right wing new york times

Right Wing NY Times
holy shit thats funny. I particularly like the bit about Salt Lake city, probably cause I think the term fisting is hilarious, and it reminds me of an old friend... which sounds dirty but actually he just liked writing Fisting in odd locations. good times good times....

tippin tha hat to the sister of Shakespear.

new toy/tool

nah, its a toy. but its a toy that I'm using to write this post with right now. yeah its a cell phone pda sorta thing, or a wee lil computer with a phone in there. which is fairly acurate as its not a great phone, not bad but not great for the money but its a pretty good pda and a decent phone and I plan to use it as an mp3 player so its a its a decent attempt at several devices. I'm broke so I thought about it for a while before buying it and it seemed like the best option for the money. hope its all its cracked up to be, if not I got 30 days to decide.

Randy Kuhl

GOP auction house; Randy Kuhl
doesnt paint a very pretty picture, then again its the DCCC so I wasnt expecting kind words for the repulican incumbent.

The Peoples Revolution Is Gonna Be a Podcast

-- NOFX
"The Marxist Brothers"
from Never Trust a Hippy

Art of the Possible

Political Debate in the Finger Lakes Region
This is my new foray. Theres a couple of others in my district which have started with the idea of trying to educate the public about progressive ideas. I beleive most of this nation would agree with the progressive ideals if they were given and honest look at them. With the help of others I hope to revitalize the liberals in this community. The town I live in is a pretty depressed area, the mean income is around $27,000 and over half the children are born on medicaid (or medicare I always forget which is which) and is 82% white. Now personally if I was a broke white person in Elmira, oh wait I am a broke white person in elmira, then I would have a hard time voting for someone who shot down a minimum wage increase on the same day that they gave themselves a raise to make up for inflation. Because you can't let the buying power get stagnent. I simply want to know why poor white people vote republican? Or at this point why anyone but the religious right would vote for a republican. So please come and check out my new site, let me know what you think and if your from upstate NY then plz plz check it out, if you want you could probably become a writer for it too.

Pentagon Deception of 9/11 Commission?

WoPo; 9/11 panel suspects deception by pentagon
I guess that would be a big deal if the pentagon was caught lying about the events of 9/11 or to say it another way Holy Shit! Can you imagine if the commission had turned over evidence to the justice department for prosecution? I'm not much of one for conspiricys but damn this would be big.

"I was shocked at how different the truth was from the way it was described,"
John Farmer, a former New Jersey attorney general who led the staff inquiry into
events on Sept. 11, said in a recent interview. "The tapes told a radically
different story from what had been told to us and the public for two years. . .
. This is not spin. This is not true."

Thats what I would call an important issue. But what do I know, Ive never mislead the nation for years at a time so I really can't judge others....

Preemtiveslackification Warning

Ok I might not be blogging with much regularity soon, I need more fiber. I have been asked to help with a cool project, Ill let you know more as it gets up and rolling. Oh and its blog related so it'll still be fun.

a fantasy about real leadership....

Common Dreams

Good shit from Common Dreams, its a whole thing about how if you piss off the enemy then they are going to be that much more willing to lay down their lives in order to kill you. Take Al Capone or any of the other gangsters of that era, they were ruthless men who killed anyone who crossed them. They were judge jury and executioners, and you were not innocent untill proven guilty, but many people in their neghborhoods still liked them because they would help people in need. They would do little things to help out the common folks, thats what is now called winning the hearts and minds. These were gangsters that were loved by their communities, how did they understand this concept and yet our government gets it so so wrong.

how much does a rescue cost?

LA Times

The US will save those americans trying to leave Lebanon, just so long as they agree to pay the government back for the help. so deffinatly file this one under "WTF?" since when do we charge people for a rescue? I dont remember seeing a guy filling out forms as the helicopter evatuated people out of Siagon. If this was reversed and we needed to evacuate americans from Israel, would we charge them?

