“Money, so they say”…

January 27th, 2006

Money
By Pink Floyd

Money, get away.
Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay.
Money, it’s a gas.
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I’ll buy me a football team.

Money, get back.
I’m all right jack keep your hands off of my stack.
Money, it’s a hit.
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit.
I’m in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a lear jet.

Money, it’s a crime.
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re
Giving none away.

[…]

And so it goes:

Crashing Davos (Jeff Faux)

The world’s rich and powerful are heading this week to their annual meeting in the plush mountain resort of Davos, Switzerland. Hosted by the great global corporations (Citigroup, Siemans, Microsoft, Nestlé, etc.), some 2000 CEOs, prominent politicians, pundits and international bureaucrats will network over great food, fine wine, good skiing and cozy evenings by the fire contemplating the world’s future.
[…]
—the U.S. governing class—is in trouble. The opposition to the war in Iraq has demonstrated the limits of America’s willingness to send its children to die in order to force the world’s cultures into one vast shopping mall. And the looming crisis of America’s foreign debt will cramp the ability of our elites to use the countries’ economic power to support their global corporate backers. The erosion of the American social contract—already being reflected in stagnant wages, financial insecurity and collapsing health care system—could soon force the governing class to pay more attention to Bloomington, Ill., than to Baghdad, Iraq.

Globalization will not go away. Improvements in communication and transportation will continue to make the world smaller for as far into the future as we can see. Nor will economic classes soon disappear. The question is, as always, who sets the rules and in whose interests? So although the parties at Davos may not be over, the rest of the world seems less willing to pay for them.

More on the state of the economy:

Reality Check:

Also noted by Dark Wraith:

Now for some meat on which to chew. The securities markets are still running sideways. The run-up that had occurred before the end of last week gave solace to Mr. Bush’s supporters and apologists, but the small leap was quickly brought back to Earth on Thursday and Friday as the major market indices again ensured that it is not yet time for the objective capital markets to broadly cheer this Administration’s economic performance. This is, of course, part of a long-term disaster: recent articles here have pointed out that the federal budget deficits are not being reined in, personal savings are being eaten up to supplement current income for many Americans, and the Treasury debt markets are drifting closer and closer to displaying the dreaded inverted yield curve of which your host here at The Dark Wraith Forums has been warning for months.

This is not a good situation; and the looming problems will make their partisan origins to some extent secondary. The Bush Administration, together with its allies in Congress, will certainly deserve all the condemnation sure to spill forth in the few years ahead, but other than for the growing prospect that the condemnation will lead to the rascals being thrown out of Congress, the problems we are not yet as a nation facing will need solutions, and the solutions are not going to be easy nor painless to implement.

As an example, the “controversy” over Social Security has now died down, but the neo-conservatives won a major victory: the adjustments that should have been made several years ago—adjustments that have been made before in a timely, responsible, and bipartisan manner—have not been executed this time around; and every year, every month, in fact every day the adjustments aren’t made, the corrections required to maintain the long-term solvency of the trust fund will have to be more dramatic and more painful. This makes the corrections ever more vulnerable to that insidious breed of extremists who are so adamant that a government program is wrong that they will wreck it just to prove their spiteful point.

So, just keep all this in mind when the Bush Cabal tries to shove their Red Rhetorical Economic Kool-Aid down your throat…Special Thanks to The Dark Wraith, and to Pink Floyd, of course….

Onward…
Shine On…
M#

“And it came to pass”…

January 26th, 2006

In those days, in the Dark Ages of the American Theocratic Empire…

Go ahead, write your own caption..


