September 29, 2006 Class and The Federal Reserve Class…It is a problem that has prevailed in religion, politics, government and business for a long time. The have and have-nots. It has morphed into a nauseating conundrum that has webbed its way into all of our lives and has cheated and bankrupted us and our country. All of this has happened on our watch, right under our noses and to this date, we have done absolutely nothing to change it. The mentality of “I’ll take what I can get” or “it’s better than nothing” is self-defeating, but seems to be the dominant mindset of most. The gap between the wealthiest, most powerful in this country and virtually every other country in the world, to the average person has become so vast it is almost incomprehensible. Those that think they are in the middle class are delusional at best. If they were to really look at the distribution of wealth and power, they would soon realize that the lifestyle they are paying through the nose for and working 40-80 hours a week to support is at best table scraps for those who quite literally make the paper. The average salary for corporate executives in 2004 was $9.8 million dollars while only $27,000 for the average worker (AFL-CIO, 2004 Trends in CEO Pay http://www.aflcio.org/corporateamerica/paywatch/pay/index.cfm). Isn’t there something wrong here? Banks and corporations have taken over by the sweat off our backs. At the very least, this should make you pretty damn angry. This mess is so profound, so entrenched, it is almost unbelievable. This class issue and, if you read on, money scam (which might piss you off even more) is at the very heart of what is wrong with this world today. You have read me right if you are thinking we are absolute slaves to these moneyed pigs. Money is what this world revolves around. If you follow the road of corruption, you’re likely on the money trail and the Federal Reserve is at the heart of it all. Central banks funded by the Rothschild’s and their ilk had temporary control of our economy and lives in the past and then came the Revolutionary War. Our fledgling nation was not about to be unfairly taxed by a foreign power (England and the Central Bank of England) and the revolt ensued. After the Revolutionary War, each colony printed its own money in the form of Colonial Script which according to Benjamin Franklin worked quite nicely saying “in the colonies we issue our own money. It is called Colonial Script. We issue it in proper proportion to the demands of trade and industry to make the products pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner, creating for ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power, and we have no interest to pay to no one." After several attempts at a central bank for the new America failed (before the Civil War), their efforts to control the issuance and subsequent value of our currency were squashed by Congress not renewing their bank charters. It is unfortunate, but true, that bankers were able to gain enough political influence which translates into power to rear their ugly heads again and effectively seize control of the most sought after commodity on the face of this earth, money. The Federal Reserve System as we know it was conceived and structured as a legislative act by attendees of a secretive meeting at a private resort on Jekyll Island in 1910. This is not a paranoid theory; this is historical fact, documented even by those who attended the meeting on Jekyll Island. The attendees included a few powerful politicians and several of the most powerful bankers in the world, who, according to estimates, controlled at the time somewhere between 1/6 to 1/4 of the world's wealth. It was secretive in that attendees were told not to use their full or real names in traveling to the island, and some brought shotguns with them, as the ostensible excuse for the meeting was 'duck hunting', even though the gun toting attendees had never shot a firearm in their lives. The attendees were as follows: Senator Nelson W. Aldrich - Republican Whip of the Senate, Chairman of the National Monetary Commission, and father-in-law to John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Henry P. Davidson - Senior Partner of JP Morgan Company Charles D. Norton - President of 1st National Bank of New York A. Piatt Andrew - Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Frank A. Vanderlip - President of the National City Bank of New York Benjamin Strong - head of J.P Morgan's Bankers Trust Paul M. Warburg - a partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Company, representing the Rothschilds and Warburgs in Europe. The bill agreed to at this meeting would eventually become the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, after it had been extensively laundered to remove signs of their influence. From this secret meeting, these men came up with the biggest scam ever devised by the ultra rich and powerful to remain in control of America’s economy and enslave its citizens. Out of this meeting, the Aldrich Bill was born which didn’t have a chance of being passed by Congress. After many changes to the Aldrich bill and a new name, the bill was called The Federal Reserve Act and was reintroduced to Congress which was chartered under a veil of deceit by an act of the US Congress on December 23, 1913. This was all done on a holiday week, when most of the members of Congress already left to enjoy Christmas with their families. The House of Representatives passed the bill, but it was having difficulty getting out of the Senate. The Senate was not adjourned “without date” and was technically still in session. The Senate, although not fully represented, passed the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 with a unanimous, consented, voice vote. The Federal Reserve is not a part of our government and in fact has no reserves though the name would imply something different. In fact it is a central bank comprised of member banks, otherwise known as private for-profit corporations who ultimately have the power to exert tremendous control over seemingly simple everyday things like what your payment will be on your car, your house, and whether or not you will have a job, and if you do, how much you will get paid. Bankers and corporations are on the verge of total control. The Federal Reserve and all of its member banks practice what is called fractional reserve banking. Fractional reserve banking is essentially loaning out more money than is secured by an asset or deposit (gold, silver or otherwise). In other words, banks loan out worthless money and collect interest on it, making obscene amounts of money at our expense. If you or I were to do that, we would be arrested and charged with fraud, a felony. The Federal Reserve is the largest among banks that practice this type of banking, and is THE source of our currency. Our government is their best customer and they are borrowing our economy into oblivion. The Federal Reserve loans our government worthless money, backed by nothing, to pay the interest already accrued on our government’s debt and in turn the taxpayer pays through the nose via inflation, indeed a hidden tax. Every time you see Alan Greenspan announcing changes in prime interest rate, this is what is happening. Our national debt has gone from $75 million dollars in 1971, to over $7 trillion in 2005, and the interest of which is accumulating at the rate of about $75 million EVERY HOUR. This system is obviously seriously flawed and corrupted from the start. The Federal Reserve controls the issuance of our currency and own everything that you think you own. They collect interest on every worthless paper dollar we have in our pocket, and every imaginary electronic balance we think we have in our bank accounts. They control the inflation and deflation of the worthless currency they print and at will, inflate or deflate the value of their worthless paper and electronic bits. Every parcel of land, every car on the road, every building that stands, is in reality owned by someone other than us. How so? Guess what happens when you or someone you know goes bankrupt, which is happening at an unprecedented rate. Everything they thought they owned outright, is suddenly seized and the proceeds of that crooked transaction goes right back to the bank where the deception was born. This corrupt banking system, enacted in deceit in 1913, is responsible in large part for the sham of a government we have today. Moneyed interests control our government, where the needs of the people fall on deaf ears because our government has been bought and paid for by the same interests that control the issuance and value of our money, control our economy and affect the economy of the world. Wars have been fought and will continue to be fought because war is the biggest debt generator for bankers, second to nothing. In fact, these bankers often times, directly or indirectly fund both sides of the wars. The political control the Federal Reserve has had via the power of Federal Reserve Notes will vaporize. No longer will the US Dollar be the standard of economic power. Wealth will not be destroyed, merely transferred which is exactly what is happening. The rich are obscenely rich and the poor just keep getting bent over for it by paying for these wars with their lives and wealth. Checks and balances are out the window now. We have to do something about this right now, or face a cataclysmic economic disaster, one that will happen right under our noses. We need to put in place the possibility of a more level playing field. This field will not be built with the present criminals and flunkies in the White House and Congress because these people will not pooh where they eat. They have already demonstrated they cannot be trusted by signing into law legislation they have never read and abrogating their constitutional responsibility of waging war to a president who distorts evidence to justify war and uses a national tragedy to further his agenda. They will do what they are told by the real people in control – indeed bankers who have become a shadow government. These few aren’t going to give up their power over hundreds of millions of people without a fight. This revolution doesn’t have to be bloody though. It can happen if we stand up and assemble our own army to take back our country and its treasure and put it back in the hands of the people who rightfully own all of it. You and me. But our revolt can’t stop there. We must settle for nothing less than the prosecution of every one of the criminals responsible for this massive scam. Not just the moneychangers themselves, but the politicians they have bought and paid for at our expense. The solutions to these massive problems are simple. Take back the power to issue our money and stop fractional reserve banking. Recognize it for what it is (a scam), and realize that it is our patriotic duty to stop this scam in its tracks. Lincoln did it (and others before him), and it worked. Arguments that overhauling our banking system will cause an economic catastrophe in the form of a recession or collapse are posed by those who apparently don’t understand that recessions are caused by or happen in conjunction with the restriction of the amount of currency in circulation, which doesn’t have to happen. Indeed, the economy would flourish because the money that we all seek would be created debt free and all of the money loaned out by banks would be backed, dollar for dollar, by reserves. No longer would our entire economy be born out of debt, rather it would be born debt free. Our government can not continue to spend at a rate of more than $1 billion dollars a day and expect to get out of debt. It simply can't continue without the bankrupting of our country and all of its citizens. We have to take the power back! If we don't, we are done for economically and morally, simple as that. Any comments are welcome. Send email to rold@neitherparty.org or john@neitherparty.org August 31, 2006 A Majority in Search of Leadership By Mary Pitt A staggering number of Americans are totally discouraged by the political actions of both parties as Congress continues to rubber-stamp the recommendations of the Bush administration. People are leaving the party line in droves in their search for more progressive and democratic principles and are in rebellion against the growing similarity to police state tactics and controls of our everyday life as social programs are withdrawn and the people are left without the traditional supports for the poor, the elderly, and the handicapped. We watch, aghast, as the Constitution is trashed, elections are left in question, and the standard of living of the working class descends into near-poverty while the wealthy continue to increase their income and influence. Only one thing is lacking among these people and that is a cohesive leadership. There have been some who could have headed this movement but they are not so inclined. Howard Dean is safe and snug in the bosom of the Democratic Party as are the others who made such a valiant try for the presidency in 2004, only to be disappointed by the actions of the party machinery in nominating John Kerry. There was some hope that at least one of those candidates would leave the party and continue the fight for the right, but we were disappointed. Without such leadership, we have found ourselves divided by issues that have arisen as the result of the actions or failure to act of both parties. First of these divisive issues to come to the fore was the illegal immigration situation. This has created a large schism among the people who differ between wanting strict enforcement of border control and those who prefer to allow immigrants to cross at will and to have all the entitlements of residency that are available to citizens. The second difference