WAR! WAR! WAR!

First, the war on Christmas....

A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said.

The 34-year-old employee, a temporary maintenance worker, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.

Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.

Only in America. One day you're spending your Thanksgiving holiday with your family, the next day, hundreds of people overcome with the spirit of goodwill to men are leaving their bootprints on your body as they fight their way to get at the limited quantity big screen TVs.
Next, the war on drugs.....

The United States' war on drugs has failed and will continue to do so as long as it emphasizes law enforcement and neglects the problem of consumption, a Washington think tank says in a report co-chaired by a former president of Mexico.

What are you going to do? The government imports the drugs, then privatizes the prison industry so they can make a profit from the incarceration of all the people using the drugs you smuggled in and abuse them while their at it.
People have been cultivating pot for smoking since before Jesus, perhaps the US needs to re-examine it's drug laws and policies rather than lock people away for recreational drug use.
Finally, the war on terror.....
George W Bush says he wants his legacy to be that of a liberator of millions. Sure, he liberated millions of Iraqis from this mortal coil and still terrorists keep attacking people. This is your legacy.

You Can Keep Your Conservative Corporate Media

For many years now, the American people have been fed a myth. The myth of the liberal media. This myth was perpetuated by those on the right whenever they were portrayed in an accurate but unfavorable light.
But for the years between 1997-2005 conservative guests dominated on Sunday Morning news shows, effectively setting up the talking points for the week that were then passed along to conservative talk radio hosts nationwide in an attempt to hammer home the message to the American people.
Many on the left suggest a boycott of sponsors, since all they really worship is money..

or reviving the Fairness Doctrine which brought balance and diversity to the nation's airwaves. However, if you examine the results from the past two election cycles, being in charge of the echo chamber hasn't really helped them out at all. Disseminating right wing talking points has only shown how ridiculous those talking points are when contrasted against the news of the failures of the Republican controlled congress and the Bush administration.
So I say, let them keep their corporate media. The success they've had with has proved that in four years, there won't be much of a Republican Party left, right?

So It's Come To This.....

All hail the corpocracy!! While millions of Americans were facing foreclosure on mortgages and losing their homes, Congress, both Democrats and Republicans sat idly by and allowed it to go on as if it were perfectly sane and normal, or oh well, should have never taken that mortgage in the first place.
God forbid anyone should regulate a bunch of criminals and John McCain thought deregulation was so super that he proposed it for our health care system as well. And while CEOs walked away with platinum parachutes, Congress was busy giving immunity to telcoms for breaking the law by spying on us, and feeding the military-industrial complex by funding the war in Iraq, very little of it going to the people actually putting their lives on the line.
Now, if Congress had taken a sliver of what it's going to take to save the financial district, and used it to help Americans hold on to their houses, this whole mess could have been averted, but Congress only has use for you two days a year: April 15 and the first Tuesday in November.
There are some who call the bailout of Lehman Brothers, et al, socialism, but socialism would imply that society as a whole would benefit from the action. And I think having a former banker standing on the corner, dirty and unkempt, with a spray bottle and rag offering to wash passing motorists windshields would do the country better than to have them retreat to their Ivory Towers with their security goon squad making sure that line between us and them is never breached while we are forced to work harder to pay off the debt they incurred.

Punishment Fits The Crime!! Woo-Hoo!!!

A good thing about the religious right (should that be capitalized? no, they don't deserve it) not taking over completely is some acts they may deem illegal, still are legal. Wouldn't want to be the theocracy that Iran is, or do we?
It seems that nine activists convicted of adultery have been sentenced to being stoned. yeah! First they get to get laid, then they get to get baked, sounds like nobody's being punished at all.
Okay, really, in some twisted Shirley Jackson way, they're being sentenced to being stoned to death(woo-hoo! What a way to go! Like to see that bong dudes!)just like the the man who spoke Jehovah's name in Life Of Brian. What were you thinking? This is Iran, not Afghanistan, where opium production has reached record levels thanks in part to the US invasion and the poor direction of foreign aid (by the puppet president, installed by the religious right backed George W). Woo-hoo! We can all go back to shootin' smack!
OK, so what really is going on is more pre-war propaganda, trying to show how backwards and barbaric a country Iran is (gee, I wonder what their STD rate is?) while the Iranians are given two weeks to suspend their legal under the NPT treaty uranium enrichment or face a confrontation from the US and it's UN lackeys. It seems that the realists in the Bush administration have lost out to the neocons, who probably gained the support of Dick Cheney, who was surely having multiple orgasms everytime the price of oil rose.
None of them give a fuck about you and me, or the people in Iran, with their obviously oppressive government, it's all about kowtowing to the big oil guys, who will never have enough money as long as you still have a dime in your pocket.

