It's Just Plain Wrong

In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rear Admiral John Hutson pointed out that Mr. Gonzales’ recommendations regarding torture brought increased animosity toward the United States, hurt our intelligence effort, and increased the risks to our troops.

This is true. Torture IS counterproductive. But actually it’s a lot worse. It’s also just plain wrong .

That’s why there are so many laws against it. Not because it’s counterproductive...but because it’s just plain wrong. And it is the rule of law that distinguishes us from animals who don’t know right from wrong.

With some things—like torture, like slavery—well, no matter how many people might say such practices are okay, they are not okay. They are objectively evil. They are morally abhorrent...or, at least, they should be.

Antonio Gonzales attempted to justify inhumane practices in pursuit of a higher good, but no good can ever come from such practices. They merely serve to desensitize others to those practices and dehumanize those who are the subjects of those practices.

Mr. Gonzales is a professed born again Christian, yet I don't ever recall Jesus advocating torture. He admonished us to visit prisoners, not torture them. In attempting to rationalize and justify torture and the violation of international human rights accords the US is signatory to, Mr. Gonzales acted contrary to his own self- professed religious beliefs. Like many in the current administration, Mr. Gonzales wears the mantle of religion like a rabid wolf wears sheeps clothing, so it may go ravening amongst the flock.

Mr. Gonzales, by his words and deeds, has shown himself unfit for the post of Attorney General of the US. He should, in good conscience, remove himself from consideration for this, or any other government post.

An Election Stolen

Ten preliminary reasons why the Bush vote does not compute, and why Congress must investigate rather than certify the Electoral College (Part One of Two)
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
January 3, 2005

The presidential vote for George W. Bush does not compute.

By examining a very wide range of sworn testimonies from voters, polling officials and others close to the administration of the Nov. 2 election; by statistical analysis of the certified vote by mathematicians, election experts and independent research teams who have conducted detailed studies of the results in Ohio, New Mexico, Florida and elsewhere; from experts who studied the voting machines, tabulators and other electronic equipment on which a fair vote count has depended; and from a team of attorneys and others who have challenged the Ohio results; the freepress.org investigative team has compiled a portrait of an election whose true outcome must be investigated further by the Congress, the media and all Americans -- because it was almost certainly not an honest victory for George W. Bush.

The major media outlets have pooh-poohed this story. The Reichpublicans decry it as a wild-eyed conspiracy theory, methinks they dost protest too much. If all of the evidence is not brought to light and examined...NOW...it will be buried and forgotten, along with the Republic.
The major media outlets have pooh-poohed this story. The Reichpublicans decry it as a wild-eyed conspiracy theory, methinks they dost protest too much. If all of the evidence is not brought to light and examined...NOW...it will be buried and forgotten, along with the Republic.

The Scum Also Rises...

U.S. officials who take part in torture, authorize it, or even close their eyes to it, can be prosecuted by courts anywhere in the world [under international law].
Kenneth Roth, executive director, Human Rights Watch, December 27, 2002

U.S. Navy documents released today by the American Civil Liberties Union reveal that abuse and even torture of detainees by U.S. Marines in Iraq was widespread. . . . ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero [said] "this kind of widespread abuse could not have taken place without a leadership failure of the highest order."
American Civil Liberties Union, December 14, 2004

The president insists that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will remain in office, and on December 19, Bush's chief of staff, Andrew Card Jr., said on ABC News' This Week that "Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a spectacular job and the president has great confidence in him."

However, on December 9, Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, wrote Rumsfeld to express his "deep concern over issues related to detainees being held in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Recent reports indicate that not only were detainees mishandled and interrogated in a manner inconsistent with the Geneva Conventions, but that subsequent internal reports of abuse appear to have been suppressed . . .

"...internal reports of abuse appear to have been suppressed . . ." If that isn't damning in and of itself, I don't know what is. Beginning with Alberto Gonzales' vetting and signing off on memos which condoned mistreatment and torture of prisoners and dismissed the Geneva Convention as "quaint" and "obsolete" to the current flip-flop on the issue, the Bush administration has been complicit and complacent with regards to the mistreatment of prisoners. And let's not forget the utter contempt the Administration has displayed towards international law, save where it advances US business interests.

