another innocent murdered in texas...

carlos de luna was murdered by the state of texas 16 years ago. the justification for this killing was that 12 citizens found de luna guilty of murdering wanda lopez with a folding knife in 1983. there was no physical evidence linking de luna to the crime scene...only two witnesses placing him in the parking lot of the gas station and running away from the scene and the lopez's identification of him as "tall" and "mexican" just before her call to 911 ended with her death. upon his arrest, de luna told police he did not commit the crime, but that he knew who did. prior to trial he identified carlos hernandez as the murderer, a man with a long history of violent attacks on women, a man whom his family members claim had a liking for a folding knife which he would constantly sharpen, a man who (as it would be discovered after his own death) bragged to at least 5 different people (including his brother) that he committed the murder and de luna was going to be executed for it.

the star witness, the only witness who was face to face with the killer, was not positive of the identification, but identified de luna only after police informed him the man was arrested hiding under a truck near the scene and was already cuffed in the back of a patrol car.

the premises of the death penalty was that the murder took place during a robbery. an analysis of financial records from the gas station shows no money was taken, yet the owner testified that $160 dollars was missing...a claim the clerk called in to finish lopez's shift disputes based on his knowledge of lopez's tendency to immediately lock up each $100 in sales. the last deposit in the save was a half hour before the murder and their were $55 in cash receipts . that would mean the station would have had to make sales of over $200 in 40 minutes, late at night, when the only two witnesses on scene were there at separate times and alone...in 1983. furthermore, lopez would have had to inexplicably have deviated from her normal routine and not deposited each $100 when it came in. receipts show de luna had just cashed a pay check of $149 dollars that day...the prosecution claimed it was robbery proceeds...yet the bills were neatly rolled.

the prosecutor argued to the jury that hernandez was a "phantom"...a figment of the imagination of de luna concocted to escape liability. this while another prosecutor on the case knew of hernandez and his violent past and them being well aware de luna was pointing to hernandez as the killer.

a detective working the case was informed by tips that hernandez was the murderer...those tips were not pursued. that detective, an officer familiar with both de luna and hernandez, now believes the wrong man was executed.

hernandez had a history of crimes like gas station robberies, knife attacks, and attacks against women.

a shirt of de luna's was discovered near the crime scene...there was no blood on it, yet the crime scene was covered in blood. the blood was not collected for analysis.

the gas station was cleaned and reopened within hours.

de luna and hernandez look similar. the only witness to see the murderer face to face has admitted his thoughts were "him being hispanic and all." the other witness was unable to identify de luna in court at a pretrial hearing shortly after the murder.

the jury system is imperfect. that is horrifyingly unacceptable when we are talking of taking a man's life. texas murdered an innocent man...and we want to expand capital punishment. god help us.

oh really george? the hypocrisy of the american presidency...

when you simply dismiss any that disagree with your statements of ultimate truth as liberal kooks, unpatriotic, america-haters, bush-haters you condemn yourself to the shadows of ignorance, thereby making it impossible to critically examine the world dynamic that arose with the american hegemony which has directly led to international terrorism being directed primarily at the united states and it's closest clients. once you have done this, it is all too easy to accept the ridiculous ultimate truths the person occupying the presidency throws at you and further accept that actions committed by others are monstrous while the same actions committed by us are noble acts of patriotic love. it is this mentality that allows that presidency to convince the american people that the bill of rights being decimated is not a problem because freedom just gets in the way.

with this in mind...i examine bush and the fallacy of his ultimate truthisms...

"America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us." america looked the other way while saddam commited his most horrific acts against the iraqi people...they were not used as justification to invade the country until after saddam stepped out of line. furthermore, the bombing campaigns of the first gulf war and the ensuing decade and second war were largely directed at necessary infrastructure such as water plants, electricity plants and the like...when coupled with the destruction of our weapons those services were ever more absent when they were needed most. furthermore, the sanctions led to unemployment of over 1/3 of the iraqi population, leading to such poverty that the people were completely dependent on saddam for any existence. also, the american intelligence community was well aware saddam was not a threat to the united states and was incapable of launching any serious military action.

"America is a Nation with a mission - and that mission comes from our most basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire. Our aim is a democratic peace - a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and woman." well, america is a nation with a mission...however, as much as george would like to hide the ball...it is, in fact, a mission of global domination. although the american government has made little attempt to hide this fact over the years (manifest destiny, the monroe doctrine, the marshall plan, etc.) the american people remain completely ignorant of the fact that their government has developed a global military empire with bases in over 350 nations worldwide. futhermore, actions of the american government have made it clear that democratic peace is not the ultimate goal...but stability with those in power very much in favor of the united states. that is made clear by the latest war in which countries whose leaders listened to their people that were against the iraq war by as much as 95% and refused to help were called weak and lost support from the american government while those countries which abandoned the will of their people and sided with a tiny portion of their population to help with the war were told they are upholding the ideals of democracy. the rest of the world's media has well documented american attempts, often brutal, at subversion of democracy in regions we feared a popularly elected government would hurt our chances at neverending global dominance.

"America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienable right for life. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government because it does not come from government, it comes from the creator of life." but apparently the right to life can be denied by the american government in other lands...namely latin america, the pacific, and the middle east.

"Any government that supports, protects or harbours terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent and equally guilty of terrorist crimes." by saying this, george indicted the american government as equally guilty of terrorist crimes. the united states code defines international terrorism in 18 U.S.C. 2331 (i don't feel like typing it out...so look it up)...the definition very much applies to american actions abroad. it is incredible how easy it is to talk of horrible terrorist actions while leaving out the crucial and necessary american encouragement, protection, support, harbouring and complicity in those actions. it is all too easy to apply these standards to others, but extremely difficult to appply them to ourselves.

"Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups or seeks to possess weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilised world and will be confronted." again, if you use the statutory definition of terrorism from the united states code coupled with the government of the united states' attempts to forego international law as well as it's own law...you have the first prong. as for the possession of weapons of mass destruction...it is too obvious...or at least it should be. it is apparently only acceptable for the united states to have nuclear weapons...although we are the only country to prove barbaric enough to utilize them.

"Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." even george does not truly believe this. the world does not exist in such black and white.

"For all who love freedom and peace, the world without Saddam Hussein's regime is a better and safer place." even the current administration's experts saw prior to the war that topplying saddam would actually lead to less stability, an expanse of terrorism, and a proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. how this is a better and safer world...i have no idea.

"Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction." free nations have been responsible for each major war of the last 150 years. "free" nations are the only one's who already have developed weapons of mass destruction. "the free nation" is the only to ever use a nuclear weapon.

"Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended." freedom was not attacked. decades ago, the national security council under eusenhower declared the "reason for the campaign of hatred against us in the arab world was the perception the united states supports corrupt and brutal governments and is opposing political and economic progress in order to proect it's interests in near east oil." somewhere logic took a back seat.

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." the idiocy of this statement speaks for itself.

"Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history - revisionist historians is what I like to call them." this is typical of the view that allows one to dismiss responsible reporting as hatred for america. the american government and media have been actively attempting to rewrite history by ommission for a long, long time. if the american people knew what their government did in their name...they would be horrified.

"The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable - and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power Who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true." in fact, it has been largely stifled in the world by american policies. again...this has been reported at length by the world media...our's has ignored it.

"The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear - and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march." it is amazing how appropriate this statement would be coming from leaders in indonesia, venezuala, nicaragua, iran, etc. while the american government desperately tried to prop up undemocratic rulers.

"Use power to help people. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power and it is to serve people." however, the american government will continue to do as it has and utilize power to advance it's own interests. furthermore, we make no attempt to hide that our invasion of iraq was partially based on making a great show in the world.

"We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace." in fact, the united states and israel have time and time again outrightly rejected any serious attempt at peace in favor of an aggressive use of force meant to frighten the world back into line.

"We will stand up for our friends in the world. And one of the most important friends is the State of Israel. My administration will be steadfast in support Israel against terrorism and violence, and in seeking the peace for which all Israelis pray." yet this administration and those in the past refused to listen to legitimate greviances and likely successful efforts at peace in the middle east. furthermore, our policies in the middle east and specifically between israel and the palestinians are directly responsible for increased hostilities and were never meant to seriously lead to peace.

"You can't put democracy and freedom back into a box." yet the bill of rights does not apply if george so says.

i may be sick, but you're the disease...

high crimes and misdemeanors, amnesty, and voting rights...

"high crimes and misdemeanors"...what do we know for sure that phrase means? well, it may or may not include disagreement with radical republican reconstruction...although enough in the senate apparently thought so. it probably includes complicity in burglary for political gain. it probably includes perjury...and yes democrats, clinton's testimony was perjury, whether it was about sex or murder, it was perjury. but apparently slaughter, terrorism and war crimes don't fall into that category...i guess they are just petty misdeamenors as far as the office of the presidency is concerned. damn good thing too...i wonder if any of our presidents in the modern age could've made it through a single term if we hadn't decided as a people that state-sponsored terrorism, slaughter of innocents, complicity in fascism (yes...we were proud of the "gains" both mussolini and hitler were making until they stepped out of line and over one too many borders), targeting of urban civilian populations (notice nobody was prosecuted for this at nuremburg...might've set a dangerous precedent)...i think you get my point. impeachment is meaningless...the two times in history the process was actually pulled out it was for blatantly political reasons (even if the second time around the actions may have qualified)...oddly enough, both times by the republican party against a southern democrat. (side note...why do republicans hate clinton? he was better at putting conservative ideals into practice than anyone they've been putting up there. and on the flip side, why do democrats love clinton? he wasn't even one of them.). can we retroactively impeach roosevelt? truman? kennedy (one of the worst)? johnson? carter? reagan? bush sr.? clinton (again)? and can we please at least raise the issue of impeachment for the current nimblenuts occupying the white house?

amnesty for "terrorists" is absolutely unacceptable if you ask just about anyone with presidential ambitions in this country. they claim these people have "murdered" over 2,500 US soldiers and should not be allowed to walk away from such crimes. nevermind that killing enemy soldiers in a war is not murder...it is legally sanctioned killing...but then, we've shown we honestly could not care less about the the rules and laws of war. (and i admit, i've always been intrigued by law in war...as absurd as it sounds, if we pretend we live by them, we should at least make a token effort).

so the iraqi prime minister wants to grant amnesty to insurgents in order to move forward and actually stabilize his country. (any side bets on how long we let this government stand since this "democracy" apparently isn't strong enough to ignore the will of it's people and dance for us?) he wants his country to start working together and heal. seems fairly reasonable to me...but then i also thought lincoln was a pretty smart man (something the republican party apparently no longer believes). lincoln's plan for reconstruction, which, by the way, likely would have led to a smoother transition and avoided at least some of the horrible backlash that resulted in such bigotry being reinstated as law across the american south, called basically for amnesty for southerners who took up arms against their own fucking country...let along fought an american army stationed half a world away.