Is There A Gas Bubble?

Saudi Arabia raised it's oil production following an appeal from President Bush. Of course, as Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told U.S. officials that increased output would not reduce costs at the pump for U.S. motorists as soaring prices were mainly the result of a weak dollar, speculation and tensions in oil-producing countries. Increased demand by countries like India and China (two countries that have benefited from the policies of the corpocracy) have also pushed oil prices up.
It's not that there isn't enough oil, it's because the actions of the Bush administration have created high oil prices.
The weak dollar is mainly caused by deficits, both trade and budget. While the Bush administration speaks about a strong dollar, it's actions are being interpreted by currency speculators as favoring a weak dollar. (It's kind of like how the Bush administration wants to bring peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but doesn't pressure Israel to give up any of the land it has taken from Palestine, or do anything about the numerous UN resolution violations Israel has been hit with.) Corporations doing business overseas benefit from the weak dollar, as well as companies buying raw materials, but the rest of us suffer, especially since a weak dollar means low sales for manufacturers, who then are forced to cut back on hiring.
Tensions in the oil-producing countries is directly caused by the Bush administration. Iraq was a needless war, with no justification found for us to invade, and our continued harassment of Iran, for exercising their rights as co-signee to the NPT, have lead to the belief that in the future, the Bush administration will invade that country as well. When and/or if that happens, oil prices will shoot through the roof, as the world's access to the oil-rich Gulf states will be compromised.
Through the nineties, the stock market, mostly the NASDAQ, saw their value increase because of what was known as the Dot-com bubble, driven, in part, by speculators and lots of available investment capital. One of the causes behind the recent housing bubble was driven in part by speculative interest in the housing market.
Now, we have rapid increase in oil prices coupled with speculation in the oil markets , with speculation adding at least $10 to $15 per barrel. So, is there a gas bubble, an artificial rise in prices caused by outside market influences?
We can cut down consumption of gas. Decreased demand will cause prices to fall. As far as easing tensions in the Middle east, the one thing that won't help is voting for John McCain. If the Bush administration hasn't already bombed Iran before the end of their term, an elected John McCain will seize his perceived mandate to go after Iran. Barack Obama has been ridiculed for using diplomacy (i.e. actually talking with regimes the Bush administration has deemed "terrorist", forgetting the Osama Bin Laden is still loose in the world), but in the end, that is what's best for easing tensions, and aiding Americans suffering under high gas prices.

One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Smear Campaigns

This is so funny. The Republicans intend on using Barack Obama as a liability. Where do they live?
Back in the US, President Bush has the lowest approval rating of all. The economy is fucked, the wars in the Middle East are utter failures, strangling our economy even more than the high oil prices, which is another by-product of those wars and the propaganda machine is gearing up for the next.
You see, it doesn't matter if John Hagee backs off his prior homophobic statements, all any Democratic nominee has to do is point out that McCain is no different than Bush, and they should win by a landslide. And if they don't, the Democratically controlled congress should immediately begin an investigation into vote fraud.

Five Down, Ninety Five To Go

Bush thinks the war in Iraq was worth it.Even though most Americans say the war in Iraq wasn't worth it.The Iraq War is killing our economy, but Dick Cheney thinks the war was a successful endeavor. Uh, sorry Dick, but if it was "successful", it would be over and done with our troops would be back home and the Iraqi people would be free of an occupation force. The US has lost power, prestige and influence, but to our leaders, that's a good thing.
In his most recent speech, Bush declares that those who oppose the war want the US to "retreat", and failure there would give a victory to our "enemies". This comes from a man who used 935 lies by both him and members of his administration to the American citizens to try to gain backing for this illegal war. Criminals and liars and yet no one dare stand up them. Victory cannot be attained because there is no clear definition of terms within the confines of the war, and there is no exit strategy because they never intend on leaving.
Meanwhile returning US troops suffer psychological wounds , two and a half million Iraqi men, women and children have been left homeless while the prospect of creating more refugees hasn't swayed the mind of the disconnected from admit that the war in Iraq was nothing but a colossal bungle.
End The War

"But, Hey, Defense Contractors Are Making Money. Wait, You Mean There Are Americans Not Employed By The Military-Industrial Complex?"

