Preserving the Planet

More than four months have passed since I last posted to this blog. I have not been idle however. What I have been doing is re-evaluating my goals in life. While good and honest politics is a worthwhile pursuit, what good will it do if our planet can no longer support life? A strong economy will also be worthless. Nothing much will matter if we are all crispy critters or frozen in an ice berg. It is with that in mind that I have decided to make the earth my passion. I feel strongly that we have little time to turn around the direction in which we have chosen to take our environment. Henceforth I will be discussing this issue in this forum. I am hoping to hear from others about what they are doing to help.

The other thing I have become rather focused on is inner peace. Sounds silly doesn't it but image a world where everyone is at peace with themselves and others. We could live in harmony with nature. Perhaps we might even stop killing each other.

Mankind Loosed, author Unknown

I have died in Viet Nam but I have walked the face of the moon.
I have befouled the waters and tainted the air of a magnificent land but I have made it safe from disease.
I have flown through the sky faster than the sun but I have idled in streets made ugly with traffic.
I have littered the land with garbage but I have built upon it 100 million homes.
I have divided schools with my prejudice but I have sent armies to unite them.
I have beat down my enemies with clubs but I have built courtrooms to keep them free.
I have built a bomb to destroy the world but I have used it to light a light.
I have outraged my brothers in the alleys of the ghettos but I have transplanted a human heart.
I have scribbled out filth and pornography but I have elevated the philosophy of man.
I have watched children starve from my golden towers but I have fed half the earth.
I was raised in a grotesque slum but I am surfeited by the silver spoon of opulence.
I live in the greatest country in the world in the greatest time in history but I scorn the ground I stand upon.
I am ashamed but I am proud. I am an American.

The Jackel, The Hyenia, or The Devil

Jackels are known scavengers. They prefer not to hunt but will steal a kill from a predator at any chance. They are opportunitistic and will kill if they are forced to. Mostly they like to come upon remains left by others. Jackels usually operate in packs and have been known to eat their own.

The Hyenia, though thought of as a scavenger is truly a capable hunter. They have the strongest jaws in the angimal kingdom and can crush a bone effortlessly. They too like to steal someone elses kill but will hunt efficiently. The Hyenia is truly formidable. Like the Jackel, they will eat their own.

The Devil needs no description. The Devil is capable of any evil and is quite creative at causing pain and destruction. The Devil will devour your very soul or take charge of it, which ever happens to suit him. Of course the Devil is only symbolic of the evil of which man is capable.

We come now to Hillary, Obama, McCain. McCain as we all know, is openly and clearly a war mongering, dottering old man who never quite made it to his goal in life. That goal is not quite clear to me but I am sure it goes along with misery and strife. McCain wants to bomb Iran and keep our combat troops in Iraq for hmmm maybe 100 years. He is very open about that. Hillary and Obama on the other hand
want to take combat troops out of Iraq. The operative word here is *combat*. This does not mean we will re-deploy all of our troops. Just our combat troops, leaving behind, Blackwater and other contractors as well as troops to guard our precious installations in Iraq. Obama is also in favor of this plan. He is also in favor of sending troops to Pakistan to continue the war on terror.

The Iraqis do not want us there. They do not want Blackwater, Dyncorp, CACI or any of the rest. They do not want US troops in their country. Geeze, who would? Do Obama and Hillary think for one moment that there will not be aggression under those circumstances? Do they really believe that the Iraqis will not continue to kill and be killed? Give me a break.

McCain is clearly insane so I can sort of overlook his ideas and hope that enough American voters are not in favor of them to keep him out of the White House.

Hillary and Obama on the other hand manage to sound reasonable. Scary! Obama has scooped up the remains of the progressive movement and with his pretty words, has managed to pick up a great deal of momentum. Hillary got the left overs but believe this, Hillary is a formidable enemy. She has shown herself for what she is. The hunter with powerful jaws.

It is a sad day indeed when good men like Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd, John Edwards have fallen away leaving us a Jackel, a Hyenia and a Devil.

Breaking the Bars

The word is out, 1 in 100 Americans is in jail or prison. If you think that does not sound so bad, consider this; 1 in 15 African American males is among them. Think about the implications here. Is it because they have a criminal nature? Of course not. I suspect they have less opportunities is this great country of ours and there comes a time when ya gotta do what ya gotta do to survive. Just one more reason for us to speak out against racism and promote a good system of education.