refusal to recognize the benefits that amnesty would hold for the country of iraq and refusal to allow their "democratically" elected representatives to actually do what their constituents desire to be done rather than what the white house wants them to do makes it perfectly clear that the fate of the iraqi people was never a concern of those that led us into this war. (nor was the threat of saddam...which anyone with half a fucking brain could see was virtually nonexistent...and anyone with half a fucking brain would notice that saddam, even if he had these vast stockpiles of weapons, kept a tight lid on them and never would have given them to terrorist organizations that wanted him out as much as the the guy who's father he tried to kill). if you honestly believe this had anything to do with anything but flexing american muscle and showing how the world must cower in fear before us while gaining access to the world's energy supply in a serious way you are either a fool or a liar.

republicans that split with some of their friends on extending the voting rights act are not only apparently out to sabotage their own party, but are horrifically amusingly bad at hiding their misdirected racism and xenophobia. one of their excuses is because it is apparently undemocratic to provide second language ballots or translation assistance for those that are voting. this is a completely idiotic subset of the immigration debate...but it forgets one thing. those that are voting ARE ALREADY CITIZENS! so basically, these folks want to make sure that citizens are not able to fully and effectively utilize their right to vote...the most important of all...because they may not vote for fat, rich, white men.

an example - harris county, texas, 2003 election - no bilingual assistance for the growing vietnamese community outside houston, violation of the voting rights act. harris county, texas, 2004 election - bilingual assistance for the growing vietnamese community outside houston, first vietnamese representative sent to the state legislature. see...therein lies the problem for these fucking assholes...allow minorities to have a voice, and they will tell you to go fuck yourself because it is obvious you don't give a rats ass about anyone but fellow fat, rich, heretical white men.

it serves you right to suffer...

the christian right's record on the ten commandments...

as the chicago tribune has uncovered yet another man executed in texas for a murder he did not commit (more on that this week), i began to consider just how poorly these people that claim to be on the in with god have followed his commandments. (and can i just say...the whole "those who will not live by the law, shall die by the law!" bit from chuck heston is a fucking riot). shall we take a look? since evangelicals and born-agains aren't too fond of the catholics...or at least they didn't used to be...i'll try and stick to the basic protestant version.

Commandment 1 - thou shalt have no other gods before me.
this is a serious problem for them right off the bat...reagan, the dub, globalization, aries (yes, the god of war), trickle-down economics. not so good here. the frighteningly exalted status of their pathetically poor leadership brings to question whether they truly only have that one god. my favorite has to be their worshiping of gods that aren't even in human form...gods like the "free market" (even if they are really, really bad at the free market thing, but they don't want to tell you that), globalization (a variation on the free market...incredibly destructive to all who are touched by it, especially the nation that pushes it in the long run), and reaganomics...quite possibly one of the most clearly historically proven failures in economic theory. i gotta go with a no on this one...0 for 1.

Commandment 2 - thou shalt not make a graven image and bow down to it for i am a jealous god and will smote your ancestors.
i was almost willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one...despite some questionable activity whenever a gun is in their presence...but the flag burning amendment try just put them over the edge. worshipping some cloth as if it were holy...prepare for god's wrath. 0 for 2.

Commandment 3 - thou shalt not take the lord thy god's name in vain.
although i would be willing to bet they cuss like fucking sailor's on a drunken search for whores...i'll give them this one, if only because they are falling behind quickly. 1 for 3.

Commandment 4 - remember the sabbath, don't let anyone work...i got it done in six days, you can too.
it's amusing because the sabbath has become big-time business for the christian right...what with "preachers" making their money on the weekend by milking wretched souls and spreading false interpretations about the bible. throw in the culture they promote which mandates that if you are not working yourself to death all the time you are a useless drain on society...and the fact that they will not guarantee folks a wage that would allow them to take a day off a week...i just can't do it. 1 for 4...not a good start.

Commandment 5 - honor thy mother and father.
this was another one i was originally willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on...but in examining the dub's record it appears he has no faith in the policies of his father. responding to high deficits by cutting taxes, getting involved in an occupation of iraq, etc. and given that they have christened him the next prophet...can't give them this one either. 1 for 5.

Commandment 6 - thou shalt not kill.
wow. does this one even need to be explained? a ferocious adherence to the draconion death penalty often used against wrongly judged people. the slaughter of innocents worldwide in the name of democracy and freedom...conveniently done mostly by assisting in suppressing democratic movements in countries without much freedom. assassination attempts...a desire to simply erase the middle east and all the people inhabiting it. the record here is so abysmal they lose the point they got. 0 for 6.

Commandment 7 - thou shalt not commit adultery.
as much as they liked to complain and bitch about clinton's inability to keep his dick in his pants (and so i don't get the token "you want to fuck clinton" response...i hated the man, i think he did a lot wrong and barely any good...i also think he commited perjury and violations of laws against perjury, especially by the one sworn to uphold those laws, should be taken seriously) they've pretty much shown they are just as prone to fucking around as anyone else. also...something they conveniently don't like to tell you when they bitch about their inability to make gay sex illegal...one can commit adultery and bestiality in texas without the law stepping in. no luck again. 0 for 7.

Commandment 8 - thou shalt not steal.
this one is too easy...between gouging the poor, handing out the american people's oil reserves for free, indians, etc. (shit, this list could go on forever). i think the clearest example would have to be folks like jerry falwell taking "donations" from those that cannot afford it. again, their record is so pitiful, negative points...but they are already at zero...so 0 for 8.

Commandment 9 - thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor.
well...they like to pray to the god of globalization...so they have to accept that the middle east would be our neighbor. fudging the intelligence on iraq...bearing false witness. then of course there is the racist lies about mexican immigrants and how they are destroying this country that fail to actually take note of the serious benefit gained. wow...i honestly thought they might do a little better than this. 0 for 9.

