The Gourds

Groovy. See them.

All we are saying, is give mercedes a chance

A lovely picture. Give peace a chance, yes? (disreguarding, for the moment, that this is a Mercedes symbol... poetic?) Unfortunately, giving peace a chance at this time most likely will result in massive killing and violence on a scale that one shudders to imagine. Is redeployment the right course at this point? My heart sinks to contemplate that option. The stark fact, is that America elected a psychopath to the Presidency. The damage he has done to America is staggering. But his war has also cost over 50,000 innocent people their lives. The tragedy of the current situation hasn't even begun to sink in yet. But it will. History books will describe this as the darkest period in the story of America.

Why?

Why is George Bush still walking around as if he deserves to be a free man?

I have it

I saw Yo La Tengo last night. Fantastic. See them if you get the chance. Floating between playful or melancholic melody-driven songs to LOUD, fierce, swirling, distorted intensity; pummeling you with sound. They have a new fan.

Bling

There was recently a movie in theaters called "Blood Diamond". I didn't see it, but apparently, its an (over)dramatization about the violence associated with the diamond industry in Africa.

In case you haven't heard, socially responsible people don't buy diamonds anymore, for 2 primary reasons.

1) Buying diamonds funds all kinds of nastiness- slavery, child slavery, dictatorships, civil wars, mass killings and violence, and al-Qa'ida. Yes, al-Qa'ida.
So-called "certified" diamonds cannot be verified. The certification program is a whitewash that has been impossible to regulate and is totally ineffective.

2) Buying diamonds is stupid.
Its a rock, folks. They are somewhat rare, perhaps, but so is eye cancer. Would you put an eye cancer on your finger if someone spent enough money trying to convince you that you needed to? Also, the diamond market is totally artificial. Debeers has a monopoly and exercises complete control over the price and availability of diamonds in America. They can cause the price to be as cheep or expensive as they wish. Buying diamonds makes you a dupe of the highest order. Spend your hard-earned money on something that will actually bring you or someone else happiness.

Baby Zombie

The company that Bush chose to hold up as a model of American entrepreneurship in his State of the Union Address, Baby Einstein, Inc., is the purveyor of perhaps the most widespread fraud in America.

How Poetic.

The company markets videos for the under 3 audience. They claim that these videos will promote learning and intelligence. To date, no scientific study has supported this claim. On the contrary, the consensus among child psychologists is that children under 3 should be exposed to as little "screen-time" as possible, as it may hamper psychological development and interfere with bonding with parents. In fact, Baby Einstein and another large company that sells videos for babies, are being sued by a child advocacy group for making unsubstantiated claims about their products.

And Bush just gave them the best free advertising they could possibly hope for.

Way to go.

Reduction is Increase

Just so you know, Bush's "20% reduction in gasoline usage in the US" (per his State of the Union Address) is actually a 20% reduction in the projected increase. This is the same as his "reduction" in green-house gases per the "Clear Skies Initiative"- it is actually an increase.

The problem, you see, is that problems aren't solved until you start reversing the actions that caused them in the first place.

Gonzalez says that there is no right to habeas corpus

Bush-appointed Attorney General Gonzalez recently said that the right of habeas corpus is not directly protected by the constitution, but concedes that the constitution says that habeas may not be denied except during times of rebellion or invasion.

blink.... blink

Right... read that again, and try to keep your head from imploding.

Aren't the Republicans supposed to be the strict constructionists? Think about that statement very carefully. What Gonzalez said, essentially, is that there IS NO CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION FROM UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT. Period. Instead, he argued that such protections are "statutory". The implications of this are chilling. First, because this is part of a pattern of the administration claiming broad powers to spy on, detain, and otherwise deny any constitutionally guaranteed right to whomever they choose. Secondly, because Gonzalez knows that's a load of shit. So someone told him to say it... and he was willing to.

The fact that it took a Supreme Court decision to affirm that, no, you can't imprison someone just because you want to, is alarming. But that Congress then passed the Military Commissions Act, in an attempt to over-ride this decision, is truly mind-blowing.

And really sad too.

Ann Coulter with goofy kids at some Dead show. Almost too strange to contemplate.

stupid?

"Is stupid funny or not funny? I don't know... it's just stupid." -Shawn Norris

Pentagon Unveils New Rules

Yesterday, the Pentagon announced some changes in the way that detainee tribunals would proceed under the provisions of the Military Commissions Act. See, with the MCAct, they secured the right to torture detainees who are being held indefinitely, many without specific charges, as well as the right to designate any person "Enemy Combatant" at the sheer whim of the Executive Branch, and strip them of all Constitutional protections. But the problem is, they forgot to redefine what is admissible as evidence in court. Oops! Well, the way they are trying to fix that little problem is to undo centuries of legal tradition and law concerning what is admissible as evidence, by a mere declaration. One of the things critics of the Military Commissions Act pointed out was that evidence obtained through torture or coercion is not admissible in court. The effect of this could be that people who ARE really dangerous could be set free because the CIA corrupted evidence by torturing them. Well, hindsight is 20/20, isn't it? No problem. Because now, you can torture someone, and use what they say against them.

Just because the Pentagon says so.

PS: Hearsay evidence is also admitted now.

what we eat

Jeff Corkhill sent me this pic. The Human animal has strange dietary habits indeed. How did it evolve to eat styrofoam and fluff? And for what purpose? And in what way is its fitness for survival enhanced by the application of all manner of seemingly purposeless chemicals to its body, habitat, and place of dwelling?
I was in the grocery store yesterday and the lady behind me with her two kids had nothing in the completely-filled cart that even resembled food: cheesy poofs, bologna, ho-ho cream puff pies, hot dogs, several cases of every kind of soft drink, etc. I have said it before... you should have to get a liscence to breed.

My New Blog

Well, here's my new blog... welcome to the new millinium I guess. Now I have to figure out how to use it.