Friday

Just a friendly reminder that Friday is Buy Nothing Day

Photo of the Day

Protesters toppling a statue George W. Bush in Trafalgar Square, London.

I guess that means that the protesters win! The American people are free from the oppression of the Bushists.

Perle: Iraq invasion Illegal

More evidence that the Bush Administration believes that it is above the law:

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal

Oliver Burkeman and Julian Borger in Washington
Thursday November 20, 2003
The Guardian

International lawyers and anti-war campaigners reacted with astonishment yesterday after the influential Pentagon hawk Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal.

In a startling break with the official White House and Downing Street lines, Mr Perle told an audience in London: "I think in this case international law stood in the way of doing the right thing."

President George Bush has consistently argued that the war was legal either because of existing UN security council resolutions on Iraq - also the British government's publicly stated view - or as an act of self-defence permitted by international law.

But Mr Perle, a key member of the defence policy board, which advises the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said that "international law ... would have required us to leave Saddam Hussein alone", and this would have been morally unacceptable. (read more)

...and that they continually lie to the American people and the world.

Ashcroft-style democray in Iraq

From fairandbalanced.us:

Iraqi arrested for criticising U.S
Tue 11 November, 2003 10:46

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - American soldiers handcuffed and firmly wrapped masking tape around an Iraqi man's mouth after they arrested him for speaking out against occupation troops.

Asked why the man had been arrested and put into the back of a Humvee vehicle on Tahrir Square, the commanding officer told Reuters at the scene on Tuesday: "This man has been detained for making anti-coalition statements."

He refused to say what the man said. (read more)

Bushy tails

Dubya will be wearing a rented tuxedo at the State Dinner with Queen Elizabeth tonight.

Now that's classy!

He's known about this for over a year I think he could have gotten a tux of his own in that time.

Whose values?

I saw Reverend Louis Sheldon from the Traditional Values Coalition being interviewed on CNN or MSNBC this morning. He has got to be one of the most hateful men I've ever seen.

How can these men who claim to be spreading the word of Jesus be so full of hate.

Gay marriage ban ruled unconstitutional

My position has long been that homosexual couples should have the same rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples as long as they have made a legal partnership or union. The problem is that there are very few places that allow such unions.

Today's ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriages goes one step closer to giving homosexual couples the same rights as the rest of us.


From BBC:

Massachusetts backs gay marriage

The US state of Massachusetts has ruled that same-sex couples are legally entitled to marry.

Massachusetts could become the first state to recognise gay marriage.

But the Supreme Judicial Court stopped short of ordering that marriage licences be issued to seven gay couples who challenged the law.

Gay marriage is banned in the US, but one state, Vermont, has enacted a law which gives same-sex couples the rights of traditional marriages.

The Massachusetts court ruled that barring same-sex couples from the benefits of civil marriage was "unconstitutional." (read more)

Bush II: a Jeffersonian?

"After decades of a dictator's sustained assault on Iraq's society and dignity and spirit, a Jeffersonian democracy will not spring up in a matter of months" --George W. Bush, 2003 Veterans Day speech to the Heritage Foundation

Does Dubya even know what Jeffersonian democracy is? I really doubt it. Mister Jefferson is surely spinning in his grave at the notion of Bush invoking his name.

Jeffersonians wanted a federal government with limited powers, a respect for civil liberties, and that placed power in the hands of the average citizens and small family farmers (not the wealthy and aristocratic). Jefferson also favored an isolationist foreign policy and a small military.

• "The presumption of dictating to an independent nation the form of its government is so arrogant, so atrocious, that indignation as well as moral sentiment enlists all our partialities and prayers in favor of one and our equal execrations against the other." --Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, 1823. ME 15:435


• "Not in [my] day, but at no distant one, we may shake a rod over the heads of all which may make the stoutest of them tremble. But I hope our wisdom will grow with our power and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Leiper, 1815. ME 14:308

Does any of that remind you of the Bush Administration? I don't think so.

This administration is Hamiltionian to the extent that they believe that the power should be in the hands of the wealthy business owners and well-born. They combine that with the nationalism and inherent racism of the Jacksonians. A federal government in the hands of the wealthy and promoting nationalism to the poor so they go and fight the wars of the rich. That sounds like a recipe for class warfare.

