Yofi
We think he's about five months old. But, it's hard to tell, given that he spent a good part of the past month very sick with pneumonia. But, he seems quite healthy now, though a bit underweight. He's a very cute new addition to my household.
I found him yesterday. He was at the pet supply store, in a cage, which is unusual for this particular store. He was there with his rescuer, trying to get him adopted out. Well, I have this weakness for little gray kitties, so I just melted; caved. He was delivered to my house this afternoon. I named him Yofi.
Wonderful! 
Please Read This Story
It speaks for itself, and there isn't much I could do to embellish it. To me, it just highlights the absolute level of corruption that is coming from the very top of our US administration. It's disgusting, and I'm disgusted.
Abu Ghraib General Lambastes Bush Administration
Consider Me Banned
I was banned from
joeuser. I found my way there because of my interest in computer skinning. In fact, I wrote about them in my very first article here at Dusty Doggie. But, I was banned. I was banned because I called the racist little whip a racist bitch. I was banned because I lashed out at the neocon deathcult mongering dubya apologists who accuse me of having no concern for humanity because I post such articles as
A Show For The Sheeple,
We're Making Headway In Iraq, and of course the one that got me banned,
Dubya Is Getting Hammered.
Well, I knew when I realized that the site was a bastion of racist jingos, that I'd post until they banned me completely. So, I'm done with them. I am content in knowing that they are stupid dumbass jingos who are incapable of seeing the writing on the wall, that being that the entire deathcult dubya adminstration is in major trouble. Our administration has been outed.
The outing of WHIG (White House Iraq Group) was huge. It was evidence that our government was, in fact, being circumvented by a bunch of extremist fascists who only wanted to "liberate the American oil that was located under Iraq's soil." ( read that somewhere, but I do not remember where. I like it.) The illegalities committed by the top eschelon of the righty heap is so telling of their self-serving, greedy conflicts of interest. Of course, that would be Frist, DeLay, Libby, and Cheney, just to name of few of the most prominent. They are in trouble, and I celebrate their demise.
Their follies have led to the deaths of almost 2,000 American soldiers, 30,000 or more Iraqi civilians, thousands upon thousands of maimed individuals on both sides, and the destruction of the only secular country of the Arab world. Of course, Saddam was a tyrant, and yes, he killed thousands of his citizens. But, what is so sad is that the US, under Reagan and Bush the first, were complicit in his tyranny. Two great websites to read that illustrates this point are
From the Wilderness and
Greg Palast's writings. But, these writing are only about the Iraq debaucle.
Let us not forget the misery that these neocon dumbasses have created here in this country. They have passed legislation that enables them to cut $50 billion from the most destitute of our country to pay for the Katrina cleanup and rebuilding. And, as insult added to injury, though this did come first, dubya cancelled the requirements of the Davis Bacon act, so his cronies and corporate buddies can reap higher profits of the backs of the American workers. Education has been cut, medicaid is definitely in their sights, as is food stamps, welfare, housing, national parks and forests, the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, heating subsidies, education, just to name a few.
One of my favorite forums to post at is
Randi Rhodes. There is no hypocritical banning of swear words. There are no hypocritical racist jingos who have coopted the site, as did
little whip at joeuser. I invite my readers to go there and give that dispiccable bitch the hell she deserves. Or not. I really don't care. Anyway, at Randi's forum, there are just a bunch of really angry people, like me, who need to vent, and who need to learn, and I do learn tons there, as much as we can to insure that the deathcult will be defeated in 2006 and beyond. This is the most important goal right now before us, before too much more damage from the dubya cult can occur. We sure have our work cut out for us.
Waiting for a Handout
These deer on Fire Island are so tame, they just hang around, waiting for handouts. No question, these bucks are beautiful. But, it gets a bit tiring seeing them so used to humans and human garbage that they have lost all fear of us. We didn't feed him when we were there, which is completely illegal, but it doesn't stop him from standing there at the deck and begging like a dog. Hell, I don't even let my dog beg like that when I eat dinner at home. So, I guess he wasn't begging like a dog, my dog, but instead begging like a ............... deer.
Can You See The Monarch?
