Turn off the Money Cannon!

Turn off the Money Cannon!

All these issues, Health Care, the economy, our troops, budget deficits, could be addressed with campaign finance and election reform. As long as the law makers are owned by the big money interests, we are in trouble. Here is my plan...

1. All campaigns are publicly financed. You can contribute up to $100 when you file your income tax, State and Local.

2. No political ads on TV or Radio until the last week before the election and both candidates get free spots of equal length.

3. We all vote on Sunday. If you vote you get a check for $50. If you don't vote, you pay a fine of $20.

4. As far as the Internet, candidates can do what they want except ask for money. No ads just a site.

5. No PACS or soft money. Nothing! SEND MORE RULES!!!

[ ... ]

German Retribution!

German Retribution!

A story about some German pensioners kidnapped and tortured a financial adviser that allegedly lost their money is on Huffpo. I hope the mainstream media doesn't pick up on this story because it is dangerous. I am not about surpressing information but people are losing their houses. That makes people unhappy, combined with the stream of hate speech already flooding AM radio and cable news, which could spell trouble for a few unlucky bankers.

[ ... ]

Rereading 1984, again!

Rereading 1984, again!

I found an excellent passage on page 129 of "1984" by George Orwell. This is about people accepting political ideas. "They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. " When our current leaders say, "there is no support for a a public health care option", they have no need to fear that such a mendacious statement could come back to haunt them. Even with polls like this, politicians can still make those kinds of pronouncements in a jovial and carefree manner. This is why it is so important for our leaders to promote the "dumbing down" of America. Are Americans wising up? Not much. Too many people are wrapped up in "John and Kate" whoever those people are. Paul Krugman says centrist Democrat Senators could sink health care reform. "Thus Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska initially declared that the public option — which, remember, has overwhelming popular support — was a “deal-breaker.” Why? Because he didn’t think private insurers could compete: “At the end of the day, the public plan wins the day.” Um, isn’t the purpose of health care reform to protect American citizens, not insurance companies?" Centrist is code for corporate sponsored.

[ ... ]

How soon they forget!

How soon they forget!

Priorities change when they hit the major leagues. How soon they forget who their friends are. Obama and his crew are now saying single payer coverage simply isn't an option. Oh ya? Over 60% of the American people support single payer coverage. As long as insurance companies are in charge, Americans will not be safe. Over 20,000 people die every year because of no coverage, denied coverage, or under coverage. That's seven times the number killed on 9/11 every year!!

It's off the table because "Big Insurance" and "Big Healthcare" don't want it on the table. Priorities change, but progressives keep fighting!

[ ... ]

A must read for everyone!

A must read for everyone!

Christopher Hitchens is a bastard. I love his writing, I love his speeches and seminars, I love his erudite wit, but he is a bastard. I hate his sexism, I hate his contrarian pro war views, I hate his feud with George Galloway, yet he is a "godsend"!

God is not Great is his most recent work and he does with this book what I thought could not be done. He has given us a mainstream best seller that excoriates the evil that is organized religion. This book has been out for awhile, but I just got it. Read this book. Then read it again. If you believe in freedom and peace and justice then you must know that organized religion is our second biggest enemy. Our worst enemy being ourselves.

This book is good for people that are still lying to themselves. So many Americans lie to themselves daily. "There really is a man up in the sky that watches me.""Our economy of waste and consumption is sustainable." "No one really discriminates anymore, that's the past." "These pants make me look fat."

[ ... ]

Times are a changin'!

Times are a changin'!

The Iranian government is complicated and only thirty years old, but it might be in for a shake up. The Supreme Leader is named Ayatullah Ali Khamenei. He is in trouble because his knee jerk reaction to the election was to endorse it before the votes were counted, if in fact they were counted. This made him vulnerable to the populist uprising we have been seeing for the past week. According to the constitution of Iran, he can be replaced by the same council that elected him. He is not just a preacher, he is a politician as well. I don't think anyone can predict the outcome, but my instincts from the beginning have been this is a sea change in Iranian politics.

Look at the clothing the Iranian protesters are wearing. They look like us. Twitter has been the source of most of the news that is getting past the government suppression. This is an age old conflict in a modern setting. It's between a 17th Century Theocratic Oligarchy and a 21st Century electorate. Peace and Justice is the rallying cry for all working people all over the world. No justice, no peace. If only our people could turn off the TV long enough to realize they are getting raped by our politicians. Our "media" and politicians want Ahmadinejad to win, in fact almost ALL mainstream media sources say he has won. The neocons and their media need the hardliner Iranians like an oncologist needs cancer!

[ ... ]

The Volcano Erupts

The Volcano Erupts

This video is a montage of clips and stills of the awe inspiring Iranian protesters. Oh to be there with them, laying everything on the line for what they believe in!

[ ... ]

Closer than you might think!

Closer than you might think!

This is a chart describing Iran's system of government. It isn't that different from ours, just substitute the "Guardian Council" and "Supreme Leader" with the "military industrial mediatainment complex" and you have our system.

[ ... ]

Teh Onion!

Teh Onion!

Obama Drastically Scales Back Goals For America After Visiting Denny's

This is what I live for, the ultimate in dry, scathing satire of our culture.

[ ... ]

LOL!!!!!!!

LOL!!!!!!!

[ ... ]

28 Years Later!

28 Years Later!

Twenty eight years ago today I got on a bus to Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri and started U.S. Army Basic Combat Training. Oh those were the days.

[ ... ]

I should have posted yesterday!

I should have posted yesterday!

I was riveted to the live blogging on Huffpo all day yesterday. The summer heat, boxes of Chinese food and a no work made me sluggish and prone to breaking wind. I should have posted that I was betting the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would re think his endorsement of Ahmadinejad's win. And sure enough he did! Looks like 20/20 hindsight, but I knew that Khamenei is too smart to oppose such a massive uprising. I want Iran to be our friend, I want the friction to end, I want Obama to welcome them into our community.

[ ... ]

Inspiring Photos of Iranian Protest!

Inspiring Photos of Iranian Protest!

[ ... ]

TAIBBI!

TAIBBI!

Matt Taibbi, contributing editor for Rolling Stone, is an award winning columnist, author and my personal hero. He writes like a linebacker-deadly but acrobatic, offensive but appealing, violent yet artistic. He is Thomas Friedman's most voracious critic which is a full time job in itself. He can be a bit sexist and he can sure cuss up a storm, but he makes me feel all warm and scaly inside. Taibbi blasts his way through this article about a pandering WSJ contributor and one of the Bush Administration's myriad con artists. He is a literary assault rifle with a full clip or as Friedman would say, "as I was polishing my 38th Pulitzer prize in my wife's $38,000,000 mansion I montaged an image from one wispy concrete like thought as to how Matt's script is not truly unlike a storm cloud baking long and looping cuneiform text into the windswept and arid rain forest that is our monochromatic cube of a planet as seen on the Discovery Channel!"

It took me all of .000011574 "Friedman Units" to write that Friedman like line.

[ ... ]

That's My Congressman!!

That's My Congressman!!

Russ Carnahan and the Aptera!

[ ... ]