Sunday, July 30, 2006

Quote of the Day!

Frank J. Ranelli


"There is nothing patriotic or American about those that allege to spread democracy and freedom throughout the world, when they so vehemently crush its very existence on the same soil from which liberty first took root."

Labels:

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Translating the Neocon/Capitalist Doublespeak Language


A helpful guide to translate the true meaning of many of the "sanitized" words we hear from the partisan-right, neocons, chickenhawks and Bush followers, hacks and apologists:

abuse: torture

American interests: 1. Corporate interests; keeping share prices up. 2. For the benefit of the rich.

associate: a low-level employee.

axis of evil: countries to be attacked next

classified: secretive and damaging information that must be suppressed from the public

consumer: increasingly used in place of "citizen" when referring to the individual. Indicative of the growing assumption that democracy equals capitalism.

corporation: 1. oligarchy 2. A profit-driven entity destined to ultimately consist of lawers and other such experts in combination with the minimum number of other people required to justify the ownership of the largest number of things possible.

creation science: religion pretending to be science

enemy combatant: legal wording to get around the Geneva Conventions ' protective rights for those captured in combat

doublespeak: 'Dubyaspeak', as in Bush Orwellian talk

free speech zone: an area set aside for protesters in which law enforcement supposedly will not interfere with them if they stay within it, but may assail or arrest them if they venture out of it.

illegal combatants: prisoners of war who are deprived of basic human rights and of any legal rights under existing international conventions regarding treatment of prisoners

intelligent design: euphemism for creationism

patriotism: unquestioning loyalty to other peoples' interests - A.K.A. blind obedience

privatization: profit opportunities for corporate America

quaint: inconvenient

radical: 1. popular opinion 2. person voicing popular opinions ignored by media with strong coverage

regime change: a forceful change of government by a foreign power; Pax Americana

servicing the target: killing the enemy

transfer tubes: body bags for the remains of dead soliders killed in combat

# # #

Contributions from; Source Watch

Friday, July 28, 2006

Rigid Republicans Flip on Minimum Wage Issue!


House republicans try to blackmail democrats and America on minimum wage hike using cheap parlor tricks to diffuse a wedge issue in the up-coming November election.

BY FRANK J. RANELLI


The House republicans now, all of the sudden, want to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. This latest is a reversal after stonewalling the democrats on raising the federal minimum wage for several years and voting it down in session at least three previous times.


These are the same reckless, conscienceless, heartless people that tried to paint John Kerry as a “flip-flopper” when he changed his mind! The old double-standard – republicans can change course whenever the political winds opposing them are too strong whereas they might crash on the rocks or bottom out, but democrats are just bleeding heart, limp-wristed, cut and run liberals when they do it!


Anyone who sees a silver lining here, look closer. The republicans are not putting forth a straight vote on a minimum wage hike. The republicans are attempting to tie the wage hike bill to a permanent cutting of taxes on millionaires' estates! If that wasn’t enough, republicans are attempting to weasel into the package incentives that includes a research and development credit for businesses only.


The word “shyster” comes to mind. Unscrupulous and greedy, a misanthropic lot; these republicans -- whose impudent behavior, can only be summed up as nauseatingly perverse. Would it really be that complicated to simply give the 1.9 million people in the U.S. toiling away at a pathetic $5.15 an hour a leg-up without reaching into the cookie jar and handing businesses and trust fund babies more money to indulge in excess with?


According to Deborah Pryce of Ohio, the answer to the above question is a resounding, yes! “We're right in the middle of trying to put a package together that will provide relief to small businesses that raising the minimum wage would tend to hurt,'' said Pryce. Another arcane, baseless accusation that raising the minimum wage hurts small businesses, which the partisan-right continues to propagandized for their masters; money and businesses.


Ostensibly, they seem to suddenly want to help those Americans who haven’t had a pay raise in 10 years – while congress has given itself an average pay raise of over $35,000 per year, over the last ten years combined. Where was the wage increase for the poor while these plutocrats were in line for their self-appointed hand outs?


This latest capricious act by the republican leadership is nothing more than a cheap, blatant attempt to actually portray they care about the poor and underprivileged in an election year that clearly shows the American public has caught on to their charlatan act. It’s a vain attempt to diffuse another wedge issue in the up-coming, mid-term elections cloaked in free-for-all giveaways to the rich, while throwing a bone to the poor – just long enough to divert their attention while they steal another election.


Sorry, but not this time. The pungent stink of a dirty rat is all over this desperate attempt to distance the party from Bush’s sinking ship. We have had more than enough hand-outs to businesses and wealthy aristocrats. Its time for an uncompromising helping-hand to those who need it most without some malfeasant bill attachment to a very noble idea: lend a hand to those less fortunate than you and I!

# # #

Sources:

Columbus Dispatch; Republicans now want to raise minimum wage
Yahoo News; GOP makes conditions on wage increase

Thursday, July 27, 2006

CBS Poll Says World Doesn't Respect Bush!


60% In CBS/NY Times Poll Say President Not Respected By Foreign Leaders



Highlights of the CBS poll:

-Six in 10 say the president is not respected by foreign leaders.

