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March 11, 2010

To Stop Gay Couples, Mississippi School Cancels Prom

Image is at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/images/prom2.jpgConstance McMillen wanted to go to her high school prom with her girlfriend.  She wanted to wear a tuxedo.  The Itawamba County Agricultural High School faced a dilemma.  Their policy said no same-sex couples, and no cross dressing.

The American Civil Liberties Union, however, said that policy was a violation of civil rights.  The ACLU's point had already been decided in Fricke v. Lynch, 491 f. Supp. 381, way back in 1980.  So the school district made a decision: rather than let one girl wear a tuxedo, they cancelled the prom for everyone.

The report didn't actually say it was because of that, but "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."

Apparently, in that county in Mississippi, learning about civil rights is a distraction to what they consider a proper education. 

Read the story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date

Image used is at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13517.html/ and appears at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13517.html/ No threat to its copyright is intended.

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March 09, 2010

Same-Sex Couples Start Marrying in Washington, D.C.

A triumphant couple outside San Francisco city hall after getting married. (Alex Handy)The United States' capital now accepts same sex couples.  Starting today (Tuesday, 9 March 2010), the District of Columbia joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont as the sixth place in America that allows lesbian and gay marriage.  (California did briefly until a court decision was rendered moot by an amendment to the state constitution).

The same-sex marriage ceremonies don't conclude with being pronounced "husband and wife;" instead the happy couples are now pronounced "legally married."

See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35776970/ns/us_news-life for more info.

Photo from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triumphant_newlyweds.jpg

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For all our entries on same-sex marriage, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same-sex+marriage

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January 21, 2010

Air America is Blown Away

Al Franken on Air America (Aug. 24, 2004 file photo from http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/974abbd0-9266-430b-a664-83df4c425299_mn.jpg)"It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business."  -- Air America Media

For those who aren't familiar with Air America, it began in April of 2004.  It was broadcast on over 100 radio stations, and broadcast during a time when disagreeing with policies such as America beginning a war with Iraq were considered "un-American."  It had already dealt with bankruptcy in 2006, but was sold and saved.

It wasn't an unbiased medium--it featured Democrat Al Franken (recently elected senator in Minnesota after months of debate about who won) and Rachel Maddow, who at the beginning of Air America was not well known.  It called itself "the only full-time progressive voice in the mainstream broadcast media world."

It will supply "encore programming" from 6 p.m. Eastern time today, 21 January, through 9 p.m. EST on Monday, January 25.  It will be missed.

See more info at http://airamerica.com/ and at http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9628724

Photo is from http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/974abbd0-9266-430b-a664-83df4c425299_mn.jpg No threat to its copyright is intended.

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January 11, 2010

Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Now in Court

Image is from http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/g-cvr-100111-marriage1-9a.hmedium.jpg. No threat to its copyright is intended.California's gay marriage ban is now on trial.  Beginning today, Monday, 11 January, the court is examing the ban.  Currently, five U.S. states and the District of Columbia approve gay marriage. 

California approved it after a court decision there, but it changed after Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage passed in November 2008.  It left California in the odd position of having legally approved same-sex marriages that were now against the constitution, which also didn't allow the state to force divorces on those already married.

Regardless of how this case of two same-sex couples is decided, the decision is likely to be appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court.  America's final court may then well make a decision that will greatly affect marriage through all of America.

In a fundamental question in the current case, District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker asked lawyer Ted Olson about state-controlled marriage.  Olson, who is arguing in favor of same-sex marriage, was key to getting George W. Bush elected president by, essentially, one vote in the U. S. Supreme Court after a recounting of the inaccurate Florida voting was denied.  Walker asked if the goverment could get out of the marriage business.  Olson responded, Yes, I believe it could."

Here, we largely agree with Olson.  Why can't marriage be returned to being a social and/or religious institution, and not something completely controlled by big government?  Participants could sign a contract on how their assets and child custody could be handled, and would have a choice of contracts.  Now, the government tells you who you can marry and how.  Couldn't that be a decision guided by your own conscience?

For more information, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34801259/ns/us_news-life/.

To see all our entries on gay marriage, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=gay+marriage

Image is from http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/g-cvr-100111-marriage1-9a.hmedium.jpg. No threat to its copyright is intended.

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January 04, 2010

Saul Landau, Barack Obama, and the World

Saul Landau.  Image from http://progreso-weekly.com/2/images/semana0/landau1.png. No threat to its copyright is intended."After eleven months in office, Barack Obama has hardly revolutionized – or even altered – the major dysfunction that confronts our system. A man of obviously good values – read his books and speeches – he has yet to show convictions. He has tinkered to keep terrible problems from getting much worse – a kind of political plumber without access to equipment that would redo the entire system."

That is from the blog of Saul Landau, an Emmy-award winning documentary producer I had the priviledge to work under as head writer of a university-produced, English-language telenovela.  Landau, a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, is an internationally-known filmmaker, television producer and author who focuses on domestic and foreign policy.  Discordians might be interested to know he won a Golden Apple award for "The Sixth Sun: Mayan Uprising in Chiapas," a film that was a major inspiration to both myself and Reverend Loveshade.  Saul is also a man who, like many of us here, was thoroughly investigated because he knew the "wrong" people and asked the "wrong" questions.

You can read a short bio on Landau, who can be profound and entertaining at the same time, at http://progreso-weekly.com/2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=971:saul-landau&catid=42:our-columnists&Itemid=60

At that page you can click on "Show Other Articles By This Author" to read his blog entries, including the one on Obama quoted above, which is at http://progreso-weekly.com/2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1364:almost-one-year-assessment&catid=40:lastest-news&Itemid=59

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Other links:

His homepage is at http://saullandau.com

For those who don't believe anything outside of Wikipedia, there's an article on him (which previously mentioned me but currently doesn't) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Landau

The image of Saul Landau above is from http://progreso-weekly.com/2/images/semana0/landau1.png. No threat to its copyright is intended.

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People with HIV Can Now Come to America

Photo of 24-year-old man with LeprosyIt may seem difficult to believe, but until today, people who were HIV-positive could not come to the United States of America.

The blocking law was passed in 1987, back when ignorant Americans (and apparently their elected officials) thought HIV/AIDS could be passed by handshakes and hugs.  It became the late 20th century equivalent of an earlier America's "C-word" (cancer), or America's equivalent of the biblical leprosy.

But Americans, unlike the enlightened bibical writers of a few thousand years ago, were ignorant of current medical knowledge.  Even in the late 1980s, the evidence was that HIV/AIDS could not be spread by casual contact.

And even if it was justified in the panicked 1980s, how could it have taken 22 years for HIV to be moved out of the category of highly contagious diseases spread by casual contact?  The United States was one of only about 12 countries to have such a ban.  Others include Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya.

It's another example of how American politics are often rooted in superstition, and how many years it can take to correct a misguided law that those in the know, in this case the medical community, had long said was not helpful and was, in fact, harmful.

Finally, after 22 years, familes who have been separated have a chance to come together again.  Assuming members have not died from legally-sanctioned second-hand smoke.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/dec/01/travel/chi-hiv-travel-ban-01-dec01

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December 31, 2009

Predictions for 2010

 

Loveshade Predictions for 2010

 

I know you've all been waiting for this all year, so here it is.

Here are my predictions for 2010 (actually, other members of The Loveshade Family contributed to this; they just don't want to admit it):

* The HEALTH CARE REFORM so praised by Americans (that is, those who don't have health care), will not work as planned.  Detractors will say it's a huge waste of money, and will put America in the toilet.  However, supporters will say it's at least better than it was, and it will continue to get better.  Rush Limbaugh will say at least I'm still alive.

ELVIS PRESLEY will be spotted in a shopping mall in New Jersey.

* The AMERICAN ECONOMY will show significant improvement; Democrats will claim it's because of their fine work, while Republicans will claim it's because of improvements made while George W. Bush was still president.

* An American group will work very hard to prove that BARACK OBAMA DOESN'T QUALIFY AS PRESIDENT.  The group will be suspected of having ties to a dissident group overseas.