Education, the magic word. I was entertained when a friend of mine e-mailed me a Citizen Quiz. I scored well and had fun with it. However, I was surprised and appalled at the averge score. The other thing of notice was that younger people had the worst scores and they went up with the ages of the participants. Does this mean our schools are failing? Why yes, of course. Thank You Ronald Reagan.

Thanks to the years of GOP rule, we now have lousey schools. Our schools don't even teach civics classes anymore. Remember civics classes? I hated them but now I am so glad we had them. We had to bring in a newpaper article of interest to read and share with the class, then we would discuss it. I learned a lot from those classes. I often wonder if todays adults could do that.

Not that the newspapers tell us much anymore, but kids need to learn to explore for facts and reading the newspaper is a good start, especially if the article is discussed with others.

I encourage parents of school age children to push for more current events and civics classes so our next generation can be more knowlegable then the present one. We need to raise a generation of world citizens. Today is a good day to start.

An Open Letter to Bush

George, Sorry I cannot call you Mr. President for you are not now nor were you ever my president. I cannot call you Mr. Bush since that implies respect. George, the point is I have no repect for you. I certainly cannot say *dear* George. Eeeewww. There is nothing dear about you.

Here is the way I see you. I see you as selfish, spoiled, inarticulate, uncaring and actually evil, pompus ass. Yep, you might be the spawn of satan for all I know. I read once that L Ron Hubbard and Alister Crowley tried to create a "Moon Child", a wicked female, the embodiment of evil. Then I read somewhere else that your gradmother may have had an affair with Crowley. Maybe they get everything right and it is your momma. I am not making any of this up. I really did read it. Wow what would that make you? Gotta think on that one.

The point is that in 7 years, you, with the help of other evil men like you, have managed to undo so much good. You have taken us back in time to a place that many have worked hard to make right. We have moved back to racism, genocide, poverty, male chavanism, disease and strife the likes of which I never dreamed we would see again. Not only that, you have taken the hope of the world away. In addition, you are a never ending embarrassment to the American people. You sure inherited the blunder gene from your momma.

People struggle to keep the wolf from the door, George. Do you even notice? I suppose not. It does not effect you. It does effect the whole world though. What must it be like to be you? I cannot imagine it. Yes, you could be the spawn of satan all right.

You and your buddy Rumsfeld, the other sadist (yes, you are a sadist, always have been) have turned our country into a country of aggressors who are not happy with killing and ravaging others but now it is your pleasure to torture them too. George, do you believe in Karma at all? I know you think you are going to heaven but I have news for you. There is no such place and if there was, you would not be welcomed there. Make no mistake, you may have made yourself above man's laws but you can never be above the laws of the universe. Karma gonna git ya georgie. I hope I live to see it.

So George, you have everything you want now. Americans are losing rights on a daily basis. We are being spied on in our own homes, we fear our government. We are suspicious of each other. We are becoming more impoverished by the day. You have your gulags built and ready for us, fancy schmancy weaponry designed to control us, FBI data bases to find us and a plan. When will you make your move? Are you going to keep us in suspense much longer. I know you have something on the back burner there. When do you get to say, "Mission Accomplished"?

I have met the enemy and it is the FBI

Safe Citizens
By Jennifer Cecere

We’ve a new microchip Citizen
Just a little stick right here and it’s in.
Now we can track you were you go,
Because we really need to know,
What you are up to every day Citizen.

Got a new ID card too Citizen.
It protects from ID theft Citizen.
And you can board a plane or bus,
Without avoiding us
We’ll all be safer this way Citizen.

We can scan your iris too Citizen
If your eyes are brown or blue Citizen
Learn your allergies, blood type,
With a simple little swipe.
We need to know these things Citizen.

If a hurricane should strike you Citizen,
We’ll be there to check your ID Citizen.
In the case that you should drown,
We’ll be there to track you down,
And identify your body Citizen

Yes, we always need to know Citizen,
Where you are and what you do Citizen.
If you’re a liability,
Singing people should be free.
We will find you anywhere Citizen.