I went to the beach this past tuesday. I was working, believe it or not, and it was an absolutely gorgous day. The Monarch butterflies are still migrating south to their mountain in Mexico for the winter. I was lucky to catch one in this photo. It always amazes me that something as seemingly fragile as a butterfly has the stamina to fly thousands of miles to its winter destination. This is a perfect illustration of how seriously we must direct our efforts to effect global environmental protection. Monarchs know no boundaries.
Two News Stories about Money
I found a few items in today's news. Both have to do with money. That is, how it's spent, who is doing the spending, and who gets to profit. And, it ain't pretty.
First is this article from the Washington Post:
House GOP Leaders Set to cut Spending Beginning this week, the House GOP lawmakers will take steps to cut as much as $50 billion from the fiscal 2006 budget for health care for the poor, food stamps and farm supports, as well as considering across-the-board cuts in other programs. Only last month, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) and other GOP leaders quashed demands within their party for budget cuts to pay for the soaring cost of hurricane relief.
The next article is located in Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times:
Dave Zweifel: Halliburton's New Low in Treachery The Chicago Tribune produced an incredible story last week detailing how unsuspecting young men from poor countries are tricked into working in dangerous jobs for a Halliburton subsidiary in Iraq. The two-part series retraced the journey of a group of Nepalese men who were lured to the Mideast with fraudulent paperwork that promised them jobs at a luxury hotel in Amman, Jordan, but instead wound up in Iraq working for the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, America's biggest private contractor there.
What was even more startling was the stories' revelation that the operation is financed with U.S. taxpayer money.
These are only two stories in the news today. But, they point to a very sad state of affairs in the United States of America today. I think it's quite obvious, but I'll point it out anyway. It's basically fleecing the poor and handing it over to the rich. It's that simple.
Our great country is paying big bucks, hand over fist, to Halliburton, Veep Cheney's cash cow, so that they get richer and richer and richer. Even while being investigated for overcharging the military for gasoline and food, Uncle Sam continues to pay out to their favorite corporate interest. In this particular case, while our corrupt uncle looks the other way, Halliburton is exploiting the most impoverished people on the planet to pay the miserable wages for dangerous work. But, it's not like they will charge less to the American taxpayers for the work that they accomplish with these hapless souls. Not at all. Instead, they pad their bottom line, as their cost savings gets kept by them alone. And, veep cheney laughs all the way to the bank.
Then, in the second story, while our corrupt uncle sam hands it's favorite corporate interests money to do evil things, they cut the budgets that affect the most vunerable and disenfranchised segments of our society, so that they can continue to make megapayments to such firms as Hallibuton, who as we all know, got a big piece of the Katrina cleanup and restoration projects.
And, let us not forget that one of the first things that dubya did upon hearing of the Katrina disaster. He issued an executive order to set aside the Davis Bacon Act, wherein government required prevailing wages be paid on any government contract. You can be absolutely sure that the money saved by paying the most poor to do the dirty work with these substandard wages will not be passed on to the American taxpayers. Nah, the firms getting the contracts will get to keep the savings as profits. Yet another corporate give away, corporate welfare for the corporate buddies of the dubya regime.
Well, I haven't written anything that anyone couldn't just go to any daily mainstream media and see for themselves. It's all right there. It's merely adding two plus two. It ain't rocket surgery, folks.
And, just one more lil' tidbit in closing this article. According to the website, U.S National Debt Clock, as of 3:01:25 a.m. GMT today, our national debt has reached a whopping $8,001,765,291,729.94 , which translates into $26,900.26 per each U.S. citizen's share of the debt.
What amazes me is the numbers of people, still at almost 40% of our population, who call themselves conservatives, and support the dubya dummies no matter what the debt; no matter that this administration is not doing anything to advance the average American's best interest. Conservative, my ass.
I think I'll go puke now.................................
We Apologize
I just came across this photo at a blogsite, as I was surfing blogs looking for good stuff. This image qualifies. I left a comment on the blogsite,
blue gal in a red state, asking if I could reproduce the photo here. I did not wait for a reply, so I'm taking the chance and going ahead with this posting. I like it that much. Likely, the photo is not real, as I'm sure the state DOT would never get away with this. Likely, it's a good effort with Photoshop. I love it, anyway. I am impressed.