* The supposedly dim-witted PARIS HILTON will still maintain the facade of being dim-witted, but will none-the-less cleverly manage to get herself in the news for yet another scandal.

* A male AMERICAN ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught with his hand somewhere people don't think it belongs; i.e., in someone else's pocket.

* A female BRITISH ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught exposing a portion of her anatomy that the prudish will not think should be exposed.

* The Law that DEATHS ALWAYS HAPPEN IN FIVES will once again be proven this year.  At least of those deaths will be unexpected, a famous singer, and a famous actor.

QUEEN ELIZABETH I will not die, but will have a significant medical problem.  (Sorry, your Majesty).

* A major figure in the MIDDLE EAST will be violently killed.

* In the United Kingdom, there will be renewed interest in an ANCIENT ACTIVITY.  It will be something that's been popular in North America for years.

HIP HOP will still be popular with many, and still hated by many others.

* I will perform a legally-recognized DISCORDIAN WEDDING, and there will be much rejoicing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

THE LOVESHADE FAMILY

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December 14, 2009

Gay Woman Democratic Mayor--in Texas

Annise Parker (photo by Zblume)Among the factors that go against a candidate for public office in the American state of Texas are these: being a Democrat, being a woman, and being gay.  Somehow, Annise Parker managed to beat the odds and get elected mayor of Houston.  She will become the first openly gay mayor of one of the United States' biggest cities.

Her primary opponent, Gene Locke, is male, but is also a Democrat in the non-partisan race.  Also, he's black.

Admittedly, things are changing in America.  A year ago, the top president-vice president candidates were a black and white man running for office with a white man, and a white man running with a white women.  And Texas has had two woman governors, the most recent being Anne Richards, who was elected to office for 1991 to 1995 as a Democrat.

But the image of the typical conservative southern Democrat was already fading then, and she was replaced as governor by none other than relatively conservative turned ultra conservative Republican George W. Bush.

Right now, Texas is a state where it's very difficult in most areas to get elected as a Democrat, even as a judge.  Travel through a small Texas town when elections are nearing, and you'll see many campaign signs proclaiming Republican in big letters, and maybe a few whispering Democrat in much smaller letters (many Democrats don't even put their party affliation on their signs).

Woman; maybe have a chance in a small Texas town.  But gay?  Highly unlikely.

But Houston is a big city, the fourth largest in the United States.  And large cities draw people from all over the country, and even from other countries.  Large U.S. cities are almost by definition cosmopolitan, more open to accepting people who don't fit the stereotypical "proper type."  Even though it was a city, there was a lot of anti-homosexual rhetoric.

But still, this is a very significant election.  Let's hope things go well for Annise Parker, the city of Houston, and ultimately for Texas.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34399468/?GT1=43001

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December 07, 2009

Uganda May Hang Gays--Supported by The Family?

There is a bill being proposed in Uganda that would make homosexuality a capital crime; violators would be hung.  Anyone who failed to report a homosexual in Uganda could be imprisoned for three years.

Apparently, some of the people behind the bill (possibly the author) are associated with The Family, a conservative Christian organization.

See the video at www.loveshade.org/blog/uganda_hang_gays.html

Thanks to Vernon Avaritt for pointing this out to us.

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November 23, 2009

Who Would Jesus Bomb? -- David Rovics

Nick Ut's Puliter Prize winning photo of people running, including the naked Napalm victim 9-year-old Kim Phuc.  No threat to the iconic photo's copyright is intended. "Well I've just got one question
And I want an answer
Tell me, who would Jesus bomb?"

David Rovics asks that and questions the Christian justification for war in "Who Would Jesus Bomb?"  Even though most of the Portland, Oregon resident is copyrighted, he let's individuals download his songs and poems for free, and performs in various parts of the world.  With his social commentary and protests, musical storytelling, acoustic guitar and recordings that aren't artifically made perfect in studio, he reminds us a little of the early Bob Dylan.

In addition to "Who Would Jesus Bomb?," you might also want to listen to his song "John Brown" about the extremely controversial abolutionist and folk hero who led armed insurrection to end slavery in 19th century America.

You can check Rovics' website, download songs for free and donate to support the artist who lets you download for free at http://www.davidrovics.com.  One person's video of "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU0OvaBqSwo&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div

Thanks to Vernon Avaritt for telling us about this artist and the song.

This article includes Nick Ut's Puliter Prize winning photo of people running, including the naked Napalm victim 9-year-old Kim Phuc.  No threat to the iconic photo's copyright is intended.

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October 09, 2009

Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize--Why?

U. S. President Barack Obama (official portrait by Pete Souza, official White House photographer and the first official presidential portrait taken with a digital camera)Don't get me wrong for my questioning the reasons behind this award.  I literally cheered when George W. Bush left office, and was quite happy to see Barack Obama in the White House.  When Bush was U. S. president, America's international approval rating was extremely low, more Americans were lost in combat than had happened in decades, civil rights were being blatantly violated, people from other countries were being tortured by representatives of the United States, etc.

Now that Obama is president, America's worldwide reputation has shot up, Gitmo is being shut down, the U. S. has plans to pull out of Iraq, talks are continuing to greatly reduce nuclear arms, etc.  Certainly a great deal of effort is being made to reduce war and increase peaceful coexistance, the type of thing the Noble Peace Prize recognizes.

But Obama has been president for less than a year, and the nominations closed when he was in office for less than a couple of weeks.  So why is he getting the award so early?

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," said the Nobel Prize committee that decides the award. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

The president said, "I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but a recognition of the role of American leadership."

"To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures" who won the Nobel Peace Prize.  "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call to all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

I can't help but wonder if it's not only a recognition of Obama, but a negative recognition of George W. Bush.  Bush's opponent in his first election, Al Gore, won the prize, and now Bush's successor has won.

I believe Obama did not expect the award, and truly believe that he wants this to help a group effort to bring more peace to the world.  I hope he succeeds.

But this may be one Nobel Peace Prize that will have to be earned retroactively.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20091009/NEWS/910090333&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28129.html

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August 24, 2009

CIA Threatened to Kill Children of Suspect

Central Intelligence AgencyA CIA report that was released today (Monday, 24 August 2009) says interrogators threatened to kill the children of a suspect in the investigation of the 11 September 2009 attack.

According to the American Justice Department, an official said another Central Intelligence Agency interrogator had told Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that, if the United States were attacked again, "We're going to kill your children."

Another interrogator allegedly threatened a detainee that his mother would be sexually assaulted in front of him.

Meanwhile, American President Barack Obama approved creating a new special interrogation unit that works under the White House and that follows the rules for interrogations specified by the Army Field Manual. Apparently, Obama wants to make it clear what's acceptable interrogation and what's not, and to distance himself from George. W. Bush-era methods.

While I'm less than enthusiastic about the creation of a new agency,  I don't blame Obama for wanting to distance himself from the practices of the recent past. I am completely opposed to terrorism, even if it does come from the "good guys."

Very early in America's history, the Bill of Rights was approved to assert fundamental human rights. But apparently those rights only apply to American citizens. The American government can get away with threats, humiliation and torture against others. It can also invade another country on false pretenses, killing its people and making many of the survivors homeless (Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, etc.), as long as it protects America's vested interests. That's why the world loves America so much. That's why Americans overseas have no fear of other nations treating them as horribly as America treats foreign suspects.

I am not yet ready to call America the "Evil Empire." There's a great deal of good. For example (and some may disagree on this), there's the American Civil Liberties Union which got this previously hidden information released. But reports like this make a belief in America's goodness hard to swallow.

For more information, see http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090824/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_cia_interrogations

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To see all our blog entries on Terrorists and Terrorism, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=terrorist+OR+terrorism

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August 21, 2009

Terrorism Warning May Have Been Bush Politics--Tom Ridge

White House photo of Tom Ridge by Paul Morse (12 March 2002)Tom Ridge, America's former Homeland Security Secretary, now writes that he was pressured by members of George W. Bush's Cabinet to raise the terrorist alert level--right before the 2004 presidential election.