-Mr. Bush's overall approval rating remains low — 37%.

-Fifty-seven percent of Americans said the war was going badly, including 27 percent who said it's going very badly.

-53 percent think Iraq will never become a stable democracy, up 10 points from last month.

-41 percent said the U.S. presence in Iraq is making the region less stable, nearly double the number in March.

-69 percent also said the U.S. presence in Iraq is hindering U.S. diplomatic efforts elsewhere in the Mideast.

-If the midterm elections for the House of Representatives were held today, 45 percent of registered voters said they would support the Democratic candidate, while 35 percent would support the Republican.

You do the math: Stay the Course (republicans) OR Take Back America (democrats)?

Choice seems pretty clear to me!

Source: CBS News Polls

Its a Mad, Mad, Mad World!


"Here is our new world of militarized greed, where America’s panic over lunatics with box-cutters has metastasized into a billion-dollar fear industry; where Republicans sucking on Super-sized Slurpies® are hunting dark-skinned voters to eliminate their rights; where James Baker’s fixer in alligator boots sets up the grab for Iraq’s oil on her way to the rodeo; where miners are suffocated by the same investment bankers who are siphoning off auto workers’ pensions."

An except from a review of Greg Palast's, ARMED MADHOUSE: Who’s afraid of Osama Wolf China floats, Bush Sinks;The Scheme to Steal ‘08,No Child’s Behind Left And Other Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War

Visit Armed Madhouse Central!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Bush and Company Playing for Keeps!


Frank J. Ranelli


As outlined by the NY Times today, the Bush regime has not been "slowed down" one bit by the recent Hamdan Supreme Court ruling. In fact, as outlined below, they are moving full steam ahead! The Bush administration is NOT "phased" or deterred by ANY decision by ANY court, mandate, order or even act of God!

Team Bush is playing for keeps and they MEAN it!

Look, people that steal elections, roll in the stench of obscene amounts of money obtained through war-for-profits manifestos disguised as exportation of democracy and believe they are on a "mission from God" do not go away quietly. They keep on doing EXACTLY as they were doing unless met with over-powering resistance -- something that is not in the forecast!

Here is just a snippet of the 32-page bill that Bush's team has concoted to act as an immediate counter-measure to the Supreme Court ruling,

Legislation drafted by the Bush administration setting out new rules on bringing terror detainees to trial would allow hearsay evidence to be introduced unless it was deemed "unreliable" and would permit defendants to be excluded from their own trials if necessary to protect national security, according to a copy of the proposal.

Did you catch that? Defendants could be excluded, from their own trial, "if necessary to protect national security." So much for getting your day in court!

Does anyone think that Nero or Hitler would have stepped down or began to obey even basic laws of humanity if handed a "court document" ordering them to do so? I am sure they would have ignored it, as history so conclusively proves, just as Bush has ignored every law that he has deemed in contrast to his interpretation of the Constitution!

Laws only work when they are not only abided by, but enforced! Since no one is enforcing the law, only rehashing new interpretations of the same 230 years old laws, Bush will continue with doing exactly what he has done from the beginning:

Ignore OUR Laws and/or make up his own that fits his inerrant view of himself.

This quote from Democrats.com is sadly true,

The "administration" has no intention of obeying the law because nobody has proven to them that they can make them do it. And until that's proven, they'll just say we're all just pre-wrong.

Talk is cheap and words are just that, words on paper unless action is taken. To date, I have not seen one solid piece of evidence, from either side of the aisle, to suggest that any meaningful action will be taken to put an end to Bush's imperial conquest.

Someone prove me wrong, but my take on this latest revelation from the Bush camp is that if and until articles of impeachment are introduced in the House, everything else has been mere window dressing to hide the ugly truth that resides inside the Whitehouse: That we have a despotic tyrant who does not, nor ever did, plan on obeying any laws that subvert his venal, perverse, imperialistic agenda.

# # #

Sources:
NY Times: White House Bill Proposes System to Try Detainees
Democrats.com: Hamdan not applicable to torture, spying, or... Hamdan.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Say NO to Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006!


***Insanity Alert! Action Required! ***


Frank J. Ranelli

Bush's favorite sycophant Senator, Ohio's own Mike Dewine, is attempting to pass legislation that would allow EVEN more illegal spying, without congressional oversight and "ex post facto" in Bush's already illegal NSA directed activities.

As Ohioans and Americans, we need to tell Mike Dewine that his "Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006" bill, that would allow the President to, "authorize a program of electronic surveillance without a court order for periods of up to 45 days" is unconstitutional, violates the 1978 FISA law and the Fourth Amendment.

Oppose Senate Bill S.2455 and tell Senator Mike Dewine of Ohio (R) that the government needs a court order and a warrant before it can tap your phone or read your emails!

# # #

Your personal comments are most effective, but here is some suggested text to copy and paste, if you prefer:

"As an Ohioan (or other State) I will not stand quietly for politicians who attempt to write laws that enable President Bush's unconstitutional acts to be "papered over" rather than confront him with oversight and protection of our civil liberties as United States citizens!

