"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then, to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in broad daylight!" - Emile Zola, J'accuse! (1898) -

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Who Is Wrecking America? There Is So Much Blame To Pass Around That People Are Shooting Blindly Into The Darkness To No Avail. Clear Your Head, Focus On Things As They Ought To Be, And Then Act Free Of The Confusion And Misdirection. Confused You Lose!


Who Is Wrecking America?The Democrat Party could impeach Cheney/Bush and cut off funding for the wars and corrupt military contracts. But they do nothing and get a free pass from Frank. "The Wrecking Crew" does have one virtue. Frank shows that the Republicans ...Populist Party of America - http://www.populistamerica.com


At the height of the Roman Empire, the Romans had an estimated 37 major military bases scattered around their dominions. At the height of the British Empire, the British had 36 of them planetwide. Depending on just who you listen to and how you count, we have hundreds of bases. According to Pentagon records, in fact, there are 761 active military "sites" abroad. tomdispatch.com http://pr.thinkprogress.org


In his book, "What's the Matter With Kansas?," Thomas Frank made the excellent point that the Karl Rove Republicans take advantage of ordinary's people's frustrations and resentments to lead them into voting against their best interest.


Frank's new book, "The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule," lacks the insight that distinguished his previous book. Why does Frank think that conservatives or liberals rule?


Neither rule. America is ruled by organized interest groups with money to elect candidates who serve their interests. Frank's book does not even mention the Israel Lobby, which bleeds Americans for the sake of Israeli territorial expansion. Check the index. Israel is not there.

Does Frank think that rapture evangelicals are conservative, that Christian Zionists are conservative? If so, where did he learn his theology?

Frank can't tell the difference between Ronald Reagan and Cheney/Bush. He conflates the collection of opportunists and fanatics that comprise the Bush Party with the Reagan conservatives who ended stagflation and the cold war. The adventurer, Jack Abramoff, is Frank's epitome of a conservative. Abramoff is the most mentioned person in Frank's story.
In Frank's view, conservatives are out to ruin everyone except the rich.


But who is Frank's enemy? He calls them "conservatives." But the Bush regime is a neoconservative regime. Neoconservatives, despite the name, are not conservatives. They have taken over formerly conservative publications, think tanks, and foundations and driven out the conservatives.

Neoconservatives are in the tradition of the French Jacobins of the 18th century. Having had the French Revolution, the revolutionaries thought that they should take it to all of Europe. Napoleon exercised French hegemony over Europe. The American neocons desire American hegemony over the world.

The true American conservative does not believe in foreign wars. In US history, conservatives were derided by liberals as "isolationists."


There is nothing conservative about launching wars of aggression on the basis of lies and deception in order to control the direction of oil pipelines and to enhance Israeli territorial expansion.

Frank misses all of this.

And what a pity that is. A false conservative-liberal fight distracts attention from the growing police state that is destroying civil liberties for all Americans. It obscures the real motives of policies in behalf of special interests that are leading to nuclear confrontation with Russia and China.

What is wrecking America is not conservatives, but a neoconservative ideology of US hegemony.


What is wrecking America is the "impeachment-is-off-the-table" twins, Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers
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What is wrecking America is the Democratic Party, which was put in control of the House and Senate in the 2006 congressional elections to stop the gratuitous wars and gestapo police, but, instead, has continued to cooperate with the Cheney/Bush regime in behalf of war and police repression, such as we witnessed at the Republican National Convention.

Frank's book, "The Wrecking Crew" falls into the scapegoat category of blaming the innocent and irrelevant. The Democrat Party could impeach Cheney/Bush and cut off funding for the wars and corrupt military contracts. But they do nothing and get a free pass from Frank.

"The Wrecking Crew" does have one virtue. Frank shows that the Republicans have spawned a new generation of brown shirts that lust to imprison, torture, and kill people. These ignorant bloodthirsty thugs see enemies everywhere and fervently desire to nuke them all.
The Republican brown shirts are equally willing to kill American critics of the Bush regime as to kill Taliban and al Qaeda.

The latest "enemy" is Russia. The Bush regime, complicit in its Georgian puppet's war crimes against South Ossetia, is attempting to hide its responsibility for ethnic cleansing by demonizing Russia. With every threat the Bush regime issues against Russia, the war drums beat louder. Yet, the print and TV media and Democratic Party have jumped on the war wagon.

The rapture evangelicals and the neocons are euphoric at the prospect of nuclear war.
Frank's misguided barrage at conservatives, who are a brake on war and the police state, hastens end times.