But, one thing I am not is an apologist for our dumbya idiot in the White Wash, I mean House. I leave the apologies to the neocon deathcult morons who stand behind their stupid leader and apologize continually, rationalize continually, making it all up as they go along. Don't blame me. I voted for Kerry.
The Dusty Dog in Last Year's Snow
I guess I'm thinking about winter. I hate winter. I live for summer. I hate being cold. But, winter is definitely a beautiful time of year, at least when the snow is falling, and before the snow turns to yuck. Zuki loves the snow. She lives for winter. She likely has some Arctic breed in her.
This is a photo of Zuki with her prize. I had put a bone in a small cardboard box and taped it tightly closed. She ran and she fought and she tore at the box until she liberated the bone. Then, of course, she settled down to chewing on her prize. We'll both be playing in the snow soon enough. Sooner than I'd like, actually.
Did Dubya Cause the Earthquake?
It seems rather farfetched, of course. I had a conversation with my physical therapist as he was treating my ankle, and he is convinced that all the bombs being dropped on Afghanistan and Iraq are having an impact on the geophysical stability of the entire region.
At first, I thought it was a joke. Some republicans are claiming that the liberals are blaming dubya for the hurricane. Of course, it's dumbass hyperbole, but it's not a very hard stretch to blame dubya for the horrific responses to Katrina and Rita. However, blaming the earthquakes on the bunker buster bombs and the megaton explosives and below ground nuclear testing may not be that farfetched. Hence, blaming dubya for the earthquakes is but a reasonable leap in logic.
I don't know if this theory has any merit, but it's worth pursuing.
Three Gulls
Me
I have decided to write something about myself. Granted, it will be a rather filtered take on my life. It is what it is, and I am who I am, and it is an article about me, including some rantings about my political leanings. Politics make up a lot of who I am, and what I write about. Politics are a philosophy for living. It's a measure of humanity. So, here goes....................
I am a fifty four year old woman, born October 10, 1950. Actually, I will be fifty five in nine days. But, misery loves company, and I have an identical twin sister. Hopefully, we'll get to celebrate our birthday together, but she lives in a different town, in a different state. I also have a younger sister, by three years, who lives in yet a third state. Both my parents are deceased, as is my older brother. And, that's my immediate birth family.
I was married for sixteen years to a real piece of work, and finally threw the bum out, but not until after we created two wonderful children. My son just turned thirty one, and my daughter will turn twenty eight in two weeks. My daughter has a six year old son, my grandson, who is the love of my life.
Right now, I live with my gigantic German Shepherd, Zuki. I love living alone, as it means that I do not have to compromise my desires and beliefs to anyone else. One particular comedian, whose name eludes me, had a great line, which I repeat here. “I really want a man in my life. I really do. Just not in my house.” I don't worry about having a family, because I already have one. I've been there and done that, and I'm happy with all of that. My life is very good.
I am right now getting over a broken ankle, a talar neck fracture, to be exact. I broke it while playing with my dog. We were running around the yard, cutting and dodging and running. As she was running towards me, and as I dodged away from her, my ankle turned. A split second later, she hit me. One hundred and ten pounds of dog slamming into me and my turned ankle. It was a mess. But, the worst is over. The cast was cut off this past thursday, and I have begun the tedious task of physical therapy. I will be up and running with my dog again in no time.
I also have a disease called psoriatic arthritis. I was a hobbling mess until I was prescribed a drug called Enbrel. It is one of the relatively new biologics, called a TNF or tumor necrosis factor inhibitor. I'm not exactly sure what that means, other than reducing the inflammation that arthritis causes. I now, at least when my ankle is fully healed, will be back to running with my dog, taking long walks down to the bay, and long walks on the beach.
I am a bleeding heart liberal. I have very little tolerance for the selfish who seem to think that the poor and the downtrodden are in that predicament because of their own faults. I have little tolerance for the assholes who think that a $200/year tax cut for themselves is worth the the heavy price levied on society for that stinking' blood money. That dumbass tax cut means less health care, education, environmental protections, quality arts and sports for kids, medications for seniors, to name a few issues. They are so freakin' hell bent on getting their lousy measly bucks, that they could care less that it comes at a huge cost to the American people. Selfish assholes.