I oppose your S.2455 and the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006 and urge you to reconsider this bill in favor of responsible Congressional oversight and launch an investigation into President Bush's illegal NSA, warrantless spying on innocent American citizens!

The Fourth Amendment must be obeyed and Terrorism can be fought from within the letter of the laws of our land and does not require or demand that ANY President or legislator act ABOVE the law!"


Tell Congress to Vote NO on SRES 2455!
TAKE ACTION BY CLICKING HERE!

A New "Specterism": Congress to Sue Bush Over Signing Statements


Specter prepping bill to sue Bush

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
Commentary by FRANK J. RANELLI

"A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court.

"We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president's acts declared unconstitutional," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on the Senate floor.

Specter's announcement came the same day that an American Bar Association task force concluded that by attaching conditions to legislation, the president has sidestepped his constitutional duty to either sign a bill, veto it, or take no action.

Bush has issued at least 750 signing statements during his presidency, reserving the right to revise, interpret or disregard laws on national security and constitutional grounds."
# # #

SANITY CHECK:

As is customary for Specter, just enough "meat on the bones" to keep Bush's faux democratic government appearing to actually care about "checks and balances" and congressional oversight.

If Specter is resolute and serious about reigning in an imperial president gone wild, then why hasn't he signed Feingold’s Censure Resolution, S Res 398?

Although Specter can't initiate impeachment in the Senate, if he was genuine, he would openly call for Bush's impeachment, hold hearings in the Senate and subpoena the entire Bush cabal to testify before the Senate, under oath and then send his findings to the House Judiciary Committee for review and the subsequent formation of articles of impeachment against Bush, et al.

Specter even states that his aim is to have,

"The president's acts [be] declared unconstitutional."

Yet, we have seen this act over and over again. Specter Professes to take a stand against a despotic act by Bush, Specter feigns a bellicose attitude towards Bush’s unconstitutional act (insert favorite transgression here: ___________), Specter dupes the American public into surmising the Senate is doing its job of Constitutional checks and balances on the President’s highly suspect deed, Specter makes backroom deal with Whitehouse to Ex Post Facto Bush’s subversion of democracy into a “grandfathered” in law!

I like ABA president Michael Greco standpoint much better:

”That non-veto hamstrings Congress because Congress cannot respond to a signing statement. The practice is harming the separation of powers."

Although I think the word “harming” should be replaced with something a little stronger:

“Destroying”, “laying waste”, “nullifying” or how about “creating a constitutional crisis of epic and grave concern!”

FULL ARTICLE HERE:
Specter prepping bill to sue Bush

Thursday, July 20, 2006

America, a Hemorrhaging Democracy


As America bleeds, Bush continues to pour salt in an already cavernous wound that foretells a dim diagnosis for democracy.


FRANK J. RANELLI

In a recent article, entitled, “Bush has taken his role as ‘the decider’ beyond good government”, Washington Post writer, David Broder, thinks Bush has taken his self-appointed position as ‘the decider’ beyond just “good government.” (Gee, Mr. Broder thanks for that salacious piece of information.) While at first glance Broder’s article appears to at least start to infuse some needed opposition and dissent into the blood stream of the press, instead Broder only glosses over the cavernous wound Bush inflicted on our country with a mercurochrome-like brush stroke to temporarily alleviate the pain and mask the monstrous bleeding.


The heart of his editorial piece is centered on Rep. Barney Frank’s (of Massachusetts) view of the Bush presidency and a recent speech Frank’s gave that Broder mistook as grounds to marginalize the liberal blogs and the netroots community. Broder also sadly uses Frank’s speech to insinuate that those of us accusing Bush of “subverting American Democracy” lack any credibility and need a reality check to see that, “This [country] remains, in the sixth year of the Bush presidency, a very free country."


While Broder flirts back and forth with actually saying Bush violated a number of laws and the Constitution, he digresses each time into ramblings of checks and balances and abandonment of congressional oversight. Acting like an awkward 15 year-old school boy, who wants to ask a beautiful girl to the big dance, he just can’t bring himself to say what he thinks – that Bush is a criminal, a war monger, a despot and that congress is merely a drawn curtain that vainly attempts to hide the anguish and wails coming from everywhere America. As more of our right to pursue happiness is siphoned off into a blood coffer labeled for transfusion into the veins of Corporate Welfare America, Bush toadies grow fatter while the faces of the middle class grow pale and cold.


Feeling that it was time for a second opinion, I wrote Broder and explained, while Rep. Frank may have distanced himself from some of the leftist blogs – his intimation that blogs and the left are trivial or on the fringe edge is pure misinformation to his readers. The current netroots community represents tens of millions of people and has an ever increasing voice and influence in American politics. The main stream media is not doing its job of accurate, complete and fair reporting, so the netroots reports on what everyone really needs to know or the MSM thinks, but is often too afraid or timid to say for fear of being labeled unpatriotic or un-American by the demagogues of Bush’s faux democracy.