Where were they?

AntiWar.com
The Israeli soldiers that were captured, were they in Israel like our media says, or in southern lebanon as some sources are reporting? This is not a minr issue, if the israelis really were on a commando mission into southern lebanon as these sources say then lebanon had every right to deffend itself, including taking the attacking soldiers hostage. And as soon as our soldiers or our allies soldiers become detained then I immediately wonder if they will be tortured, had this been five years ago I would have figured it was possible but not very likely, today after all of our world famous torturing I now assume they will be tortured even though both sides know that they will get nothing usefull out of the ordeal, its just to make a point. So in the great question of who is the terrorist in this whole ordeal? The answer is obvious, both sides are commiting acts of terror against civilians, but that does not mean that everyone is a terrorist. Both governments are terrorists, which of course means that our donating (i think it was) 4 billion dollars to israel would probably make us the largest single terrorist financer in the world.

simplest argument is often the best

Slacktivist; Your Not Allowed to Kill Civilians

It's been awhile so it seems again it's time for a helpful reminder that noncombatant immunity isn't just a good idea, it's the law.
In other words: You're not allowed to kill civilians.
Killing civilians is against the law. Killing civilians makes you a criminal.
Yes, but ...
No buts about it. You're not allowed to kill civilians.
And, also: You're not allowed to kill civilians.

So simple and straight forward, how can you argue with it?

Thank you Slacktivist.

NOFX

NOFX is probably my favorite band, and they have two new albums out and I finally got to hear them. One's a LP the others an Ep or a CD and a Single for the kids. the CD is Wolves in Wolves Clothing and the EP is Never Trust a Hippy and holy shit both are awsome. I made myself a copy that included both in one and I haven't been able to turn it off since, although some songs I have to quickly turn the volume down, I am in an office after all. I think my favorite is "Your Wrong", off "Never Trust a Hippy". Its a slow simple acustic guitar type song which normally I hate but when a punk band does a slow acustic song then listen up cause they probably have something to say, and this is no exception just read the Lyrics here.

You're wrong about virtues of Christianity
And you're wrong if you agree with Sean Hannity
If you think that pride is about nationality, you're wrong

You're wrong when you imprison people turning tricks
And you're wrong about trickle down economics
If you think that punk rock doesn't mix with politics, you're wrong

You're wrong for hating queers and eating steers
If you kill for the thrill of the hunt
You're wrong 'bout wearing fur and not hating Ann Coulter
Cause she's a cunted cunt

You're wrong if you celebrate Columbus Day
And You're wrong if you think there will be a Judgement Day
If you're a charter member of the NRA, you're wrong

You're wrong if you support capital punishment
And you're wrong if you don't question your government
If you think her reproductive rights are inconsequent, you're wrong

You're wrong fighting Jihad, your blind faith in God
Your religions are all flawed,
You're wrong about drug use, when its not abuse
I hope you never reproduce

You're getting high on the downlow
A victim of Cointelpro
You're wrong and will probably never know

Thats some good shit right there, and if it wasnt for the cunting cunt line I would play this far louder than is a good idea right at work. sure there are a few anti-religion lines but oh well I can defend my atheism just fine. And the start about virtues of christianity doesnt necissarily mean that there are no virtues of chirstianity it just means that you have them wrong. unlike the last song on that EP called "I'm Going to Hell for This One" or more to the politcal end instead of the religion there is "USA-holes" from "wolves" the middle of that one is great.

We see the iceberg from 15 miles away
The captain orders the ship to "stay the course"
"Full speed ahead" shouts the accurst
The next thing we heard was, "rich women and children first"
The ship is listing, the captain's placing blame on the iceberg
"That berg attacked us, I am declaring war on the Arctic"
Who could ever have predicted the greatest ship could so easily sink (duh)

Subtle? no. But thats why I love 'em. in the past they have had a few political songs and a few serious songs but plenty of just goofy fun shit. Oh and these guys call theres LPs and EPs becasue they are all available on vinyl and there first album was in '84 I think, and they had been around a little bit at that point so these aren't young kids. I think Fat Mike mentions being 39 in one of the songs
so any way listen to their music I think you'll like it. I suppose that depends on what kind of music your into. but if you like fast high energy music with a meseage that can usualy be understood then I think you'll like 'em.