So George Bush thinks the war in Iraq has nothing to do with the economy. This chimp faced chump couldn't buy a clue if he was the only bidder at a clue auction. Not that anyone expects him to admit to any of his numerous failings, in his mind the economy's doing swell.
Let me spell it out for you, Mr. Presnit: The war in Iraq has increased the budget deficit. Deficits mean the government has to print up more dollars, which in turn makes those dollars worth less than before by virtue of the fact there's more of them floating around. That increases inflation, and if you don't think prices are going up, you haven't been to a grocery store recently.
The war in Iraq has also increased instability in the Middle East. This coupled with your threats against Iran have driven up the price of a barrel of oil. Higher oil prices means Americans are paying more at the pump. In the last three years, gas prices have doubled. Paying more for gas means people have less to spend on other things, which in turn has led to slower retail sales. That in turn leads to lay-offs, etc., etc.
So never mind that most Americans think that leaving Iraq would boost the economy, even though most Americans have a higher capacity for intelligence than you. You are like a fart in a stiff wind, you're talking out of your ass and your breath probably stinks as well.

Ouch, That Stings!

"Of course President Bush would attack the one candidate in this race who opposed his disastrous war in Iraq from the start. But Barack Obama doesn't need any foreign policy advice from the architect of the worst foreign policy decision in a generation," - Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
(Picture stolen from The American Insurgency)
George W Bush, in an unbridled act of arrogance (of which he is so proficient) has decided to attack Barack Obama. Of course, Bush knows from inexperience, Bush had no experience of foreign policy to speak of when he took office, just lots of plans to take it easy at Camp David, and look at the mess he made of this once fine country.
I hear the experience argument thrown around a lot recently, and really, no one running for president for their first term has experience being the leader of the free world. What we need to judge them on is there intelligence, not their opportunism. Their judgment, not the insincere apologies for lapses of judgment.
And so, the Obama campaign issued the above rejoinder, the first time anyone with in this campaign has dared to blame the great dictator for the mess he has made. And for that, he gets my respect. And if the Democrats have the good judgment to make him their candidate, he has my vote.

The Magical Imaginary World Of George W Bush

Has there ever been a more out-of-touch chief executive than George W Bush. Still firmly ensconced in his bubble, the White House is now downplaying talk about an economic recession, even as it works to pass an "economic stimulus" package. I guess when your base hasn't really been affected, you could really give two turds, until aides point out it may reflect poorly on your legacy to have completely destroyed the country.
So if you ignore the record number of foreclosures and the drop in single family home sales, the slowest increase of the GDP in five tears, consumer spending down, skyrocketing food prices , not to mention the falling stock market, then, yeah the economy looks pretty good. I mean, if Bush can ignore the NIE, ignoring this should be no problem for someone living in his own version of reality.

Don't Expect Real World Solutions From People Out Of Touch With Reality

The more things change, the more Bush's perspective stays the same. Bent askew.
In his radio address today, Bush proved that the simple minded can only focus their attention on one thing, filling the War party's coffers via defense contractors. How, you may ask? By insisting that funding the wars in Aghanistan and Iraq are our top priority.
What they are really doing is distratcting the people from the real problem (from CNN):

After years of living happily beyond their means, Americans are finally facing financial reality. A persistent rise in energy prices will mean bigger heating bills this winter and heftier tabs at the gas pump. Job growth is slowing and wage gains have been anemic. House prices are sliding, diminishing the value of the asset that's the biggest factor in Americans' personal wealth. Even the stock market, which has been resilient for so long in the face of eroding consumer sentiment, has begun pulling back amid signs of deep distress in the financial sector.

This set of priorities comes from the guy who thinks faith is the answer to the world AIDS crisis. That was Ronald Reagan's solution, and look how well that worked in stopping the spread of AIDS. Real world solutions don't appeal to Bush because he has never been in toch with the real world.
Don't expect the Democrats to stand up to Bush, they have yet to do so, and to think they will now is folly. They need to look tough on terrorism by continuing to fund the US spread of it by military force, lest they be pilloried by the corporate media for their failure to do so.