arrived as the result of the Israel/Lebanon conflict. Historically, the American citizens of Jewish extraction have been liberal, being critical participants in the civil rights movement of the sixties and many other liberal causes. However, it is a tenet of their religion that they are in sympathy with Israel as a matter of faith regardless of the reason for the actions of that government. Having no real consensus on these issues could become a distracting force in gaining progress on the more serious Constitutional issues on which we must concentrate in future elections. For the Congressional elections of 2006, we are reconciled to having no choice but to work for those candidates, largely Democratic, who agree with us that the Iraq War was a war of choice, should never have happened, and should be brought to an end as quickly as possible while continuing to assist the Iraqi people in establishing a government of their choice. While this must be our first objective, the recovery of our democratic form of government and individual freedoms, leading to the reinstatement of the decimated social programs is also of vital importance. However, if we are to prevail, we must look to the presidential election of 2008 and, for that, we must all pull together without the conflict over these policy problems that have been thrown up before us. We need a way to unite, to all gather together, establish policy planks, and choose a leader or leaders who will represent us in that race. It is no longer enough to grit our teeth and vote for the lesser of two evils. We must allow ourselves the privilege of choosing between the good and the not-so-good again. In order to do that, we must find a way to roll into one entity the Veterans Party, the Green Party, the Neither Party, and all the other small parties that have been charging forth against the enemies of democracy, leaderless and rudderless. When this subject is broached among progressives, we are told that “it is too soon”, that anyone who steps out in front of the movement at this time will be thoroughly trashed long before November, 2008. And so we blunder along, against this and against that, with minor “leaders” in each little splinter party, none of national stature and almost none with any name familiarity among the “sheeple” who are not really politically aware but simply growing restive. We need some names! Not one, but several people who can bring name familiarity and influence to bear on out behalf. We need someone to bring us all together into one voting bloc, agreed on the primary issues with which must we must deal first; who has name-and face-familiarity enough to have credibility with the people; and who has sufficient resources and courage to be able to turn loose of the party money-teat and to trust “their lives and their fortunes” to God and the will of the American people as did the true heroes of our history. Those of us who truly love our country and want it to return to its once lustrous position as an example to the world as to how a multiracial and multi-faith people can live together in brotherhood must do out part. First, we must agree on those issues which are most important to us; then we must work and, probably, sacrifice to access sufficient funding to put forth our party plank. With the multi-national corporations and their treasuries against us, it will be a super-human effort, but it can be done short of violence. As we search our personal genealogy, we see the names of heroes from the past that left their homelands in search of freedom, casting their lot in the New World, and establishing here their dream of a nation. Some came to a wilderness and some to Ellis Island. Some fled religious persecution and others were refugees from war. Some bravely stood and signed the Declaration of Independence while others raised their hands and swore allegiance to their new homeland. What happened? Has the blood of these heroes grown so cold, so diluted by the “good life”, so convinced that the poor deserve to be so and that the old should simply die and get it over with, so convinced that all international problems can be solved by war and destruction that there is nobody of national stature who will accept the challenge to lead the people back to their rightful place as determiners of their own destiny? If there is nobody anywhere in this vast country with that kind of intelligence and courage, the progressive movement will just be a footnote to the history of a once-great nation where we will be depicted as a fractured group of lib-lefty-internet crazies who had the temerity to think that they could make a difference in changing the world for the better and saving democracy. We are the deciders! July 20, 2006 The Living and the Dead Poetry by Mary Pitt (Neither Party Member): The living sing songs of inspiration, songs of praise for the superiority of their own nation, their own principles, and their own concept of God. They are the best of humans and they will triumph over all because their hearts are pure. The dead are silent. The living tell tales of great wars, of valiant men who have willingly laid down their lives in the pursuit of victory for their side, (whichever side that might have been), of men who still fought bravely though gravely wounded because their cause was just. The dead remain still. The living expound on the greater good of "our side" while exposing what they believe to be the shortcomings of others. "We" are good and "they" are evil so "they" must yield to "our" will, must become not only subject but subservient to "our" interpretations of fact because "we" are always right. The dead say nothing. The living mourn the loss of their loved ones and lament the circumstances of the passing of their dear departed friends and family members. They pray at the gravesides, beat their breasts, and shout out to the heavens for comfort in their pain while swelling with pride that they had sacrificed that beloved soul to the interest of "winning". The dead do not reply. The living march in parades; they listen to leaders expounding on the great heroism of those who gave their all in the cause of proving one group of people superior to others and bringing great honor and glory to their native land. They listen to the sounds of marching bands playing patriotic music that stirs the soul and they wave the flag of their nation in a great show of loyalty. The dead lie still. The living argue, struggle, and even fight over whether a war is worth fighting and how best to go about once again proving the reasons for asserting mastery over other men; over whether, when, and how to end the fighting and return to a brief period of peace before creating a situation in which yet another war will be begun. The dead have no comment. The living squabble and fight over whose God is the One True God, which Bible is literally true and which heretical, which nation is truly blessed, can do no wrong, and should rule over another. The dead lie side by side in perfect peace and brotherhood for they know the answers. How many more must die before we learn what the dead already know? March 06, 2006 PLANNED MEDIA GAG MAY SAVE AMERICA By Mary Pitt Senator Pat Roberts, (R-KS), has announced that he is working on a bill that. if passed, will criminalize the publication of any "classified" information by the media. This would make the reporter who writes, and the news media for whom they work, equally liable under the anti-spy regulations with any whistle-blower who dares to try to get the truth out regarding the misfeasance and malfeasance of this administration. However, the very suggestion of the revocation of the First Amendment may be the one thing that will wake up our sleeping media to the truth of what has been and is being done to our democracy. Now the test for publish-ability will not be truth and verifiability but permission from the White House on pain of spending a long vacation in Halliburton's new Camp Northwoods. For much too long the media, like most of the citizenry, have viewed the ultimate takeover of our nation by the Neo-Cons as "just politics", a simple little game where we choose sides and cheer for our favorite team. Much of the failure of the media as the watchdog of our liberty may be blamed on the revolution in the culture that causes most people to receive their news from their television sets. In that setting, much of the "news" is merely read by some young person who is chosen for looks, personality and ability to "perform" before the cameras. We no longer have the Walter Crockite or the Edward R. Murrow who will really go out and report on the news first-hand. Now, the second-generation television reporters like Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings have gone on to greener pastures and we have been left with the "readers". We were spoon-fed the story about the "heroism" and the "rescue" of Jessica Lynch in Iraq when the truth was something quite different. We were regaled with tales of the valiant death of Pat Tillman who, with all due respect, was not the hero that they told us he was but a victim of "friendly fire". The stories were written as propaganda by "media consultants" before it was ever presented to the reporters. For the past five years, the "news" on television, radio, and too often, in the written media has consisted of plants, press releases, and political hype. However, some few reporters have remembered their legacy and have actually reported independent news that is really important to the American people. We have learned of the manipulations of Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff, the perfidy of I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby and "other un-named sources" in exposing the identity of a CIA operative, the warrantless tapping of our telephone lines, the loss of control of our seaports, and the constant invasion of our nation by some millions of illegal immigrants across our Southern border, many of them armed and dangerous. The alarm has been sounded. This independent streak in the press must be stopped and it will be criminalized! In the "news commentary", we have had the rabid partisans like Bill O'Reilly and Tucker Carlson and the Republicrats like Chris Matthews who try to walk on both sides of the street at the same time. These are not "reporters" of whom we have far too few. Recently we have had the right to be proud of those reporters who were on the scene in New Orleans, apparently before the White House realized there was a problem and who made live reports that were complete and truthful. If they had been allowed to do this at the onset of the "War on Terror", it is entirely possible that Afghanistan would be pacified and Iran would not have been attacked in the first place! We would have known that the infamous World Trade Center bombers were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Dubai and their only connection with Afghanistan was that it was the place where Osma bin Laden had taken up temporary residence. We would have known that there was a lot of doubt about Saddam's possession of the infamous WMD and his ties to Osama Bin Laden. We would have been aware that we were being lied to and we would have made this a one-term presidency. But this administration "took office" on a claim of "openness and transparency" and promptly locked the door and pulled the shades! Reporters were instantly reduced to the status of stenographers as they dutifully wrote down the words of Scott McClellan to be parroted by the "commentators" on the nighly news. In turn, those commentators with their pre-arranged guests spouting the "party line" spent a mesmerizing few minutes smoothing out the edges of the real news and reassuring us that this was still the same good ole U S of A. A few managed to come close to criticism of the president and his hired flunkies, but then they felt the big bulge in their pants and backed off. No, not that bulge, silly! It was their fat Republican wallets! We saw the spectacle of Judy Miller being trucked off to jail for refusing to divulge which administration official revealed the identity of Valerie Plame while others were threatened with the same. However heroic this may seem, the fact is that the investigation was by an independent prosecutor investigating malfeasance by the adminstration! The gist of that story is that it is all right for the administration to break the law and require confidentiality from the press but that a "whistle-blower" will not be accorded the same rights. Even the vaunted "Gray Lady", The New York Times was so intimidated that they sat on the story that the government was eavesdropping on the telephones of American citizens for a year at the request of the administration. Will the members of the press realize that they have been used like a two-dollar whore and are being put back on the street? Now that the "freedom of the press" is being threatened, will we see a burst of real reportorial zeal? Now that they are face-to-face with a gag, will they dig harder for the truth and actually tell it to the public? Will they, after all, become the public interest organ which has brought down such tyrants as Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon? Or have they lost their fire and become, as have so many Americans, afraid to take the scab off the festering sore that has invaded our democratic government and allow it to be treated by the disinfectant of the ballot box? Stay tuned. October 11, 2005 A Cruel Nationalism By Sheila Samples In a sordid slime, harmonious Greed was born in yonder ditch, With a longing in his bosom--and for others' goods an itch. As Christ died to make men holy, let men die to make us rich--Our god is marching on. ~Mark Twain While recently watching George Bush's carefully orchestrated performance from New Orleans' French Quarter a week late and a billion dollars short, I was struck by the confused desperation in his eyes, and I was overcome with sympathy. Not at the spectacle of an out-of-touch derelict engineer racing to catch the presidential train as it careened crazily out of the station, but for the vulnerable and abandoned Americans whose very survival depends upon his empty platitudes and promises. In Bush's multiple photo-op visits to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf area -- including one released of him with his nose pressed to the window on his initial "flyover" visit -- he's been ludicrously stage-managed -- soaring nonsensical speeches, floodlights, cathedrals shimmering in the background, hugging female black victims brought to him for a camera shot, jouncing around in the back of a truck, rigidly sandwiched between a mayor and a governor and refusing to speak to either...This is Karl Rove's idea of a "hands-on" kind of guy, sleeves rolled up, hard at work. Bush doing his job. Protecting the American people. 