I'm all for people keeping as much money as possible from their hard earned pay. But, I am also a firm believer in the concept of community and social responsibility, something that republicans seem to lack. Must be a genetic failing.
I was born a liberal. I was raised as a liberal. I was raised to question authority. I was raised on picket lines and marches on Washington for civil rights and womens' rights and financial equity. I continued my liberal mindset into and through the Viet Nam era, wherein I continued the marches on Washington. I am proud of who I am, and how I was raised. I've learned a lot from my parents. They have taught me well. I, in turn, have taught my children well. Both of my kids are caring, loving, responsible adults now. They are sensitive, artistic, creative and beautiful. I'm really proud of them both, and I love them with all of my heart.
I am convinced that the only time, the only time that a country should engage in war is if attacked. A preemptive strike against a foreign sovereignty, whether we like them or not, is beyond acceptable, is criminal and reaches the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. Particularly, when those neocon death cult assholes lied like rugs to get us into that war. That is the situation right now. We experienced it in the sixties and we're doing it again now. It's really sad. And really criminal. What a horrific waste of resources on so many levels.
As a landscape architect, I have a particular interest in the environment. We only have one planet to call home, and if we trash it, we're done as a viable species. We have no choice but to preserve and protect and repair the damages we have caused to Mother Earth. When dubya pulled the US out of the Kyoto protocols, it truly saddened me. It enraged me. It was a selfish deed that pandered to selfish corporate interests so that they can all make record profits. Disgusting example of human waste. I cannot believe we have this moron for our country's leader. And, he is considered a moron throughout the entire world. Pulling us from Kyoto was a horrifically arrogant act that was tantamount to thumbing their noses at the rest of the world, at our country, and at our planet.
Global warming is real. The only debatable thing about it is how fast sea level is rising, and how fast the earth is warming. Other than that, it's pretty much established sound science, except for the dopes who choose to alter the reports to modify their buddies' profits. I care about our planet. I care about the species that call her home. I care about the air we breath and the children who must be subjected to the pollutants that are emitted by spewing, and selfish industries who have managed to buy off the bushies to save themselves some dough.
I worked very hard for what I have achieved in my life. I was a nursing student, but dropped out after the first semester and traveled around the world and the USA, including Israel, Canada, Puerto Rico, Alaska, California, and Vermont to name a few places, for the next seven years of my life, from the time I was nineteen till I was twenty five. I've lived in poverty and I've been on welfare. I know what it's like to be so broke that you wonder where your next meal is coming from. I've even resorted to shoplifting in order to feed myself. If I was black, I suppose the racist bitches of the world would call it looting. But, there was no disaster that went along with the shoplifting. Only my need to eat.
I went back to school when I was twenty five, to become a landscape architect. It was tough, because I was also raising two toddlers at the same time. Were it not for the federal education grants that I qualified for, I would never have been able to afford my education. I find it very shortsighted for our dumbass dubya government to reduce education benefits, thereby leaving so many people with nothing and no way out of their poverty. It used to be that if someone was poor they would be on welfare. But, if they got some education benefits, they could get themselves off welfare, and become productive, taxpaying citizens. Now, not only are the education benefits cut, but so are the welfare payments. Not much chance of any place to go but nowhere. But, must be the child's fault for being born into poverty, right? Stupid poor people.
Some stupid five year old poor kid needs some lunch, but it's his goddamm fault for being poor, right? Some kid needs medical attention, but her parents are poor and have no health care or insurance, so they are relegated to some inferior medical treatment as some overly busy hospital emergency room. God forbid that the kid might need longer term care. Forget it. Tough shit. Stupid ass kid for being born into a poor family. Probably black anyway, right? But that's OK, because we got your tax cuts that enabled us to squirrel away that extra $200 that likely has no effect on our standards of living anyway. Selfish neocon republican tax cuts. Great. Just great. Wave that goddamm confederate flag in the face of this country. Be goddamm proud that you are some remnant of a hooded club that's now defunct. Be proud, you lowlife scumbags. You know who you are.