Chicago wants living wages

Shakespeares Sister
Chicago has passed a bill requiring all Big Box retailers to pay its employees at least $10 an hour plus $3 an hour worth of benefits. the rule is that if the building is larger than 90,000 sq ft and is part of a billion dollar + company than the have to abide by this rule. sounds perfect although I see 89,000 sq ft buildings being built.....

Deffinatly a great first step towards living wages for employees.

Jason Cooper

The Progressive: War Vet's Mother
This is the story of a mother who has been flying her flag upside down as a distress sign, because our vets are in distress. They are coming home with problems both physical and mental and are not being treated appropriately. There are many stories of the VA hospitals both good and bad for the physical wounds, it is the mental scars that are far more difficult to deal with. First off these are soldiers they are not going to want to admit that they have a problem, especially not a problem that doesn't involve cool looking scars to show their friends. That's not mend as an insult to soldiers that simply saying that I think a lot of men, myself included don't want to get help for a mental problem because it is mental we think its something that can be worked out alone, and I am going to assume that soldiers feel this way to, and many of them probably feel even more included to refuse help. This particular soldier realized they had a problem but did not want to go to the VA because the last time he was there, for an injured wrist, he was turned away because they were full. This soldier was in pain, and not the kind that they give vicodin for. This young man who was about a year younger than myself saw things that I don't even want to try to imagine. There are some images that simply cannot be removed from memory. And when he got home to his friends they asked if he shot anyone. That was the wrong question. It’s difficult to try to fit in while in a strange environment but it is altogether different when one feels like an outsider while in familiar territory. To be a stranger in your own home must be a terrible feeling. This young man obviously felt that way as only 4 months after getting home in high spirits he hung himself. I cannot even begin to understand what this family is going through but I give them my deepest sympathy. I had a cousin who took his own life when I was young. It was the first time I had ever experienced death and I think of him often, despite having limited memories of him. Suicide tears at the heart of a family, they can never be quite the same after that, and when it was a soldier returning from an illegal war then it should truly tear at the heart and soul of this nation.

A big part of the article is about the upside down flag, which seems like a very fitting response to this tragedy. It is a call for help, an upside down flag is an international distress symbol and this family and this country are deeply distressed.

There is nothing I can say to this family that would feel appropriate, there is no condolences for this. All I can say is that I’m sorry.

the hypothetical has occured

Penn Live; rape victim denied morning-after pill
this is the exact senario that we have cited as to why it is not a pharmasists job to decide who gets treatment. A doctor perscribed the drugs you hand them out. I dont give a fuck what you think about the matter. If a scientologist said they couldn't give out lithium because he doesnt believe that mental illnesses are real, then that ass hole needs to find a new job and should be held partially liable if that person hurts someone because they couldnt get their meds. And for the exact same reason I believe that if a pharmasist cant do their job for moral reasons then they cant fufill their job and should be fired. If I worked at a slaughter-house and said I was buddist and a vegan and theirfore I couldnt touch anything involing dead animals then guess what I wouldnt get the fucking job would I? Freedom of religion does not mean you dont have to do your job for religious reasons. So if you think that the morning after pill is wrong than guess what dont be a pharmasist, or better yet be one and lead a safe life and promote absitnence to your kids, but when you put that white coat on then its time to do your job , its not time to push your beliefs onto others. I think killing people is wrong, I think war is wrong, so therefore Im not going to apply to work at the new plant building blackhawk helicopters even thought there might be a much better paying job available there. You dont see alot of amish people going into electrical engineering. If your job contradicts your personal values then find a new fucking job. OH and Im a little angry and swearing more because this was the case of a rape victim that first was raped, then has to go to a doctor to make sure they are ok, which must be rather tramatic to have someone checking you out down there after such a tramatic experience, gets her scrip to make sure he isnt forced to carry the child of her attacker only to have some smug popus ass tell her that he thinks abortion is immoral and that he isnt going to give her her meds, but that the can drive to the next town where they might sell it to her. I would say yeah well I think kicking the shit out of a guy whos at work is immoral too but your about to see if that stops me. So my solution is this, If a pharmasist decideds to impose their views onto the life of another in this manner than they become imediatly liable for that child. Both emotionally and financially. Why should this person or the government have to raise this child when this pharmasist made the consious decision to bring it into the world. I didnt have enough calm left in me to finish reading this article so Im hoping that this unfortunate victim was able to get her meds before the effective window closed to where she would then need to get a far more tramatic and dangerous abortion.