In a new book, Homeland Security's first secretary claims this pressure came from then Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and then Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Ridge said this was a significant factor in his leaving the White House very shortly after the November 2004 election. Predictably, Bush's popularity raised significantly after the alert. Fearful people are resistant to change--it's part of a survival instinct. Right now, you're alive. If something changes, you may be dead. It's not always rational, but it's there. An external threat is one of the best things an incumbent president can hope for when election times comes around.

We've been saying since it began that publicly raising the alert levels made no strategic sense. The level was at yellow or orange almost continually, never to the safer blue or safest green and rarely to the most dangerous red. And when it was raised, the goverment told people, "It's more dangerous now, but go ahead and do everything normally." An intelligence agency that feels it needs to be on alert doesn't publicize it unless they want the public to do something different than usual.

To us, the entire publicly-announcing-the-alert-level seemed little more than a political ploy. Of course there are those who claim Ridge is wrong.

If you live in America, please ask yourself--right now, do you know what the alert level is? Most of us have rationally stopped paying attention.

See more at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32501273/ns/us_news-security.

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To see all our blog entries on Terrorists and Terrorism, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=terrorist+OR+terrorism

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July 15, 2009

California Legislature Rejects Summer School--and Common Sense

"Students at two elementary schools in Chino Hills have been attending summer school for nothing."

The California Legislature rejected the effort by Dickson Elementary and Rolling Ridge Elementary schools to make up for "missing time" that was never missing.

Both schools fulfilled the state-required number of school hours--except that, because their Friday sessions were mistakenly a few minutes short, they didn't count at all. So to avoid losing millions of dollars in state funding, the schools hurriedly tacked on 34 extra days of school.

The legislature was supposedly working hard to correct the school district's mistake and their own misguided law, but they didn't. Instead, they're using it as an opportunity to refuse to give those schools $5 million to which they were otherwise legally entitled. In addition, the schools are out all the extra money they spent on summer school days that aren't being counted.

Hopefully a bill to fix this legal threat to education will fix the equation:

School district mistake + California legislature mistake = punishing the kids and the schools.

Welcome to California.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=6908380

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June 25, 2009

California Legislature Fails Arithmetic

Students on playground at Rolling Ridge Elementary School in Chino Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)The California legislature is scrambling to fix the snafu that is forcing two Southern California elementary schools to stay open an extra 34 days. Susie Lange, California Department of Education's deputy superintendent of fiscal services, said "To the average person, it sounds like crazy bureaucracy that we count the number of minutes,"

As a couple of us have worked in the educational system, it does sound like crazy bureaucracy.  But that's because they aren't counting the minutes.

It's not a matter of the schools being short of the state allotted 54,000 minutes in school. The students made and even exceeded that requirement by the end of the scheduled school year. It's a matter that, because their Fridays were 5 minutes short at Dickson Elementary in Chino and 10 minutes short at Rolling Ridge Elementary, those days weren't counted at all. As far as the legislature's tally goes, the 170 minutes and 175 minutes students spent each Friday at those schools never happened.  In arithmetic as figured by the state legislature, 180 - 5 = 0.

Yes, the school district made a serious error in miscounting the minutes. But how could the legislature intentionally make a law that ignores time students actually spent at school?

Estimates are that even if the state legislature works at maximum efficiency, it will be at least another eight days to fix something that should never had been made broken. Perhaps we need to send those legislatures to those elementary school students. Maybe one of the kids there can teach them how to do their arithmetic.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-california-schools-not-out,0,7891036.story

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June 18, 2009

School District Error Means 34 Days Less Summer Vacation

Dickson Elementary School in Chino, California (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)Students at two elementary schools in San Bernardino, California, exceeded the number of required minutes to be in school. So they're off on summer vacation, right? Wrong. Instead, they have 34 more days of school. Instead of getting out on in the middle of June, they're supposed to stay until the end of July.

How did this happen? Rolling Ridge Elementary in Chino Hills and Dickson Elementary in Chino had shorter days on Fridays just like many elementary schools in California. This gave teachers time to plan, meet with parents, etc. But it ends up that state law requires these days to be 180 minutes long. Due to a spreadsheet error, these days were only 175 minutes at Dickson and 170 at Rolling Ridge.

The logical among us might say, "So what? They exceeded the minimum number of minutes for the school year. What difference does it make what days those were on?" But the logical among us are likely not bureaucrats and legislators.

Continue reading "School District Error Means 34 Days Less Summer Vacation" »

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May 01, 2009

Supreme Court Justice David Souter Leaving--Who's Coming In?

Supreme Court Justice David Souter (image from the U. S. Government)A friend and I were talking about how the possible retirement of U. S. Supreme Court justices, and their replacements, could change the nature of the Supreme Court.  A few hours later, I read that David Souter would be retiring.

Already, opponents of President Barack Obama are claiming he's lining up liberal justices and he and Vice President Joe Biden will violate their promise of bipartisanship.  Obama and Biden haven't made comments, and Obama specifically said he will not answer questions about possible appointees.  But that hasn't stopped the accusations.

Obama had made a statement in 2007 about what he would look for in a justice if elected president.  "We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

How will Souter's leaving affect the balance of the court?  Ironically, probably not very much.  While Souter was appointed by conservative-but-relatively-moderate Republican President George H. W. Bush, he has been classified as "liberal."  Sometimes, Supreme Court appointees surprise those who appointed them.  Once they become part of America's final court, they no longer have to worry about re-elections, and can freely make decisions based on their own conscience.

But it's highly unlikely that anyone Obama appoints will turn out to be highly "conservative."  What would really change the court would be the unexpected: the retirement of formalist, Ronald Reagan-appointed conservative Antonin Scalia, or of the conservative George H.W. Bush-appointed Clarence Thomas.  Replacing either one of them with even a moderate would be a major change.

See an article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090501/pl_politico/21972

For all our blog entries dealing with the U. S. Supreme Court, click http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=Supreme+Court

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April 18, 2009

No Penalties for Harsh CIA Interrogation/Torture

Waterboarding in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime. Painting by a former prison inmate, Vann Nath, at the Tuol Sleng Genocide MuseumAmerican President Barack Obama has absolved CIA officers from prosecution for waterboarding, depriving detainees of heat and clothes, and slamming them against the wall.  At the same time, Obama released details of the treatment against legally-innocent suspects.  The ACLU had fought for the release of the information on the methods which the president said are no longer being used.

The announcement has drawn criticism from both supporters and detractors of "harsh interrogations" (what many observers in and out of the United States call "torture.")  Some say the release compromises American security.  If other nations know the CIA can't keep information secret, they may not trust American intelligence.

Others say the reports should have been released long ago.  Releasing information on discontinued methods are not a threat to American security, and those who promoted and did the horrible acts should be punished.

Continue reading "No Penalties for Harsh CIA Interrogation/Torture" »

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March 02, 2009

Drug Enforcement Agency Will Stop Raiding Legal Marijuana

Photo of protest in favor of medical marijuana and the police (Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)It sounds like a joke, but it's not. Attorney General Eric Holder said that the the Drug Enforcement Administration will stop raiding state-approved marijuana dispensaries.

In other words, the DEA will start recognizing the law.

Maybe the days of George W. "We Are Right And Everyone Else Is Wrong Including America" Bush and Karl "You're a Good Puppet George W. Here's a Baseball Card" Rove are finally over. Could we be entering a new era where the federal government respects the law, the constitution, and American citizens?

Let's hope so.

See the good Alex Johnson's article at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29433708/

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February 28, 2009

President Obama: Iraq War Ends August 31, 2010

Black Hawk Helicopters from the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Sgt. Luis Lazzara, United States Army)U. S. President Barack Obama announced he will end America's combat in Iraq in 18 months, and will begin a new diplomatic era in the Middle East.

"Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," said the President.

Some of us clearly remember when America "won the war" under President George W. Bush on May 1, 2003. Victory was declared, and the war was supposedly over, except for the usual clean up. Supposedly.