There are places for your ilk, Citizen,
Recently constructed, please don’t grin.
This is a very serious matter,
You must comply without this chatter.
Don’t forget we’re watching you Citizen!

Are We All Demented?

Americans seem to forget very quickly. Is it something in the water? Is it dietary? What is wrong with the American memory?

Say out there, remember when we voted on paper ballots that were counted by real people?

Remember what happened in Florida in 2000? Ohio in 2004?

Remember the surplus of money in the government coffers in 2000? Geeze Dubya could not spend that fast enough. Remember that?

I seem to recall complaining about gas being $1.50 a gallon back then. Do you? Strange how Exxon has record profits quarter after quarter and now we pay twice as much for a gallon of gas. Hello!

Remember having a job? Insurance? I remember paying $10 a month for my insurance plan. I pay more than that for medicare now.

Remember that fateful day when Dubya invaded a soverign nation that was no threat to anyone anywhere without a declaration of war? Geeze Saddam had been pretty much been rendered impotent in 1990. His army was wrecked, his airforce non-existant, yet Bush felt the need for shock and awe. His wreckless disregard for innocent lives is so difficult for me to wrap my mind around.

Remember Afghanistan?

Remember the 4,000 dead Americans? The hundreds of thousands with missing limbs, PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injuries?

Yes, Americans are demented, they can't remember shit.

I remember when I could put my money in the bank and not worry about it being frozen because my government did not approve of what I said.

I remember when I could go to a demonstration and not worry about being beaten up or attacked with noxious chemicals.

I remember being certain that a warrant was required before the police could enter my home. Now they can enter it at will even if I am not there. They can burst into my home in full riot gear and kill me with impunity.

I recall when I could borrow a book from the library without anyone caring about it.

I remember Enron, Kenny Boy Lay, Bushes buddy. Remember him? Yeah, good old Kenny Boy. They say he died. I say he is in a warm sunny clime drinking something tall and cool. He had to be dead so wifey could keep all that money. I am sure she provides his every whim with it.

I even remember when I was not spied on. I could talk on the phone without concern about being overheard. Americans have not been spied on since Nixon. Nixon, you will recall was impeached. So, what happened? Why are the criminals in charge not being impeached?

Do you remember the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, the signing statements?

Remember this folks, when you go to the polls to vote, assuming you will not forget, that there is not a Republican alive who will not carry on the BushCo tradition.

And by the way, bet you remember Monica Lewinsky just fine.

Who Is Thom Hartmann?

Thom Hartmann, radio talk show host, author, counselor, whore.

I have been listening to Mr. Hartmann and reading his books for several years. He has been informative, tolerant and pleasant.

Thom was a big fan of John Edwards. I never understood why he, who states he is progressive, never supported Kucinich. Instead he supported Edwards. Now, Edwards is a good man, no doubt about it but come on, he was not the MOST progressive of the candidates. But, I digress. Thom pushed Edwards down our progressive throats ad nauseum. Now that Edwards has withdrawn his bid for the presidency, I expected some sense of sorrow from Thom. Instead, he has immediately and without missing a beat become the fan of Obama. He is a whore, he goes the way the wind blows and I have lost a good deal of respect for the guy as of today.

I am looking for an honest man. Can't find one anywhere. How depressing.

Meanwhile, GW Bush is setting things up nicely for the next despot. He has even taken the power of congress to impeach away. That is another story.

The Mighty Little Man

Dennis Kucinich ... In his own words

This campaign began more than a year ago when I saw that leaders in
Washington, many in my own party, were intent on continuing a war, a
war that has cost the lives of more than 4,000 of our brave young men
and women and 1 million innocent Iraqis. A war that will cost this
nation 2 trillion dollars and a war that has already cost our
Cleveland community over a billion dollars.

At the same time, I saw that the American economy was headed for
serious trouble. People were losing their jobs, their health care,
their homes, their retirement security. Not just here in Cleveland,
but all across the country. And the solutions to those problems don't
reside here in Cleveland. They were created and facilitated by people
and policies in Washington D.C. – in the White House, in the U.S.
Congress – and on Wall Street.

That's why I ran for President in the first place: to give those
issues the national attention they deserved and to do my best to win
the nomination and bring a totally new perspective and a totally new
direction to the Office of President of the United States of America.