The Dark Side

Ive been wanting to see this so heres a link, oh and I found this site after seeing stuff about freewayblogging, which looks like fun to me. So here is the link to The special about cheney and crew, called DARK SIDE

Leviticus, literally

Left in Aboite; Literal Levidicus

freaking sweet. heres a preview

Dear Dr. Laura:Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. For example, when someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

However, I do need some advice from you regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them.

4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

obviously there are mor, so go read them and laugh your ass off .

TESLA

not the crappy 80's band.
Tesla Motors Is the name of the company that is producing a sports car, that happens to be electric. And being electric they named the company after one of the greatest electrical inovators of all time. Sometime called the "Inventor of the 20th Century." But back to the car for a moment. Lotus was brought in to help with the sports car end of the elecrtis sports car and is quite clearly based on an elise, which is fine by me as the elise is a great looking car that also happens to be one of the best handling (production) cars on the planet. Not terribly supprising but this one is a bit heavier than the lotus but is still lighter than the vast majority of cars out there. There are some distinct advantages to an Electric though, like the fact that its torque curve starts with 100% of power at 0 rpms and stays pretty flat till about 8,000 at which point it gradually drops off untill its redline of 13,000 rpms. Because it has a rediculously flat torque curve it only needs two gears, which is just funny to me at a time when bmw and others are raving about their 7 speed trannies. makes it seem a little silly. oh yeah and because of the whole 100% of power at a standstill the thing rips to 60 in about 4 seconds flat and gets into triple digits in under 10. Thats haulin ass by pretty much any standard. Its not going to outrun an enzo but off the top of my head thats similar to a corvette Z06 which makes 500hp and is probably similarly priced although the Tesla might be a bit more. It cant come any where near the vettes near 200 mph top speed, but honestly who cares? unless your on an oval or the musalane straight at le mans then top speed doesnt even matter much on the track let alone on the street. But then again Ive always been more of a fan of turns than straightaways, I mean any idiot can mash the throttle and go pretty fast but to put a car right on the limts of adhesion around a sweeper or through a set of esses well thats always going to put a grin on my face. So its a pretty cool car my big concern is if I would be able to get used to a sports car with no exhaust noise. I mean to mash the throtle and not hear any thing is just wrong.

Oh and then back to the name, if you dont know Nikola Tesla then I recomend looking him up real quick. The whole concept of the "mad scientist" with lightning jumping around is often attributed to him. Oh and then their were things he invented like RADAR, a remote control boat, the cool Tesla Coils that shoot out bolts of lightning and can light a floresent light bulb without wires, he also invented the radio although marconi is usually given credit, he also beat out edison to make A/C current the standard for home use. He also made a solar panel that they refused to patent because it worked at night an therefore defied physics as they understood it. which is a great reason to have a patent denied, not because it didnt work but because they couldnt understand how it worked. There was also his death ray that some claim was responsible for the Tunguska explosion in syberia although this is fairly discredited. most modern electric devices are connected back to tesla, and inspite of all this most people will never recognise his name which is sad. This is a man who was insulted when compared to Edison.