A Sad Night for Conservatism Conservatism is addicted to snidery, and Gov. Sarah Palin looks to be just another pusher. But a strategy of snark comes up short when it's time to govern. They’re poor little lambs (The Flock Variety) and they’ve lost their way… ba, ba, Blah!


Palin: The MoveOn ReviewBy Bob Needless to say, the good folks at MoveOn.org saw a completely different speech than many of us saw Wednesday night at the RNC Convention. Sarah Palin's speech last night told us a lot about her. It told us that she can distort the ...Black & Right - http://www.black-and-right.com




DAVID COLEThe Next Prez's Superpowers motherjones.com — Will a new president give back the authority that Bush and Cheney grabbed for the executive? Government officials do not as a rule like to give up power, and President Bush has grabbed plenty of power for the executive branch since 9/11. If the problem is to be fixed — and it is essential that we fix it — it will only be because of sustained and popular pressure for change.


In the end - does Nancy Pelosi decide who’s the next President?By Bryan Del Monte As it presently stands - Nancy Pelosi could become the 44th President of the United States, until the House declared a President, and the Senate a Vice President. I find that possibility remote - as it is likely the President-elect ...Conservative Blog: Right Commentary - http://www.rightcommentary.com





Obama MIGHT pursue criminal charges against Bush administration


Biden says criminal violations will be pursued (IF) Read CarefullyDemocrats have issued subpoenas to Bush aides3 staffers have been held in contempt of Congress


Elana Schor in Washington guardian.co.uk,


Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said earlier this week that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.


Biden's comments, first reported by ABC news, attracted little notice on a day dominated by the drama surrounding his Republican counterpart, Alaska governor Sarah Palin.


But his statements represent the Democrats' strongest vow so far this year to investigate alleged misdeeds committed during the Bush years.


When asked during a campaign event in Deerfield Beach, Florida, whether he would "pursue the violations that have been made against our Constitution by the present administration", Biden answered in the affirmative.


"We will not be stopped from pursuing any criminal offence that's occurred," he continued, going on to praise congressional committees for the deliberate pace of their inquiries into alleged Bush administration misdeeds.


Members of Congress are "doing the right thing, they're not making false accusations about anything … they're collecting data, subpoenaing records, they're building a file", Biden said. (More)




Why We Were Falsely Arrested
Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Amy Goodman, TruthDig


Amy Goodman Questions Ramsey County Prosecutors on Jailing, Charges of Journalists
Two days after several journalists were arrested covering the RNC protests, including three staffers at Democracy Now!, county and city prosecutors held a press conference in St. Paul. Amy Goodman was there to question them about the crackdown on journalists. Democracy Now!


Amy Goodman Grills St. Paul Police Chief About Her Arrest and Two Democracy Now! Producers
St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington held a news conference where he spoke about the nearly 300 people arrested in a police crackdown on protesters a day earlier. Amy Goodman questions Harrington about the arrests. Democracy Now!


I-Witness Video Collective Forced Out of Living Space After Second Raid by St. Paul Police in Five Days
Police in St. Paul are being accused of continuing to intimidate a group of video makers that traveled to the Twin Cities to document police misconduct during the Republican National Convention. Democracy Now!


Drop the Charges Against Independent Journalists
You won’t hear much about it in the tightly scripted primetime broadcasts from St. Paul, but local law enforcement is rounding up reporters in an aggressive -- and sometimes violent -- sweep outside the Republican National Convention. Their crime: committing journalism. Craig Aaron, The Hill's Congress Blog


SPJ Concerned over RNC and DNC Arrests
Leaders of the Society of Professional Journalists are expressing outrage over recent arrests of journalists at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Society of Professional Journalists


RNC Arrests Slammed as Goodman Arrest Video Is Seen 500,000-Plus Times
As more groups denounce the arrest of four journalists at the Republican National Convention, a YouTube video showing Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman's arrest has been viewed more than 508,000 times. Dave Astor, Editor and Publisher


An Open Letter on Behalf of Amy Goodman
Not only is arresting and detaining journalists for doing their work a violation of free speech and freedom of the press, but it's a travesty that our tax dollars are being used to suppress dissent and arrest journalists at conventions that should be celebrations of our small "d" democracy. Geoffrey Wheatcroft

Neither Respected Nor Feared iht.com — The theme of these past years has been American arrogance followed by American incompetence leading to American impotence. American strictures are vaguely listened to — whether it's Bush telling Putin to leave Georgia, Rice telling Israel to desist from building more settlements in the West Bank, or any number of Americans telling the E.U. to accelerate Turkish Membership — and then ignored. After all, they come from a supposed hyperpower which in practice is neither respected not feared. That is a direct consequence of what Washington has done.

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