This war has been filled with supposedlies. Iraq was invaded because of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" that Iraq supposedly had, or supposedly was building, or supposedly was thinking about building.

As further investigation showed, there were no such weapons or even the viability of building such weapons. And it's likely, if not yet proven in a court of law, those in charge in the United States and the United Kingdom knew there wasn't sufficient evidence to justify mounting an invasion.

Millions of people in various parts of the world protested the war even before it began on March 20, 2003.  Rome had an anti-war rally of 3 million people, which the Guinness Book of Records sets as the largest anti-war rally in history.

After the attack, the premiere Russian newspaper Pravda called the invasion an act of terrorism.

Whatever you call it, it has not been successful. Some may recall that years before George W. Bush set out to invade Iraq, another U. S. president wisely decided such an invasion was not realistic, and would be doomed to almost certain failure. That president was George H. W. Bush.

But the son didn't listen to the wisdom of the father, and neither did the son's advisors. As a result a great number of people have died and many, many more are homeless.

Thankfully, President Obama at least plans to bring American service people home.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090228/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_iraq

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February 20, 2009

ACLU Fights for Hell

image from http://religiouslyincorrect.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/nrfv-bible-cover-for-web.jpgFilmmaker George Kalman tried to register the name "I Choose Hell Productions" with the state of Pennsylvania.  It was rejected because of a state law that prohibits names containing profanity or blasphemy.

The ever-vigilant ACLU filed a lawsuit based on the Bill of Rights; freedom of religion/separation of church and state, and freedom of speech.

Someday someone's going to have to go after that obscene and profane unholy book that talks about hell, bestiality, both outlaws and promotes incest, and promotes genocide.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29284648/?GT1=43001

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January 23, 2009

New U. S. President Obama to Close Gitmo

President Barack Obama (from whitehouse.gov)"Breaking forcefully with Bush anti-terror policies, President Barack Obama ordered major changes Thursday that he said would halt the torture of suspects, close down the Guantanamo detention center, ban secret CIA prisons overseas and fight terrorism 'in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals.'" (Link to article quoted is below).

What is this country coming to? Does Obama plan to make us a nation that doesn't torture people?  "The Obama administration said all terrorism suspects will be covered by standards set by the Geneva Conventions, something the Bush administration opposed." Is America now going to start following those international guidelines that America and virtually every civilized nation in the world agreed to? Is America going to start respecting fundamental human rights?

We hope so.

See the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_rdp

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To see all entries about Guantanamo Bay Prison aka Gitmo, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=guantanamo

To see all entries about Barack Obama, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=obama

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January 17, 2009

Throw a Shoe at President Bush? Get a Party!

Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi throws a shoe at President George W. Bush during a new conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 14. (photo by Evan Vucci / AP)Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at President George W. Bush as a protest, got a party in prison.

Al-Zeidi was arrested on Dec. 14 when he made the protest at a joint news conference between Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. After the arrest, thousands demonstrated for al-Zeidi's release.

The journalist could face up to 15 years in prison.  But at least he got a party from the guards for his 30th birthday.

We don't condone throwing shoes at world leaders (mostly because they might have us arrested if we did). But we also don't condone a world leader starting an unprovoked, murderous war that resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people.  The war in Iraq has "liberated" a country that didn't want to be liberated, and left a high percentage of the population homeless.

Throw a shoe, go to prison.  Order the deaths of thousands of innocent people, retire with a nice pension.

As a Discordian, I have to admire the discord created by the throwing of the shoe.  Our own group, the Discordian Division of the Ek-sen-triks CluborGuild, recognizes used shoe seller Chao Tse-tung as a Discordian saint.  And as Mad Malik aka Joe Malik is a major Discordian figure, it seems appropriate this would happen in the presence of al-Maliki.

Maybe things would be a lot better if President George W. Bush has simply thrown a shoe at Iraqi President Saddam Hussein instead of invading Iraq.  Let the war mongers fling things at each other, and leave the rest of us alone.

See the story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28698294/?gt1=43001

For more on Discordia, see http://discordia.loveshade.org

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January 15, 2009

Legacy of George W. Bush: "Am I saying this right?"

George W. Bush and Karl Rove (behind the presidential podium) on Rove's resignation on 13 August 2007 (photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)When I see and hear George W. Bush talk about sports, his face lights up, his eyes shine, and his words are confident, informed and sure. When I see and hear George W. Bush talk about politics, his face looks puzzled and his eyes read, "Am I saying this right?"

Bush has been characterized as stupid. I don't believe that's true. The evidence indicates that his overall IQ is significantly above average, meaning he's smarter than most of the people who voted for him.

But my IQ is significantly above average, and in some areas I am stupid. Anyone who hired me to be an auto mechanic would be a fool.

I'm obviously not alone in believing that Bush, supposedly independent captain of the ship of state, has actually been a puppet of others. Many reporters have called Karl Rove, Bush's advisor since before he was elected Texas governor, "Bush's Brain." There's even a book named Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential, and a documentary called Bush's Brain.

But that doesn't answer the question: why did Bush change? What happened that changed a more moderate governor into an extremist president? Was it the pressure of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, or was that a convenient opportunity for Bush--or his handlers--to move into an already existing secret agenda?

Right now we don't know. Rove abandoned the sinking ship, and in a few short days Bush and Cheney will leave it too. Barack Obama will take the helm, and will prove to be not as great as his most fanatical supporters believe, nor as bad as his strongest detractors fear.

The future will, of course, have its own view of our time and place. But, barring unforseen temporal technology, there's much about this current administration that we will never know.

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This entry originally appeared at http://fray.slate.com/discuss/forums/2318550/ShowThread.aspx?ArticleID=2204488#2318550  The photo of President George W. Bush and Karl Rove (behind the presidential podium) was taken on Rove's resignation on 13 August 2007 by White House photographer Joyce N. Boghosian.

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President-Elect Obama Plans to Shut Down Guantanamo Bay Prison

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba prison (image from http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/12/obama.gitmo)Guantanamo Bay Prison, a place where "suspected terrorists" were being held indefinately, many without even being charged with anything, may soon be shut down.

President-elect Barack Obama, like his prime presidential rival Senator John McCain, had pledged to close Gitmo.  Both wanted to separate themselves in the eyes of voters from the policies of the George W. Bush Administration.  Many have called those policies violations of fundamental human rights.

Obama plans to make the proclamation to shut it down within his first week in office, which begins January 20.  His hope is to close it within his first 100 days, but bureaucratic delays and logistics may make that difficult.

The prison at Guantanamo Bay is seen in various parts of the world as evidence of American tyranny, cruelty and hypocricy.  Let's hope the closure begins a real change in American policy and will be more than just a symbolic jesture.

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November 05, 2008

Will California's Gay Marriage Ban Force Divorce?

No marriage symbol (as it appears at http://thornsandnails.com/pics/not_marriage2_sm.gif)Proposition 8, a California initiative that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman, has passed.  Because the measure amends the state constitution, it would effectively overrule the decision of the California Supreme Court that banning same-sex marriage is discriminatory.

But this leaves a convoluted side effect which will have a major impact on many Californians and others.

Thousands of same-sex couples married between the court decision in May and the vote on November 4.  What will happen to those couples?

The law will either be interpreted as:

1) Those same-sex couples who are already married can stay married.  But that would leave the dilemma of the state both approving same-sex marriage, and saying it's unconstitutional.

2) The marriages of those already married same-sex couples would be forcibly ended by the government.  That would essentially mean the state would force married couples to divorce.

Neither one of these options is something that conservatives or liberals would fully support.  The effects of the court decision and the vote cannot be ignored, and it will force this issue to stay in the public arena.  Either way, this controversy is far from over.

And is also begs the question: does this mean that the state of California would define the polygamous marriages of most Biblical patriarchs as illegal?

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September 10, 2008

Troy Anthony Davis Will Die This Month--Unless....