'Cause that's, like, you know, his job. Protecting the American people. Did I mention his sleeves were rolled up? That does it. No more flowery prose. No more screaming into the wind for Americans to wake up before it's too late. No more succumbing to an attack of the vapours while daubing my eyes with a scented handkerchief and plaintively wailing, "when is enough -- enough?" The reality is the panting war profiteers who control Bush will never have enough. Their greed is ravenous, insatiable; it devours everything in its path. They have no intention of giving up the power and profits for which they have worked so hard -- waited so long -- to achieve. Not now. Not ever. They plan to take it with them when they go. The war machine Dwight Eisenhower warned us about is cranked up and running, but it is not freedom they're spreading. It is fascism. The reality is they are well on their way to attaining a rigid, one-party international dictatorship; a New World Order wherein the world and all its wealth and resources belong to a chosen few -- them. If their plan works, the vulgar lumpen, the underclass, the "people," will crumple under a cruel nationalism, blatant racism and heartless militarism. Like Thomas Jefferson warned -- if left unchecked, the greed of private banks and corporations will ultimately "deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." The miserly response to Katrina should serve as a wake-up call to those Americans who can still think. Fascism is on the march and, when this administration threw down the gauntlet in New Orleans, it declared open war on this nation's poorer citizens, most of whom were Black. White Americans swallowed the spin that FEMA's disaster brigades, widely heralded for their immediate response to even a spring shower blowing over the Florida coast, suddenly became so incompetent when Katrina hit Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, they couldn't even figure out how to use the telephone or deliver a bag of ice. Black Americans know better. The reality is that FEMA worked perfectly -- a planned exercise of bureacratic incompetency in order to expand Bush's powers to declare martial law in the next disaster. It was a well-oiled machine that thwarted every attempt to get help to those who were too old, too ill or too poor to leave. Looking back at FEMA's success in orchestrating "Operation Ethnic Cleansing," I have to agree with Bush -- Brownie did, indeed, do a heckuva job... For example: FEMA refused the addition of hundreds of assistance personnel and dozens of vehicles, as well as food and water offered by Chicago's Mayor Daley. It also refused to let the Red Cross deliver food; in fact told the agency to leave and not come back. Renita Hosler, Red Cross spokesperson, said they were "at the table every single day" asking for access, but were kept out by the uniformed military. FEMA refused to use the facilities of the USS Bataan, a 600-bed hospital ship that just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina made landfall. The USS Bataan is an 844-foot ship, complete with helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It has the capacity to make its own water -- up to 100,000 gallons a day -- but this service was also refused. Another state-of-the-art mobile hospital from the University of North Carolina -- a convoy that included two 53-foot trailers, 100 surgeons and paramedics, food, water and medicines -- was forced to park in a gravel lot 70 miles north of New Orleans. They were marrooned there for several days, frustrated by news that people were dying and that disease was becoming more widespread because of contaminated water. Vice President Dick Cheney directed officials at the Southern Pines Electric Power Association, not once but twice, to restore gasoline and diesel fuel pipelines before restoring much needed power to rural hospitals. Amtrak's offer to help evacuate the sick and elderly from hospitals and the detention center was rebuffed, and three trailer trucks loaded with water from WalMart were turned away. Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, south of New Orleans, told Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" that FEMA officials also prevented the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and they cut the parish's emergency communications line, which was restored, but Broussard said the Parish sheriff was forced to post armed guards to protect it from FEMA. On its own website, FEMA ordered First Responders not to respond "unless dispatched" because "self-dispatching volunteer assistance could significantly complicate the response and recovery effort." To emphasize the order, FEMA blocked a 500-boat citizen flotilla loaded with aid, and slapped Germany in the face by turning back a German government plane loaded with 15 tons of food. All things considered, it looks like FEMA's response to Katrina was a catastrophic success. The only thing Bush and his racist cohorts didn't take into account was the universal shock that met his unconcerned efforts to flush poverty and crime down the toilet -- the outrage at remarks of Baton Rouge Republican Richard Baker, who chortled that God had finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans, and of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who suggested we could save money by just bulldozing the area and moving on... The looting going on in New Orleans is being done by Halliburton's Kellogg Brown and Root and the Shaw Group, both clients of lobbyist and former FEMA head Joe Allbaugh, and by Bechtel, whose CEO is on Bush's Export Council. Bush immediately rescended the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act which requires federal contractors to pay workers at least the prevailing wages in the area. The body snatching is being done by the same funeral-gate firm that Bush was involved with in Texas -- Kenyon -- a subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), a scandal-ridden Texas-based company operated by a friend of the Bush family. Recently, SCI subsidiaries have been implicated in illegally discarding and desecrating corpses. Hurricane Katrina ripped the mask from the Bush administration and, for a brief moment, exposed the sheer evil, and the bigotry, racism and greed that lies just beneath the surface. Those who dared to look upon the face of Bush's god cannot go home again. They know that the reality these greedy monsters create for us is one of relentless, non-stop chaos. Being sucked up into Bush's reality is like stepping out of the shower, soap in your eyes and, as you fumble for a towel, the phone jangles. Someone rings the front doorbell while simultaneously beating on the door -- someone else is pounding on the back door, shouting incoherently. It is the witching hour and you are home alone. The dog is barking wildly, the cat is yowling while scratching frantically on the screen. In a panic, you race to the window, and fall back in shock. The entire landscape is exploding in a massive fireworks display. You can see shadowy figures moving furtively across your lawn, and you wonder briefly what they are doing, but they disappear into the flashing lights and noise. Because of world opinion and media coverage, we lucked out on this one, but the next "national emergency" -- possibly a flu pandemic -- could be democracy's last hurrah. Bush is already boasting of using the military to "quarantine" those affected. And it won't be in our homes -- this isn't the measles with the school nurse tacking a "quarantined" sign on our front doors. Last year, Bush authorized preliminary studies for the rapid construction of a National Detention Center Program, complete with a series of detention centers, to be added to the existing 600 units now in place. Also, The Department of Homeland Security is consulting with an Israeli company, Israeli Prison Systems, Ltd., for the expedited construction of modular internment camps to be located in rural areas throughout the continental US and Alaska. Sound like a conspiracy? I would hope so, because to survive, we must come to grips with the fact that we are victims of a vast, insidious conspiracy fueled by the vociferous greed of those who have no intention of relinquishing their power. Political author Frank Kent once said, "The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people." We must become a bit more intolerant of those who would control us, or we will soon be forced to fight for our very lives in the horrid reality of the New World Order. Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. : rsamples@sirinet.net. © 2005 Sheila Samples September 08, 2005 The Mothers Are Coming By Sheila Samples "Sarah, if the people had ever known the truth about what we Bushes have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." ~~ Bush 41 to reporter Sarah McClendon, Dec. 1992 It's an amazing thing. Doctors' offices in New York and Washington will likely be standing-room-only in a couple of months. I can see it now -- the look on a nurse's face when she asks the vacuous, target-eyed media twits when they are "due," and each one chirps happily, "May 25th!" As she comes to the end of the line, the nurse notices a slender, auburn-haired woman fast asleep, her lips slightly open in a half-smile. She is snoring gently. Hesitating to awaken her, the nurse spies a blonde whom she recognizes as CNN's "White House" correspondent, Dana Bash, "What about her?" the nurse asks Bash, pointing to the woman. "Is she due on May 25th too?" Bash leans forward and stares at the sleeping woman so intently that she loses her balance and falls, sprawling on the floor. Then, with eyelids blinking rapidly in recognition, Bash scrambles to her feet, grabs the nurse's arm and whispers fearfully, "No -- no need to wake her up -- puh-leeze don't wake her up! That's Maureen Dowd from the New York Times. She wasn't invited to the barbeque..." The "barbeque" on Thursday, Aug. 25, was the annual Lewinsky-style blowout George Bush gives for the humping, groveling media during his vacation each year -- an off-the-record affair wherein the Prince becomes "Pauper for a day" and exposes himself to the hoi polloi of the Fourth Estate. Except Bush called it off last year, so it's really not an annual party. And the fried fish, potato salad and chocolate-chip cookies don't really qualify as a barbeque either. Some are saying it was a pool party, but nobody went swimming... So, what is it? It's a super-duper double-secret reaffirmation by media stage-door Johnnys that Bush is the President, the Dear Leader, the commander-in-chief, the stud-muffin in control, and they're willing to crawl on their bellies across the fire-ant hills and weed-tangled Texas prairie to get access to him. Like the Washington Post's Dan Froomkin pointed out Friday in his "White House Briefing," the media are so eager to be near Bush they'll agree to anything, "pretty much no matter what the conditions." Bush's conditions should have brought all self-respecting journalists to a screeching halt up against the ethical wall. But no. To prove their allegience to Bush, reporters and photographers piled into vans and sped past Camp Casey, a site on the road leading to the ranch named after Casey Sheehan, a 24-year-old soldier slain in Iraq in April 2004. Casey's mother, Cindy, came to the Crawford ranch on Aug. 6, intent on getting Bush to explain the "noble cause" for which he keeps insisting Americans must die. It was important to Bush, who strikes out in destructive vindictiveness any time he is challenged or questioned, for the media to give Sheehan the back of their hands -- or at least their middle fingers -- as they left her in a wave of blowing dirt. Froomkin reports that several reporters were "squeamish" about even attending the event, and especially about having to drive by the Sheehan camp. "And later," Froomkin said, "a small handful watched askance as the rest fawned over Bush, following him around in packs every time he moved." Froomkin's shamefaced apology for the one or two, or however many of his counterparts it takes to fill up a small hand, who were uneasy about signing on to conditions demanded by the world's most insensitive and callous egomaniacial murderer, leaves reality-based folks scratching their heads. What were these few doing there in the first place? In the name of all that is ethical and professional in journalism -- what in the hell were any of them doing there in the first place? Maybe it's me, but if sitting around a swimming pool at a barbeque where no barbeque is served while the world, ignited by lies, explodes in flames -- if having access to the man who told the lies -- does not make a card-carrying journalist at least a bit curious about something other than sports, what the twins are up to, or his summer reading list -- is reality, then I cannot get a grip on it. I cannot get a grip on the reality of reporters flocking to also attend off-the-record August dinners with the treasonous Karl Rove. Is there anything in the world of reality more totally incomprehensible, raging mad -- desperately absurd? Unfortunately, yes. Ron Suskind, the former Wall Street Journal senior national-affairs reporter, and author of "The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill," penned a critical in-depth piece for the Oct. 17, 2004 New York Times Magazine, on the nuances of Bush's inability to recognize reality. Bush proudly admits he doesn't "do nuance," nor does he bother to read newspapers or watch TV, so the fate of the world rests on his uninformed, faith-based gut instinct. By his own admission, Bush just catapaults the propaganda around until some of it sticks, which then becomes reality. A "senior adviser" to Bush explained to Suskind in the summer of 2002 that we no longer live in a reality-based community. "That's not the way the world really works anymore," the adviser said. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do." Now, I'm not saying this "senior adviser" is Dick Cheney, but I have studied the cadence of Cheney's remarks and his pet phrases -- as you will -- for years. Not that it matters, but I suspect history will sort out that whoever was spouting this insane ideology was -- as a minimum, if you will -- "channeling" the arrogant veep. It's not that Bush doesn't want to face the reality of why Casey Sheehan and 1,900 others like him had to die. After sailing through five years and two stolen elections without having his feet held to the fire; after having lie after destructive lie creating domestic and foreign chaos cheered on by captive audiences, Bush isn't about to be called on the carpet by some mama just because her kid got killed in his war on terror, or regime change, or handing out God's gift of freedom, or spreading democracy, or liberation, or -- whatever. Sheehan may have him on the run, but he's the leader of what's left of the free world, and he doesn't owe anybody an explanation. Reality? As they say down in Texas, Bush just doesn't give a rat's ass. And, from its collective shoddy performance, neither does the mainstream US media. Unfortunately, for the whole treasonous bunch, America's mothers are awake and they're on the move. Not just those whose sons and daughters were horribly slain for no good reason, but those who realize their children are still alive and are in peril, are being murdered at a clip of three a day, with no hope of survival and no way out. They realize that the game Bush is playing with their children is Iraqi Roulette. And, sooner or later... Bush and his media enablers are hoping the end of August will put Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey in their rear-view mirrors. According to Fox Channel news director Brit Hume, everything will be all right if Bush can come up with some good news. "What the president needs is some improved results," Hume informed the panel on Fox News Sunday last week, "...or at least some perceived improved results." Fellow panelist Fred Barnes agreed. "Cindy Sheehan's a crackpot," Barnes snorted, and then giggled, slapping his hands together and then rapidly beating them on the table while bouncing up and down in his chair -- "A crackpot! She's not even a good mascot for the Democratic Party! She's nothing but a crackpot!" Bush and the entire right-wing apparatus are flailing around in "frantic defense" mode. They can't get it through their heads that this isn't about politics. Mothers like Cindy Sheehan are not anti-war, they're just anti-illegal genocidal war. Their cause is pro-peace, and it's a noble cause. The mothers are coming, spreading out across the nation in a "Bring Them Home Now" bus tour, and they are joined by military and Gold Star families, veterans of the Iraq war and veterans of previous wars. They are coming to save their children because no one -- not the president, not the administration, no member of Congress, nor any corporate media -- has the courage to stand up and do what's right. Now. Today. Before three more are killed...and three more... I think I'll meander on over to Tom Delay's place. I hear there's gonna be a hell of a Reality Show and a great barbeque over there next week. I may even invite Maureen Dowd... Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites. Contact her at: rsamples@sirinet.net. © 2005 Sheila Samples September 08, 2005 Dear Boss Man: Stick’em Up! By Chuck Richardson Dear Boss Man: This is a stick up. It’s time you recognize my innate dignity. Why should you have any privileges when you constantly trample on my rights? Hurricane Katrina was the last straw. It all started with your god, Ronald Reagan, and his religion of trickle down economics. Now it’s all going to end with a new system—blow up finances. I know, I know…you say violence is wrong, that I should turn the other cheek. But I only have two of them (four if you count my overworked ass). I’ve been bitch slapped and spanked for so long I hardly notice it anymore. I’ve labored my whole life, but you won’t even let me see a doctor, get healthy food, or have a subsistence retirement plan. I’ve sent my sons and daughters to maim and kill other poor folks all over the world, seen my kin and offspring blown to pieces for your enrichment, watched my parents and grandparents moved from one nursing home to another as they closed down to save you money, been arrested and put on trial for getting what I needed, and ridiculed and laughed at for my bad manners. But enough is enough. I care as much about you as you care about me. I wasn’t socialized to hide my ruthlessness as effectively as you have. I’ve been brainwashed to believe if I worked hard, played by the rules, took my vitamins, went to church and was nice to you I’d be materially rewarded. I’d been convinced I could pull myself up by my bootstraps, but when I tried to do that this morning I realized they’d been washed away in the flood, the waters you so swiftly ran away from. I may be the one who’s all wet now, but I’m ready to make a big splash. I’m gunning for what you've stolen from me with all I have. What’s that? You say that’s not much? Well then, let me tell you what I’ve got. I have you in my crosshairs. I’m your bodyguard, your cook, your barber. I’m the guy who cleans your pool, the woman who washes your clothes and takes care of your kids, the doorman who let’s you in your high rise tower while keeping out your undesirables. I’m the guy from across town that mows your lawn, the masses that allow you to feel superior, gifted and worthy. I’m the guy who fixes your car and drives you around, who calls you sir and treats you with respect. In short, I’m the one who knows where you sleep, what you eat, when you go to work and come home, whom it is you love and hang out with, and what you’re doing to the planet. In other words, I’ve got you more than you got me. I go places and do things you’re afraid of. Your money has made you a counterfeit man. You’re nothing without me, but without you, I’m free. You can’t buy me off any longer. Your horded wealth can’t protect you. Your Lexus and mansion expose you for what you are: A nasty brute with a me first attitude. Your groupthink puts private wealth above social obligation and has destroyed any concept of community and shared interests and values. When disaster strikes, we’re screwed first, but you’re next. If you can’t share your wealth, we’ll spread our poverty. It’s now obvious that success, or at least your brand of it, is immoral and unethical. You’ve replaced fairness with greed for too long, now you’re going to pay for it. When you got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose, and now you’re going to discover how that feels. Your paying lip service to equal rights (your belief that we all get what we deserve) is about to bite you in the ass. It’s now your turn to expose your other cheeks—bend over and take it like a man. Let’s see how exceptional you really are. You fought a revolution and forged what you call a great nation because you didn’t like paying taxes to a distant king. We fought a civil war to end slavery without pay, you financed it to further line your pockets, realizing if you gave a lot of people a little bit for services rendered, then we could buy from you what we made. We now realize that the system you created to protect and enhance your wealth does not serve us well, that no matter what we do you’ll never let us join your club. You despise the nouveau riche almost as much as you despise us. Their hypocrisy hasn’t been refined enough for you yet. Well, I tell you what: Those days are over. Your wage slaves are about to get in your face. We’re going to take what you’ve been hording and give it to those who need and deserve it. May your goddess, Ayn Rand, spin in her grave, as the real Atlas is about to shrug. You can run, but you can’t hide. The gates of your communities are about to burst like the levies. May your god help you, we won’t. We don't want to be a Hilton as that causes too much suffering. This isn’t the beginning of some revolution. It's a crusade. Honestly, Chuck Richardson, American Dissident The author lives in Western New York, where the business community has overtly taken over the government and plans to close public hospitals, community health centers, and privatize public education and services, among other things, to save itself money while increasing poor folks’ production and forcing them to exist more efficiently. He can be reached at chuck_richardson@msn.com. September 08, 2005 Inflicting Democracy By Mary Pitt The President has declared that he intends to keep our army in Iraq until they have a "democratic constitution" and are able to maintain order. To him, this would appear to be the fulfillment of his goal to "establish democracy" but one is led to question whether democracy, that treasured method of government which is so taken for granted in our own nation, is something that can be inflicted on a nation in which it is a totally foreign and despised concept. Through the ages, the nations of the Middle East have been ruled by kings or despots of one sort or another as a loose amalgamation of tribes and religious sects with leaders who take their power from the ruling structure of each community. This is their culture and, it seems, they are as proud and jealous of its protection as we are of our own system. The best thing that can be said about the conquest of Iraq is that we freed the people from the despotism of Saddam Hussein and they are now able to choose their own path to the future. However, that is not good enough for the administration. They insist that a Constitution be established which would, to all intents and purposes, turn Iraq into an image of the United States. This is counter to their culture and their religious beliefs and, if they are truly left to their own resources to draw up their own document, it would bear no resemblance to the government which we propose. A prime example of that is the government which we set up in Afghanistan. We happily declare their regime to be a "democracy" and yet their own "legally elected" president cannot venture outside the capital for fear of assassination, the war lords are the defacto rulers of the country, and women continue to be chattel. Apparently the only thing that is being protected from "insurgents" in Afghanistan is the pipeline construction. However, we are still 0 for 2 on the democracy scoreboard and we still must occupy the country in order to provide "security". Actually, if we are to compare the process taking place in Iraq to the formation of our own government, we are leaving out a very important step, that of determining that there is nation-wide agreement that they WANT democracy. We know they want their independence from us but we have not suggested that they hold a vote of any kind in order to establish such a declaration as we formulated when pursuing our freedom from England. They have, however, made this wish perfectly clear in light of the "insurgency" which is increasing in intensity by the day. You see, the Iraqis refer to us as the "occupiers" and, more than anything they desire from us, they want us GONE! One might surmise that, once this task is accomplished, they might then proceed to solve their problems of government. At the birth of our own nation, we engaged in a years-long war to drive the King's rule from our shores and only then did our leaders come together to determine the form the government of our new nation would take and to create documentation of that fact and laws pertaining to the establishment of an independent government. Initially, there was popular support for the establishment of a monarchy with George Washington at the helm but Mr. Washington refused the honor. At the end of his eight years as President of the new nation, he was urged to continue as he was the popular choice and, again, he was offered the position of King. Again he refused and departed government, setting a pattern for two-term service that lasted until the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. At that time, even our ancestors felt that they would be more comfortable with the same kind of government from which they had just won their freedom! Thus, if Iraq is truly to have a democracy, it seems that first they must request that the United States withdraw all troops and administrative personnel from their borders; however we have not permitted such a decision, so they had to skip that part and go right to the act of forcing us to go. We should find a way to do so. There are several international agencies who could assume responsibility for the monitoring of truly free elections