Frank's assessment that Bush's 750 signing statements “[are] in effect a way for the president to ignore or dismiss sections of laws passed by Congress which he finds objectionable", are more than a simple slap in the face to Congress and the citizens it is intended to represent, they are expressly forbidden by the Constitution. Article I, Section 7, Clause 3; clearly states that the president must either sign a bill EXACTLY as it is written or he may veto it. The president may not append, redact or modify a bill with a signing statement. This, in and of itself, Bush's irreverence for ignoring the laws, or creating his own version with signing statements, violates his oath of office and is an impeachable offense.


Contrary to the position of Broder’s article that seems to take up along with Mr. Frank's speech, is that what Bush has done by attaching signing statements to bills, using the military to wage a war of aggression, violating the 1978 FISA law and ordering illegal spying on US citizens, data mining phone and bank records, condoning torture, permitting extraordinary rendition and refusing to bend to the will of over 70 percent of the country is the very definition of an authoritarian or despot!


Congress has abdicated most of its oversight responsibility and what little they do engage in, they pander to Bush's wishes, rather than honoring their constitutional duties by introducing bona fide checks and balances that should have reigned in an imperial presidential campaign long ago. By now, a responsible congress would have introduced articles of impeachment, voted on them and passed the indictment on to the Senate for trial.


I found that Broder’s column, while some points are valid about Bush overstepping his bounds, does little to paint a clear and complete picture of the real transgressions and infringements against this nation Bush has perpetrated and does what most other political writers in the MSM do; they sanitize the subject matter at hand, then duck behind a flag for cover.


We may be a "a very free country" at this moment, but the suppression of civil rights, violation of constitutional amendments, such as the Fourth amendment, lying to congress about reasons to take a nation to war and until a newspaper article "outed" Bush, lying repeatedly about the warrantless NSA spying program, shameless “cozying up” to the religious right that ignores separation of church and state and the constant propaganda use of 9/11 to incite fear, hatred and xenophobia is nothing short of a quick slide into tyranny. As one republican congressman, Ron Paul of Texas referred to our present governmental methods and system as a period of "soft fascism".


Taken as an omnibus of red flag indicators, the diagnosis for our democracy begins to look more fatal than fateful and a rather precipitous fall into the abyss of theocracy, despotism and loss of true liberty is about to ensue if the hemorrhaging is not stopped immediately.

# # #

Sources:
http://www.dispatch.com/editorials-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/20/20060720-A19-02.html

Democracy in Crisis - An Exclusive BRAD BLOG Interview with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.


Quotes from exclusive interview with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"The Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, has been using old-fashioned, Jim Crow, apartheid-type maneuvers to steal the last two national elections."– Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"...that the large amount of support for the President, and for the people that did vote for the President, that large numbers of them would not have done so, had they known the truth about his policies, and his record."
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (emphasis added)

Read this exclusive interview over at the BRAD BLOG:
Democracy in Crisis

# # #

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Bush/Cheney White House has created a Nixon "imperial presidency" on steroids


Frank J. Ranelli


John W. Dean, former Nixon White House counsel, explains why today's contemporary conservatives would make Ronald Reagan turn over in his grave. Dean says that, "today's so-called conservatives are quite radical", and "antithetical to bedrock conservative fundamentals."

The complete article, (link found below) is interesting, yet chilling. Dean's theory that today's contemporary conservatives, known as neocons, are really "enemies of freedom, antidemocratic, antiequality, highly prejudiced, mean-spirited, power hungry, Machiavellian and amoral", appears to be more factual than just theoretical.

The most glaring excerpt of Dean's article might be this:

"There is nothing conservative about preemptive wars or disregarding international law by condoning torture. Abandoning fiscal responsibility is now standard operating procedure. Bible-thumping, finger-pointing, tongue-lashing attacks on homosexuals are not found in Russell Krik's classic conservative canons, nor in James Burham's guides to conservative governing. Conservatives in the tradition of former senator Barry Goldwater and President Ronald Reagan believed in ``conserving" this planet, not relaxing environmental laws to make life easier for big business. And neither man would have considered employing Christian evangelical criteria in federal programs, ranging from restricting stem cell research to fighting AIDs through abstinence."

When you have a lifelong conservative republican, John Dean, who spent time in jail for his complicit entanglement with the Nixon debacle, raising red flags and calling what's left of his party, "enemies of freedom", I think its time to push the panic button, hold the press and starting yelling, "Huston, we have a problem!"

# # #

Thanks to Common Dreams and John W. Dean.

The full article may be read here:
Triumph of the Authoritarians

"Jesus Freak" Fruitcake Quote of the Day!

In response to the Columbus Dispatch's "Hot Issue" of the day,
"Do you support using federal funds to pay for embryonic stem-cell research?"

This is what one reader (nut) wrote:

"God has a reason for those who have certain diseases and He does not owe us an explanation. He is the creator and the healer. Too often we as a society want to take the position of God. Remember,no matter what you believe, ALL WILL BOW, ALL WILL CONFESS, THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD."

I don't know about you, but it is sure "comforting" to me that GOD doles out diseases to certain people and no explanation is needed! What a benevolent creator we all have! (Tongue firmly planted in cheek.)

Well, using this reader's logic, I guess God had his reason for giving me a working brain to think with and scrutinize such rubbish and gave this "chowder head" not much in the way of working brain cells.