It also shows us that Abu Ghraib was not the result of a "few bad apples" "blowing off steam" with a few "fraternity pranks". It was the result of policy explicitly stated by the administration, and implemented in the field by members of our armed forces. But that does not excuse their actions. That such policies would be known and condoned in the highest circles of governement, all the way up to the Oval Office, only reveals the unfitness to command at those levels.

The Administration did a grave disservice to our troops in producing the DOJ memos in an attempt to justify outright violations of international law, the Geneva Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and plain human decency. The recent attempts to distance themselves from those earlier memos with one repudiating them shows that they know that they were in violation of the afore mentioned laws and treaties. Their guilt is plain for all to see. Their actions brand them war-criminals and they must be brought to justice as such. This Administration and its actions represent a shameful chapter in US history...A chapter which should be brought to a close with all deliberate speed.

And the First Rat Outta the Trap Is...

Off to a bad start

January 3, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas -- Oh boy! Starting the year off briskly, lending it such tone already, such cachet, such je ne sais quoi -- those Republicans are so special, aren't they? Their first move, first rat out of the trap, top priority: lower ethics standards. Yessiree, this 2005 is going to be quite a year, some pip.

Let's put that to a vote. Many problems before us -- Iraq, a Social Security "crisis," a real health care crisis, world terrorism, our international reputation possibly at its lowest ever ... who is in favor of lowering ethics standards first? Who thinks ethics standards in Washington are too high?

With the moral waters already murky, the current Reichpublican efforts to further gut the already toothless ethics rules will only further stir up the mud. These folks are getting waaaaay to big for their britches, they seem intent on placing themselves above the law...No, wait, they are the law, and they can do anything they damn well please.

And I thought my expectations for our great and fearless leaders couldn't get any lower. Suprise! They are now lower than whale-shit on the bottom of the ocean. I expect nothing but the worst from our elected leaders, and I am certain they will deliver.

If these changes to the ethics rules pass, the Reichpublicans will have abandoned even the pretense of moral superiority they so successfully played on during the 2004 election. Their morality does "...indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness..." . They are hypocrites of the worst stripe.

Modern Pharisees

26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto 1whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the 1children of them which killed the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? - Matthew 23; 26-31

In perusing the websites of the various religious broadcasters, I find little or no mention of the devastation and tragedy in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and other areas ravaged by earthquake and tsunami. On Jerry Falwell's website, the focus is on registering "...millions of new evangelical voters..." and hawking tickets for a cruise with Mr. Falwell on the Queen Mary II. No mention of, or solicitation for, donations to help the victims of the afore mentioned disaster.

The World Harvest Church pastored by Rod Parsley, seems to be more concerned with the non-threat posed by same-gender marriage and fattening the church's coffers. Again, no mention is made of the victims of natural disaster of last week.

I found the same thing on John Hagee's website and Jimmy Swaggart's website. What I want to know is, "what has become of the imperative to feed the hungry...? Clothe the naked...? Give shelter to the homeless...? Tend to the sick...?" Are they more interested in pursing a political agenda rather than the teachings of their faith. If so, they are, indeed, modern day Pharisees...Outwardly righteous, but inwardly full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Amendment XIV - Citizenship rights.

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. - The US Constitution

Montana High Court Says University System Must Provide Gay Employees with Domestic Partner Benefits

...the Montana Supreme Court ruled today that the state must provide lesbian and gay employees of the University of Montana System with the option of purchasing health insurance and other employee benefits for their domestic partners.

The court, in a four-to-three decision, ruled that the University System's policy of excluding lesbian and gay employees from equal employment benefits violates the state constitution's equal protection guarantees.

The legal precedent now exists to enforce the US Constitution's equal protection clause on behalf of same-gender couples across the country and overturn both federal and state "Defense of Marriage" laws.

Meanwhile, Deep in the Bible-belt...

Arkansas Anti-Gay Foster Care Ban Overturned

December 29, 2004

LITTLE ROCK - - Finding that children are not harmed by living with gay or lesbian parents, an Arkansas court today struck down a state regulation that banned gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union brought the lawsuit against the state in 1999 on behalf of three prospective foster parents.