Troy Anthony DavisTroy Anthony Davis is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on Tuesday, Sept. 23.  He was convicted of killing a cop on the testimony of nine witnesses with no physical evidence.  Davis says he's innocent, and seven of the nine witnesses have since recanted their testimony.  Some said they were pushed to testify by the police; some said they believe one of the two remaining witnesses who still blames Davis actually did the killing.

So why hasn't Troy Davis simply gotten a new trial?  It's because of a misguided 1996 Newt Gingrich era law that makes it much more difficult for a person convicted of a capital crime to appeal.  Because of that law, evidence in Davis' support can't even be seen by the court.

But it will be seen on Friday, Sept. 12, by the Georgia Department of Pardons and Paroles.  The department will decide if Troy Anthony Davis should be executed.

We aren't asking anyone to write the Georgia Department of Pardons and Paroles to declare Davis innocent.  We're simply asking that you ask them to truly consider the evidence.  It's quite easy.  Simply click on the link to the ACLU, which has provided an easy-to-use online form.  If at all possible, please do this by Friday, Sept. 12.  But even if it's after that date, please still do it.

Act now to demand justice and stop the execution of Troy Anthony Davis.

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To see all blog entries dealing with Troy Anthony Davis, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=troy+anthony+davis

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August 11, 2008

Guantanamo Jury Decision Blow to President Bush

Image found at http://current.com/items/89031306_exams_prove_abuse_torture_in_iraq_gitmo_who_s_gonna_pay"GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - The Yemeni man convicted at the first Guantanamo war crimes trial will be eligible for release in less than five months after receiving a light sentence from a jury made up of U.S. military officers.

The victory for Salim Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, was a rebuke to military prosecutors who portrayed him as a hardened al-Qaida warrior and sought a sentence of 30 years to life in prison."

Rightly or wrongly, "Guantanamo Bay" has become synonymous with prisoner abuse and humiliation.  The Bush Administration backs ill treatment and even torture (see http://loveshade.org/blog/2008/03/waterboarding_president_bush_f.html) of people who are legally innocent.  This decision, that Hamdan got a 5 1/2 sentence after already serving over five years, must be a blow to the administration.

We can hope, as the American Political climate is headed for major changes, that the illusive and sometimes illusionary concept called "justice" can move beyond revenge and torturing the legally innocent.  We hope.

See the article by Mike Melia, Associated Press writer, at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/guantanamo_bin_laden_s_driver

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July 27, 2008

Don't Ask, Don't Tell--Gays in the Military

The photograph of Paul Tibbets with his ground crew in front of the Enola Gay is reproduced from Vincent C. Jones, Manhattan: The Army and the Atomic Bomb, United States Army in World War II (Washington: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1988), 535.Allowing homosexuals and bisexuals in the United States military is being examined by Congress for the first time in 15 years.

When Bill Clinton became U.S. president about 16 years ago, one of the first things he wanted to do was to stop the military from discriminating against bisexuals, gays and lesbians.  Under policy at that time, the Pentagon could and did ask recruits their sexual orientation.  This was due to what would now be called homophobia--people were afraid that gays would proposition, sexually molest or even rape them.  (Two or three decades ago, many Americans believed that most sexual molesters were homosexual).

Congress wouldn't go along with Clinton's proposal, but instead made a compromise.  This became known as the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.  If you were lesbian, bisexual or gay, you were supposed to keep your mouth shut about it.  In turn, the Pentagon wouldn't ask you what genitalia you preferred.

It was an odd policy to begin with--it was against the rules for you to have a "non-normal" sexual preference, but it was OK as long as no one found out about it.  Something of an "It's OK as long as you don't get caught" policy.

But the military establishment caught people anyway.  While the Pentagon stopped asking directly, they still investigated.  The number of people kicked out due to their sexual orientation only lessened by about 10 percent, according to Randy Shilts' 1993 book Conduct Unbecoming: Gays & Lesbians in the U.S. Military.

But Congress is now holding a hearing on the policy with what is ironic timing.  Senator Sam Nunn, who was a co-creator of the policy, is being seriously considered as the vice presidential running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who’s had a lot of support from homosexuals.

So what think?  What affect could having Nunn as a running mate have on Obama's campaign?  And should the military be allowed to keep people out due to their sexual orientation?  Is a policy that makes those who want to serve in the military hide their homosexuality or bisexuality fair?

(Alden Loveshade contributed to this)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080723/us_time/revisitingdontaskdonttell
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June 17, 2008

Same Sex Marriage Now Legal in California

I heard from Lorien that same-sex couples can now get legally married in California.  I knew the California Supreme Court had ruled that restricting marriage to the opposite sex was unconstitutional on the state level on May 15, but it took until 5:01 p.m. today (June 16) for that decision to stand.  (for a discussion of the May 15 decision, see http://loveshade.org/blog/2008/05/california_may_accept_marriage.html)

California is the second state to do this, and several couples have gotten married there already.

Of course there's protests, calls for changing the law, etc.  There's a California measure coming up for vote in a few months that would specifically ban same-sex marriage.  And because U. S. states recognize marriage as defined by other U. S. states, it puts anti-gay-marriage states in something of a bind.  This will probably beef up the idea of amending the U. S. Constitution to a "one-man, one-woman" marriage amendment.  My friend Alden claims that marriage in the U. S. has never been controlled by the federal government, and this would put even more power in the hands of big wigs in Washington.

So what think?  Should same-sex marriage be legal?  Should the federal government be able to control marriage?  For that matter, should the state government be able to control marriage?  And what about governments of other countries?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080617/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage

(members of The Loveshade Family contributed to this report)

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May 25, 2008

California May Accept Marriage Based on Love

Lesbian couple (from Queereaster Media Working Group 2006)Marriage has always been the state-recognized union of one man and one woman.  Or such is the assumption some would have us make, even though a look through Christian, Jewish and Muslim scripture would show otherwise.

Now the California Supreme Court has challenged that assumption.  A case was fought on behalf of 14 same-sex couples and by Equality California and our Family Coalition.  They had legal help from several individuals and groups including the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The result? The court overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage.  Because this case applied to state and not federal law, it can't be appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court.

Where will it go from here?  As Bob Dylan sang, "the answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind."  And as Dylan also sang, "the times they are a changin'."

To learn more, go to http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/12141res20050314.html

(Lorien Loveshade contributed to this).

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March 08, 2008

Waterboarding: President Bush Favors Torturing the Legally Innocent

The title of this entry may be harsh, but waterboarding is torture according to counterterrorism specialist Malcolm Wrightson Painting of waterboarding at Cambodia's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, by former prison inmate Vann Nath. (photo by Jonah Blank)Nance.  Nance taught at the Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school in California, so is an expert on interrogation and resisting it.  The technique was performed on Nance, who said, "It is an overwhelming experience that induces horror and triggers frantic survival instincts."  It is like drowning, meaning a subject "will say or do anything to make it stop, rendering the information they give nearly useless."

The White House announced that President George W. Bush plans to veto a bill outlawing its use by the CIA (American Central Intelligence Agency).  Strangely, while the CIA can use it the U. S. Military cannot.

According to a report by ABC News, "CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in."  Nance and the officers are professionals who know they're just doing their job, not people who are in terror that they may actually be killed.  But pouring water into the nose and mouth to be inhaled into the lungs can be quite dangerous, and can do lasting psychological and even physical harm.  The two front-running Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have called it torture, as has Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

Even ignoring the fact that America is supposedly a nation that believes you're innocent until proven guilty, there's a great deal of evidence that torture is not an effective interrogation method.  As Nance pointed out, someone being tortured may say anything to get it stopped.  As Americans, do we really believe in torturing legally innocent people in order to get information that's very likely bogus?

The Washington Post interview with Nance is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110802150.html, the ABC News article is at http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1322866 and the Associated Press article on Bush's threatened veto is at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080308/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_torture.