I am a proud bleeding heart liberal. I am a happy and loving and caring individual. I just happen to detest neocon death cult selfish scumbags who's only measure of government success is a goddamm tax cut.
I love jazz. I love art. Photography is my passion. I believe in an artist's right of expression. I believe in a person's right to privacy. I believe in expansion of individual freedoms, as long as it does not break any laws. That includes the right to piss on a cross or a star of David or a crescent or whatever. I believe in people's rights to express themselves, if that is what they want. If they want to burn a flag, fine. That's what makes this country great. I don't care if offends someones selfish sensibilities. If you are offended, then don't burn a flag. If you don't like abortions, then don't have one. If you don't believe in god, then don't go to church. If you believe in god, then go to church or temple or whatever floats your boat. It's entirely up to an individual.
Speaking of religion, I am not anti-religion. I am a Jew who is also an atheist. One of my best friends is a born again Christian. She is devoutly religious, but does not find the need to cram her religion down my through. We respect each other completely. As it should be. I am not anti-religion. Not at all. But, I am anti the stupid stinking' holier than thou religious fundamentalists, particularly of the Christian ilk in this country, who want to infuse their religious beliefs into our government. It is such an insult to our Constitution that it's just mind boggling. They even go so far as to say that this country, the US of A was based on Christianity. Bullshit. You can take your fundamentalist crappola and shove it. Sideways.
I love to read science fiction. I love the literary license that is available to scifi writers. I love the imagined worlds, and the space travel and the time travel. The sideboards of imagination are moved way out beyond what it would be if anchored to reality. Yet the points and the concepts and the political commentaries are all there. Jack London's The Iron Heel. Ursula LeGuin's The Disposessed and The Word for World is Forest. Octavia Butler's Kindred. Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination. Isaac Asimov. Arthur C. Clark. Larry Niven. Theodore Sturgeon. Greg Bear. Sherri Tepper. Great authors. Great novels. Great minds.
I have a really good job as a community and coastal planner. I live fairly close to the coast, and I love the ocean. I love walking on the sand and the smell of the salty waves. I love the shorebirds and beach grass and dunes. I love living near the coast and having the opportunity to experience the wonders of the ocean. The ocean is a powerful force, no doubt. When the storm surges find their way up the shoreline, vast changes can result from such force. But, that is what the coast was originally designed to withstand. It's a dynamic environment that is dependent upon change to survive. Barrier islands must be allowed to ebb and flow with the tides and the storms. It's their very survival.
This is why I feel very strongly about how coastlines are developed. But more so, who has to pay when a coastal storm comes wailing along, and destroys the houses along the ocean front. Particularly when those houses are second, or vacation homes. It's sickening that FEMA has enabled people to build bigger and better mansions along the coast, making it all the government's responsibility to fix when such a storm comes up the coast. I believe that it should be the homeowners' responsibilities. Let them bear the brunt of their foolish developments, particularly when those developments are undertaken by filthy rich individuals with way too much money burning holes in their pockets. Let them bear the costs of redevelopment. Better yet, prohibit any redevelopment, and return the shore to the people, as parks and public open spaces. That is my dream for the coast. That is what I am working to achieve. Coastlines are magnificent places.
I've rambled on long enough. This is merely a sampling of who I am and what I believe. Thank you for reading. And, feel free to leave comments.
Impeach Bush Coalition
I just sent a letter to request that my blog, this blog, Dusty Doggie, be part of the coalition. I'm awaiting their response. I believe this dubya regime to be treasonous, to be completely morally bankrupt, and wish it to go down in flames, that being brought up on all the charges of corruption and treason that they deserve. I am an American and I am a patriot. However, I will never be a blind patriot, a jingo, and/or a republican neocon deathcult worshipper. May they rot in hell.
The Death Of America?
I think not.
The Mirror.co.uk article pretty much sums up why I hate this administration. It's not that the dubya dummies created all these messes, but rather that they refuse to address the issues. They refuse to acknowledge that there are issues. They just parrot these lame and lazy reasonings as to why the US is such a grand nation, the best on the planet, then do what they can to pilfer the hell out of the economy, lie like rugs over a failed war effort, rape the environment so corporate moguls can get richer, etc. I really hate this administration. They have failed this country miserably, and for anyone to think that they are really doing a great job is tantamount to treason.
