Let the howling begin

What does Karl Rove's comment say about the Republican party? To refresh your memory, he said: "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

Now think about that a second. Let's parse it:

"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war..."

--Forget that old "innocent until proven guilty" bullshit, of course. Investigation? Bosh! Investigation schminvestigation.

Clearly, then, someConservatives knew who did it, without even looking. How might they have been so sure? Considering the evidence that the various 911 commissions couldn't cover up, complicity or willfull stupidity seem the only options. And only complicity could leave one so certain: stupidity would just leave you saying "huh?"

Then he went on, "...liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

--In other words, it wasn't enough for him to say "Conservatives don't give a shit about your stupid constitution," he wanted to say "those stupid liberals are soft (i.e. compassionate)."

Karl's little comment says so much about the conservative mind-set: it says not only that "We knew who did it even before it happened," (or more generously, "We're so certain of your guilt that we don't even have to investigate," which is just as dangerous) but also, and perhaps more importantly, that "violence is an appropriate first resort."

Kinda reminds me of the Godfather. Except, he had a conscience.

Let the howling begin.

what could be worse than wal-mart?

So..... what happens if --no, when- prisons-for-profit start to lobby Congress? Yesterday you couldn't protest the President at an official event. Sure, the penalty isn't severe, but we're not in a time of crisis. Doubtless, anti-presidential demonstrations would be tolerated much less gracefully in such times as 9/12/01- it doesn't take much to imagine protesters on such a day being arrested and detained. Today the House passed an anti-flag-burning amendment (House: "you can't say that." ahem). It has to pass the Senate, and be ratified blah blah blah, which is to say it's ultimately not very likely, but still, it represents an incremental encroachment on true, responsible, freedom of expression. I'm not sure what the penalties would be, but imprisonment would certainly not be a surprise. What's tomorrow, then? Ever-increasingly draconian legislation, that's what. To the point, eventually, where people like you and I will no longer be officially US anymore. Maybe I'll dress wrong. Maybe you won't be able to pay your debts. Use your imagination: watch Brazil, read 1984 or Brave New World- as natural resources dwindle, the Power Elite will find more reasons to exclude those they don't like, and those definitions will be made in the halls -and sewers- of power. For the powers behind Corporate Prisons: the more people in prison, the better. More prisoners, more money. Longer terms! Put those dangerous pot smokers away for good! And how might they go about getting more prisoners? Lobbying Congress -or maybe Alberto Gonzales- for heavier sentences, broader definitions of federal crimes, easements on use of inmates as labor, silly things like that.

Think about it. All conscious critters -I think- naturally divide the world into US and them (in various and shifting ways, as circumstances and needs change). On a societal scale among humans, the sides are determined by our purportedly impartial leaders and ruling class of politicians and judiciary. Let's not be coy: the socio-political elite.

As resources threaten to dwindle, it should come as no surprise when the ruling class narrows the definition of what's legal and acceptable -eventually to a point at which you and I are their them.

Now taking bets on when that point will come...

How long can "last throes" last?

Very good short flash thingy explaining the Downing Street memos.

If you have a credit card, you should read this. Thanks, Washington. Good stuff from David Sirota.

This is rich: "During a White House press conference, journalist Terry Moran asked Scott McClellan whether the insurgency in Iraq was in its "last throes," as had been claimed by Vice President Dick Cheney, or was not. McClellan gave a vague answer, so Moran repeated his question five more times. "Is there any idea," he finally asked, "how long a last throe lasts for?""
more here

Hmm. Must be nice to have affordable healthcare, eh? Fuck you, Saxby Chambliss, you ass-sucking election thief. (Oops, did I just say that?)

Robots (scary). We're on the road to obsolescence, folks. In the meantime, you might consider a career in tech support insurance...

Former Chief Economist in Bush's Labor dept, declaring that the Official Story of 911 is BS. Good solid stuff.

So why isn't anyone asking the officials at FEMA about why they broke the law after 911 by destroying evidence and a crime scene? This is outrageous. Nothin' makes me think "coverup" like -um- covering up the evidence. DUH Looking for the banal? Here ya go. Nothing outlandish about it at all: Someone at FEMA said "clean this up." Who gave what orders, and why?

A Sherlock Holmes Type Twist To The 9/11 Murder Mystery. Verrrrry interesting...

Shell Chairman sez we're in trouble: "The boat is sinking, and we have to use everything that we possibly can." and "We have roughly 45 years. And if we start NOW, not in 10 or 15 years' time, we have a chance..."

They thought no one was looking.

A new 767-page book is out, called Did George W. Bush Steal America's 2004 Election? Essential Documents. Apparently someone wants us to think that there's some doubt. The documents, however, don't leave much room for that. The link (if you haven't followed it yet) is to an article about the book.

As I've been saying for five years now, IMPEACH already, geez. How many crimes does he have to commit before someone holds him accountable?

What's the matter with Ohio? They thought no one was looking.

Memos show British Fretting Over Iraq War Troops' families aren't too happy about it, either, says this article in Stars and Stripes


US tries to derail G8 hearings on climate change: memos leaked

I have to say, sometimes politics -even just following it in the news- gets discouraging. I'm a radical, I won't lie about it, so I don't ever expect to hear my views on the news, or to read them echoed in some editorial somewhere; I can deal with that. Lately, though, I have felt so far out there that I don't even feel like I'm in the same political galaxy as Washington (hell, even Topeka).

The Republican party has been working toward a stranglehold on Washington and national politics for over twenty years. Having achieved control of both houses of Congress and the White House, some republicans -in statehouses and Washington alike- are actually devising ways to control -or make irrelevant- our judicial branch.

It's getting ugly.