(Photo, Brooks Kraft / Corbis)

Better yet, grab a beverage and go to the source for the reality-based wisdom of Gore Vidal at Truthdig…Truly, an awesome read:

And, here’s another awesome reality-based read I couldn’t resist sharing by Chris Floyd at Empire Burlesque:

Now, you go on and have a Beautiful Reality-Based Day…
Peace…
Onward…
M#

Still Hope… Updated…

January 26th, 2006

Update: Sunday, 1/29

From The PEN:

Once again we achieved our overnight objective from the local district phone action. There are widespread reports of senators’ phones ringing off the hook and fax machines running out of paper coast to coast. And YOU did it. We are witnessing the greatest outpouring of public opinion ever, being described as “astonishing,” in support of the people’s Alito filibuster. The hunger for policy change grows daily, and people want to know what more we can do. There is TONS more we can do, and these are our next moves:

It is critical that we open up multiple collateral fronts, while at the same time repeating the cultural phenomenon witnessed in the last 24 hours on an even LARGER scale. There are two NEW action pages below which will send your personal messages in real time to your senators’ internet gateways. We will still keep the phone and fax pressure on, but with these gateways we can deliver an UNLIMITED number of messages! This will multiply your chances to voice your opposition and layer those messages. Please submit both these new action pages and forward this alert to everyone else you know.

FIRST COLLATERAL ACTION: Anticipate and beat back any nuclear option move

http://www.millionphonemarch.com/nuke_option.php

In the back of the minds of our senators, the essential cowardice we must confront is their fear of exercising power generally, and in particular of the Republican so-called nuclear option. They are not afraid of losing a filibuster vote as much as they are afraid of WINNING, for only then would the threat of a nuclear option come into play. With the exercise of power comes responsibility, and above all that is what they must now do, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

In fact the nuclear option is a win-win situation for us. If the Republicans abuse the Senate rules and have enough sanity to fall short, we win outright. If they are misfortunate enough to break the rules, they will be punished by their constituents for not playing fair AND will have no way to stop US from undoing all their damage when we take back the Congress in 2006. Either way we demonstrate that Democrats WILL fight ferociously for what they believe in, ensuring prospects for success in 2006.

The action page above is a voting page which poses the question if it would be fair for the Republicans to pull some nuclear stunt. We need to tell BOTH Democrats AND Republicans how angry we would be at such a move. This will embolden our own and give enormous pause to the other side. It must be done for us to win.

SECOND COLLATERAL ACTION: Pressure Harry Reid to Either Lead or Step Aside

http://www.millionphonemarch.com/reid.php

There have been multiple calls in the progressive internet for Harry Reid to step down, notably from Buzzflash.com. The issue is not whether he should remain a senator from Nevada. Indeed his declared INDIVIDUAL support for the filibuster earns him that. But the role of a leader is not to take his hand off the rudder and walk away. And it is not acceptable for a coach to declare to the media and his team that they are going to lose in the middle of the third quarter.

Even if there were a couple senators who HAD to oppose the filibuster, and that is increasingly doubtful in the face of the public outpouring now taking place, what a LEADER would do is designate a couple byes and still lock in at least 41 certain votes. He would twist arms or promise favors to arrive at that result. If Reid can’t or won’t do the job he MUST be replaced with someone who can. But there may be reasonable differences of opinion, so again, we have made the above action page a voting page where you can vote either way, and add whatever personal comments you like.

The important thing is for Reid to feel the heat and the pressure to perform, and the question we pose simply asks if he is providing enough leadership. The side effect of pressuring him is that OTHER senators will better internalize that their own jobs are on the line if they fail the people this time, in particular from primary challenges. The bottom line is we need to have someone, hopefully Reid himself, to step up and take charge, whoever has the leadership to do so.

KEEP UP WITH THE LOCAL PHONES AND FAXES

http://www.nocrony.com/

http://www.nocrony.com/master_senate_phones.txt

If you are calling senators in other states, be candid that you are not a direct constituent. But the message is the same, if you stand with the party on this one we will go out of our way to help you. Otherwise we will flood your state with money and labor to support ANY candidate who runs against you until the end of time.

It is wonderful if you want to make massive numbers of phone calls yourself. But you can IMMENSELY amplify your effectiveness by FIRST forwarding this message to absolutely every other person you know so that they can be similarly mobilized. It is not just the sheer volume of messages, even more critical is the number of DIFFERENT people speaking out at once.