Yes, I said treason. This administration has undertaken treasonous acts, and supporters of them apparently support those treasonous acts. The worst, of course, is lying this country into a fiasco of a war. The polls, as much as the republican apologists deny their merits, point to the fact that 2/3's of Americans think that invading Iraq was a mistake. I go a bit further. It was not a mistake, but rather a calculated effort to establish a US presence in the Mideast, and secure the Iraqi's treasured oil fields for themselves, which of course, they have also failed at.
I think it's treasonous to deny education to our citizens. It's treasonous to allow corporations to establish laws that result in their huge profits, at the expense of the environments. It's treasonous to make it illegal for government to negotiate lower drug prices so pharmaceutical companies are assured record profits. The list goes on, and may they all rot in hell. I am so sure that neocon supporters and jingos will be quite sorry as historians record this administration as being the most corrupt, least effectual, and truly the worst that this country has ever seen. They will be sorry for being cast in such a bad light, along with their republican "heroes". (It will be interesting to watch how they then distance themselves from the neocons as history is written, but that's another story, yet to be written.)
I do not agree with the title of the Mirror's article. This is not the death of America. But, it is going through some major crises right now, many of which are directly resulting from the foibles and follies of this dubya administration. I am not ashamed to be an American. But, I am ashamed that so many Americans actually voted for these crooks.
Following are a few exerpts from the article:
IS THIS THE DEATH OF AMERICA?
America's sense of itself - its pride in its power - has been profoundly damaged.
They [Americans] have watched with growing disbelief and horror as a convergence of events - dominated by the unending war in Iraq and two hurricanes - have exposed ugly and disturbing things in the undergrowth that shame and embarrass Americans and undermine their belief in the nation and its values.
and
AMERICA, which has the world's costliest health care, had, it turned out, higher infant mortality rates than the broke and despised Cuba.
Tom De Lay, Republican enforcer in the House of Representatives, was indicted for conspiracy and money laundering. The leader of the Republicans in the Senate was under investigation for his stock dealings. And Osama bin Laden was still on the loose.
and
The catalogue of afflictions is long and grisly. Hurricane Katrina revealed confusion and incompetence throughout government, from town hall to White House.
President Bush, accused of an alarming failure of leadership over the disaster, has now been to the Gulf coast seven times for carefully orchestrated photo opps.
But his approval has dropped below 40 per cent. Public doubt about his capacity to deal with pressing problems is growing.
Americans feel ashamed by the violent, predatory behaviour Katrina triggered - nothing similar happened in the tsunami-hit Third World countries - and by the deep racial and class divisions it revealed.
The press has since been giving the country a crash course on poverty and race, informing the flag wavers that an uncaring America may be No.1 on the world inequities index.
IT has 37 million living under the poverty line, largely unnoticed by the richest in a country with more than three million millionaires.
The typical white family has $80,000 in assets; the average black family about $6,000. It's a wealth gap out of the Middle Ages. Some 46 million can't afford health insurance, 18,000 of whom will die early because of it.
The US, we learn, is 43rd in the world infant mortality rankings. A baby born in Beijing has nearly three times the chance of reaching its first birthday than a baby born in Washington. Those who survive face rotten schools. On reading and maths tests for 15-year-olds, America is 24th out of 29 nations.
On the other side of the tracks, 18 corporate executives have so far been jailed for cooking the books and looting billions. The prosecution of Mr Bush's pals at Enron - the showcase trial of the greed-is-good culture - will be soon.
But the backroom deal lives on and, in an orgy of cronyism, billions of dollars are being carved up in no-bid contracts awarded to politically-connected firms for work in the hurricane-hit states and in Iraq.
The war, seen as unwinnable, is becoming a bleak burden, with nearly 2,000 American dead. Two-thirds think the invasion was a mistake.
The war costs $6billion a month, driving up a nose-bleed high $331billion budget deficit. In five years the conflict will have cost each American family $11,300, it is said.
And, last is this paragraph, which I do hope, like hope itself, is true:
America's sense of itself - its pride in its power and authority, its faith in its institutions and its belief in its leaders - has been profoundly damaged. And now the talking heads in Washington predict dramatic political change and the death of the Republicans' hope of becoming the permanent government.