(Look for immediate updates by clicking below; later followups will likely be added as separate entries)

Continue reading "Waterboarding: President Bush Favors Torturing the Legally Innocent" »

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March 05, 2008

Dead Musicians vs Their Fans: Copyright Extension

Image of two musicians believed to be past all copyrightThose who know me well know that I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to copywritten material.  I believe the biblical "the workman is worthy of his hire," thought I might phrase it in the gender-neutral "the worker is worthy of es hire."  I once complained to leaders of a spiritual congregation that illegally making copies of music being sold by another ministry was stealing.  They responded by asking their congregation for donations to purchase music so that wouldn't be necessary, and received more money for the music ministry than they'd had before.

But my belief applies to the worker, not necessarily to the corporation that wants to own em.  That might be changing in the European Union.

"Charlie McCreevy, the EU's Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, wants to nearly double the European copyright term in sound recordings - from 50 years to an astounding 95," according to an article posted on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's website.  How many musicians will be around 95 years after they produce their work?

Art is usually meant to be shared.  I suspect that the biggest dream of most beginning musicians is not for some corporation to profit from their work long after they're dead.  Perhaps worse, a corporation can easily hold the rights to an artistic work without publishing it for decades, meaning the artist's creation will almost certainly be forgotten.  If it went into the public domain, it would have a chance to survive.

To learn more about this effort and what you can do, go to http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/02/stop-copyright-term-extension-europe

Women playing on Sambuca (Trigonon), Cithara and Lyre. (copyright free, from vase painting)

(Acknowledgement of bias--I've ran events for, made contributions to, and am friends with people who've worked for Steve Jackson Games.  That company was caught in a suit against the U. S. Secret Service, which was an inspiration for the creation of the EFF.  Some friends of mine were involved in a case that touched on changes made to the law at least partially due to that case.

The image above was found at http://www.felicity.com.au/artwork1.htm which has other copyright free images)

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February 29, 2008

Be a True American--Go to Prison

Buster Keaton behind bars (we believe this photo is public domain, but don't know the photographer)"For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America's rank as the world's No. 1 incarcerator," wrote David Crary, AP National Writer.  Keep in mind that's the percentage currently incarcerated--it doesn't count all those who are on probation or parole, or those who used to be.

America is number one both by number and, perhaps more critically, percentage.  The 50 states spent a total of more than $49 billion on corrections last year.  With more and more money being spent on corrections, and more and more people being "corrected," we have to ask--is this working?

See the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080229/ap_on_re_us/prison_population

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February 28, 2008

True Blue American Patriot Terrorists

How the American flag waves (provided by NASA)Danacasso wrote this in response to the reaction to Barack Obama not wearing an American flag pin and to him being seen wearing clothing that was given to him as a gift during a visit to Kenya, his late father's homeland.  (Links to those stories are at the bottom of this essay). While these incidents may have sparked this angry rant, Danacasso deals with deeper issues that go to the heart of what he feels it means to be an American--and what some people say it means.

 It seems that in order to keep from having your loyalty as a true-blue patriot in the U.S.A. from coming under the scrutiny of the microscope-especially if you are running for some public office-and found flawed, then there are certain kinds of requirements you must meet or the next thing you know, you'll be facing a firing squad.

You have to dress a certain way; not necessarily a suit and tie, but in a way that is acceptable for where you live and work. This includes a sense of fashion that does not send old people into cardiac arrest from just one glance.

You must always display and salute the flag, know the entire Star Spangled Banner-and what inspired it, who said, "Father, I cannot tell a lie", and how to field strip and clean an M-16 and reassemble it in five minutes, blindfolded.

It's good if you're Caucasian, male, affluent, conservative, and not some kind of sexual pervert. (Good luck on that last one.)

And it's very helpful to be a God-fearing, Protestant, born-again Christian.

And you must know American history.

No, not that American history, but the kind that says America is a progressive, noble, peaceful, protective, non-exploitative nation that never engages in any dirty deeds.

Continue reading "True Blue American Patriot Terrorists" »

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February 18, 2008

Are You Too Old for Justice?

U. S. Supreme Court (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)"There is only one anti-bias law — the one against discrimination based on age — that would cover all nine Supreme Court justices, if such laws applied to them,"  according to Mark Sherman, Associated Press writer.

The United States Supreme Court will be reviewing five cases of age discrimination this term.  Ironically, the justices themselves are immune--their positions are for life.

 Ageism, or discrimination based on age, is one of the few forms of discrimination that is still commonly accepted in America, and in much of the world.  Any time a person is treated differently strictly on the basis of age (whether said to be too old or too young), it's ageism.

You can read the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080217/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_older_workers and see our own philosophy in regard to ageism and other anti-person issues at http://www.loveshade.org/5bb/

(Thanks to Danacasso for pointing the article out to us)

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February 09, 2008

Popularity of George W. Bush and Congress in the Toilet

U.S. President George W. Bush in a photo op. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) "Bush reached his lowest approval rating in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on Friday as only 30 percent said they like the job he is doing, including an all-time low in his support by Republicans. Congress' approval fell to just 22 percent, equaling its poorest grade in the survey. Both marks dropped by 4 percentage points since early January."  That's from an article by Alan Fram, AP writer.

Many Americans are no longer happy with the War In Iraq, a war that began when that nation refused to let foreigners swarm their country with the right to search any building they wanted to.  If someone told the American government, "We won't attack you if you let us search every government office, business, home, etc. without a warrant," do you think Americans would have agreed?  There never was any evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, but we went in anyway, and have been in chaos ever since.

And people are getting increasingly worried about the "R word," recession, as indicated by that term moving way up in online searches and by surveys.

There's two major things that help a president's popularity and chances of getting re-elected: fears of threats from outside the country, and a booming economy within.  With the constitutional two-term limit, President Bush can't get re-elected president.  But people's opinion of the presidential administration reflect on other candidates in the same party.  But with people strongly disliking the congress as well, what does this bode for the nation?

(And by the way, isn't it ironic that America does has Weapons of Mass Destruction).

Read the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080208/ap_on_go_ot/bush_congress_ap_poll

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November 21, 2007

Was a Former White House Press Secretary Made to Lie?

Scott McClellan (AP photo by Ron Edmonds)Did President George W. Bush, Vice President Cheney, and others including Bush's longtime adviser Karl Rove deceive a White House Press secretary into lying for them?  Former Press Secretary Scott McClellan claims they did.

The issue involves the leak of the identity of a CIA operative.  President Bush has promised that anyone found to have been involved would be fired.  But when it was publicly disclosed that some of his top advisers were responsible, the president who won't admit his mistakes changed his mind.  According to McClellan, the president and vice president knew the truth before the president made his original statement.  Is this yet another deception of the Bush Administration?

McClellan's book, "What Happened," is due to appear until April 2008, and details have been withheld.  To learn a little more, see the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071121/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak_mcclellan

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November 06, 2007

Does Abstinence-Only Education Stop Teen Pregnancy?

Pregnant teen (from www.parentsbehavingbadly.com)Once again, Texas has the highest teen birth rate of any state in the United States.  Interestingly, Texas has a policy of denying contraceptives without parental consent and strongly promotes abstinence-only sex education in public schools.

By contrast, California, which promotes both teaching abstinence and birth control, and which makes contraception available to teens without parental consent, has a much lower teen birth rate.

From 1991 to 2004, the nation's teen birth rate dropped by a third.  Texas only dropped by 19 percent, while California dropped by 47 percent, according to the non-profit group Child Trends.  (California and Texas are respectively the first and second most populous U. S. states).

Certainly there are other factors involved--micro or sub cultures, wealth vs. poverty, etc.  But the numbers certainly don't support the idea that abstinence-only education stops teenagers from having sex.

See a Dallas Morning News article about this at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/110507dnmetteenbirths.35daddb.html

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October 19, 2007

Bush Fights Against Children Getting Health Care

After the U. S. Congress approved a bill to fund health care for children in low-income family, President George W. Bush vetoed it.  It was only his fourth veto during his almost seven years in office, showing it's something he's very strongly against.

The SCHIP measure had bi-partisan support.  The Senate approved it with enough votes to override the veto, but an attempt in the House of Representatives failed on Oct. 18, 2007.