Commandment 10 - thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbors.
oil. cheap labor. oil. land for military bases. oil. need i go on? 0 for 10.

so there you have it...the fundamentalist leadership on the right has doomed us all to a good old fashioned smiting in the near future. fan-fucking-tastic.

(writers note...i have left off the uber-secret 11th commandment which is rumored to command "thou shalt destroy your home nation, bring a few others down with you, starve your neighbor, become a glutton, destroy the earth i have provided and kill off some pesky peoples with darker skin and funny accents. for this, you will be forgiven any and all transgressions against the previous ten commandments." so if that one exists...i suppose they are on the right track.)

making enemies, really bad analogies, and making the big time...

even our puppets are turning on us now...fantastic...here goes a big thank you to the folks in washington that have done so much to end terrorism. karzai...our boy...went public with what is amazingly difficult for people in this country to understand (although if you spend 100 years dehumanizing a people, killing them becomes a hell of a lot easier). you know it's bad when the guy you put in power after taking over the country tells you your policies are completely moronic. although he kept his language toned down, he basically told the united states that slaughtering afghanis was not exactly a productive way to fight terrorism. anyone want to bet that instead of taking note that an effective way of fighting terror involves examining why people are more than willing to sacrifice their lives is abandoned for the easier route of just killing the ones willing to die and easily replaced? how many times have our leaders told us "they have no respect for human life...anyone else's or their own" and yet expect to effectively deter them by killing people. but no...that is perfectly logical...really, it is. i mean, killing people as a deterrent has worked so well in this country...look how low our violent crime has dropped since capital punishment was reinstituted.

in a recent speech bush compared iraq to hungary in the 1950's. when i read this, i honestly thought someone on his staff was making a joke at his expense. his thoughts in reading the speech went something like this "hungary circa 1956...overrun by a superpower that forced a government on the people that they did not want until they got so sick of it they rose up against the forces of the superpower...iraq circa 2006...overrun by a superpower and fighting for independ...ooo...the small country fighting against the evil empire analogy was a really bad choice georgey...oh well, i'm in too deep now...best run with it. afterall, a good leader will stick to his guns even when it is absolutely clear they are pointing right back at his face...afterall, the american people only care about resolve in the face of adversity. so i'll just have to git-r-dun."

as a chicagoan let me just say...woot. some wannabe terrorists were going to try and blow up the sears tower. chicago is finally important...even if they didn't realize it is mostly empty.

so lead us there...

those are the fucking rules...

the united states military admits that an average of about one iraqi civilian a week was killed by "coalition" forces in 2005...i would gander that is a conservative estimate...but it should still make you think...

2,500 sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers are not coming home from their deployment to iraq. those lucky enough to come home will never be the same. the folks that sent them there...never seen a day of combat in their lives...

sometimes you just have to slap your forehead and wonder what in god's name republicans are thinking...i mean, everybody is up for some good old fashioned pandering...but if you need to halt an extension of the voting rights act in the process, don't you begin to wonder "just who the hell am i pandering to here? why i am lining myself up with the klan?"

there seems to be some who feel annihilation of the middle east is the way to go because some extremist groups drag bodies and string them up...hence all of islam must be wrong. and then they like to claim the moral high ground because christians and americans would never stoop so low...but wait, isn't that what the klan did/does in the name of christianity? but i guess if we are going to do it overseas, we just brought folks in to "learn" those techniques from pentagon personel teaching at the school of the americas so they could do the dirty work for us...

killing a soldier in war is not murder...sending a soldier into war to make up for the below average size of your genitals is...

texas has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country...look how well the christian right's abstinence programs work...

how outraged would the american people be if a foreign army had a significant, permanent military installation on our soil? that is what approximately 350 nations worldwide think of us...

now imagine how outraged the american people would be if there were brutal rapes committed by soldiers from that foreign army on our soil and they were simply redeployed...

i am amused (in a somewhat disturbing way) that so many people are so horrified at the costs of educating the children of illegal immigrants and providing them with medical care...those same people don't bat an eye at spending 100 times as much to kill children and prevent them from receiving medical care in another country...but god is on their side...um, yea...

bosnia was crucial to american oil interests too, much like with afghanistan a pipeline was being planned to divert oil from the chinese...clinton is an ass too...if only we could discover oil in africa...

speaking of africa the president of sudan is telling the un to go fuck itself, he ain't letting them in...sudan will not be recolonized on his watch. "sudan which was the first country south of the sahara to gain independence, cannot now be the first country to be recolonized." this is the legacy we are leaving...

major cities are refusing to enforce any crack down on illegal immigration because it will be a disaster for them and their efforts to combat crime...

condoms can protect women from the virus that leads to cervical cancer...good thing we are making sure nobody knows how to use them...

the department of homeland security is going to cut funding to major cities to fight terrorism...look how strong the republican administration and congress is on national security...

the united states sentencing commission, the same body that helped to create vastly tougher sentences for crack than for powder cocaine, came to the conclusion that violence resulted from neighborhood conditions, not crack...imagine that, what a novel thought...

the sentencing commission also found that 2 out of 3 crack users were crackers and hispanics...4 out of 5 convicted for crack are black. your drug war is racist...