Where do I stand? Well, I guess I would more closely identify with the Wilsonian ideas of anti-imperialism, respect for international treaties, federal aid for education, and support for labor and human rights. I know that the neo-cons who pull Dubya's strings somehow think that they are upholding Wilsonian ideals but does anyone buy it? Of course, all of these ideologies have good points and bad points. That's why idealogues, no matter which ideology they advocate, are doomed to fail.

Quote of the Day

''George Bush killed my son''
-- Rosemary Dietz Slavenas,
at a memorial service for her son Army 1st Lt. Brian Slavenas

Ave Maria

The Virgin Mary is back! This time she appeared as a tree stump in Passaic, NJ.

Former Chief Justice Roy Moore

It is good to know that there are some reasonable people in Alabama. The Alabama Judicial Court removed Roy Moore from his office of Chief Justice for defying a federal court order and the state canon of ethics.

The people of Alabama may decide to secede. There seems to be a lot people supporting this religious zealot. The same people who cry about judges "legislating from the bench" are the ones who have rallied behind Moore while he has decided to change the meaning of the Constitution and laws of this country.

People are so ignorant of their own history that they actually believe that the United States was founded as a christian nation. Nothing could be further from the truth. I won't get into it again here, but people many fled religious persecution in Europe when they settled here.

I am just happy that I don't live in Alabama.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”

I was in the mall a couple of weeks ago, it was a day or two before Halloween, and I walked into a department store. To my surprise, the whole store was decorated for Christmas. It wasn't even November and and already they were selling Christmas.

That reminded me that it was time for one of my favorite days of the year -- Buy Nothing Day, observed here in the US on the day after Thanksgiving. Americans have traditionally observed this day, Black Friday, by spending time looking for a place to park their SUVs at the mall and waiting in line to buy more stuff.

According to Adbusters.org 5% of the world's population consumes about 30% of its natural resources and 20% of the earth's population uses 80% of its natural resources. Of course, we in the United State are part of the 20% that overconsumes.

Over the past few years I have adopted a new way of thinking. I have not become an ascetic but I have realized that by spending less I actually can have more. I buy most of my clothes at the Goodwill store. I have a 17 year old car that I drive very rarely. I get a lot of my food at a bulk food store and at the farmers' market. This isn't an all-or-nothing lifestyle, and by no means do I deprive myself of things-- I love my computer and my cable television. But, I have been gradually adapting my buying habits.

We have been told by the Bush Administration that it is our patriotic duty to buy stuff. After we were attacked on September 11, 2001, by an unknown enemy the President and his handlers took to the airwaves to tell us to go out and live life as normal and spend money. If we are at war one would think that we should conserve resources, instead the Bushies were fanning the flames of consumerism.

Schoolchildren are even encouraged to buy softdrinks and and candy from vending machines in schools. They are exposed to product placement in their textbooks, and advertisements in their schools.

This holiday season take a break from the malls, spend some time with your family and friends. Instead of buying things that people don't need visit Heifer.org and make a gift to someone who could really use it.

Resources:

• http://www.ibuydifferent.org/


• http://www.newdream.org/


• http://www.adbusters.org/


• http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/

(President) Gore Speaks

Where Civil Liberties are concerned, they (the Bush Administration) have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, “Big Brother”-style government -- toward the dangers prophesized by George Orwell in his book “1984” -- than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America. -- Al Gore, 11/9/2003

High school drug raid

Click the link below to see video from a high school in South Carolina where police went in with guns drawn.

** watch this **

Welcome to Dubya's police state.

Would you like police coming in with dogs and pointing guns at you?

By the way, no drugs were found

Late Night...

A very funny Late Night with Conan O'Brien last night. There was a report from American Idol tryouts in Hawaii by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He was thown out of the auditions and the local NBC affiliate did a news story about it. There is also a funny clip of him doing the weather report on the local news in Hawaii.

Will Ferrell was on talking about his movie Elf. He is always funny.