ugh.. too much shit goin on

both in my life and that fucked up place called the world. Ive been busy and some how I just dont know how to even begin to discuss the atrocities going on in the middle east. I have no first hand account obviously and I simply am lacking the imagination to even be able to mentally put myself in their shoes. I cannot imagine what it must be like to simply have rockets and artilary dropping in to neighborhoods. Do you just go on with life knowing that there is nothing you can do about it and if you die you die? staying in your home is no safer than walking down the street if a shell/rocket hits you it hits you and you die or are horribly injured if your... lucky? And there is an important factor that I must bring out. At this point in what Im saying it has nothing to do with which side of the border you are on. According to the US state department the deffinition of terrorism is, "the unlawful use of -- or threatened use of -- force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives." from PBS. Both sides easily falling into that catagory. And what difference is there for the people? does it really matter wether your fighting for the "good" of judaism or islam? There is one difference, if your killed praising Allah, then your collateral damage, if you were praying to god the you were an innocent civilian, at least in the eyes of the american press. to be honest i should probably watch/read a little more MSM news before making that claim but for the most part if I have the choice between a few hours with the MSM or a good poke with a sharp stick, well go ahead and poke away.

Global Warming

Discovery Channel; global warming
There was a special on the discovery channel last night which exposed the truth about global warming. I was going to show a link to the discovery channels website and before I even got that far I was stunned by this. I googled "discovery channel global warming" and yes the special I was looking for came up, right after this critical piece about how global warming could lead to better wine, at least untill the vineyard is turned into a desert. Im not exactly sure what it means but it cant be good when the positives of global warming pops up before an excellent 2 hour special that was specificly aimed at dispelling all of the myths about global warming. So anyway here is the link Discovery Channel; Global Warming: what you need to know

quicky

not much time this morinin but had a few things I wanted to put up

Yahoo News no cease fire
Bush says that Israel has the right to defend themselves and therefore can attack who ever they want. apparently Israel has the same protocol as bush when comes to defence. defence = kill muslims

Common Dreams: school study
so private schools arent much better, altough lutheran schools are, and consevative christian schools do worse in math. Now imagine if they had been testing them on science. ha. well god created the earth, thats earth science. god created the stars thats all you need to know about astronomy. and there is an ongoing test to see the effectiveness of charter schools. which could be interesting.

BBC news
Bush was caught speaking candidly, and he used a curse word. ooooo. big fuckin deal the disconcerning part is the non-four letter words. His buddies in Israel are bombarding their neighbor and he says that the solution is for syria to stop their shit.

We're Fucked

Kurt Vonnegut on TDS

YouTube, Vonnegut on TDS
one of my favorite authors on my favorite tv show, how I didnt see this when it happened is beyond me but oh well heres the vid.

its not a joke

there really is a director of lessons learned....

our president thinks hes in 4th grade.

you dont count because we dont count

Thank you so much to Thomas Paine's Corner, this is hilarious.
Seriously Jason you kick ass oh and so does Dave Ward who apparently made this graphic although his site seems to be down

its just dogs and cold A/C

is what some wing-nuts think is going on in Gitmo. But in an odd situation for His Rudeness, the vulgarity in this post is the treatment of the prisoners and not the snark. This is a serious and powerful artice please read it.

The Rude Pundit: Three scenes from a detention camp
The third one about the plight of those with prosthetic limbs is particularly cruel, and to those who have already gone through amputation.

Val sues Dick

Yahoo News
Wow, this is going to get interesting. Nice way to get around mucking about with all those special investigators and what not, just take it to civil court. Its just like O.J. (ok so its not murder, but there is claims that one operative was killed because of the ousting) sure there might not be enough evidence for a criminal court but theres plenty for a civil court, so just like OJ they might have avoided jail, but hopefully they will still have to pay, and more importantly look as guilty in the eyes of the public. No that this will hurt cheney any, the < 20% of the country that still likes him wont be dissuated by something as simple as treason. Nah hes a good christian, that shoots people in the face.