Let us be able to look back and say we did everything we could have done to win this victory in spite of the corrupt media pundits who are working overtime to tell us what we cannot do. We are proving them wrong day by day.

###

More updates at http://democrats.com/alito-48

Onward…
M#

(Please scroll down for earlier updates.)

Filibuster?…

From: NoCrony.Com

Now that an Alito filibuster is looking increasingly likely, the other side is again threatening to nuke the proceeding in a further power grab. If they try to steal a Supreme Court seat by changing the rules they will face the most awesome wrath of the American people in the next election. So while you are calling for a filibuster of Alito, please also tell them they better not try to pull some nuclear option stunt.

IT’S FILIBUSTER FRIDAY ALL WEEK! PHONE AND FAX ALL YOUR SENATORS AT THEIR LOCAL DISTRICT OFFICES. GET ALL THEIR NUMBERS WITH THE ONE CLICK LOOKUP BELOW.

Tell your Senators:
Filibuster Alito!
No nuclear option for Alito filibuster!

UPDATE:

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Again…Tell your Senators:
Filibuster Alito!
No nuclear option for Alito filibuster!

ALSO, SEND A MESSAGE BELOW:

LATEST URGENT UPDATE:

MORE ACTION NEEDED NOW!…

From: PDA

Kerry is filibustering Alito! Call Senators Immediately!
Call the Senators listed below, as well as your own, and tell them:

* a “No” vote is meaningless without a filibuster

* it is cowardly to only fight a fight when assured victory

* the American people need to see the Senate standing up for separation of powers and against the “Unitary Executive”

Use these toll free numbers to call the Capitol: 888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641. If you can’t get through, look up the Senator’s District Office number in your phone book or here: http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/dbq/officials/?lvl=C

First: Call the three Democrats (Mary Landrieu, Ken Salazar, and Dianne Feinstein) who oppose Alito but also said they oppose a filibuster. We must persuade them that a vote against Alito is meaningless if they don’t support a filibuster. Senator Salazar (D-CO) 202-224-5852 Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) 202-224-5824 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) 202-224-3841

Second: Call your own Democratic Senator: 888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641. If you can’t get through, look up the Senator’s District Office number in your phone book or here: http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/dbq/officials/?lvl=C

Third: Unbelievably, three Democrats (Ben Nelson, Tim Johnson and Robert Byrd) support Alito! Tell them to either support filibuster or at least “don’t get in the way.” Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) 202-224-6551 Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) 202-224-3954 Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) 202-224-5842
888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641. If you can’t get through, look up the Senator’s District Office number in your phone book or here: http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/dbq/officials/?lvl=C

Fourth: Call the “Red State” Democrats: (Message same as above — “No” is meaningless) Tom Carper (DE)
Kent Conrad (ND)
Byron Dorgan (ND)
Blanche Lincoln (AR) Mark Pryor (AR)

Fifth: Call these “Blue State” and pro-choice Republicans: (Message: A “Unitary Executive” is dangerous to balance of powers–please do not get in the way of a filibuster.) Lincoln Chafee (RI)
Susan Collins (ME)
Lisa Murkowsky (AK)
Bob Smith (OR)
Olympia Snowe (ME)
Ted Stevens (AK)

For extra credit, call all of the 2008 Presidential candidates who are sitting Senators–Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, and John Kerry–and tell them to either LEAD THE FILIBUSTER or KISS YOUR SUPPORT GOODBYE. 888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641. If you can’t get through, look up the Senator’s District Office number in your phone book or here: http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/dbq/officials/?lvl=C

You can also send that message to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (202-224-2447) and the Democratic National Committee (202-863-8000).

SATURDAY UPDATE 1/28:

Keep Calling! Flood The Capitol Switchboard Monday!
888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641.

Filibuster Alito!
No nuclear option for Alito filibuster!