Now, they're talking about a compromise.  Meanwhile, children who need medical attention may not be getting it.  Bush's primary argument has been that helping low-income children won't leave funds for poor children.  Meanwhile, the average American taxpayer has spent thousands of dollars to fund the military and its War in Iraq, which has resulted in chaos and the deaths and financial ruin of a great number of people.

But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, said those pushing for the coverage might consider a compromise. "As long as the bottom line is that 10 million children are covered.  That's nonnegotiable."

Read an article about this at the Chicago Tribune site at http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-kidshealth19oct19,1,4284377.story

For links and comments on the history of this bill, see http://loveshade.org/blog/2007/09/bush_plans_to_veto_kids_health.html#more

Continue reading "Bush Fights Against Children Getting Health Care" »

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September 28, 2007

Support American Breastfeeding Rights with H. R. 2236

Beautiful breast feeding photo from www.sxc.huDo you want to support breast feeding? There's a bill in the United States Congress called H.R. 2236 to do just that!

The bill's purpose is "To amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding by new mothers; to provide for a performance standard for breast pumps; and to provide tax incentives to encourage breastfeeding."

Breast feeding is the most natural and beautiful thing in the world. But some people want to stop it! There is nothing wrong with the breast and using it for what it was created for.

The bill is at

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2236:   

You can find your representive and write them in support at

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Also see a lawsuit about it at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-12-breast-feeding-lawsuit_N.htmThis is from Women's Health Action Trust

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September 22, 2007

Bush plans to veto kids' health care

President Bush at the James Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House in Washington Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) U. S. President George W. Bush threatens to veto a bill that would extend funding for health care for children in low income families.  The families are above the level allowed by Medicaid, but are too poor to afford private insurance.  

"Members of Congress are risking health coverage for poor children purely to make a political point," said Bush.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell countered, "The administration has tried to turn this into a partisan issue and has threatened to veto. The health of our children is far too important for partisan politics as usual."

Without approval of the measure, the Children's Health Insurance Program will expire on Sept. 30.  The measure has overwhelming support among Democrats, and has support among Republicans as well.

Read the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070922/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush

For current updates after Oct. 18, 2007 see  http://loveshade.org/blog/2007/10/bush_fights_against_children_g.html

For the history from Oct. 3 to Oct. 13, 2007, see below:

Continue reading "Bush plans to veto kids' health care" »

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August 13, 2007

President Bush will Lose His Brain

U. S. President George W. Bush, left, puts his arm around Karl Rove. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) Karl Rove, American President George W. Bush's advisor since before Bush ran for governor of Texas in 1993, is leaving August 31.

It's hard to overemphasize the importance of this move to the Bush Administration, and by extension to America and ultimately to any nation in the world. There's little doubt that Rove has been the primary architect of the Bush presidency. He is frequently referred to by the White House press corps as "Bush's Brain." There's even a book out by that name. Rove has been called the most powerful non-elected man in current American politics, possibly in all of America's history.

An example of how important Rove is to Bush is likely inadvertently shown in the article linked to below. When a member of the presidential cabinet leaves, a major news service article begins with something like, "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced today that...." The person's position is almost invariably listed in the first paragraph. In this article, Rove's title of deputy White House chief of staff isn't mentioned until paragraph 16 (that's as of this writing--these articles are sometimes rewritten). What is emphasized is his importance to Bush.

Personally, I've long seen Rove, who's known Bush since both of them were in their 20s, as Bush's brain. Since before Bush was elected president, I've told people to look at his eyes. When he's discussing politics, he wears a look of, "Am I saying this right?" Contrast that to his face as he discusses sports with bright eyes and a confident and knowing smile. I believe Bush knows sports; I don't believe he understands politics.

It's hard to tell what effect Rove's leaving will have on the last 1 1/2 years of Bush's lame-duck presidential administration, and on Bush himself. Without his primary advisor, who or what will fill the vacuum?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070813/ap_on_go_pr_wh/rove_resigning

Another question created by the impending departure is, will Rove be more influential after he leaves the White House?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-08-13-rove-legacy_N.htm?csp=1&POE=click-refer

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August 03, 2007

Separation of Powers: FBI vs. Supreme Court

FBI agents load evidence in the case against U. S. Representaive William Jefferson into a minivan on May 21, 2006 (AP photo by Lauren Victoria Burke)"'Today's opinion underscores the fact that the Department of Justice is required to follow the law, and that it is bound to abide by the Constitution,' defense attorney Robert Trout, said, promising more legal challenges to 'overreaching by the government in this case.'"

The case is that against U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, who has been accused of accepting $100,000 as a bribe from a telecommunications businessman.  But the issue the Supreme Court dealt with was whether or not the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is part of the Department of Justice, violated the constitutional separation of the executive and legislative branch in the way it seized and examined legislative records.

The separation of power among the executive branch (president and vice president), legislative (House of Representatives and Senate) and the judicial branch (headed by the U. S. Supreme Court) is a fundamental part of the Constitution of the United States of America.  The system was designed to prevent one group or person from taking control of the country.

Ironically, the FBI's actions were condemned by both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, and supported by both liberals and conservatives.

To read the article by AP reporter Matt Apuzzo, go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070803/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/raid_on_congress

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July 28, 2007

Does Illegal Immigration Equal Breaking and Entering?

From eyeranian.netDanacasso wrote this in response to a forwarded email that claimed it was a letter written by a woman and was published in an editorial column.  The forward compared immigrants entering American from Mexico without legal permission to someone breaking into an American's house.  It said in both cases the person entered illegally, but said because they were helping (cleaning and such), they must be allowed to stay.  My own thoughts are that entering public America (which Mexican citizens can do legally--they just can't stay for years without permission) and breaking into a private residence are not all the same thing.  But Danacasso brings out some excellent points that go well beyond the breakdown of an analogy. 

-- Alden Loveshade

 

Just some thoughts.

So, now an analogy of breaking and entering is being used. It could have been clever but this particular author simply isn't.

But, let's look at a few things.

Whose house was broken into in the first place?

Last I recall, much of the Americas were already well populated before we whites got here. We're pretty much the original illegal immigrants to America.

Of course, there used to be this thing that humans used to do for thousands of years, before the first civilizations. They wandered into new lands. Sometimes someone else was already there. Other times not.

After the civilizations began to grow, so did this practice. Nations would send masses of their own citizens with the government's blessing or curse to new lands and they would call it "colonization" or "empire-building." After the founding of the United States, a new term was coined in their place: "Manifest Destiny." Others use more direct words, like "invasion" and "conquest". In fact, you could say that Iraq is such a case.

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March 10, 2007

FBI Admits Spying on Us--and Maybe on You

FBI Director Robert Mueller (AP Photo by Susan Walsh)"The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans."  This is from a 9 March 2007 article written by Lara Jakes Jordan of the Associated Press.  Jordan also writes, "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left open the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against FBI agents or lawyers who improperly used the USA Patriot Act in pursuit of suspected terrorists and spies."

There's also an article published the same day by James Vicini of Reuters.  "The FBI abused its power by illegally or improperly obtaining telephone, financial and other secret records in investigations of terrorism or espionage suspects, the U.S. Justice Department's inspector general said on Friday."

We have something of a personal interest in this, as some of our friends and members were among those spied on.  We warned that this type of thing had begun way back in various writings including the 1 December 2001 article Stripping Away American Freedom: A Call to Action which you can read at http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/freedomstrip.html

The Vicini article is at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070309/pl_nm/fbi_patriotact_errors_dc and the Jordan article is at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070309/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/national_security_letters

Don't let your representatives simply sweep this under the rug, or blame it all on a few agents or assistants who were following orders from someone higher up.

Personally, we suggest you consider supporting groups who fight for freedom such as the ACLU at http://www.aclu.org or http://www.aclu.org/safefree/resources/17119pub20020920.html  The fight for freedom is, as always, right now.

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January 30, 2007

Sexism in Schools: Separate but Equal?

All girls classroom at Arrowhead High School (Yahoo! News Photo)In 1892, Horner Plessy, a "colored" shoemaker, was locked up in jail for sitting in the "White" car of the East Louisiana Railroad.  With a series of failed appeals, the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896 established that the principle "separate but equal" was legally valid in the United States of America.