Director of Lessons Learned

AMERICAblog gets a big thank you for this one, and its awsome so ill save you the time of clicking on the link, here it is. Damn I hope this is real because this is the type of things the Democrats need to do in order to win. Dont sit on the sidelines waiting for the repubs to self destruct, get in there be agressive take the offensive. Hell make fun of the bastards, just laugh at them for what they are. The other perfect example of this was when... I think it was Feingold was asked about cheneys comments and he said Im not even going to respond to cheney, hes at what 19% approval the guy is a joke he has no crediblity. (paraphrase) But thats a perfect responce, the country needs to realise that bush and all who support him have lost all crediblity, they have been caught lying countless times and therefore need to be marginalized by simply laughing at them. If one person is shouting insults and the other peson simply laughs (usually causing louder and angrier insults) at them, how do you respond? I know I would laugh at the guy yelling. So Ive gone on a tangent so back to the original post, heres some good shit from the man from IL. Thanks again to AMERICAblog.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) offers a few more lessons learned:
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President said we continue to be wise about how we spend the people's money.

"Then why are we paying over $100,000 for a 'White House Director of Lessons Learned'?

"Maybe I can save the taxpayers $100,000 by running through a few of the lessons this White House should have learned by now."

Lesson 1: When the Army Chief of Staff and the Secretary of State say you are going to war without enough troops, you're going to war without enough troops."

Lesson 2: When 8.8 billion dollars of reconstruction funding disappears from Iraq, and 2 billion dollars disappears from Katrina relief, it's time to demand a little accountability."

Lesson 3: When you've 'turned the corner' in Iraq more times than Danica Patrick at the Indy 500, it means you are going in circles."

Lesson 4: When the national weather service tells you a category 5 hurricane is heading for New Orleans, a category 5 hurricane is heading to New Orleans."

I would also ask the President why we're paying for two 'Ethics Advisors' and a 'Director of Fact Checking.'"

They must be the only people in Washington who get more vacation time than the President."

Maybe the White House could consolidate these positions into a Director of Irony."

Fox being Fox, ie: propaganda

Media Matters
They are Still trying to claim that Saddam had to do with Al Qaeda. Seriously people do we really need to dredge up this lie again? get over it the war is being faught for a lie that you happily spred, there is no use in bringing up old lies, theres plenty of new ones around that snow will tell you and you can "report" on.

Dont like the flag-burning amendment? Dont go to Iowa

The Progressive

So kid has band practice, and Im guessing based on the bands name Coruption of Blood that its a metal band, cops get called. Cops tell kid he's in violation of noise ordinance, and to turn off the music. They end the practice. Next day kid puts an upside-down flag in his lawn with the band name written across the flag and some how got a big cardboard cut-out of a cop to put next to it. So the cops came back and warned then arreste the kid for violation of Iowa's anti-flag-desicration law. Kid faces up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. The ACLU of course has gotten on to help the kid out. The law in question in a very long winged way states that if you mark the flag in any manner its illegal, if you use the flag or any other state or national seal for any advertisment or to call attention to a product. If you use the flag or other seal for anything but flag wavin' its illegal. so aparently the national news isnt allowed in Iowa. I guess the stores cant use flags in their ads for the 4th of July.