wherein the people could make their own determination as to the form of their new government and their choice of leaders. Otherwise they would be quite willing to fight it out among themselves since the varying religious sects have been at each others' throats for centuries. The major problem is that the people of Iraq are not and never were a homogeneous people. They are remnants of previously separate nations who historically hated each other and engaged in bloody wars over the centuries but were held together by brutal dictators who were deliberately put in place by world powers for that purpose. If they were truly to decide their own future, we would have three different nations and, once again, competing and warring governments. They cannot agree on anything sufficiently to come together under a Federalist system which would function adequately. And throwing women's rights and human equality into the mix as a necessity to satisfy the West increases the difficulty as it is totally opposed to their fundamentalist Muslim religion. In addition, there is the question of the form that government might take. The Shia want a "Federalist" form of government with three loosely tied autonomous regions loosely allied in a Federal government. Of course, the Shia occupy the oil-rich southern area and would become immensely rich whereas the Sunni in the central region would be reduced to finding other businesses and occupations, while the Kurds benefit by the richness of natural resources in their area. Needless to say, the Kurds and the Shia are unwilling to create a nationalized system of sharing all natural resources. Since one of our major reasons for invading their nation was to open up their oil fields to the profiteering of the American-backed multi-national corporations, we are certainly not going to be steering them toward that compromise. If the members of the Bush administration had bothered to learn just a bit about the history and the culture of the region before invading, they would have reached the same conclusion as those in the previous Bush administration. It would have been best to "contain" Saddam Hussein, insulating his neighbors from any likelihood of harm from his aggressions, and keeping his army within their own borders. We have, under the blatant ignorance and incompetence of our own leaders entered the same trap that proved so devastating to the earlier Crusaders. The Arab world is very easy to fight the way into. Getting out may be more difficult. Until we find a way to do just that, our sons, husbands and fathers will be reminiscent of those brave souls who gave their all in the Crimean War: "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do.....or die!" Mary Pitt is a septuagenarian Kansan who operates a small business caring and advocating for the handicapped and the under-privileged. Questions and comment may be directed to mpitt@cox.net. August 15, 2005 Our Deranged Leaders By Sheila Samples The empire of the Romans filled the world, and when that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies. The slave of Imperial despotism . . . expected his fate in silent despair. To resist was fatal, and it was impossible to fly. On every side he was encompassed with a vast extent of sea and land, which he could never hope to traverse without being discovered, seized, and restored to his irritated master. Beyond the frontiers, his anxious view could discover nothing, except the ocean, inhospitable deserts, hostile tribes of barbarians of fierce manners and unknown language. . . "Wherever you are," said Cicero to the exiled Marcellus, "remember that you are equally within the power of the conqueror." ~ Historian Edward Gibbon My dad always responded to anything that was patently obvious with, "Well, yea-ah. Anybody with half sense and one eye knows that," which was his way of saying don't go with the flow, but look at facts and come to your own conclusions. He also said, "If you're determined to show your ass, make sure it's a clean 'un," or – get those facts straight before you jump out there and start concluding... Well, I've looked at heaps and piles of facts about what the deranged leaders of this nation are willing to do to the men and women who wear the US military uniform, and I've come to two conclusions. This country's most expendable commodity is its children and, with few exceptions, Americans appear to be both senseless and blind. Give Us Your Young, Your Poor... Of course there's going to be a draft, if for no other reason than George Bush has steadfastly promised there wouldn't be one. They're coming after our children – sweeping them all up – bullying them at schools, stalking them, offering them big bucks to join the military. And there's no one to stop them. Servile Americans, even those who can still see, feel helpless. When faced with the decision to stand up and speak up, or give up their children, they are bombarded from all sides with strident demands for patriotism so, like their counterparts of empirical Rome, Americans await their fate – their children's fate – in silent despair. There is nowhere to hide – no one to turn to. The mainstream media has dropped all pretense of objectivity and has become a worthless tool of the state. The media's once envied "public service" to the people has become little more than applauding each new atrocity of this warmongering administration in the hopes of earning a share of the spoils. Vigilant no longer, the watchdog media has become, in the words of Czech novelist Milan Kundera, "a parade of people marching by with raised fists . . . shouting identical syllables in unison." We can forget the Congress suddenly realizing it has a Constitutional mandate for oversight and restraint. Ain't gonna happen. The elected members of both parties are far too busy struggling under the weight of their own corruption to worry about the relentless dismantling of the republic or the worldwide chaos their lack of attention is causing. There's no indication that the injury, maiming or death of thousands of US service members, or as Henry Kissinger describes them, "dumb, stupid animals" will appear on their radar as long as the media can prevent it from appearing on ours. They're not only cold, they're evil. Rotten to the core. Rotten from the core – on in... On February 8, President George Bush proudly bragged to Tim Russert on Meet the Press, "I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind." Do you hear that, moms and dads? If your president's juvenile, paranoid announcement doesn't cross your minds whenever you're loading up your sons and daughters and sending them off to Iraq – perhaps it will as you unload their flag-draped coffins at your cemeteries when they return home... Many foolishly believed Bush's signature legislation, the No Child Left Behind Act, meant that all children in this country – all children – would have equal opportunity for education. However, it didn't take long for those paying attention to realize that, as with anything Bush tells us, the opposite is true. The No Child Left Behind Act is little more than an increasingly harsh and punitive testing apparatus, the funding of which has been pushed off on states in a Catch-22 requirement – either fund the program and meet the testing standards or face sanctions and, ultimately, closure. Other than under funding it, putting sanctions on schools, and wreaking havoc throughout the public school system, Bush has mostly ignored the Act's provisions – with one exception. Buried deep within its 670 pages is a requirement that secondary school officials must provide contact information for every student as well as allow military recruiters unlimited access to their facilities, or lose federal aid. From the various sites these uniformed child abusers are setting up shop, primarily in minority neighborhoods and lower socio-economic areas, it's obvious whose children are being targeted. If Bush succeeds, none of them will be left behind. Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off To War We Go... The empire is in the hands of a single madman who demands that we show our loyalty and patriotism by trading our humanity, our freedom, our dignity and, sadly, our children, for the mere illusion of safety in a world that is crumbling around us. There are times when war, if not inevitable, is unavoidable although, to my mind, rarely justifiable. We needed a Pearl Harbor to drop-kick a foot-dragging nation through the goal posts of World War II, just as we needed a draft to mobilize the necessary manpower. We had an enemy. That enemy had a name and a face. Once he was defeated, the war was over. Of the 16.1 million Americans who served in WWII, 406,000 were killed and 671,000 wounded. The remaining troops returned to cheers, parades and dancing in the streets. Korea and Vietnam taught us that war is not a John Wayne movie, an Uncle Sam poster, or a "Johnny Comes Marching Home" ditty after all. We learned, too late, that Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon were actually pretty pre-emptive kinds of guys – not "shock and awe" shysters, but men who were willing to expand, little by little, an initial deployment of 900 military "advisors," escalating the destruction over 15 years by sending more and more until our bewildered children were standing knee-deep in an oozing quagmire with no clear idea of who the enemy was. It had neither name nor face; therefore, they were forced to shoot anything that moved. Of the 2.1 million American servicemen and women who struggled through the Vietnam mess, 58,156 were killed, 303,329 were wounded in action, and 75,000 were severely disabled. These figures do not include the tens of thousands who suffer from the effects of Agent Orange and who continue to battle for benefits and proper care from a Veteran's Administration in full denial about repercussions from "gassing" our own people. Unlike heroes from WWII, those who returned were met with jeers and catcalls; many were abandoned in the streets. The number of veterans who have committed suicide since the Vietnam War is greater than the number who were killed in that war. Vietnam was a soul-numbing fiasco – an undeclared war that resulted in a litany of human rights abuses and atrocities too numerous to cite. It gave succeeding administrations an unabated taste for blood and power as well as a cold, pugnacious disregard for "collateral" damage. Might is right. George Bush has the power. He has tasted the blood. He likes it, and he wants more. He wants it all the time. If 9-11 had not happened, Bush's addiction would have forced him to create it. As CNN correspondents like to say proudly, "this president" is having the time of his life. Given the grisly silence of the citizenry, of the judicial branch, the legislative branch and the mainstream media, Bush is under no pressure to justify the senseless maiming and killing spree upon which he is embarked, even if he could remember the reason – or coherently describe the enemy who has no face. Shortly after the devastating assault upon Iraq in 2003, a self-satisfied Bush crowed, "We're on their trail. We're smokin' em out. We got em on the run. We're huntin' em down one-by-one. We're on a scavenger hunt for terror..." A scavenger hunt for terror? This is why thousands of young Americans must give up their lives before they've had a chance to live them? Hundreds of thousands of innocents must die – nations must be destroyed – for no other reason than George Bush is off on a scavenger hunt? Well, yea-ah. A Toxic Mess Thanks to the morally bereft Bush father-son duo, as well as the morally challenged Bill Clinton, we are rapidly becoming an endangered species. The culprit is Depleted Uranium (DU), the neat little nuclear weapon of choice these three presidents unleashed upon Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, turning them into toxic wastelands and condemning anyone on their soil to a slow, agonizing death from radiation. America – do you know where your children are tonight? There is no excuse for not knowing the consequences of DU. Scores of reports have been written based on studies and investigations conducted since 1991. Physicians, physicists, scientists, researchers, and even some media – mostly foreign – continue to sound the alarm. We are witnesses to the most egregious war crimes in the history of the world, orchestrated by three mass murderers, yet we continue to play a deadly game of "Kings-X" with the Pentagon and the media, primarily cable outlets CNN and Fox News. Until this axis of corruption admits that DU is a death sentence to all who come in contact with it – a crime against both God and man – apparently we are not "allowed" to speak out. Wouldn't be prudent... The term, "Depleted Uranium," sounds innocuous, even weak. Actually, DU is radioactive waste left over from manufacturing nuclear fuel and bombs. It is anything but "weak." DU is 1.7 times heavier than lead and boasts a half-life of 4-1/2 billion years. It never goes away. The US has more than 10 million tons of DU – an abundant nuclear-waste product which is given free to weapons manufacturers who make a tidy profit on their genocidal bullets and bombs. In a March 9 report, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, former Chief of the Naval Staff, India, writes, "DU burns intensely and is very hard. It releases Uranium Oxide. The aerosol contains particles of 0.5–5 microns in size, once they are in the air or dust they are inhaled or ingested, including from contaminated soil. Once in the lungs one such particle is equivalent to having one X-Ray per hour, for life. (emphasis added) Because it is impossible to remove, the victim is gradually irradiated. Still births, birth defects, leukemia, damaged central nervous systems and other cancers have been common in