Maybe Stem Cell Research will show that implanting of embryonic cells into regions of the brain of those "less-gifted" in the area of critical thinking for themselves will yield miraculous results in improving their ability to create an informed, logical opinion rather than relying on 2,000 year old fables!

Sane people can only hope for such advancements!

SOURCE: The Hot Issue: Do you support using federal funds to pay for embryonic stem-cell research?

Bush's First Veto....Not Really.


Frank J. Ranelli


After both the House and the Senate approved a bill to fund stem cell research, Bush now plans to wield his first veto. Let’s chew on this for a moment. Bush wants to veto a bill that would benefits millions, was approved by both houses of Congress and supported by over 70% of America. The only people not supporting this bill are the evangelical fundamentalists (also known as arcane, dogmatic purveyors of hate and intolerance) and the pure libertarians (A.K.A. anarchists) who oppose anything the government does. Then why is Bush going to veto this bill? Two simple reasons:

1. Bush’s evangelical fundamentalist base insists on it.
2. There is no way for Exxon/Mobile to make money off of it!


Then we have this incredible piece of audacious, shameless mendacity from Tony Snow:

“That he [Bush] doesn't want human life destroyed …The simple answer is he [Bush] thinks murder is wrong.”


WOW! Let’s review here:

Pretty hard to believe for a guy who spent less than a half-an-hour reviewing death sentence cases as governor of Texas, before these people were “legally” murdered! No words can describe the hypocrisy of this logic when applied to the current conflict in Iraq where nearly 2600 American’s are dead and over 100,000 innocent civilians are dead.

Every day someone dies in Iraq, a failed foreign policy that is being waged illegally, without just-cause and based on purely fabricated, cherry-picked intelligence, is blood on Bush’s hands and murder!

Now let’s have a reality check here and examine the scientific facts about stem cells:

First, stems cells are NOT human beings! It’s not a baby, it’s not a fetus --it’s a cluster of about 150 cells, that’s it. These are also cells that are targeted to be discarded, in other words, medical waste or garbage! Religious nuts need to get over this “baby murder” thing – its pure specious ranting that is scientifically not true.

If you really want to stop murder, insist Bush bring home all our troops and stop murdering civilians in Iraq! Tell Rumsfeld to close Gitmo and stop torturing people to death; people that are only suspects and have not been found or proven guilty of anything.

Shunning of science and intellectualism is one of the tell-tale signs of fascism, folks!


See, Bush has really vetoed at least 750 other bills by appending a "signing statement" to them, declaring his executive power grants him the authority to execute the laws as he sees fit (or ignore them entirely) not as they were written by the legislative branch -- Congress, those pesky little law makers!

This veto is merely a dog and pony show to energies the fanatical fundies in an election year that promises radical change in Congress and a potential end to Bush's rubber-stamp toadies.

I think it’s time that Congress give Bush a "taste of his own medicine" and affix a “signing statement “of their own declaring:

“They [Congress] reserve the right to ignore the veto of the president, and will disseminate funds in accordance with the will of the people and Bush’s veto violates the Congress’ constitutional authority to, Promote the Progress of Science.” (Article I, Section 8; Clause 3)

Write your Congressman or Senator and ask them to add the signing statement above to HR 810! Hey, The Queensbury Rules went out the window when Bush took office!

Monday, July 17, 2006

NY Times Gets It Right About Bush

"Five years after Sept. 11, we can see now, [it] had far less to do with fighting Osama bin Laden than with expanding presidential power."

Frank J. Ranelli


From the The Guantánamo Bay Prison, to Eavesdropping on Americans, this NY Times editorial covers the real reasons Bush and Cheney were so "excited" over 9/11 -- to expand executive power, curtain civil liberties and reduce Congress to a "suggestion box" that they (team Bush) would "read through" for helpful hints from time to time.

Problem is, this editorial is buried on some back page and not the front page headline on every newspaper across the country.

In my home state of Ohio, I am mortified at how many people know little of Bush's transgressions or who the PNAC is or how many [people] still, to this day, think Iraq had something to do with the Taliban and Bin Laden.

The Republicans are not good, smart or better than the current crop of Democrats. Americans, for the most part, are apathetic, ignorant and hide behind flags and Bibles, enabling the hyenas of the neocons who merely “crunch on the bones” of Americas most vulnerable prey: ill-informed or under-informed, everyday people.

The 'Soccer Moms' and 'NASCAR Dads' of this country facilitate dim-witted, hollow Republican mantras like "cut and Run" and "The Big Tent" party by parroting these insincere ideologies without a shred of due diligence.

Its time we pushed back! We need our own set of "catchy slogans" and sway some of that A.D.D.-ridden public consent over to the Democratic side.

A few thoughts:

Love America, Oppose Bush, End War!

Push Bush Back!

Support OUR Constitution, NOT Bush's war!

The War on Terror is Really a Failed Foreign Policy!


Source: NY Times: The Real Agenda

Bush Orwellian Watch!

" I Believe the Role of the Military is to Fight and Win War and Therefore Prevent War from Happening in the First Place."
- George W. Bush

Labels:

Sound Familiar??