I deeply and sincerely believe that we fought the good fight – in
large part because of the support from all of you here and from
hundreds of thousands of people just like you all across this country.
I stood strong because you gave me strength. I spoke out because your
voices needed and deserved to be heard. And I told the truth, no
matter how unpopular or inconvenient, because, no matter how long it
takes, the truth really will set us free.

I won't be President, but I can continue to fight for these important
issues as a Congressman, representing the community that is first in
my heart, Cleveland, Ohio: issues like the economic rights of people,
jobs for all, health care for all, retirement security for all, and
social justice for all.

I have put proposals before the Congress to create jobs. I have put
proposals before the Congress to create health care for all. I have
put proposals before the Congress to create universal pre-kindergarten
-- all things which my district, and many districts like it across
this country, need so desperately.

Instead, we asked for jobs, we get war. We asked for health care, we
get war. We asked for funds for education, we get war. We ask for a
clean environment, we get war. It is time to end this war. It is
time to end war as an instrument of policy and have the government
start taking care of things here at home. In Cleveland. And in
places everywhere just like Cleveland.

The physical health of our nation is declining. Here in Cleveland you
can see people suffering everywhere because they have no health care.
Across Ohio there are 1 million people who have no health insurance.
Either because they can't afford it or because they lost their job,
or because they have a pre-existing condition. It is time to have a
single payer, not for profit health care system. I am the co-author
of the bill, HR 676, and this single idea of a single-payer system
would be the key economic stimulus that could both save and create
millions of jobs while restoring the health of our nation.

We are losing our nation to a war based on lies, to destruction of our
civil liberties and to massive debt. I tried to get these themes into
the debates. But I was locked out of six debates. In each and every
early primary state, in Iowa, in New Hampshire, Nevada, South
Carolina and California, the American people were denied an
opportunity to know that there is a way our of Iraq, there are plans
to restore our economy, there is a practical health care plan which
means the end of premiums, co-pays and deductibles. But there was no
way to get the message out. Workers here know about lockouts. They
stop you from being heard.

But workers also know that the fight for economic rights is not about
a single day, or a single year, or a single campaign, or a single
candidate. It is a lifelong endeavor.

So today, we are re-committing our energies to a government that
works for all of us and is open to all of us. A government that stands
for economic strength through peace. A government that stands for
jobs, for health care, for education. A government that stands for
truth, for civil liberties, and for our Constitution. And it starts
again today in Cleveland, Ohio in the heart of America.

From our efforts in Cleveland and around this great country, we're
creating a new force to be reckoned with, a force that will be made up
of people, ideas, new technologies and the kind of patriotic verve
that has no place for cowardice or compromise. I have been called the
Conscience of the Democratic Party. Our efforts will involve a call
to conscience. A call to integrity.

To those who supported this campaign with their energies and with
their hearts, I want you to know that we are transitioning the
Presidential campaign into a national movement based on integrity and
based on practical ways in which we can affect policies at local and
national levels. I am no longer running for President, but I am
intent on saving our nation from the destruction of our economic hopes
and from the destruction of our Constitution.

And all of the energies of all of the people who have been involved in
this campaign will be transitioned into a new, national effort to
regain control of our government, which seems more and more
inaccessible. We are calling that effort "Integrity Now", and there is
a website – http://www.integritynow.org -- where we can begin to
channel all of that enthusiasm and that commitment from people just
like you, and just like me, so we can take positive steps to do what
we know is right and in the best interests of this nation.

So let us begin again, here, today, in Cleveland, Ohio, with a renewed
effort to be of service to our community and to our nation. Let us
re-focus on what we can do and what we must do, here at home, in
Washington, and all across this country to end the war, rebuild this
nation, restore truth and justice and integrity to our government.
Let's make the American dream more than a dream. Let's make it a reality.

Thank you.

Dennis Kucinich

==============================================
You can join this effort on Yahoo groups now at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Integrity_Now/

The World of WE

I begin with a deep heavy sigh having just viewed Sicko for the second time. It made me cry. I asked out loud, "Why are they doing this to us?". What must we do to change this system? I am at a loss. Everyone I know is at a loss. I am sad and think I would like to move to Cuba. There in lies the world of WE.