"Throughout this case, the state has relied on ugly stereotypes to deny children in the Arkansas foster care system the chance of having the widest possible pool of foster families available to them," said Rita Sklar, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arkansas. "We’re very pleased that the court saw through these arguments and has recognized that gay and lesbian people can provide homes just as loving and stable as anyone else’s."

Who'd a thunk it. Deep in the bible-belt, in the little state of Arkansas, gay an lesbian folks can now provide foster care for kids abused by their straight parents. Gosh, they can find a loving, nurturing relationship with gay and lesbian couples, that they can't find in their own homes.

Guess that shoots the stereo-type of the ignorant, homophobic bible-belter right in the ass...doncha think? Probably not. The same nasty stereotypes will be throw up by the same ugly minded folks who oppose the very concept of same-gender relationships. These sick sots need to clean their own houses and take stock of their own relationships before they even begin to worry about those of others.

Poll: Most Americans Now Say War Was a Mistake

NEW YORK In a historic shift, a majority of Americans express the view that the U.S. made a mistake in going to war against Iraq, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

The poll, released on Tuesday, shows that 51% now hold this view, with 48% supporting the decision to go to war. In November those numbers were virtually reversed.

Now that the hype and hoopla of the campaign season has faded, and folks are taking a closer look at what is going on, they're begining to realize that they've been sold a bill of goods. But for all those who have so ardently and slavishly supported Dubbyuh's dirty little war, and still do...I told ya so. Now you own it.

A guilty conscience?

Ohio Republican election officials thumbed their noses at a subpoena Monday, December 27, as Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell refused to appear at a deposition in an election challenge lawsuit filed at the Ohio Supreme Court. Meanwhile John Kerry is reported to have filed a federal legal action aimed at preserving crucial recount evidence, which has been under GOP assault throughout the state.

Richard Congianese, Ohio Assistant Attorney General, is seeking a court order to protect Blackwell from testifying under oath about how the election was run. Blackwell, who administered Ohio's November 2 balloting, served as co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign.

Hmmmm...Something's rotten in the State of Ohio. Why is Blackwell worried about testifying under oath? Besides the fact that he was co-chair of Ohio's Bush n' Dick Show...? Besides the fact that he was in political bed with Wally O'Dell, Diebold executive and Major contributor to the Republican machine in Ohio...? And let's not forget that Wally promised to help deliver Ohio's electoral votes to Dubbyuh.

Sounds like a guilty conscience to me. But even if it isn't, even the appearance of impropriety is damning in and of itself. Ken Blackwell can kiss his political career in Ohio "Goodbye!".

Faith

Faith>; noun: (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion (2) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof

The key word in this definition is "belief". Belief is a box that can trap us. It leads us to think we know all we need to know and need explore or question no further. It can lead us to a seemingly inescapable intellectual and epistemological dead-end.

In the ancient Pali texts, wherein the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha are preserved, "faith" is mentioned frequently. But it is a verb and not...a noun. This frees us from the trap of belief. Faith becomes a dynamic and ongoing process...a path to be traveled, not a box to be trapped within. It becomes a living thing rather than an ossified edifice.

Belief grips you...Faith frees you. - Roshi Phillip Kapleau

Merry Effing Christmas!

With the budget deficit growing and President Bush promising to reduce spending, the administration has told representatives of several charities that it was unable to honor some earlier promises and would have money to pay for food only in emergency crises like that in Darfur, in western Sudan. The cutbacks, estimated by some charities at up to $100 million, come at a time when the number of hungry in the world is rising for the first time in years and all food programs are being stretched.

Perhaps if Dubbyuh could tap his corporate pimps and johns for some cash for aiding those in need rather than having sumptuous inaugurals topping the $40 million mark, he wouldn't have to cut this aid. Or perhaps if he rolled back a tiny fraction of the $89 billion in tax cuts he wants to make permanent, he wouldn't have to cut food aid.

But no, it is more important to bow and scrape to the money machine that is politics today than it is to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give shelter to the homeless, clothe the naked, comfort the sick, or ease the torment of the imprisoned. So much for Christian virtue. It's just another tool in the political bag to be trotted out when the opinion polls drop.

Dubbyuh's religious conversion was one of convenience, not conviction. Were it otherwise, we would see it reflected in his words and actions, but all we hear are words unsupported by action or conviction.