Fascism: Concentrated private control of wealth, control of information, massive investment/manufacture of arms and military equipment, suppression of labor movements.

Sound familiar??

Source: Fascism Stickers Online

Summing Up Why Cowboy Bravado Doesn't Work In World Affairs

Michael Signer for Democracy Journal sums it up this way,

"Think of the quarterback of a football team. More celebrated than his teammates, he leads by his own example of excellence in the sport and is rewarded with the willing followership of his teammates. They follow, but they are woven with him into the fabric of the team. He cannot win without them, and he must constantly earn their help through admiration and respect, rather than awe and fear. When he succeeds, he collects more garlands (admiration, money, authority) than they do. He leads by example, but it’s the team that wins the game, not the quarterback. And he grows stronger, through the collective success of others."

Right now Bush is the Terrell Owens of politics; selfish, brazen, a loaner and insisting his way is the only way. That type of mindset has NEVER won a single championship anywhere in any sport. Most professional sports teams when "infected" with mercurial and perpetual bad-behaving athletes do what America needs to do to George Bush -- they cut him from the team!

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Christian Right now demonizes Yoga!

Frank J. Ranelli


Yes, you read the headline correct. The Christian Right fundamentalists are taking their dogmatic, arcane rhetoric to a whole new level: attacking yoga! I will say it again: attacking yoga.

Yes, the same lunatic fringe that sniffed out for "all you sinner outs there", that as, Jerry Falwell suggested, "...the bag-carrying purple Teletubby, Tinky Winky, was promoting a gay lifestyle to children."

These same charlatans have decided that yoga is sinful and "is known to cause psychological and emotional problems in some people.” Insidious as well, they suggest, is its ties to, "Eastern spiritual practices."

Wow, nothing like a good old fashion dose of narrow-minded bigotry and prejudice aimed at an entire continent! Christian author, Dave Hunt, contends that "yoga is a spiritually dangerous practice designed to expose people to demonic influences." He furthers this embarrassing, psychotic journey into pure self-pontification, by stating,

"If you want to benefit yourself physically, then do exercises that were designed for that. Do not get into things that were designed for self-realization . . . If you want to do some exercises, please don’t call it yoga, because as soon as you do, you’ve put a certain connotation on it."


Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D, counters with this critical thinking exposure of why Mr. Hunt may not want you to practice yoga and self realize,

"Could it be that if people achieve self-realization they will recognize the sinister mind-control techniques of “ministries” such as The Berean Call? Could it be that they would also realize that if they develop a “personal relationship with God,” there is no need for ministries? The clergy would become little more than “middlemen” who, like all middlemen, leech off others for their own self-aggrandizement. In fact, the clergy would become “demonic influences” interrupting, twisting and poisoning one’s personal relationship with Divinity for their own power and profit."


This escalates paranoia to a whole new level for the ilk of the Christian Right. First our kids are going to lead a gay life style by watching purple puppets on TV and now adults can't practice relaxation and spiritual exploration.

After all, bilking senior citizens out of their social security money through blatant televangelist pandering, Pat Robertson suggesting we assassinate the elected leader of Venezuela or Catholic priests drowning in an alcoholic stupor and "bending little Jimmy" over the alter for some “injection of religious” is a much more noble way to be Christian!

# # #

LINKS: Beware the Yoga Demon!

When hurting or killing people is the goal of religious fanatics

“Organized religion and the self-serving, self-righteous dogma it inevitably produces may be the worst ideas humanity has ever concocted." -Irish novelist James Joyce


On July 5, SouthBendTribune.com carried a story by Associated Press writer David Eggert. The headline said it all: “Conservative group sues MSU for offering health insurance to partners of homosexual workers.”

The American Family Association of Michigan filed a lawsuit on July 5 “to stop Michigan State University from offering health insurance to the partners of gay workers.” According to the AP article, the Michigan affiliate of Don Wildmon’s American Family Association hopes “to get a ruling setting a precedent that would block domestic partner benefits at other state universities.”

Why? The only answer seems to be to demean, denigrate, disenfranchise, and hurt gay and lesbian Americans and their families as much as possible and in any way possible.

Don Wildmon’s American Family Association is well known for its anti-gay boycotts meant to hurt businesses -- and the families they support -- if they treat all their employees equally and/or advocate civil equality for all Americans...

Source: Online Journal

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Rant of the Day!

The mindset and observations of a Bush follower:

"Buy a flag made in China and stick it on your SUV and then force everyone to say how wonderful you are. Never mind that the flag was made by the slave labor of children, your SUV is killing the environment and children in Iraq, and that you are really a selfish pathetic attention seeking asshole. Even scarier yet is I can see these idiots charging a 99 cent flag on a credit card.

Then of course [there] are the annoying fire crackers which will be left all over the place along with beer bottles, etc. Idiot America can't even clean up after themselves. Pathetic.

Oh and here is another reason that the 4th of July has been highjacked. The 4th of July is about revolutions, not mindless patriotism. It is about overthrowing an oppressive government, not mindlessly supporting it.