Yes, boys and girls, I anticipate that this dumbass administration will be the death of the Republicans' stranglehold on American politics and discourse. May they rot in hell for what they have done to us all. And we, as a great nation, will survive. But, we have lots of work to do to recover from the damage done by these idiots.
Yet Another Crony
Dubya Dumbass did it again. He found yet another crony to hoist and foist upon the American people. This time, it's none other than Harriet Miers. Ya wonder how he finds these idiots, how he dredges from the bottom of the cesspool to come up with such crooks, but it's really second nature to him. That's where the dubya dumbass resides. In fact, Miers was head of a law firm in Texas that had to pay out $millions in fines for defrauding investors. And, as head she was a managing partner, one right in the thick of the firm's policies and decisions. This could prove to be a more horrific case of cronyism than heckova job, Brownie. We're talking about the SCOTUS, for Christ sakes.
And, just for shits and giggles, I'll toss into this post that DeLay has just been handed yet another indictment, this time for money laundering.
I'm going to put together a list of all the crooks and indictments and convictions that this administration has ongoing, to illustrate the criminal legacy that the neocons will leave. It likely won't take me very long. It's all over the internet and in the news.
Anyway, back to Miers, that person who some think is a reach across the aisle to democrats. Well, it's not. It's yet another scam-linked crony from the great state of Texas. But, dumbya selected her for two major reasons: her loyalty and the inside information she holds on such issues as the Texas lottery probe, and of all goddamm things, being paid to launder his service record with the National Guard. There is some ugly history here, folks. I'm betting that she may not last through the hearings process.
Miers Led Law Firm Repeatedly Forced to Pay Damages For Defrauding Investorsarticle by David SirotaIn case anyone thought Harriet Miers wasn't a corporate-shill-in-White-House-clothing, take a gander at how Miers did her best Ken Lay impression while heading a major Texas corporate law firm. That's right, according to the 5/1/00 newsletter Class Action Reporter, Miers headed Locke, Liddell & Sapp at the time the firm was forced to pay $22 million to settle a suit asserting that "it aided a client in defrauding investors."The details of the case are both nauseating and highly troubling, considering President Bush is considering putting Miers at the top of America's legal system. Under Miers' leadership, the firm represented the head of a "foreign currency trading company [that] was allegedly a Ponzi scheme." The law-firm admitted that it "knew in March 1998 that $ 8 million in [the company's] losses hadn't been reported to investors" but didn't tell regulators.This wasn't an isolated incident, either. The Austin American-Statesman reported in 2001 that Miers' lawfirm was forced to pay another $8 million for a similar scheme to defraud investors. The suit, which dealt with actions the firm took under Miers in the late 1990s, was again quite troubling. As the 9/20/00 Texas Lawyer reported, Miers' firm helped a now-convicted con man "defraud investors and allowed the firm's [bank] account to be used as a 'conduit.'" The suit said "money from investors that went into the firm's trust account was deposited into [the con man's] bank accounts and was used to pay for his 'expensive toys.'"If you think Miers wasn't involved in any of this -- think again. Miers wasn't just any old lawyer at the firm. She was the Managing Partner -- the big cheese. True, she could claim she had no idea this was going on. But that would be as laughable/pathetic/transparent as the Enron executives who made the same ones after they ripped off investors.I wrote earlier today that Democrats must focus on the fact that Miers' defining career experience up until her nomination was being a Bush crony. These new details about her career only enhance that case, in that it shows she is just like the other corrupt corporate cronies like Enron's Ken ("Kenny Boy") Lay that Bush has surrounded himself with over the years. There is no room on the Supreme Court for people like Miers who are clearly entirely compromised by partisan/corporate loyalties -- loyalties that might make her an attractive candidate to the a corrupt elitists who run today's Republican Party, but a danger to the interests of ordinary Americans.