"unless one assumes the penalties for powder cocaine are vastly too low, then the far-higher penalties for crack are at odds with the seriousness of the offense." - U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell.

for those concerned that the new look supreme court will change the landscape of america overnight...turns out chief justice roberts is aiming to decide cases on the narrowist possible terms and build concensus on the court.

i've heard people pissed that oil companies get shit for making too much money while microsoft earns ridiculous profits and bill gates gets a free pass...nevermind that gates had to deal with the feds going after him for the monopoly he created...the man gives more money to humanitarian aid in africa than the u.s. government...what has chevron done for anyone lately but get their country blown to pieces?

anyone else feel a little better knowing ghana beat the united states at something?

can't find the time to write my mind the way i want it to read...

fighting terrorism...exposing lies on both sides of the aisle...

i have noticed clinton gets too much unwarranted crap for being "soft" on terrorism while bush gets too much unwarranted crap for fighting a "war" on terrorism. nobody wants to admit it...or examine the history of american approaches to terrorism over the last two decades to figure out that clinton actually went back to an approach reagan had used after the elder bush had "gone soft" on terrorism and the younger bush simply continued too take the natural progression of policy which really began to take hold in the reagan years.

in the mid 80's reagan began to flex the military might of the united states in an open way in the middle east following actions by suspected libyan operatives in italy and berlin. although the united states started out it's response based on the age old criminal enforcement model, reagan launched air strikes, the goal of which was to diminish the capacity for libya to conduct terror and to give them incentive to alter their criminal behavior. afterwards, libya showed no sign of forsaking terrorism as a means to further it's policy objectives.

and then came the elder bush...and republicans really don't want you to know that he abandoned this macho approach and returned to a strictly criminal law approach to deal with terrorist activities. when pan am 103 went down, despite a loss of life far in excess of earlier libyan attacks, bush did not order military retaliation. rather, the international criminal justice regime was utilized in connection with pressure from the world community on libya to deal with the terrorist attack as a diplomatic and criminal matter. although it took some time, an extradition agreement was eventually reached and the suspects were tried in the netherlands in 2001. both sides conveniently forget this approach taken by the elder bush...he was the pansy boy...not clinton.

clinton actually was the president to make a move towards a serious proactive strategy in combating terrorism...and in the process he did plenty to fuel the fire in the middle east...something democrats would rather forget, and republicans would be proud of if they were willing to admit clinton was actually one of them. after the 1993 bombing of the world trade center, clinton stuck with the policy of the first bush administration and went throught he criminal justice system...but suddenly the justice department took a proactive approach to fighting terrorism, looking to, and eventually succeeding in prosecuting inchoate terrorist actions. this was actually the next major step towards what both sides like to call "the bush doctrine."

clinton also returned to unilateral military action in response to terrorist activity. the thwarted assassination plot aimed at the elder bush led to strikes into iraq again with the intent to target their capacity to support violence against the united states and deter the iraqi regime from supporting terrorism. (unfortunately, iraq was already incapable of seriously supporting violence against the united states...but clinton ignored this, as did his successor). in 1998 the "war on terrorism" was seriously declared...by secretary of state albright...again, neither side wants to remember this now. at the time she called the war on terorrism "the war of the future" and secretary of defense cohen added that the situation called for the united states to "fight or fold" and that the united states "will not play passive defense." sound familiar? yea...bush and his cronies stole a bunch of their rhetoric...from their arch-nemesis.

thus, although the 1998 massive cruise missile strikes into sudan and afghanistan may, on their face, appear retaliatory, the clinton administration was making a clear statement that they should not be viewed as an isolated response, but part of a long-term campaign against terror in which it planned to utilize the military might of the united states as the fundamental means to fight the "imminent" and "continuing" threat of terrorism. again...stolen rhetoric...from the supposed uber-liberal. and as we witnessed, the strikes did not diminish the terrorist threat or deter it in any way...in fact, when coupled with the decade of bombing iraq it fueled the fire...which is again being fanned today.

so the dumber bush simply completed the process initially started by reagan, which his father tried to derail, only to see it pick up a hell of a lot of steam under clinton. the next natural step from the rhetoric of the clinton administration and the idea that terrorism would be fought fundamentally through military strikes as part of a "war" against global terrorism was actual war. the war in afghanistan was actually a progression of clinton's policies...the preemptive war in iraq the next step...albeit a really, really stupid one.

so next time some republican tries to tell you democrats that clinton didn't do enough against terrorism...tell them their beloved "bush doctrine" is actually the "clinton doctrine" taken to the next step. and next time you republicans are told by democrats your actions in combatting terrorism are only a poor attempt at showing your testosterone and penis size, point out to them you are simply following the lead of their beloved clinton.

my point...both parties fucked this up big time. don't try to take all the credit for being the fool republicans...and don't try and avoid all the blame for foolishness democrats.

if you're going to fight a war over nothing...it's best to join the side that's gonna win...

ignoring treaties and losing faith...again...

so the american government...well, namely this administration...has been running it's mouth about international treaties and how apparently the united states is immune to living up to it's obligations under them. (and while they pull out of treaties on a whim because it suits them...god forbid someone try and pull out of their contract to be paid $30,000 a year for the opportunity to get beheaded overseas). and if it has anything to do with limiting military might and firepower...well then fuck the world. and now the north korean leadership is finally doing what we said it should do all along...becoming more american by telling the world "fuck you...we are going to build bigger and better weaponry and we are going to bring you to your knees through the threat of it being used...and if that doesn't work, we'll make it radioactive and send it in."

see, if we were really concerned about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction our foreign policy would just about do a 180. the american military is by far the strongest conventional force in the world...if there were to be another great power war at this time...it would take a hell of a coalition to seriously take us on...and a real coalition, you know, like we put together for the current effort...luxemburg and shit. and we run around the world telling people "our way or else...you are with us or against us...we will take your ass out if you threaten our energy supply, oops, i mean national security, oops, i mean violate human rights (even though those treaties don't apply to us), well, you know what we mean, just do as we say not as we do and you won't get "precision" bombed to the stone age." so what in god's name is a country on our hitlist supposed to do to protect itself? get a really big bomb and make american's think they can get it over here. it is apparently the only way we will listen...and even then, i wonder if these assheads in office would listen, or would rather give up one american city for the opportunity to "reshape" the region by obliterating all life on the penisula, korean or arabian.

