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.