Besides the blatent hypocracy of arresting a protester for dirgracing the flag but not going after the thousands of businesses which mercilessly throw flags in your face there is also another question I have for the police. Is the kid in trouble for using an upside-down flag for a protest which I guess could be an advertisement of sorts, or is he in trouble for writing the band name on the flag? Personally if its the latter I have less issue with it because while I agree that burning a flag is an extremely powerful non-violent action and that using an upside-down flag is a good non-violent way to get across your anger with the country and should therefore be protected. But on the other hand I'm not so against the idea of not being able to write on the flag. And honestly I love the idea that you cant use the flag in an ad, I think that the constant barage of flag that we see lessens the power of the greatest symbol of our country. If flags were only seen on flag pole standing proud then they are to be revered. When we see them on bumper stickers, tatered flags on the antenaes of cars, when there is always at least one cg flag waving on the tv if your watching the news (ok maybe only fox is still doing this) it is a whoring of the flag. I agree with this part of the law and I'm not sure that it shouldnt be taken nationally. That would be an appropriate flag-dececration amendment.

So while there are those who are too caught up in the notion that the government is always right and that any questioning of the government should be illegal, these people will not understand why I think it is acceptable and very pro-american to burn a flag or hang one upside-down out of protest. I will say that if you are going to do either of these acts please have a very well thought out answer to why you are doing it. This shouldnt be hard bush has given you a plethora of reasons. But the conservative who thinks Im anti-american for thinking its ok to burn a flag, and thinks its wrong to question government. Well get the Fuck out of this country, go back to england. Because it was the people who questioned the government and said that we have inalienable rights to freedom who started this country. It was those who wanted to protect the status quo who fought against what would become this country. You are the loyalists you will protect the status quo because change scares you, if an upside-down flag makes you feel quesey then guess what, it should. Thats the point that flag is the symbol of a people who had enough of being the bitch of imperialism and said that we as humans have rights and we are not going to be governed without representaion. So when our rights as humans is infringed upon (although im not sure that shutting down a band practice really applys) then what better way to show your disatisfaction than to raise a flag upside-down. It makes you feel a little ill because it sybolises that our values have been flipped, and that is the point. If you think that questioning our leaders is unpatriotic then you have no idea what a patriot is. The original american patriots we rebels, you think they burned a british flag or two? they fought and died while the loyalist sat back to see wait for the victor to emerge and then they would return to kissing that groups collective ass. Loyalists are and were a disgrace to this country. If you take insult to this then good, your catching on that loyalist is an insult. It is also an insult to this countries founders that some people think protecting the status quo is patriotic. At this point with a government which constantly breaks the law the most patriotic thing someone could do would be to burn a flag in front of george bush, I think it would also be quite fitting to pour blood into a gas can and spill that at his feet. But thats just me, and I dont nessasarily recomend that because there was a couragous group called the St. Patricks Four that were arrested and spent a bit of time in jail for pouring blood in a recruiting office the day before the start of the Iraq war.

Dissent is Patriotic.

more than just gouging

Nieman Watchdog
They say that a large part of the increased prices is due to oil speculation rather than supply and demand or even gouging. I dont know enough about economics for this stuff so ill just say this. If nothing else Enron showed us what speculation (and deregulation) can do to prices. Once again Im not sure exactly how seculation works but Im getting the impression that its not a good idea, unless your a speculator, then it probably means a lot of money...

P.S. If this is true then its a rather critical story that needs to be in the public eye, why has this not been talked about more? why is this not in the media.. oh GE is probably one of the speculators... we really are fucked.

Ok I had only read the first paragraph when I wrote this ( i do this sometime when I basicly just want to save the article to read later) and as I read I find out that it is a case of deregulated speculation, which is pretty close to what I had said. I gotta say, while it sounds like the excessive speculation can drive up prices (as it is currently) there is also the point that if I had money to throw at the stockmarket I think I would want to buy into oil, because its my bet that while prices are bad now, they are probably going to go up. From a capitalists point of view it looks like a great investment, sure it might be killing our economy but as capitalist the nation is not my concern, my worries are those or me, myself, and I, and if screwing everyone puts a few (or a lot) more dollars in my pocket then fuck 'em this is america and its my right to ruin this country as long as I can make money.

And thats why im not a capitalist.