so our idiotic, arrogant ways once again lead to more weapons capable of more damage being produced by our enemies. fan-fucking-tastic. when have the country's skin has melted off and the other half grows extra limbs we can atleast point to a wasteland overseas to show our vast superiority.

i had begun to reconsider my abandoning christianity and it's bigoted, sexist, homophobic, fucks of leaders thanks to my friends the episcopalians. apparently, somewhere along the line, some of them realized that just because your genitals don't hang doesn't mean you are fucking useless...and they selected a woman to lead them. i honestly did not believe i would see the day an american denomination would aknowledge that women are people too. and to make things even more beautiful, they picked a woman who realizes that just because your genitals hang and your lovers genitals hang doesn't mean you are an abomination. how fitting that it takes a woman to head up a church and point out that the bible is a good starting point, but it is 3000 fucking years old, a fact reflected in some of the archaic beliefs it is used to uphold...to point out that jesus actually hung out with hookers and gays, and spent his life teaching nonjudgmental love.

but alas...i was pulled back into reality this morning. a bunch of episcopalians want to ban gays from holding any serious post. i wonder if they realize that jesus would have trouble in just about any american denomination these days given that he was 30, not married and living with and professing love to a gaggle of men and a whore. but then the teachings of the bible aren't exactly in vogue in christianity these days.

seriously though, keep it up...i am sure the christian god is thrilled that you are an intolerant bigot, hate women, abuse his created earth, and call the death of his children "collateral damage." he'll probably even promote you at the pearly gates for promoting hatred, racism, gluttony, and abandoning your neighbor. really...he's your number one fan...asshole.

you can't catch love with a gun...

you might be part of the problem if...

you see the world in black and white...you're either with us or you're against us...

you don't recognize that the foreign policy of the united states, and the accompanying death, destruction and poverty it brings is why they hate us...

you ever decided not to vote for someone because a bullshit ad told you they were "soft on crime"...

you ever voted for someone simply because they weren't someone else...

you see abortion as an all or nothing issue...

you honestly think bill richardson is a democrat, competent, or clean...

you think ann coulter is anything but a useless shitbag...

you don't recognize that michael moore makes ridiculously exaggerated claims...

you ever talked about arnold's family's nazi connection but failed to mention al gore, sr. was a bigot that didn't believe in racial equality...

you thought the economy in the 90's was actually getting stronger...

you wanted clinton impeached but give bush a free pass...

you want bush impeached but gave clinton a free pass...

you ever voted straight party line...

you think the democratic party offers solutions...

you fail to realize the policies of the republicans have been failing for decades...

you ever quoted scripture during a political debate...

you ever quoted scripture...

you claim criminals must be held accountable for their own actions, that society doesn't share the blame...and then turn around and defend troops involved in slaughter because of the conditions they are living under...

you ever wanted more crimes to be punishable by death...

you believe the american dream is a reality...

you ever called homosexuality an abomination of god...

you read the left behind series and have modeled your life after it...

you think abstinence programs do anything to keep people from fucking...

you feed your kids fast food all the time...

you think the united states is different than every other empire that came before...

you still buy that bullshit your high school history teacher told you that the civil war wasn't over slavery...

you think voting in another clinton is a good idea...

you think voting in another bush is a good idea...

you ever agreed with jerry falwell...

you worship at the altar of reagan...

you worship at the altar of clinton...

you worship at the altar of globalization...

you honestly believe the united states practices free trade...

you've never voted for a third party...

you've never voted...

you are a complete fucking moron and you insist on voting in every election...

if you're not angry, you're just stupid or don't care...

i'm just gonna throw this out there...

"those people who have the industrial power and the power of invention and science will be able to defeat all others." - Leo Avery. good thing this country has adopted policies that ensure our industrial strength crashes while stifling invention and science. but we're god's chosen folks...so we'll be ok...just like the romans, and spanish, and dutch, and british, and german...oh wait...

a female member of the national guard unit which will help patrol the new mexico border is a mexican immigrant. how did she get here? she crossed the rio grande illegally. but the rascists in washington don't want you to hear stories like hers.

anyone see now this weekend? the bush administration refuses to enforce royalty provisions in lease agreements with oil companies granted the right to drill for oil on taxpayer land. that's right...they are giving away your oil for free...and then letting them inflate the price on you to give themselves record profits.

"goddamn big suv. when the arabs see you drive one, it makes 'em do a dance." - papa joe grappa.

i was watching the line (new mexico's version of the mclaughlin group) this friday and the old white man was talking about health care and why we shouldn't guaruntee it to everyone. he started talking about food...and i expected him to say "it isn't like it is food"...an embarrassing stance in it's own right...but he went on to basically say "it's just like food, and we don't guarantee food for people, so why should we do it with healthcare." nevermind foodstamp programs...but wow. how do you respond to that? he also went on to note that housing should also not be guaranteed. i think he's the republican candidate for governor now.

patsy madrid or heather wilson...is this the best we can do?

the truman doctrine, there are only two ways of life..."one way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion and freedom from political oppression. the second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed on the majority. it relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press, framed elections and the suppression of personal freedom." apparently we chose the later.

truman went on to say it would be the united states' policy "to help free people to maintain their institutions and integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes." that didn't last very long.