Cherry Grove
Fiscal Responsibility For Stupid People
Yearly US Budget Deficit or Surplus
1961-2004 (in $Billions)
This chart is constructed by using data from the Congressional Budget Office's own website. I found it at Conservatively Incorrect. It's a very telling visual about how voodoo economics, ie or aka Trickledown, ie or aka Reaganomics, is a proven failure. What's missing here is a visual showing where the money went. That is, based on the voodoo economics of tax cuts to "strengthen" the economy, we would like to know how much of this borrowed money went to whom, and for what? Certainly given that the gap between the rich and the poor has increased along with the percentage of poor to rich, without even discussing what is happening to the middle class, I'd suggest that the tax cuts, ie reaganomics, is merely a predominant and audacious transfer of money from the poor to the very wealthy. I guess, according to republican philosophies for living, debts are good things, and surpluses are bad, especially when the most wealthy and the corporations are the beneficiaries of the rights to help themselves at the public money trough. Nice.
It's a heckuva good job the bushies are doing. What a way to run a business........ NOT. I suppose, if this was the private sector, and dubya followed in brother Neil's footsteps, he'd try to get a government bailout, akin to the Savings & Loans debaucle. But alas, this is the government, so no bailout is available.
Oh wait!!! Yes, sell it to the American people that national debt is a good thing and it stimulates the economy. Yeah, that's the ticket. Yeah right. I guess the only people who believe that are the ones who have STUPID written across their foreheads.
Green Fly
A Letter From My Friend
I found this exchange kind of interesting. I'm sure you all will, also. :-) This pretty much speaks for itself. Needless to say, particular personal stuff was removed.
A letter from Rich:FYI - Like the bumpersticker says, "If you're not angry, you're not paying
attention."
David Serota article
LinkMy reply to him:As always, great hearing from you. I just want you to know that I actually have, really, that bumper sticker on my car right now.
I've read about that issue. I've been rather on top of this crap for a number of reasons. First of all, I have this political bone in my body that just won't let me be apolitical. And, speaking of bones, I've been home alot lately, as in not working, because I have a broken ankle. I've been spending way too much time in bed watching all this crap unfold. I broke my ankle a week before Katrina, so I spent hours and hours and hours glued to the TV.
Thanks for David Serota's article, which I had not read, even though I spend way too much time on the internet, also. He's one of the good guys. This article sums up the GOP bastards really well. I hate them. I'll never understand that mindset. To understand it, you have to be filthy rich and benefit from them, having an unhealthy degree of selfishness to go along with it. Or, if you're poor, you have to be a stupid diehard, dumbya supporter who for some bizarre reason, things the dumbya admins are good for this country. I guess they are just not paying attention. But, it's worse than that. They really think they are. But, they're paying attention to the likes of Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Faux Fox News, etc. And, amazingly enough, these idiots are so idiotic, that they don't see that it is just people like them that this administration is looking to screw. Why are there so many idiots in the world?
Rich's reply back to me:I'm glad to learn that you have that bumpersticker on your car. I have "Question Authority" and "Think Globally, Act Locally" bumperstickers on mine. Needless to say, I get lots of weird stares from other (mostly conservative Mormon) drivers here in southwest Utah. I realize that it is asking too much of drivers to think, question, and act; all on one bumper.
I agree with all of your points. You asked why there are so many idiots in the world. I have been giving this a lot of thought lately, and I think that religion plays a major role. Religious people are trained to have faith. Faith that their religious leaders and principles are correct and holy. By extension, people of faith may likewise tend to accept that their political leaders (especially those overtly or tacitly endorsed by their religious leaders) are inherently good, trustworthy people who are doing the right thing.
I work with and around lots of conservative Mormons. They are not bad, stupid, or evil people. But they keep voting in lock-step for Republicans who consistently give most of them (except the millionaires) the shaft. This does not make logical sense until you factor in the role of religion and faith. When you do, you begin to see that they are trained to put FAITH above worldly matters like logic or intelligence. So, when their Mormon leaders and friends say to trust the GOP, they do. The pattern continues. Maybe this explains why lemmings also follow their leaders over cliffs (Mormon lemmings?). Anyway, I think we should worry about religious fundamentalists wherever they exist (Iraq or here).
We think he's about five months old. But, it's hard to tell, given that he spent a good part of the past month very sick with pneumonia. But, he seems quite healthy now, though a bit underweight. He's a very cute new addition to my household. 
