No idea how much fun and slime you are missing

ST. LOUIS -- Oh, you sweet, innocent, carefree citizens in non-swing states. You have no idea how much fun and slime you are missing.

In the swingers, wolves stalk us mercilessly (as the pro-wolf lobby points out indignantly, no one has ever been killed by wolves on U.S. soil, but try arguing that in the face of the relentless new TV ad campaign). Breaking news everywhere -- 380 tons of high explosives in Iraq left unattended, stock market down to year's low, leading economic indicators down, more tragedy in Iraq, the Swift Boat Liars are back, more Halliburton scandal, George Tenet says the war in Iraq is "wrong" -- it feels like you're dodging meteorites here in the Final Days.

Actually, the best evidence suggests we need to slow way down and go way back, because far from being able to take in anything new, it turns out many of our fellow citizens, especially Bush supporters, are stuck like bugs in amber in some early misperceptions that have never been cleared up.

From Detroit to Baghdad: Intimations of Ed Seitz

When Ed Seitz was killed in the shower by a bomb lobbed into Camp Victory, near Baghdad airport last weekend, I thought the name was familiar. Seitz, described in news stories as a 41-year-old State Department special agent in the Diplomatic Security Service, had been in Iraq for less than three months. He was billed as the first U.S. diplomat to have been killed in Iraq. The story I remembered put him in Detroit back in late February 2002, which is when John Clarke, an organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) sent to the counterpunch.org Website I coedit with Jeffrey St. Clair a vivid account of an encounter with Seitz in the early afternoon of Feb. 19, 2002.

            Clarke had crossed the international bridge between Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Mich., on his way to a speaking engagement that had been set up by students at Michigan State University. He never made the gig. Instead, after border agents had checked him out on the computer, and searched him and his car, he was held in "a controlled reception area."

American Assassination: The Strange Death of Senator Paul Wellstone

Remarks on the new book, American Assassination: The Strange Death of Senator Paul Wellstone On the second anniversary of his death.

Four Arrows

 Presented at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.,

On October 25, 2004

Mitakuye pi, my chante ata wo wogala ke, na nape chiuso pelo. My relatives, I offer each of you a warm handshake. I speak from my heart today and want to begin by commending you who have come sincerely to learn what we have to say about our book, for in this city there are pressures to stay within acceptable boundaries of critical commentary that make your presence here, unfortunately, an act of some courage. In fact, the strong-arm strategies of our national leaders that frighten journalists into compliance are becoming legendary. Film documentaries and books like “Unprecedented” or “The Hammer” continue to reveal the unscrupulous tyranny of Karl Rove, Tom Delay, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and other top officials who believe emphatically that the “the end justifies the means” and that the end is all about American power and dominance.

Beam me Up Scotty…

“Richard Burr says he’ll vote to increase defense spending.” The words of the television ad hung in the air like the cigar smoke in a back room of the Old Boys Club. Surely there must be a mistake. But no, a visit to Burr’s own website confirmed what my ears refused to accept. Increased Budget for the Military

After fighting the Clinton Administration's efforts to cut the military's budget for 8 years, I have supported increased funding for national defense under President Bush's leadership. This is increasingly important with troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Source: http://www.richardburrcommittee.com/issues.html

Same sex marriage

One thing often overlooked in the debate about same sex marriage is that gay people are PEOPLE too. They have a mother, father, siblings. A great deal of the time, they have children too. Are their children less worthy of all the protections that marriage brings?

I am also tired of hearing about if gays can marry, it "demeans" the institution. How? No one ever answers this and yet ignores blatant contradictions - convicted felons can marry while in prison. Thousands of people don't pay child support leaving their own flesh and blood destitute in many cases and they can still marry again. Divorce is against many religions, but is allowed by law.

We often help other countries obtain freedom and democracy - let's have some here too. If a union negotiates DP benefits, or a school board or city decides to offer benefits, is it someone else's right to decide it can't be done? This is exactly one of the things that will happen if Michigan's constitutional ban on same sex marriage occurs. Vote no and also contact your Senators to say NO to prejudice and discrimination being amended into our Federal Constitution for the first time!

Cost of War

When are we going to wake up and get the point?  Now that we have counted 1,000+ dead soldiers in Iraq, isn’t it about time to reconsider what we are doing?  There are no weapons of mass destruction - just lies.  There is no connection between September 11 and Iraq - just lies.  There was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda -just lies.  The world and especially America is not safer as a result of these actions. The Bush administration continues to manipulate your emotions with constant false alarms, vague warnings, or nonspecific information from unspecified sources, and elevated color alerts.  Does this make you feel safer?

 

The Problem with the Franklin County Children Services

The Columbus Dispatch's editorial in the August 21st issue stated that the ACLU was addressing a nonexistent problem and an unworthy cause. Perhaps we should reconsider.

MISOGYNY

Three quarters of Americans surveyed say they admire Laura Bush, while only one third have a favorable view of Teresa Heinz Kerry. The result is unsurprising because this is a misogynistic country that insists its First Ladies must play the role of June Cleaver, dutifully frying bacon while tastefully adorned with a string of matching pearls. The American people also exalt mediocrity, hence Miss Laura is cherished for being uninspiring just as Bob Hope was revered for being unfunny.

As viewed by Middle America, Heinz Kerry suffers greatly on a comparative basis: Laura is ingratiatingly mundane, while Teresa is disturbingly brilliant. Laura is pleasingly subservient, while Teresa is annoyingly independent. Laura is obediently traditional, while Teresa is maddeningly nonconformist. And Laura cares about her own little world, whereas Teresa cares about the whole, wide world.

GW Bush Before the Iraq War

Can anyone cite one instance where GW Bush voiced concern about the welfare or liberation of the Iraqi people BEFORE his war, and before he was sworn in as president?  There is no evidence that Bush has demonstrated any concern for any other person except himself through his entire life.  Bush never spoken out for the rights of the common man.  Bush never spoken out against injustice, oppression, or genocide.

Where was Bush when 500,000 Kurds were being killed in Iraq by Saddam when his father, GHW Bush was president?   Where was Bush when 500,000 Iraqi children were dying of hunger due to the allied bombings in Iraq after the Gulf War?  Where was Bush when the massive acts of genocide were occurring in Rwanda? Where is Bush now while a million Sudanese people are being killed? 

The Presidential Pageant: "There He Is, Mr. America..."

Less than two weeks before Election Day 2004, the ABC television network cancelled Miss America. Fifty years after it premiered on national TV, the famous "beauty pageant" has fallen on hard times. Last month, the annual show drew just 9.8 million viewers, the smallest audience ever.

"The pageant has changed, but not for the better," commented an editorial in a New Jersey newspaper, the Asbury Park Press. "Eliminating most of the talent portion of the competition from this year's broadcast was a mistake. Trotting the contestants out in string bikinis rather than one-piece suits probably did more to alienate traditional viewers than attract new ones."

Despite this year's modernizing make-over, the Miss America pageant is a throwback to the 1950s, the decade that launched it onto the nation's TV screens -- an era when sexism was inseparable from supposed Americanism. Women were reduced to competitors in bathing suits who could sing and flash their shiny white teeth while they briefly made conversation. Perhaps subtly but pervasively, the spectacle was an exercise in humiliation.

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