it's father's day...how many fathers are not with their children today because they were sent to war against an "aggressive movement that sought to impose upon iraq a totalitarian regime" which was helped to power by this country?

i like that reagan made people feel good about being american...although that has now led to a superiority complex that is unfounded and idiotic. that being said...his economic policies weakened the overall economy...republicans need to stop lying to people and claiming they work. unless you are already on top...they are a disaster. families' trust funds explode...the rest of us...left behind.

the funding of education in this country is flawed. those that need the most out of their schools get the least, while those that need the least get the most. but god forbid your tax dollars are spent outside of your white, wealthy neighborhood to the benefit of all society. hell, you moved away from the poor and minorities for a reason.

along those lines...how, in this country, can we accept that there are people that don't go to college because they can't afford it?

skilling says he considered suicide as the feds were closing in on him. i feel for him...really, i do. nothing like a really rich crook begging for sympathy.

jack kemp is being demonized by members of his own party for suggesting they are on the "wrong side of history" in race matters. today's republican party likes to point back 50 to 150 years to show it is down with the brown. they conveniently ignore the last 50 years. not only would this country's founders call for a revolt against your leadership...but your own party's founders would campaign against you as ignorant, rascist assholes. as clarence page wrote today "my family did not leave the party of lincoln; the party left us."

if you'll excuse me, mark prior is finally on the mound...

i wonder if you miss your old friends once you've proven what you're worth...

good god...those are breasts! we can't let the children see those...

an austin high school art teacher lost her job...the reason? get this...for making art. that's like firing a biology teacher for discovering a new species. (although, if it were the missing link, i would be willing to bet texas would fire them for blasphemy). here is a young woman that not only dedicated her life to one of the most thankless jobs on the planet for far too little pay (i.e. teaching in a public high school)...but did so in a department and subject that is often the first to lose it's funding and the maligned by ignorant yahoos running schoolboards and administering our schools. she was recognized time and time again for outstanding achievement as an art teacher...and given the importance of art to growing minds, and the often otherwise disinterested and/or outcast students in our high schools (not to mention it's vital importance to society, culture and humanity) that is saying something.

well...it appears she posed for photographic art, pictures which wound up posted on the internet by the photographer. and here is the horrifying part...her breasts were visible in the pictures. SWEET JESUS ALMIGHTY! how can we expect to raise good, god-fearing, arab-killing, evangelical, oil-loving, consumerist-pig, overweight and ignorant children if they are exposed to such smut? thank god the administration immediately put her on leave and the school board sent her packing. i mean, for god's sake, seeing breasts, especially those of an attractive teacher, will turn all our children into little harlets...and eventually rapists and murderers (and not the good kind of murderers...you know, the ones that do so in the name of "protecting our border" or through their constitutionally protected right to own a gun even though they never dreamed of serving in either the military or a militia of any type or sign bills that call for expanding capital punishment).

so remind me again...why did we want texas? and this is austin...hardly your typical bastion of frightening theocracy and shoot-em-up in the name of god, especially if they are queer attitude. which reminds me...did i mention she is a lesbian...and the photographer was her partner. ah yes...those godless gays are at it again...this must have been an attempt to convert the little girls off of dick and on to taco. nevermind that members of the school board with a penis under their clothes probably took copies of these pictures home to hide from their wives and use as material later when their daughters aren't available...yet the artist is the sick and twisted one.

so there you have it...this is where our country is headed as we let these ignorant evangelical/southern baptist/christian coalition fuckheads take over...talented art teachers are lost...for making art. we can't get qualified, caring teachers into the classroom because we refuse to pay them even a fraction of what they are worth and what the importance of the job would indicate...and now when we manage to con a good one into taking that ridiculously low pay and put up with all the rest of the shit...we fire them for partaking in the subject they teach outside the classroom.

send a letter to the austin school board...and tell them fuck you and your fascist homophobic ways. in the meantime, support this woman in her fight...you can find her at www.myspace.com/mshoover...and no, her boobs are not on display at the sight you cultureless heathen.

we'll inherit the earth...but we don't want it...

defrauding taxpayers, LA cops at it again, and the 4th amendment...

so someone got a sex change and bought tittie video's with their hurricane katrina relief funds...god help us all. congress has their panties up in a hizzy because the american taxpayer has supposedly been defrauded and is "the ultimate victim" while the victims of katrina have been insulted. you know what...i don't give a shit what these people did with their funds...hell, they earned their week at the tittie bar more than the president ever earned a damn thing in his life (unless being born into a family with century long ties to bigtime oil money and the intelligence community and then running business after business into the ground and destroying the texas rangers is "earning")...or these enraged congressfolk for that matter. where was the outrage in congress when government contracts were being bloated and handed out for projects not needed and not helping anyone? where was the outrage in congress when the federal budget was being raped by useless pork projects that victimized the american taxpayer? where was the outrage in congress when the current tax cuts led to the wealthiest paying and even lower percentage of their disposable income while the average taxpayer got screwed? getting your penis chopped off or your vagina made into an appendage isn't the fraud here...you fuckers on the hill are the fraud...stop your embarrassing grandstanding and try doing something beneficial to someone other than yourself and the goddamn lobby that lined your pockets asshole.