children born since 1991." Getting the attention of the American people is, for the most part, a futile exercise – like screaming into the wind. One wonders how many birth defects, such as babies born with no internal organs, fused organs, no brains, no eyes in empty sockets, will it take before Americans join their international counterparts and cry, "Enough!" When will we realize we are the terrorists, and our *weapon of mass destruction is Depleted Uranium? No one has screamed louder or longer than Dr. Doug Rokke, former Major and health physicist for the US Army. Rokke, the Army's nuclear expert, was sent to Iraq after Gulf War I to salvage tanks contaminated by DU. He admits he went into the project "with the total intent to ensure they could use uranium munitions in war," but says what he and his team of 100 found there cost one-third of them their lives, cost Rokke his job because he refused to remain silent about his discovery, and continues to wreak havoc with the team's health, the health of millions of civilians in the Gulf, and the health of hundreds of thousands of Gulf War I, and now Gulf War II, veterans. "We can't do it," Rokke says fervently. "We can't keep sending our citizens into that toxic mess. It's a crime against God. It's a crime against humanity to use uranium munitions in a war, and it's devastating to ignore the consequences..." Rokke's conclusion is that DU must be banned from the planet, for eternity, and medical care be provided for everyone, not just the US or the Canadians or the British or the Germans or the French but for citizens from Afghanistan and Iraq to Kosovo and Okinawa to Maryland and Indiana, and other US states where DU munitions are tested. For Americans to remain silent as Bush hands down death sentences for their children and their unborn grandchildren is a war crime in itself. Arthur Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York cites a study done by eminent scientist Leuren Moret which names DU as the definitive cause of Gulf War Syndrome. Bernklau says of the 580,400 US Gulf War I soldiers, 11,000 are now dead. By the year 2000, when Bush and his draft-dodging warmongers were already planning Gulf War II, there were 325,000 military personnel on permanent medical disability. Currently, more than half of those who served in Gulf War I have permanent medical problems. This scandal is threatening to erupt, even as US officials continue to deny there are any long-lasting effects from DU radiation. Bernklau believes the Moret study may be the reason behind Veterans Administration Secretary Anthony Principi's recent and sudden departure. Bernklau says Principi was "aware that DU was causing illness and death as far back as 2000. He and the Bush administration has (sic) been hiding these facts, but now, thanks to Moret's report, is far too big to hide or to cover up." Moret works tirelessly on the issue of depleted uranium and its effects upon the planet and its inhabitants, especially children. She wrote the Forward to Discounted Casualties: The Human Cost of Depleted Uranium, by Hiroshima journalist Akira Tashiro. The book can be read online, and should be required reading for all Americans, especially those who still possess half sense and one eye. Moret says the use of DU by the United States defies all international treaties, and will slowly annihilate all species on earth, including the human species. She describes DU as "the Trojan Horse" of nuclear war – the weapon that keeps on killing for billions of years." There's no way to turn DU off. There's no way to clean it up. Because we are Americans, it is not acceptable that our bloodthirsty leaders be allowed to continue to rain DU down upon the world with full knowledge of its destructive potential. We cannot allow Bush to continue to kill our children – our unborn children – as he whips up new candidates for death in his rollicking "scavenger hunt for terror." It's time we stopped it. *See US Code, Title 50, Chapter 40, Section 2302 – "The term "weapon of mass destruction" means any weapon or device that is intended, or has the capability, to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of (A) toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors, (B) a disease organism, or (C) radiation or radioactivity." Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma freelance writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. You can send her comments at rsamples@sirinet.net . August 15, 2005 False Premises and Damned Lies By Mary Pitt Some times it is a bit difficult to tell the difference between these two concepts but, often, we will find that the former is based on the latter For instance, when you hear someone say that we had to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein was responsible for the World Trade Center bombing, you know that it may be a false premise if the speaker truly doesn't know any better. However, when President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of State Colin Powell stood before the people of the United States and the world and declared that Saddam had Weapons of Mass Destruction, was a threat to his neighbors and an imminent threat to the United States, that was a damned lie! When Jessica Lynch was captured by the Iraqis, the assumption was made that she would be raped, tortured, and killed by the "heathens" and her heroicism was presumed, a false premise. When the hospital where she had been treated was over-run and she returned to American hands, we were told that she was "rescued" from a state of mistreatment. Not only that, but she was also credited with performing a heroic feat at the time of capture which allowed some of the others to escape. When the dust settled, after a hero's greeting and a solemn ceremony to bestow a medal for her "heroism", the truth began to trickle out. Her friend, Shoshona Johnson was raped and imprisoned as well as being subjected to tortuous conditions, but she was returned home with no fanfare and no ceremony other than the belated bestowal of a medal, and that at the urging of Ms. Lynch! Perhaps, when all is said and done, such treatment is less important when suffered by a black woman? And, is it turned out, the heroic act which delayed the on-rushing Iraqis was performed by a young man whose name has been forgotten by all but his family and his companions. And yet the heroism of Jessica Lynch lives on as a legend based on false premises with a few damned lies thrown in for good measure. Another invented legend to inspire faith in the misadventures of the administration is the story of Pat Tillman. Great and well-deserved praise was heaped upon this young man who was just ready to begin his career as a professional football player when he enlisted in the military in the mistaken conviction that he would be serving in the preservation of the future of our democracy. His tragic death on the battlefield was hyped as an example of noble sacrifice because of his high visibility in the public mind. Those who read their news on the internet were almost immediately aware that he fell as the result of "friendly fire" but, in the face of all the government publicity, it was a very long time before the public, even the family, were allowed to know the truth about the way his precious life was wasted, another false premise based on a damned lie! On the home front, the same tactics prevailed. Social Security is a prime example of the preponderance of "business as usual" and the persistent use of "the big lie". No less than the President himself announced to us that the Social Security trust fund is "broke", that all the money that Americans had paid in preparation for their basic retirement income was "gone"! The special treasury bonds in which it was "invested" as it accumulated are only "worthless pieces of paper" and there would be no funds available to pay the pensions upon which American workers had come to depend. The truth is that strengthening this fund might possibly require a slight tax increase on those most able to pay it, but that is not a prospect that is acceptable to the corporation-loving, big-money men who are currently in control of our nation. It's more of the same: tell a big lie, let the people develop a false premise, and destroy the program based on what, by then, passes for fact. It is very hard in these times to hold onto the truth and even harder, in many cases, to even find where it is hiding. Any objections to the path down which we have been led for the past five years are met with the handy-dandy label of "sore losers" and "just politics". When truth raise its head, it is immediately dismissed as we are instructed to "move on". Under the convenient covering of "patriotism", crimes by public officials, machinations of the American monetary system and policies, and outright treason are being denied and the accusations dismissed as "rumors and left-wing propaganda" as the juggernaut of multinational takeover rolls over the Constitution of the Land of the Free. Where this situation and our nation as a whole will end is a matter of pure speculation. The simple solution would be if the ballot box could restore sanity to our leadership, but that is not certain under the present system of creative vote-counting and questionable ballots. The predictions of another Civil War are too horrendous to comtemplate. There appears to be no hope for any decisive action in Congress as the Republicans parlay their unassailable majority into a rubber stamp for the administration and the Democrats are listening to the siren song of those who say they cannot win without moving to "the middle". The recent Senate "compromise" accomplished nothing as the Democrats agreed to allow the confirmation of the questionable judges in return for a promise that the Republicans would not destroy the power of the Senate "this time" but would save their filibuster power for something "more important".. We saw the last President ushered out of office in a hail of epithets, insults, and damned lies, but we are constantly being told by the adminstration that we should "play nice"; mustn't accuse the President of lying because that is un-American and unpatriotic, must "move to the middle" because more American voters want more compromise and coalition, have to "compromise" in the interest of "national security" because, (of all things), there's a war on! Yes, there is a war on. The sham war of aggression was sold to the American public by a damned lie and we were left with the spin doctors feeding us false premises via the mainstream media. In addition, there is the war that is being valiantly fought by those who dare to tell the truth and to stand up for its value. The Downing Street Minutes made barely a ripple in the lockstep media as they gamely move on to decide in advance whether the Democrats should run Hillary Clinton or John Kerry for President in 2008. Why is it just fine for the Republicans to lie, cheat, steal, and do anything to ridicule and diminish anyone who dares to stand up and speak the truth but the Democrats are afraid to raise their voices, (with rare exceptions), in defense of the those principles which the American people have supported? Let's stop "running on principle"! Let's start calling a spade a spade and a liar a liar! Let's hire the "Saturday Night Live" crew who can depict George W. Bush, Karl Rove and Company as the greedy manipulating little societal rejects that they are! They fear us! If they did not, why does Cindy Sheehan have to sit in a ditch alongside the road in a vain attempt to speak to the President? Why are people thrown our of halls where the Leader of the Free World is telling us why he is going to take away our Social Security simply because of their message T-shirts or the bumper stickers on their cars? Why is our White House, The People's House, fortified and barricaded until nobody but the inner circle and gay prostitutes can gain access? We have less to fear from Bin Laden and all his minions than the damage that we are suffering as a nation and as individuals as we are forced to bow our necks under the yokes of the burden of obedience that has been placed upon us. We must remember that we are a free people and, as such, we have the right to speak openly and freely in opposition to any oppression that threatens us. Let us, then, stand up on our hind legs, throw out the voting machines, force our Governors to order our National Guard home form Iraq, and change the course of the country. Let us elect people who will be Representatives of the People, restore our democracy, re-build our factories, as co-ops if need be, restore the taxes for the rich, and get our nation back to its former state of honesty and respect. Mary Pitt is a septuagenarian Kansan who operates a small business caring and advocating for the handicapped and the under-privileged. Questions and comment may be directed to mpitt@cox.net. July 25, 2005 The Republican (Alternate) Social Security Plan By Mary Pitt Ed Feulner of the Heritage Foundation has distributed a news release to newspapers stating that, in the current "DeMint Bill" which is being considered by the House, the Social Security "surplus" would no longer be "spent by Congress" as evidenced by the "special Treasury bonds" which will one day have to paid back by future workers. What will our enlightened Congress do with the "surplus" as envisioned by this bill? They will spend it! Not only that, but they will add to the deficit by doing so. According to an Associated Press article, http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/071605C.shtmlarticle the leading House bill, drafted by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. and Rep. Jim McCrery, R-La to overhaul Social Security would marginally extend the program's solvency, but it would add $851 billion to the