress to engage in meaningful oversight. HA. Don't make me laugh. It's almost impossible not to be cynical about Congress. But I'm still a prisoner of hope.
Check out the ACLU press release here.

US Fortress In Iraq

I've been complaining about the lack of coverage about the embassy the US is building in Iraq. I haven't even heard much from Stewart or Colbert on the subject. Almost one billion dollars for the largest embassy/fortress ever constructed - in the world, and not a peep from our corporate stenographers. When they talk about "rebuilding" Iraq, maybe this is to what they are referring? However, Corpwatch has an excellent piece on the world's largest embassy, or as the article's author David Phinney writes, "the sprawling complex near the Tigris River will equal Vatican City in size." He's also done extensive research into First Kuwaiti's contract for the project and interviews of the workers discussing the terrible conditions under which they have to work.

You can read it here. Please do, and start talking about it.

Olberman's truth

http://www.crooksandliars.com/index.php?s=keith+olberman

An excerpt from Glen Greenwald's piece in Salon.com:

Lewis Libby owes his freedom to our corrupt political elite

"The President and his followers know that they can apply completely different rules to themselves, and freely break the law, because our Washington establishment, our "political press," will never object too strenuously, or even at all. Over the last six years, our media has directed their hostility only towards those who investigate or attempt to hold accountable the most powerful members of our political system -- hence their attacks on the GOP prosecutor investigating the Bush administration's crimes, their anger towards the very few investigative reporters trying to uncover Washington's secrets, and their righteous condemnation towards each of the handful of attempts by Congress to exercise investigative oversight of the administration.

The political press -- the function of which was envisioned by the Founders to investigate and hold accountable the most politically powerful -- now fulfill the exact oppose purpose in our country. They are slavishly protective of our highest political officials, and adversarial only to those who investigate, oppose and seek to hold those officials accountable. Hence, in official Washington, the Real Villains are Patrick Fitzgerald, Ken Silverstein, Russ Feingold and his Censure resolution, Pat Leahy and his disruptive subpoenas -- our Beltway elite reserves their venom for those who want to turn the lights on what our most powerful political officials are doing.

What kind of country do we expect to have when we have a ruling Washington class that believes that they and their fellow members of the Beltway elite constitute a separate class, one that resides above and beyond the law? That is plainly what they believe. And we now have exactly the country that one would expect would emerge from a political culture shaped by such a deeply insulated, corrupt and barren royal court."

I recommend reading the entire article here.

Every Body's Cryin' Mercy
Bonnie Raitt

I don't believe the things I'm seein'
I've been wonderin' 'bout some things I've heard
Everybody's crying mercy
When they don't know the meaning of the word

A bad enough situation
Is sure enough getting worse
Everybody's crying justice
Just as soon as there's business first

Toe to toe, touch and go
Give a cheer and get your own souvenir

Well you know the people running round in circles
Don't know what they're headed for
Everybody's crying peace on earth
Just as soon as we win this war

Straight ahead, gotta knock em dead
So pack your kit, choose your own hypocrite

You don't have to go to off-Broadway
To see something plain absurd
Everybody's crying mercy
When they don't know the meaning of the word

Nobody knows the meaning of the word

Here's a bit of an article about the absurd amounts CEOs enjoy as salaries:

"Last year, the CEOs of the 500 biggest U.S. companies averaged $15.2 million in total annual compensation, according to Forbes business magazine’s annual executive pay survey. The top eight CEOs on the Forbes list each pocketed over $100 million.

Larry Ellison, CEO of business software giant Oracle, was not in the top eight. But
as the 11th richest man in the world, who ended last year worth more than $16 billion, he is not doing badly.

University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee points out that a CEO like Ellison literally cannot spend enough on personal consumption to stop his fortune from growing. Goolsbee calculates that Ellison would have to spend over '$183,000 an hour on things that can’t be resold, like parties or meals, just to avoid increasing his wealth.'"

The article by Sam Pizzigati is called, "Soaring Executive Pay Attacked by Shareholder Activists." I found it at Corpwatch.org, June 26th, 2007.

If you want great investigative reporting and to learn things you can't on cable news or in the corporate press, check out this site.

Sicko

I've been following the hullabaloo about Michael Moore's newly-released documentary "Sicko." Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting called out The USA Today's so-called 'debate' about the film (http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3128) between its editors and Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans. Good call considering the paper gets hundreds of thousands of advertising dollars from the private health care industry. And Ignagni, well, her title speaks for itself.

MSMBC commentator Arthur Caplan, Ph.D. was much more factual, enlightening and sincere in his opinion piece, "Nothing Funny About 'Sicko' state of health care. You can read it here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19461932/

I think the following paragraphs nailed it:

"Moore's critics would like you to believe "Sicko" is slicko. Those with vested interests in preserving the current status quo in health care have already activated their lobbyists, media flacks, think-tank mouthpieces and trade organizations to go after Moore and his movie. There are nearly $2 trillion worth of vested interests out there in insurance, managed care, hospitals, doctors, advertisers and salespeople looking to keep their share of the health care pot of gold."

"Why do we put up with a broken, bloated, bureaucratic and increasingly barbaric health system? Because your politicians are in the thrall of the people who profit from it. And just enough of us have access to a fairly decent level of care that the misery of the uninsured, underinsured and tapped out does not move us to care."

"If you think Moore is exaggerating the woes of the health care system and if you think — as his often bought and paid-for critics charge — that he is just a sloppy, overfed left-wing ideologue, then go down to your local hospital emergency room or nursing home and tell it to those waiting there for care and compassion. Except for luck and a few ticks of the clock, they might be you. If Moore’s call to action is not heeded, such a visit tells you all you need to know about what awaits you in terms of health care in America. Nothing funny at all about that."

Even if one makes a hundred grand per year and has top notch health coverage, he/she is just one major illness or injury away from losing everything. If health care remains a for-profit industry, then society will continue to get sicker and sicker. Don't be fooled or distracted by the life expectancy increases the medical establishment touts. While people may be living longer, what is their quality of life? So many of them are miserably wasting away in hospitals or long term care facilities. When they talk about quantity, don't forget about QUALITY. What kind of quality of life can one have if one is miserably ill and not getting quality care or any care at all?

"In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. — The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world."

Anyone remember this? In reading it again I'm reminded of Howard Zinn's book "Declarations of Independence." As we become less and less comfortable, I think more of us will realize we're all on the same sinking ship.