ALSO, SEND A MESSAGE BELOW:

Onward…
M#

“No” From Wisconsin…

January 25th, 2006

A solid “No” for Alito from two Senators in my neck of the woods…
Thank You Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl…

(enlightening reads)

Sheesh..Then there’s this insanity:
(Bloomberg)

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson is the only Democrat who has announced he will vote for Alito.

And, what the hell’s up with this?

Sigh…
We can’t allow the Bush criminal cronies complete control over our three branches of government…A bipartisan Supreme Court is essential for America’s Republic of Democracy….Who else will protect Americans from an Executive Branch’s over-reach of power and other illegal indiscretions?…

Even with some Republicans voting “no” to Alito, it’s still not good enough to offset the Republican majority in Congress, most of whom are members in Bush’s “good ol’ boys club” of crony corruption (including Alito)…

With unchecked criminal executive power, we might as well give the Bush regime a blank check for an American dictatorship, complete with endless warprofiteering, sanctioned torture, blatant abuse of American civil liberties, cronyism, endless lies and propaganda, corporatism, isolationism, theocracy, mis-use of our military, plundering of our treasury, breakdown of our infrastructure and environment, and the list goes on and on….That’s the kind of crony partisanship we can expect from Alito…

NO TO ALITO!
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS NOW!
FILIBUSTER ALITO!
CALL TOLL FREE:
888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641

Onward…

And now for your moment of Zen…

But, he was just being a “regular guy”:

Woodland school puts Big Bad Wolf on trial (Waukegan News Sun)

You thinking what I’m thinking?..
Scary….
M#

Not Over It…

January 22nd, 2006

Get over the last two rigged presidential elections?…No, I will not get over the coup de ta….The Administration Occupiers have brought immeasurable shame and suffering to the majority of Americans and to so so many across the globe…This death squad is destroying every living thing in its path, inebriated with arrogance, power and greed…

Will voting machine paper trails even be enough?…Do we need the U.N. to come in and monitor our elections?…



What more can be done to check corruption?…

Time for many sleeping amnesiac Americans to wake up and remember who they are, and to start acting like Americans again…This is the real “reality show”….
M#

Selling Hell…

January 20th, 2006

While our troops’ benefits are being stalled, cut, or downright denied, many times with tragic results,

The US Army said Wednesday it has raised its maximum enlistment age from 35 to 40 years old and is doubling signing up bonuses to a high of 40,000 dollars.

Read: US Army raises enlistment age to 40 (Political Gateway)

This criminal Administration has the audacity to treat our troops like a commodity for their chickenhawk-warmongering-warprofiteering meat market…They dangle the carrot, then snatch it away…This is a criminal mis-use of, and disrespect for our Best and Bravest…Absolutely cruel and shameful…

Thoroughly Appalling!…
M#

Here We Go…

January 19th, 2006

When all else fails, play the Osama card…

Now the Bush Dictatorship will use the Osama tape to justify illegal wiretapping and the need to trash the Constitution by permanently extending the mis-named Patriot Act….And anyone dissenting the illegal war in Iraq will be accused of “aiding and giving comfort to the enemy”, thereby labeled an “enemy of the state”….How convenient…Very clever ploy by Rove….Shouldn’t he be indicted by now?…Sigh…The only one attacking inside the U.S. right now is the Bush Dictatorship, and it will continue, with new attacks created as long as Congress and the Main Stream Media continue to sell out to the highest bidder…

Also makes me wonder who really kidnapped CSM’s independent journalist, Jill Carroll….As a non-embed, perhaps she held the power of truth in her hand—a no-no for the Bush Dictatorship….

My prayers for Jill and her loved-ones…

For the Real Patriots…

From: Progressive Patriots Fund:

Senator Feingold needs your help calling for a full Congressional investigation of the administration’s wiretapping of American citizens.

Onward…
M#

Oh And, Damn….
Feds after Google data
(The Mercury News)

Not surprised…
M#