national debt over 11 years, according to an analysis released Friday by the system's chief actuary. The bill calls for establishing personal retirement accounts for workers under age 55 and stocking them with Treasury bonds equal to the surplus Social Security taxes the government will collect each year through 2016. This would be just one year before the present "trust fund" is expected to run out of funds. (No plan is suggested to compensate for that eventuality, since nothing would be added to it during the ensuing years.) The only difference is that the Treasury bonds that will be issued as security for the loan to the General Fund will be earmarked for specific individuals who will "own" their proceeds which will come from the interest earned by those bonds. My question is, "Who will pay back the value of the bonds and the accrued interest when those holders retire?" There are two choices. First, they could be paid back by those same "future workers" or, alternatively, the recoupment would come from reductions in the amount of benefits available to the retirees! No matter who or how it is paid, someone will be paying it and that someone will be our children, either through higher taxes or by supplementing their parents' inadequate Social Security benefits. Every few years, the cry goes up, "Social Security is broke! There is no money! The only choice is to destroy the system!" And, every few years, the realization dawns that, due to the increase in the cost of living, coupled with steady inflation and rising earnings, the logical answer is merely to increase the cap on the amounts of annual earnings on which funds are withheld. Currently, the "cap" stands at something less than $100,000 per year, a lot of bucks by the standards of many of the small towns in the "Red States", but when you consider that Vice-President Cheney has just received an annual RAISE that is almost four times that amount, it seems fairly reasonable. A hundred thousand dollars a year is considered "starting salary" in most of the big corporations and law firms in the cities, yet part of even that salary is immune from Social Security contributions. The retirement age has already been increased, and that is a touchy subject for those who "burn their bodies" during their working lives. One who spends an entire working lifetime at a desk may continue to be employed into their eighties, if they choose. However, those who do hard, physical work may find their bodies broken down and worn out long before they turn sixty-seven. (Guess which category includes our Congressional representatives.) In addition, under this proposal, they do not even tell us what arrangements will be made for widows and dependent children of deceased workers or for the disabled. In the opinion of this former Republican, the Neo-Cons in Washington need to go back to the playbook of their predecessors and study the chapter on fiscal common sense. Taking money from one pocket and putting it in the other has never been proven to show a profit and it is not likely to do so now. The way Social Security has worked for the last seventy years and the only way it can possibly work now is by carefully tending the income so it will be saved for the purpose for which it is intended. There truly is no "surplus" and no "free money". We should expect to get no more back from this retirement savings plan than we put in, but we have a right to expect that. Cooking the books and finding creative ways to rob the future of the American working class would smell as bad under any other name. They must "raise the cap", stop spending like drunken sailors, and make plans to pay back the funds that they have "borrowed" for all these years. Even though there are other very important things for Congress to handle, they must not seek a "quick fix" for this problem. There is time to wait until the world situation is a bit settled down and then to give it the reasoned consideration that will be necessary. Please write or phone your representative in Washington and tell him, "It ain't broke, so don't fix it!" We must not allow them to destroy the most efficient and beneficial social program of the last century by hurried judgments and unintended consequences. And that, my friends, is precisely what the administration and the Republican Congress intend to do unless "we, the people" take whatever steps are necessary to stop them. Mary Pitt is a septuagenarian Kansan who is self-employed and active in the political arena. Her concerns are her four-generation family and the continuance of the United States as a democracy with a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". Comments and criticism may be addressed to mpitt@cox.net. July 13, 2005 Bush said he 'preciates folks dyin' for the cause. Are The Good Times Really Over For Good? By Sheila Samples Are we rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell? With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell... Is the best of the free life behind us now... Are the good times really over for good? ~~Merle Haggard "For thou are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not sojourn with thee. The boastful may not stand before thy eyes; thou hatest all evildoers. Thou destroyest those who speak lies; the Lord abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men." ~~ David, Psalms 5:4 07/11/05 "ICH" - - On Memorial Day, George W. Bush, the world's most bloodthirsty and deceitful man strutted to the podium at our National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, to once again regurgitate his woefully shallow and inappropriate stump speech -- "Across the globe (sly smile), our military is standing directly between our people and the worst dangers in the world (pause, smirk)...the war on terror has brought great costs (no-nonsense head bob)...two terror regimes are gone forever (narrowed eyes darting nervously back and forth across the crowd), freedom is on the march (leaning forward earnestly), and America is more secure." Unfazed by plummeting poll numbers at home or spiraling fatality numbers abroad, Bush remarked with shudderingly bad taste that all headstones look alike -- a Texan's crude way of saying, "You seen one skull orchard, you seen 'em all," and announced with devilish arrogance that his mission remains unchanged -- he has the terrorists on the run and he isn't going to stop until he has spread God's gifts of freedom and democracy and liberty and neat stuff like that throughout the world. His will will never be broken. His mission is God's mission; together, he and God will rid the world of evil. On behalf of God, Bush said he 'preciates folks dyin' for the cause. Heck, he even honors 'em. They applauded him. It was astonishing. They applauded, when they should have been wailing in anguish while collapsing under an unbearable sense of national loss. But no. Grinning like cartoon caricatures, they applauded an in-your-face war criminal -- a great deceiver who is openly intent on destroying everything that is, or ever was, good in their lives. Bush's mission will be over when the good times are over; when they're over for good -- when all that remains is broken. Broken families. Broken bodies. Broken societies. Broken cultures. Broken hearts. Broken world. Where are the Christians? Where is the revulsion at Bush roaming freely on hallowed ground while belching out lies and deceit that have caused the slaughter of more than 100,000 Iraqi's, 1,942 coalition troops -- 1,752 of them American -- more than American 18,000 wounded or maimed; 10,000 striken with lifelong disease? (No figures are available for the number of Iraqi wounded or maimed ) Where is the raw horror that Christians should feel for a charlaton who boasts that he is on a mission from God -- a mission to rule over a world of hate and lies and fear and death and disease? You'd think the souls of true Christians would surely shrivel when a man who claims Jesus Christ as his "philosopher" murders hundreds of thousands of innocents, abuses and tortures hundreds, maybe even thousands, more and then raises blood-stained fists -- shakes them in the face of the Almighty, and shouts, "Thou Fool!" You'd think, as a minimum, Christians would remember who in the Bible is known as the "Great Deceiver." You'd think. But alas... Actually, people who claim to speak to, as well as for, God are everywhere. Most are Republicans, members of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement whose lust for power and obsession with Biblical control extends beyond the wildest fantasies of the most radical evangelical. With flags in one hand and Bibles in the other, they are militant, intolerant, boastful -- eaten up with messianic hubris. They proudly call themselves "people of faith," and are brazenly committed to religion, but their religion is politics and vice versa. They're the God people -- George Bush's voting base. Ironically, followers of Jesus are awakening to find themselves in the midst of religious plenty, yet are literally dying of thirst, much like the lone sailor in Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner" who was surrounded by water but dared not drink. They are discovering it is dangerous for Christian love to be surrounded by religious hate. I wonder if Americans know just how close to the abyss we really are. I hate to sound yet another terror warning, but if we were in theological Vietnam, we'd be in deep, deep spiritual kimche. Bush is the perfect pawn for the Reconstructionists. He owes them, big time, and he's paying them back at dizzying and destructive speed. Never has a more bloodthirsty and vengeful bully so devoid of reason and sanity been given universal free rein to act out his incorrigible delusions. Bush believes -- has been led to believe -- that he has been commissioned by God to slay all those whom he fantasizes might someday oppose him -- and to justify the slaughter by brandishing the double-edged sword of freedom and liberty. As early as 1994, Frederick Clarkson, author of "Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Democracy and Theocracy in the United States," warned Americans about the fundie-fascist danger in a critical, indepth article on Christian Reconstructionists. Clarkson said, "...the movement is Very Disturbing in it's ideology. And if it ever came to political power, it would be disasterous for this civilization. Freedom under a Christian Reconstructionist government would be similar to that of Stalan (sic) or Hitler." If they need proof, Bush's "freedom-loving Americans" would do well to listen to the mad ravings of Gary North, one of the more frightening Reconstructionist shepherds, who is determined to place people of faith in every political office, in every schoolroom, every church, and in every societal nook and cranny in order to "gain exclusive control over the American franchise." North, from Tyler, Texas, says, "Those who refuse to submit publicly to the eternal sanctions of God by submitting to His Church's public marks of the covenant -- baptism and holy communion -- must be denied citizenship, just as they were in ancient Israel." It is not by chance that Reconstructionists are Republicans or that their crusade against Democrats and all things liberal mirrors that of Bush's jihad against the Muslim world. Clarkson cites Reconstructionist theologian David Chilton, who very succinctly describes the movement's mission -- "The Christian goal for the world is the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics, in which every area of life is redeemed and placed under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the rule of God's law." Nobody has worked harder nor longer to bring this madness to fruition than Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson. For him, the "rule of God's law" does not extend to Liberals and there's no place for gays to hide in a Robertson world. He believes that homosexuals have nothing better to do than to "come into churches and disrupt church services and throw blood all around and try to give people AIDS and spit in the face of ministers." And, if you're a Democrat, chances are if Robertson and the Reconstructionists have their way, you're going to get your ass kicked. "The strategy against the American Radical Left should be the same as General Douglas MacArthur employed against the Japanese in the Pacific," Robertson said. "...Bypass their strongholds, then surround them, isolate them, bombard them, then blast the individuals out of their power bunkers with hand-to-hand combat..." Sound like a plan? Well, listen up, because it gets better. Christian Reconstructionists soar into a divine frenzy at the mere thought of capital punishment. Those of us who do not see things their way will very quickly turn into collateral damage. Clarkson says Reconstructionists "call for the death penalty for a wide range of crimes in addition to such contemporary capital crimes as rape, kidnapping, and murder. Death is also the punishment for apostasy (abandonment of the faith), heresy, blasphemy, witchcraft, astrology, adultery, "sodomy or homosexuality," incest, striking a parent, incorrigible juvenile delinquency, and, in the case of women, "unchastity before marriage." Like Bush, who stolidly refuses to accept blame for his actions, the Reconstructionists believe that both men and nations must obey God's laws or God must invoke the death penalty against them. According to North, women who have abortions should be publicly executed, "along with those who advised them to abort their children." But, not to worry. Theocracies, according to theologian Rev. Ray Sutton, are "happy" places to which people flock because "capital punishment is one of the best evangelistic tools of a society." Clarkson said the Biblically approved methods of execution include burning at the