So, despite the horrors we see loosed upon the world, and my being non-Christian, I ask all who read this to remember the true meaning of Christmas...I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Do we see a pattern emerging here?

New allegations of prisoner abuse at both Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay are surfacing, and these events occurred some two months after the whole nauseating mess first erupted. The allegations include, "...strangulation, beatings and the placing of lit cigarettes into detainees' ears...

...shackled to the floor in foetal positions for more than 24 hours at a time, left without food and water and allowed to defecate on themselves..." - BBC World Service.

Such actions clearly violate not only US law, but also international law and the UN Convention Against Torture, which the US has long been a signatory to. And let's not forget Executive Order 13107. Issued by Bill Clinton in 1998, it enjoins the US and its forces to abide by ALL conventtions on human rights, and it's one Dubbyuh hasn't gotten around to rescinding...at least not publicly.

We can see a clear pattern here starting with the memos written by John Yoo, and others, which were vetted and approved by then White House counsel, Alberto Gonzales. Torture is O.K., unlimited and arbitrary presidential power is O.K. In short, anything which furthers the neo-con agenda is O.K., the ends justify the means, reagrdless of where that path might lead.

The Bid for Unchecked Presidential Powers

Just two weeks after the September 11 attacks, a secret memo to White House counsel Alberto Gonzales’ office concluded that President Bush had the power to deploy military force “preemptively” against any terrorist groups or countries that supported them—regardless of whether they had any connection to the attacks on the World Trade Towers or the Pentagon.

The memo, written by Justice Department lawyer John Yoo, argues that there are effectively “no limits” on the president’s authority to wage war—a sweeping assertion of executive power that some constitutional scholars say goes considerably beyond any that had previously been articulated by the department.

Although it makes no reference to Saddam Hussein’s government, the 15-page memo also seems to lay a legal groundwork for the president to invade Iraq—without approval of Congress—long before the White House had publicly expressed any intent to do so. “The President may deploy military force preemptively against terrorist organizations or the States that harbor or support them, whether or not they can be linked to the specific terrorist incidents of Sept. 11,” the memo states.

In addition to providing a rationale for invading Iraq, or any other country, the memo also stated that "...the president's decisions are for him alone and are unreviewable...". While this is in regards to the president's use of military force, it sets a precedent for unlimited...unchecked...unquestioned presidential power. Such power in the hands of the Executive, or any other branch of governement, clearly flies in the face of the intent of the framers of the Constitution, who sought to maintain checks and balances amongst all three branches so that none gains absolute control of the government.

Even more disturbing is that Alberto Gonzales, Dubbyuh's nominee to replace John Ashcroft, vetted and signed off on this memo. Is this really the kind of man we want as Attorney General...? One who would so cavalierly dispense with 200+ years of constitutional government as if it were toilet paper...?

The true colors of the Bush administration are revealed with the release of this memo. They care not one whit for the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. They scoff at the concept of international law, and view the Geneva Convention with utter, unveiled contempt. Power is their only goal, and they care not how many bodies they must climb over to reach it. They are unworthy of the offices they hold and they are a disgrace to the memories of our Founding Fathers.

Civil War...? In Iraq...? Inconceivable...!

According to reports today, car bombs exploded near the Ali Iman shrine in Najaf, one of the most sacred sites to Shia Islam, and at a bus station in Karbala. Both cities are Shia controlled. According the BBC,

"...the aim of the bombers - believed to be Sunni insurgents - is to kill as many Shias as possible and try to stir up sectarian trouble ahead of the 30 January poll, our correspondent says.But leading Shias urged their supporters not to respond in kind.

"The Shias are committed not to respond with violence, which will only lead to violence. We are determined on elections," said one of the most respected Shia clerics, Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum..."

The key to avoiding all out civil-war between the Sunnis and the Shias lies in whether or not the Shia clerics can keep their followers in check. If they cannot, todays car bombings are but the first volley in a bloody internecine struggle between the Sunnis and the Shias. As to what the Kurds will do, that is anyone's guess. They may be content to play wait-and-see, letting the Sunnis and Shias slaughter each other. But should they be regularly attacked by either, or both, the Sunnis or Shias all bets are off. Iraq will become embroiled in a three-way civil war that will make Lebanon look like a Sunday-school picnic, as well as further radicalize and destabilize the entire region. If American forces step in, they will be accused of playing favorites, and will become targets to all involved.