There is nothing left about America to celebrate. The corporate terrorists have taken our freedom, money, morals, etc. Idiot America is running around drivng SUV's, charging away on credit cards, and supporting the government that seeks to take away there rights."


Source: Corporate Terrorist Day Rant

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Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian, Otherwise Known as a heretic (and And a self righteous, haughty, arrogant, dogmatic hypocrite)!

Frank J. Ranelli


10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune (trinity) God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

...and the number ONE reason is:


1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

# # #

Source:
democrats.com

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Congress never authorized the Bush Administration to ignore existing laws

July 12, 2006

Open Letter to Congress:

Frank J. Ranelli


In light of the latest Supreme Court ruling, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld , we now have a unified and law-binding message to the Bush administration, "Congress never authorized the Bush Administration to ignore existing laws and treaties in pursuing those responsible for the 9-11 attacks."

If this country has ever had a President who unmistakably violated his oath of office and warrants impeachment and removal, it’s George W. Bush!

Stop working for the Republican spin machine, big business, special interest groups and start representing the American people-- this is, after all your job description and sworn duty!

How many PROVEN lies must Bush brazenly tell to the American public? How many soldiers must dies in a war of aggression brought on through intelligence manipulation and playing on the sentiments of ordinary citizens to create a climate of fear? How low must Bush's approval rating fall before the will of the people in our once democratic government act? How many transgressions against the Constitution must Bush violate before Congress performs its duty of oversight and checks and balances? How many more signing statements will he be allowed to attach to congressionally approved laws declaring he will ignore them or construe them as he sees fit?

Finally, stop telling me about safety and the war on terror! Terror is a tactic, not a country! To me, fighting the war on terror with the military is akin to fighting the war on drugs with the military. Far more people die of drug-related deaths every year than terrorist, yet the armed forces aren't rolling down the streets in tanks looking for drug dealers and junkies.

I am tired of the fear-mongering and scare tactics to control and subjugate the American people. The propaganda rhetoric is worn thin and its transparency now gives us a firm view of Bush's true desire of hegemony and the ruination of ordinary, everyday citizens through oppressive, predatory capitalism at the expense of the poor and less fortunate! This war has little to do with national defense. Bush’s failed foreign policy in the Middle-East, which you keep erroneously calling “the war on terror”, exists solely for profit, greed and repression along with a sick desire to extend the powers of the executive branch.

A special prosecutor and articles of impeachment are the ONLY acceptable methods of redress this Congress can undertake to begin to heal the near fatal, injurious actions this president has caused.

I urge you to stop playing partisan politics, being a Bush toady and represent the clear and unanimous will of the American people; removal of a president who has betrayed the citizens of this country, trampled the Constitution and ignored the will of the people far too long.

Justice Department Lawyer To Congress: ‘The President Is Always Right’

The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday heard testimony from Steven Bradbury, head of the Justice Department’s office of legal counsel. When questioned by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on whether the President’s interpretation of the Hamdan case was right or wrong, Bradbury replied, “The President is always right.”


Really, Bush is always right?!

Then explain this:

Bush: 'Bring 'em on' was big mistake

US President George W. Bush admitted...that his bellicose "bring 'em on" taunt to Iraqi insurgents was a big mistake.


Bush himself, goes on to add,

...that remark was "kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong message to people."

"I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner, you know. "Wanted, dead or alive"; that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted," he said.

He also cited the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal as "the biggest mistake that's happened so far, at least from our country's involvement in Iraq ... We've been paying for that for a long period of time," he said (emphasis added)


OR, how about this little nugget:

"It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong,” Bush said


I guess “his majesty “ does make mistakes and is NOT always right, after all.

Somebody nedd to let Mr. Bradbury know that, yes, his boss' shi*t does stink, as well as Bradbury's nose; from being to far up bush's behind!

# # #

Sources:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/12/president-always-right

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2005/Bush-Intelligence-Wrong15dec05.html

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-05/26/content_600998.html

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Bush's Orwellian Dream for Our Kids!

Frank J. Ranelli


If team Bush gets their way, this is how the impressionable minds of our youth will be shaped (brainwashed.)

"Its OKAY... shows teenagers blindly accepting their fate under our current hypocritical and deadly regime"





"If beings liberal means critical thinking and informed dissent instead of blind obediance and ignorant nationalism, then I am all for it!"

Quote of the Day!

Frank J. Ranelli


"I won't teach science in your church, if you won't preach religion in my government!"

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Reading, Religion and Comprehension

Frank J. Ranelli


I am not a religious guy, but I can read the Bible. And it's pretty damn clear that anyone who argues for the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the sick and the weak isn't just morally repugnant, they're at odds with the words of Jesus Christ himself.

"If I have two religious folks making an argument before me, and one tries to persuade me that bombing, torture, theocracy, corporate welfare, and secret prisons are OK based on their interpretation of their sacred book[s], and the other advises feeding the poor, giving a leg up to our fellow man, healing the sick, and treating all with equality, I'm going to make my decision on who to support based on the strength of their arguments, the track record of their leaders, and the consequences of failure or error. And let me tell you, with George Bush and the neocons in power, that decision is a lock on all three counts."