stake, stoning, hanging, and "the sword." So, if you slap your mama or do the "wild thaing" before the wedding, a "person of faith" will be happy to behead you... But North says not to worry. He prefers stoning because, among other things, stones are cheap, plentiful, and convenient. Punishments for non-capital crimes generally involve whipping, restitution in the form of indentured servitude, or slavery. Prisons would likely be only temporary holding tanks, prior to imposition of the actual sentence. In April, Rev. Jim Wallis of "Sojourners" magazine addresed this problem at a Lewisville rally. Wallis said, "Those on the Religious Right are declaring a religious war to give their version of faith religious supremacy in America. And some members of the Republican Party seem ready almost to declare a Christian theocracy in America. It is time," Wallis said firmly, "to take back both our faith and our Constitution." I agree, but how do we do this? Many of us are weary of feeling like we're the the last person standing -- sloshing around in a Stepford world of hate and fear and blood -- where every man, woman and child we meet has "9-11" tattooed on their foreheads, and they don't even know it. What can we tell them that is more horrible than what Christians have already accepted without question -- lies, treason, deceit, abuse and torture, body parts of innocents littering the landscape, the slaughter of their own children, and freedom ebbing away? If we tell them what the Great Deceiver and his Christian Reconstructionist God have in store for them, will they continue to stare at us vacantly while waving their flags? Or, when they see that our foreheads do not proclaim the patriotic "9-11," will they skitter fearfully into the shadows? We have a choice. We can either take our places in line at the tattoo parlor or we can grab a taser in each hand and start walking cross-country, kicking doors down and jolting folks awake. It may already be too late, but before this vast herd of comatose sheep goes plodding blindly over the edge of the cliff; before they pull the rest of us into the morass with them, we have earned the right to see one last collective shock of recognition -- a final terrified realization that they know the good times are over -- really over for good. And they will know, at long last, it didn't have to be this way. Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma freelance writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites. Contact her at: rsamples@sirinet.net. © 2005 Sheila Samples Copyright: Sheila Samples. All rights reserved. You may republish under the following conditions: An active link to the original publication must be provided. You must not alter, edit or remove any text within the article, including this copyright notice. July 07, 2005 WHAT IF..... By Mary Pitt - Neither Party Member As I waited for Aunt Tildie to answer her door, I was feeling pangs of guilt for having neglected my regular schedule of calling on her. We speak daily by phone and she does have activities, but I hadn't actually seen her for some time. The need is mine rather than hers, for I find she does have a way of "picking me up"! "Why, good morning, Child", she chirped cheerfully. "Come in and join me in a cup of tea!" "Thank you", I responded, "I do hope I'm not interrupting your work." She poured the tea, dropping in a cube of sugar and adding milk, (just the way I like it). "Not at all! I was just sitting here after watching the news, thinkin' and playin' 'What If'." "What if what, Aunt Tildie? What was on the news that set you to thinking about how to solve the problems of the world?" (Now, I did not say that facetiously, for Aunt Tildie was well-known in her day and respected as a thinker and as a speaker. I have witnessed sessions in which she held an audience spell-bound and hungering for more of her brilliant problem-solving abilities. After a long and lustrous career, she had retired to this small prairie town and allowed her respected eloquence to lapse back into the local idiom in order to be accepted as "one of us".) "I was watchin' the reports about the G8 Conference that's bein' held on what to do about Africa, and my mind went back in time for a moment. The quote of Robert Kennedy came to mind, 'Some see things as they are and say, "Why". I see things as they could be and say, "Why not"?' Well, I carried it one step further and asked, 'What if?" Now I was really interested! This is a problem that affects the future of the whole world and I have seen no original thinking on the subject by any of the nations involved except to "spread capitalism" and to "establish democracies" which, in my opinion, is PC-speak for exploiting the natural resources and setting up puppet rulers who will do as we say. I knew that Aunt Tildie would have better ideas than mere platitudes and pie-in-the-sky. Aunt Tildie carried on without a break, "What if the Peace Corps had not been allowed to wither on the vine? That was such a successful program, sending young people out into the world to help and to teach people in disadvantaged countries to improve their means of living by better farming methods, digging wells for clean water, establishing schools for the youngsters and training medical people to advance their health care. "Soon older people were enrolling, too, retirees who had time and wanted to leave the world a better place. Even "Miss Lillian" Carter, the mother of our future President served a hitch with the Peace Corps and valued the experience the same as the ones who were younger do, as one of the most important in their lives. All those who volunteered loved their work and the people they helped loved them! In Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, the residents took those people to their hearts because they were willing to get right in and work with them instead of simply sending money and issuing orders. It was terrific!" Then she proceeded to remind me, "The Peace Corps was started during the Kennedy years, continued through the Johnson administration, all through Nixon/Ford and, wherever these volunteers went, they created a love and admiration for the United States that went beyond diplomacy and international deals. No big money was doled out, very little was given by way of handouts. The people were simply taught and helped to learn how to do things so that they could improve their own lives. "Now, I'm convinced that, if people can create a better life for themselves, they will be so busy carin' for their own families and their own property that they will not be signin' up for the corrupt armies of the petty satraps who would victimize the people. They would be plowin' their fields, buildin' new homes, and providin' for their families rather than ridin' around in the back of pickup trucks with machine guns, shootin' down other people just because they have been declared 'enemies'! "And Lord, the money we're spendin' to kill all those Iraquis! We could have bought the whole country for the money we're payin' to blow 'em to hell! It would have been so much better to teach 'em to live better, to value human life and freedom, and, in their own time, to get rid of that tyrant who was takin' their very life's blood to promote his own personal ambitions." "That's true," I offered, "We're seeing it here now, with young men who are NOT lining up to join the service because they are not convinced in the rightness of our reasons." "Absolutely to the point! Americans have never been willin' to fight without a damned good reason, and if they don't have that reason, they stay home in droves!" "You're so right, Aunt Tildie! But, what happened to the Peace Corps? Why are we not still maintaining such an excellent and highly effective program?" "Oh, I suppose you could say the Congress happened. In the Reagan years, the accent was on spendin' less money and you know that when they say that, the money they reduce is always the funds that people really need. They never reduce spending on the military, or 'corporate welfare' or tax cuts for the rich. It's always the funding for the poor, the old, and the handicapped that gets their axe. I suppose it's because those people don't have big bucks to donate to political campaigns." "Those administrations were all Republican. Why was it not refunded during the Clinton years?" I asked. "Because Clinton was a Replicrat! That's what I call him because he didn't have the courage of his convictions! He was so afraid of Congress that he would find out what Congress wanted and then decide what he would suggest that they would accept. Even when he had a good idea, he wouldn't stand behind it and push it through. He rammed through the NAFTA idea which belonged to Bush and then he "reformed" welfare to the point that, now that it's needed in this Republican "prosperity", it just ain't there for the people who need it. In the long run, all he ever did that was good for the people was to get a balanced budget, and he did that on the backs of the poor and the disadvantaged!" "But", I ventured, "why can't they understand that it really makes economic sense to make friends rather than to create enemies?" "Well, I hate to say it, but that's just the way some warped minds work. They think that, so long as they have the power and the control of the money, they can buy friends when they need 'em and then, once they have helped us to whip our enemies, we can just whip them, too, and take over their countries as well. What if those greedy idiots would realize that, with programs like the Peace Corps, the poor nations could become strong trading partners and make their own contibutions to a world that is peaceful and prosperous for all. What if they ran the numbers and found out that it would cost less to help other nations grow and prosper than it does to kill the people and devastate their land ?" "I love this game!" I cried, "What if we had given the inspectors time to complete their search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq and they had found nothing there?. We would have known that there was nothing to fear from Saddam and we could have concentrated on catching Bin Laden amd getting Afghanistan on the right track. Maybe that would have been a good place for your Peace Corp idea." "Okay", said Aunt Tildie, "Now you're thinkin'! That would have made a whole different kettle of fish, wouln't it? Now, I know you have to drive to Topeka for that meeting, so you'll have lots of time to play the game while you drive." "Aunt Tildie", I protested. "I seem to remember that you were not a particular supporter of the Kennedy brothers. Why do you recall them with such fondness today?" Aunt Tildie fixed me with the same stare that she used to give me just before she whacked me upside my head, heaved a sigh of impatience at my ignorance and replied, "I was carried away by the fact that they were born stinkin' rich and looked like a coupe of Ken dolls! Thought they were a couple of fancy-pants like George W. and that Tony Blair, all lips and hips! But, in the long-range scheme of things, Kennedy was the last Democratic President. He was born rich but he had a feel for the needs of the people, all people, and he tried to meet them. No wonder "they" had to kill 'im! His thinking was dangerous to the capitalist system." As I made my way to the door, I playfully tossed over my shoulder, "Aunt Tildie, in fifty years will you have changed your opinion of GW?" The door closed on her angry response, "I ain't a-gonna live THAT long!" Mary Pitt is a septuagenarian Kansan who is self-employed and active in the political arena. Her concerns are her four-generation family and the continuance of the United States as a democracy with a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". Comments and criticism may be addressed to mpitt@cox.net . June 14, 2005 The Anti-Empire Report - By William Blum The Anti-Empire Report Some things you need to know before the world ends June 13, 2005 by William Blum Gee, how can we ever find out why they don't like us? The Pentagon awarded three contracts this past week, worth up to $300 million, to companies it hopes will inject more creativity into US psychological operations efforts to improve foreign public opinion about the United States, particularly their opinion of the American military. "We would like to be able to use cutting-edge types of media," said Col. James A. Treadwell, director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element. Dan Kuehl, a specialist in information warfare at the National Defense University, added: "There are a billion-plus Muslims that are undecided. How do we move them over to being more supportive of us? If we can do that, we can make progress and improve security."{1} And so it goes. And so it has gone since September 11, 2001. The world's only superpower has felt misunderstood, although co-existing with this feeling at times, and expressed more than once by Bush administration officials, has been oderint dum metuant, a favorite phrase of Roman emperor Caligula, also used by Cicero -- "let them hate so long as they fear". "How do I respond when I see that in some Islamic countries there is vitriolic hatred for America?" asked George W. (aka jerkus maximus) a month after 9-11. "I'll tell you how I respond: I'm amazed. I'm amazed that there's such misunderstanding of what our country is about that people would hate us. I am -- like most Americans, I just can't believe it because I know how good we are."{2} Psychological operations, information warfare, cutting-edge media ... surely there's a high-tech solution. But what if it's not a misunderstanding? What if the problem is that people in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world understand the Pentagon and US foreign policy only too well? In short, what if they don't know how goo