Both British and US intelligence summaries pointed to the very real possibility of a three way civil war in Iraq. But, as is typical of the Bush administration, if the projections donnot pass their ideological litmus test, they are ignored. If civil war does erupt it, and its consequences, can be laid squarely upon the doorstep of the Bush administration. They were warned against going into Iraq to begin with, but they chose to ignore those warnings...The blood, both US and Iraqi, is on their hands.

Orwell Lives!

AUSTIN, Texas -- "The aide (a senior adviser to President Bush) said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do." -- Ron Suskind, New York Times Magazine, Oct. 17, 2004.

And the greates impact will be on the environment. The Administration's Empire status notwithstanding, the problems of global warming and environmental degradation will accelerate under another four years of Dubbyuh's gross mismanagement. Among other things, the following are being stripped from Clinton-Era enviromental law:

-- Reducing risk to human health and the environment by identifying, evaluating and, where necessary, remediating contamination resulting from past DoD activities.

-- Protecting, preserving and, when required, restoring and enhancing the quality of the environment.

-- Conserving and restoring, where necessary, the natural and cultural heritage represented on DoD installations within the United States.

There has been no public debate or congressional review of the new policy. The policy was written by the man who watched the looting of Baghdad and said, "Stuff happens."

Also, sewage treatment regulations are being relaxed to allow sewage treatment plants to routinely mix partially treated sewage with treated sewage for discharge into our waterways. This normally should only happen during emergencies like...oh...a hurricaine. Now it can happen anytime it rains. The impacts to public health from this policy will result in higher incidences of disease and death in the elderly, children, and those who are otherwise at risk, from bacteria, viruses and parasites contaminating our watersupplies as a result of this routine sewage discharge.

These, and other environmental issues are not being subjected to congressional scrutiny or public debate. It's just Dubbyuh puttin' out for his corporate pimps and johns. So the Administraion's Orwellian double-speak like, the Clear Skies Initiative, Healthy Forests Initiative, etc. are just that, double-speak. The oligarchs are in control, and the rest of us are just plain fucked. Orwell was right.

Church and State

Since November 2nd, there has been a noticable upsurge in concern with regards to issues of separation of Church and State. Especially since the White House has taken a definite turn towards the religious right.

_A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom_



SECTION I. Well aware that the opinions and belief of men

depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence

proposed to their minds; that Almighty God hath created the mind

free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by

making it altogether insusceptible of restraint; that all attempts to

influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil

incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness,

and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion,

who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it

by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to

extend it by its influence on reason alone; that the impious

presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as

ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired

men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their

own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible,

and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established

and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world

and through all time: That to compel a man to furnish contributions

of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and

abhors, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to

support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is

depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions

to the particular pastor whose morals he would make his pattern, and

whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness; and is

withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which

proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an

additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the

instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependance on

our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or

geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the

public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to

offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or

that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those

privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow

citizens, he has a natural right; that it tends also to corrupt the

principles of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by

bribing, with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who

will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these

are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are

those innocent who lay the bait in their way; that the opinions of

men are not the object of civil government, nor under its

jurisdiction; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his

powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or

propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a

dangerous falacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty,

because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his

opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments

of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that

it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government for

its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts

against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and

will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and

sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the

conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural

weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous

when it is permitted freely to contradict them.



SECT. II. WE the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no

man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship,

place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained,

molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise

suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all

men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their

opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise

diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.



SECT. III. AND though we well know that this Assembly, elected

by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no

power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies, constituted with

powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act

irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare,

and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural

rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to

repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an

infringement of natural right.

(emphasis mine)


This statute, penned by Thomas Jefferson in 1779, is a clear indication of his feeling towards the relationship between church and state. They were, indeed, to kept apart. By providing a religion with the priviledge inherent in government recognition of it, that religion can and does become corrupt. History has shown us this repeatedly.

This does not mean, however, that our elected officials must check their faith at the door. If they are truly devoted to the teachings of their religion, and strive to live by those beliefs in accordance with their conscience, then those beliefs will show in their every action. If it is otherwise, that they simply don the mantle of religion for mere political expediency, then too will their hypocrisy be revealed in their every action.