Friday, July 07, 2006

Homeless Vets Are Now "Worthless Bums", Thanks to Bush!



From my good friend CMKAY, this sums it up in a nut shell:

As Brent Budowsky points out so brilliantly, "The Fourth of July has ended, the fireworks are over, the bands have gone home, the politicians have finished their campaign rounds, the tragedy of homeless American veterans remains unconscionably with us today...."

Read the entire article here, at www.democrats.com:

The Cartoonist With No Name...

Or as the Queen Mum Bush would say,

"Why should I ruin my beautiful mind?"

Nicely done, Bushies, Nicely Done!

The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

Take a look at the list below, by Dr. Lawrence Britt.

"[He]has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each."

Read them carefully and it will become instantly clear this is not only the Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism, but the Bush regime's manifesto and agenda. (An agenda they appear to accomplishing, to date, quite nicely.)

Yes, he (Bush) Is America's Hitler and IT can happen here! It has already begun!

Read below and feel your jaw drop!

The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Done reading or is your head still spinning? Still think that Bush is protecting you from would-be terrorist than he actually created? Still think Bush is just another Republican/Conservative trying to save you some extra cash with tax breaks? Still think that Bush is an average-Joe that people identify with and like his self-deprecating style? Still think giving up civil liberties because you have "nothing to hide" IS A GOOD IDEA? Still think Bush has your interests in mind or that being patriotic is unwavering loyalty to a dictator that lied to you on a monstrous level?

If you answered yes to any of the above, read it again and again till this sinks in: Bush is a fascist totalitarian dictator who used fear, mass lies and demagoguery to suppress your will, steal your money, start a war and end democracy to further his own self-serving greed and perverse goals.

LOVE AMERICA, OPPOSE BUSH, END WAR!

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Quote of the Day!

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt

On this day of celebration of independence from tyranny, all American's must reflect on the tyranny and oppression we are all facing today. Silence almost always leads to consent and our government must be served notice that we are not silent. That we do not consent to illegal wars of aggression, the shredding of the Constitution and the systematic usurping of our rights and freedoms. Ignore your rights and your freedom and both will surely be taken away!

If we are to continue as a Nation, we must stop this idiotic notion that one must support the president and his illegal war, without dissent, and allow our true voices to be heard. A voice that categorically states that one does NOT have to like or even agree with Bush or his illegal war in order to love America. That dissent is the highest form of Patriotism when confronted with the smothering burden of tyranny and a government that no longer serves the common good of the people it was elected to represent.

LOVE AMERICA, OPPOSE BUSH, END TYRANNY!

-Frank J. Ranelli

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Monday, July 03, 2006

The 15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism, 2001-?

Jonathan Westminster paints an all too familiar scenario about the "coming of age" of Fascism in America in his aptly titled book: The 15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism.

The frightening part, as reviewer, Michael Carmichael, points out, is this book was written in 1996! Westminster's prognostic view of the 21st century in America as a fascist state is sadly proving far more fact than fiction and corroborates present day reality is closer to a totalitarianism state than being specious fantasy concocted by democrats, liberals and left-wing blogs.

Carmichael’s abbreviated list of events, which Jonathan Westminster foretells with startling accuracy, can only be described as “stunningly terrifying!” Many of these events have already unfolded under the Bush Regime and more of them are illuminated and brought to fruition each and every day.

Read an excerpt of Michael Carmichael’s review of “The 15% Solution below”. Then, in the interest of the continuation of genuine democracy, may we all plead that the culmination of the nefarious actions of the Bush administration is the zenith, and not merely the beginning, of a far more ominous and disturbing future for America.

Review excerpt by, Michael Carmichael

"The merger of the Republican party with the right-wing religious evangelism of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell; the supreme exaltation of the exeuctive branch of government initiated by Nixon, Reagan and Bush; the congressional acquiescence in extraordinary powers to the presidency; the 'voluntary' censorship of the press; the suspension of civil rights; the retraction of the fourth amendment; the isolation from constitutional protection for targeted segments of society; the systematic insinuation of civilians into domestic espionage; the use of torture in prisons; the perversion of the concept of American patriotism to mean nothing more than political support for the president; the reduction of government to military and police operations; the implementation of vast secret police forces; engagement in ill-defined foreign wars; tax cuts for the rich; dissolution of domestic social programmes; merger of state and christian church; deletion of women's rights to terminate pregnancies; legalisation of marital rape, incest and domestic violence; scientific confirmation of the intellecutal inferiority of racial groups; ; racial discrimination in law enforcement and criminal justice; repeal of environmental protection laws and the dissolution of the EPA; large scale timber felling and mineral expoitation in national parks by private corporations; the political implosion of the Democratic Party - Sound familiar? If so, then imagine that somewhere in America , a single solitary visionary at work alone in his garret produced a novel based on the scenario above. Now imagine the date: 1996. Jonathan Westminster has done precisely that...."

REVIEW LINK:
The truth is stranger than fiction, A brief review of The 15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism. - Michael Carmichael

BUY AND READ THE BOOK HERE:
The 15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism. By, Jonathan Westminster