It wasn't until 1952, over half a century later in Brown v. Board of Education, that the court finally decided that separate but equal was inheritantly inequal.

Now, with a twist it's happening all over again, only this time in reverse.  It's been decided that "separate but equal" is fair, only this time it's not "white" v. "colored," it's "boys" vs. "girls."  Public schools can now receive federal funding for same-sex classes, and even same-sex schools.  It's not just for physical and sexual education anymore.

Is this a wise policy decision, or just sexism?

You can read the story, which Danacasso pointed out to us, at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_re_us/same_sex_schools

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December 01, 2006

Malachi Ritscher: Burn to Death for Peace

Malachi

On Friday, November 3 2006, a musician and anti-war activist stopped near a 25-foot-tall sculpture called "Flame of the Millennium," and set his gasoline-soaked body on fire.  Even though this happened near the Kennedy Expressway of Chicago, his death received little media attention, and he wasn't even identified until five days later.

But he's being recognized now.  His death wasn't just a suicide, it was a political protest against corruption, cruelty, and what he perceived as murder by the American government and, by extension, the American people.  Ritscher felt the guilt, and wrote that he could no longer live with it.  Some view him as a matyr for peace like the Buddhist priests who immolated themselves in protest against the war in Viet Nam, and some as a seriously mental ill man who died without cause.

But the Mission Statement he left behind makes some powerful and controversial points about war, greed and corruption, and America's part in it.  You can read it below.

Continue reading "Malachi Ritscher: Burn to Death for Peace" »

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November 29, 2006

Judge strikes down Bush on terror groups

President Bushs with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff"A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate groups as terrorists, saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order was unconstitutionally vague, according to a ruling released Tuesday.

"The Humanitarian Law Project had challenged Bush's order, which blocked all the assets of groups or individuals he named as 'specially designated global terrorists' after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"'This law gave the president unfettered authority to create blacklists,' said David Cole, a lawyer for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Constitutional Rights that represented the group. 'It was reminiscent of the McCarthy era.'"

See the whole article by Linda Deutsch HERE

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September 20, 2006

Not Every Suspect is a Terrorist--Just Ask Him

"As Congress weighs how to treat and try suspected terrorists, it should consider the story of Maher Arar, a Canadian Muslim.

"His case is a textbook example of what can go wrong, and why Americans should be leery of embracing the harsh tactics President Bush wants applied to terror suspects."

Arar was arrested, sent to another country where he was confined for about a year, beaten, and made a confession to something he couldn't possibly have done.  Torture is not only cruel and inhumane, it's ineffective.  The Spanish Inquisition used those methods, and terrified many into making false confessions.  Will it help our "war against terror" to use cruel methods that are likely to get us completely inaccurate information?

Read Maher Arar's story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060920/cm_usatoday/everysuspectisnotaterroristjustaskhim

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September 07, 2006

The Paradoxes of the Bush Presidency

President George W. Bush"I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore prevent war from happening...."  George W. Bush (2000)

Is Bush working to prevent wars, and is he against using U. S. troops as "nation builders?"  Even a casual reading of the news will say otherwise.

Pat M. Holt, former chief of staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, makes some excellent points on this and other paradoxes of the Bush administration, including America's fight against democracy, at http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0907/p09s01-coop.html

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Secret Prisons, Secret Interrogration Methods--Freedom?

President George W. BushUnited States President George W. Bush finally admitted that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been holding people in secret prisons and using secret interrogation methods.  This is supposedly a good thing, something to "keep America safe."

I remember being taught about countries that held people in secret prisons and used secret interrogation methods for the "good of the country."  But those were bad countries, whereas America is good.  Right?

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August 21, 2006

Republican Party Has Lost Its Way

United States Senator Chuck Hagel"Where is the fiscal responsibility of the party I joined in '68? Where is the international engagement of the party I joined — fair, free trade, individual responsibility, not building a bigger government, but building a smaller government?"  Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), R-Neb, asked that question, according to the article "Sen. Hagel says GOP has lost its way" by Associated Press writer Will Lester.

It's a good question--what did happen to the Republican Party, the Grand Old Party, of 1968?

Continue reading "Republican Party Has Lost Its Way" »

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August 19, 2006

Victory for Freedom or Defeat for Security?

"It was never the intent of the Framers to give the President such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights."

-- U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, in a ruling that strikes down the National Security Agency's warrantless domestic spying program.

"I would say that those who herald this decision simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live. I strongly disagree with this decision."

-- George W. Bush, President of the United States of America

Continue reading "Victory for Freedom or Defeat for Security?" »

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August 12, 2006

How to Raise a Terrorist

What would you tell your children to help them grow up to be terrorists?

Reverend Loveshade wrote "How to Raise a Terrorist" in 2001. In the early part of 2002, federal agents seized it and a lot of other things written by Reverend Loveshade and other people. One of the things they took was a poem I wrote about September 11 that was published in a school book when I was 13.

I guess they got the wrong idea. We weren't writing anything to promote terrorism, but to show how to stop it. My poem talked about fighting terrorism with love, but his essay was satirical, as if he wanted to teach people how to make their children terrorists. I guess you could call it a Jake. I guess the government doesn't have a sense of humor!

Continue reading "How to Raise a Terrorist" »

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August 10, 2006

Red Alert--Terrorist Threat from Your Own Government?

You've probably heard by now that today, Thursday, 10 August 2006, British officials are taking credit for stopping a major terrorist plot to blow up several planes flying from London to America. If true, that's great. A number of lives may have been saved, and a spread of mass paranoia through America and Great Britain and other parts of the world may have been stopped. Or could this effort be used to spread paranoia?

Since the Department of Homeland Security was created in America after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack, it has been used as a tool to scare the American people. The citizens were told on more than one occasion that the level had been raised from yellow to orange. At first, it frightened people, which seemed to be its only purpose. What was the reason for alerting the American people to danger when they were told to "just go about your normal, everyday routine?" In other words, there's absolutely nothing you can do, but we want to scare you anyway. Why?

Continue reading "Red Alert--Terrorist Threat from Your Own Government?" »

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How old should you be to be an adult in America?

We don't believe in Ageism, which is deciding what you can do and can't do based on an arbitary age. (Read The Myth of the Adulthood Fairy for a humorous story about ageism).

But this ACLU survey is fun. How old should you be to do adult things in America? Check it out and fill it out at http://www.aclu.tv/youthsurvey

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Dick Chaney Wants Access to Your E-mail

It’s true. Dick Cheney and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) have agreed that the government should be able to access Americans' conversations and emails without getting an individualized warrant. But that isn’t all they’re after.

Under the guise of responding to the NSA spying scandal, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress are actually pushing for new ways to invade your privacy, with unprecedented and dangerous spying legislation crafted under Dick Cheney’s supervision.

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August 04, 2006

Minimum Wage for the Extremely Rich

The U. S. Senate just nixed raising the minimum wage, which hasn't been raised in nine years. Why? Because the Republican-sponsored bill would also give a huge tax break to the wealthiest 7,500 American families.

The bill, which essentially originated in the U. S. House of Representatives, was designed as a "win-win" situation for House Republicans. If the bill passed the Senate, the wealthiest Americans would get a huge tax break (meaning more financial support for Republican candidates). If the bill failed, the Republicans could blame the Democrats for voting against raising the minimum wage, even though the Democrats have been pushing for a raise for years.

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Peace in Iraq--or Iraqi Civil War?

Does anyone remember the time about three years ago when the United States of America, England, and other nations liberated Iraq? Remember how those nations brought democracy and freedom and peace to the Iraqi people? Apparently not--certainly not the Iraqis.

For those who have forgotten already, the attack on Iraq was staged because that nation might possibly be developing something that could possibly be used to develop nuclear weapons, which they might possibly be thinking about using on the United States, England, and other good guys.

Continue reading "Peace in Iraq--or Iraqi Civil War?" »

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