Star Wars...? Hell, it can't even get off the ground!

For a system meant to be operational by the end of the year, Dubbyuh's fantasy missile defense system ain't workin' too well. The test before this was was cancelled because it was 'overcast' in Alaska. It seems to me that if you're gonna shoot down nukes you oughtta be able to do it any time. After all, someone launching ballistic missiles at us isn't going to cancel their plans due to bad weather.

This time the interceptor couldn't even get off the ground. The system shut down because of an "unknowm anomaly". I know I'm feeling more secure now that we have a recalcitrant and essentially useless missile defense system in place. I'm sure that's going to protect us from some nut-case slipping a nuke into the US in an uninspected cargo-container, or infecting themselves with smallpox and wandering the streets of Anytown, USA and starting a major epidemic.

It seems to me that the $10 billion, yes that's BILLION, a year being poured down this rat-hole could be better used funding our first responders here in the States and purchasing body-armor for our troops caught up in Dubbyuh's dirty little war in Iraq.

Dubbyuh Continues to Reward Failure

Why does Dubbyuh persist in rewarding failure? First he promotes Condi-mima to Secretary of State after her unimpressive and utterly unconvincing testimony before the 9/11 Commission. Next, he keeps Donald Rumsfeld on as Secretary of Defense, even though his miscalculations, underestimations and disregard for the opinions of battle-tested generals have led us to a quagmire in Iraq. Now he awards George Tenet and J. Paul Bremer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

George "Fall-On-Your-Sword" Tenet, stated that the evicence for Saddam's WMD's was a "slam dunk". But, SURPRISE!, they were nowhere to be found. And from the looks of things there never was anything to be found. But Scott Ritter, Hans Blix and Mohammed el-Baradei were telling us that six months before Dubbyuh ordered troops into Iraq. And, there was that little thing about 9/11. George had a plan for dealing with the perpetrators of 9/11, but he wasn't so much able to prevent it.

J. Paul "Proconsul" Bremer took over in Iraq and promptly disbanded the Iraqi army. This left thousands of unemployed, armed, pissed-off men roaming the streets of Baghdad and the country-side. Gosh, I wonder how many of them are fighting for the insurgency now? And, who can forget his throwing Iraq open to pillaging...er...free-market reforms. Just think of all the jobs provided to foreign workers who are willing to work for 25 cents a day. Iraqis have nobody but themselves to blame for refusing to work for anything less than 50 cents an hour. And besides, J. Paul is a "fashion pioneer" (yes, that's an actual quote). Not only was he Proconsul of Iraq, but he looked good doing it too!

Maybe Dubbyuh just roots for the underdog...Nah. He simply prefers blind loyalty over competence. Just look at his 'economic conference'. But that's for another time.

Adulterer and Murderer meet to discuss fate of Crook

Strain Is Seen in Giuliani Ties With President

By ELISABETH BUMILLER and ERIC LIPTON

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 - Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had a Christmas dinner at the White House on Sunday night, and he attended with an important goal in mind: to apologize to his host for pushing Bernard B. Kerik as homeland security secretary and then watching as Mr. Kerik's nomination collapsed in legal problems and embarrassed the president of the United States.

Rudy Giuliani And Dubbyuh met for dinner Sunday night. Among issues discussed was Bernie Kerick. One can only imagine the bowing and scraping Rudy had to do over Keriks hiring of a "Nanny". But further investigation shows that there was far more to Kerik's problems than the immigration status of a nanny.

Before the ink was dry on a contract with Taser International to supply tasers to the NYPD, Kerik was appointed as a "Director" in the company and made a cool $6.2 million on the deal. Can you say "conflict of interest"? I knew you could.

In April, Kerik set up a consulting firm, pimping his NYPD props to wealthy corporate johns. Among his first clients was the pharmaceutical industry. He helped drum up opposition to letting seniors citizen buy FDA approved drugs from Canadian pharmacies for far less than they do in the US. He claimed that reimportation of drugs would place the US at risk for a bio-terror attack under the guise of a legal purchase.

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point. Bernie Kerik is unfit to be dog-catcher, let alone head of the Department of Homeland Security. I'm certain Rudy ate alot of crow Sunday evening.

It's me