Finally Sarah Vowell was on promoting the audio release of her book The Partly Cloudy Patriot. I think that she was uncomfortable being out there with Will Ferrell at the other end of the sofa. Vowell and Conan talked about the Civil War, pointing out that Conan is the same height as Lincoln and Sarah is as tall as Lincoln's Secretary of State William Seward. She also explained her idea for a show similar to MTV's Cribs only it would show the homes of prominent historians such as Doris Kearns Goodwin.

If you missed it, I think that it will be on Comedy Central on Monday. Set the VCR.

A haircut and recollections

This afternoon I went to the barber for the first time since I was five years old. No, my hair doesn't reach my waist, my mother has always cut my hair but it has been getting thin and graying lately so I thought maybe I should let a pro have a look at it.

I opened the door and the old man in the barber's chair looked at me and said "can I help you." I explained that I wanted a haircut. The old man pointed to a hand-written sign on the back wall: "No new customers" it read. I apologized and and before I could get it out of my mouth the man said "but, since you're here I can give you a quick trim."

He put down his newspaper and motioned for me to sit in the dark green vinyl and chrome chair. The old barber with unruly white hair and big bushy white eyebrows explained that he likes to work but is trying to cut back. "There were three of us here; now it's just me...48 years," he said "in this same chair."

"A medium trim okay?" he asked, as he put the gown around me and tied it in the back. "Sure" I replied, and he spun me around and removed my glasses. The console TV in the corner had the local news on it. Without my glasses I could only see fuzzy blue images as I listened to the forecast for next few days.

The barber used an electric trimmer to do the back and sides. Then with a comb in one hand and scissors in the other he trimmed the top. "I did my apprenticeship about an hour south of here," he reminisced, "back in '56."

Then, with his left hand holding firmly on to the top of my head, he trimmed around my ears with a straight razor. I could feel the tremor in his hand as he positioned the razor. "Not many old-time barbers around anymore," he told me, "there used to be one on each corner here; now it's just me." Without warning he applied cool shaving cream to the back of my neck and again with just a bit of a tremor he used that straight razor to put the finishing touches on my haircut.

He spun the chair around and faced me towards the mirror and as he placed my glasses on my head he asked "how's it look?"

"Perfect" I said.

He told me the names of some good barbers in the area and suggested that I try one of them next time. I thanked him for the haircut and handed him a ten dollar bill. He thanked me, picked up his newspaper, and sat down again in his chair.

Cowboy up!

Cowboy wannabe and failed oil man George W. Bush speaking to the National Endowment for Democracy threatened the Middle East to democratize. How does El Presidente propose that they accomplish this? He doesn't.

Why would he decide to further alienate Muslims around the world if he does not even a plan to help them meet his demand. He should just concentrate on getting us out of Iraq, Bush and his handlers have already convinced Muslims that that the US is hostile to Islam.

Maybe this is a poor attempt at what his daddy called the "vision thing."

Lady

"Mom & Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen and I was three." -- Billie Holiday

God Bless the Child

Them that's got shall get
Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Yes, the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don't ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Money, you've got lots of friends
Crowding round the door
When you're gone, spending ends
They don't come no more
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don't take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own
He just worry 'bout nothin'
Cause he's got his own

For some reason I got the urge to listen to this song this morning. I find it hard to listen to Billie Holiday anymore without thinking of David Sedaris singing the Oscar Mayer Bologna song.

Three guesses...

1. terror


2. rape rooms


3. suiciders


4. thugs


5. regime


6. the terrorists


7. war


8. September 11


9. terrorism

Proselytize schmoselytize...

Daniel Zwerdling's story on Weekend Edition Saturday this morning illustrates the lack of regard for the Constitution that the Bush Administration has. Zwerdling profiles a Colorado faith-based social service program (Faith Partners) for mothers on welfare.

I cringed as the christian "social workers" prayed with their clients, as they tried to take them to church, and the program's director spoke about their "covert religious mission."

Bush's faith-based program clearly gives federal money to religious groups who use that money to "witness" and to proselytize. That is what I would call state establishment of religion.

There is a simple solution for religious groups which would like to do this. They can run these programs and pay for them with their own money.

• Listen (13:09)
  
• Transcript