cops in LA have had quite the itchy trigger fingers lately...once again a high speed chase ended in the death of the suspect after over 70 rounds were pumped into his vehicle. this being the third time in the last year or so that cops in LA have used force to the tune of at least 50 rounds, including firing off 120 rounds at a suspect in january (for which they apologized to the community after bullets went into nearby homes..."oops, sorry"). and oddly enough, these incidents are happening in neighborhoods like compton. hmmm. this time six deputies were on the scene...70 rounds against one guy...in a car. a witness said the barrage lasted 30 seconds. but it's ok...because they saw him driving erratically see (hence the 60 mph chase), and then he banged a couple of cruisers after he was boxed in...obviously the threat of this big car to the little officers had to be neutralized...i mean, asking them to step out of the way is a little much...if i had to choose between moving to the side or firing about 12 rounds into a car...i choose bullets. apparently now resisting a traffic stop and poor parallel parking ability is now grounds for death.

this brings me to another point...the decision in Hudson v. Michigan which came down yesterday. this is a direct quote..."another development over the past half-century that deters civil-rights violations is the increasing professionalism of police forces, including a new emphasis on internal police discipline." i think scalia forgot to add "...just ignore the trigger happy ones and the ones that lie on the stand and in affidavits to support warrants and the racist ones and the like."

and my point in bringing up this case...contrary to what the media may want you to believe the day after...the sky is not falling...the 4th Amendment is still in tact (as much as folks in washington and calling them "conservatives" may wish otherwise). in all honesty, excluding evidence for violations of the "knock and announce" rule was always on pretty thin ice given the rationale the supreme court adopted for excluding evidence seized through violations of the 4th Amendment...that being deterence (which, if you ask me, is a crock of shit...the exclusionary rule should be placed to protect and uphold the rights of individuals, not to "deter" police misconduct...but that is for another day). police still need a warrant or exigent circumstances...once they have a warrant, they just don't need to tell you they are coming in...and it really isn't such a stretch from their previous rulings as the news last night wanted me to believe.

on a side note...regardless of your political leanings you have to admit, scalia can write a legal opinion.

if we walk away they'll walk away...

things on my mind tonight...

if only the "conservatives" in this country realized that encouraging democracy around the world, upsetting the current balance, is actually quite liberal at it's roots...this of course assumes, falsely, that conservative leaders give two shits about encouraging democracy...unless democracy means "puppet government of the united states in a region of the world vital to oil, either by it's own reserves or by it's geographic location making it a necessity for a pipeline."

at least this kennedy didn't take a girl with him...

what in god's name possesses a person to ride a motorcycle without a helmet? is having your brains splattered on the highway a macho way to go? perhaps i just don't get it because i'm not man enough...

speaking of, anyone else notice that the maniest man you know is probably gay? thank god he can't be on the front lines if someone questions him about it...don't ask, don't tell...thanks bill, that one was pure genious...

and while we are at it...thanks for nafta. working brilliantly.

a headline today..."oil politics and bloodshed corrupt an iraqi city"...sounds like washington is on the move...

speaking of washington being on the move, why can't we uproot it? kevin phillips suggested years ago we split the capital evenly between d.c. and denver to throw lobbyists for a loop and force them to choose one. i say we go one step further, and have it switch weekly which of about 5 cities it will be located in...only we don't tell anyone until sunday night.

while we are in the midst of a make-it-punishable-by-death-results-be-damned stage, how about we add political corruption to the list. that way, when politicians and lobbyists are realizing they might as well kill someone since they are eligible for death anyways, they will end up knocking off other corrupt politicians and lobbyists...and if corrupt crony on crony crime were to increase at the rate regular old violent crime is, washington could be cleaned up in a few years...

ten thousand pounds of marijuana is a shitload of pot...

tofu still feels funny to me...

congress accepted a pay raise again...these assholes are now getting close to $170 thousand a year (if you can call it a full year...of course, if you add in all the time wasted running for reelection it is) despite royally fucking up the country and the world. is there another job on the planet you get an automatic 3 to 4 thousand dollar raise for no reason as long as you don't turn it down. must be fucking nice. and in the meantime, the average american's salary remains stagnate...send a letter to your congressman/woman and tell them to keep up the good work...

sometimes cats make the best people...

the fed thinks household debt is managable because people aren't falling behind on their mortgages or short-term loans...could have fooled me. suppose managing debt and finances no longer has anything to do with saving for retirement...which nobody is able to do anymore. and with social security on the outs thanks to money thrown back at really rich fucks who invest it overseas rather than in this country (watch that trickle down work...tax cuts here means more sweatshop jobs in china)...life after 60 doesn't look like so much fun anymore, unless you like being a greeter at walmart...for minimum wage...without benefits...

rove will not be indicted...kudos to fitzgerald for not caving to political pressure. if only a certain north carolina district attorney who happens to have duke university in his district was as wise as good old pat...next time do some investigation before you promise the world a vicious crime occured, or maybe just bring charges before you get on tv during your reelection campaign and tell us you will bring them down. and THAT is why I cannot stand some prosecutors...

why am i still waiting for the cubs to go on a tear and climb back into the playoff race?

gw told the iraqi people today "that when america gives a commitment, america will keep its commitment." isn't that what the world is afraid of?

and he obviously meant...from now on...or in the past you forgot to check and see if we really gave a commitment, i mean, we sort of implied we would not allow saddam to slaughter you if you rose up against him over a decade ago...but we hadn't really decided on a commitment yet, and you pulled the trigger before we could have that meeting...

i'm just sitting here wasting my time 'til you come home from your escapades...

protecting children and violent crime...

boy...americans sure like to kill people...especially if it is meant to show how wrong killing people can be. new mexico is thinking of taking a shot at being within the first wave of states to enact a bill to kill more people by expanding the crimes which are death penalty eligible. somehow this draconian revenge has survived in the united states...and fundamentalist crazy nations...although recently i wonder just which side of the fundamentalist crazy nation the united states falls on. so while the rest of the world becomes more civilized with time...we digress, intent on showing our respect for the sanctity of life through state sanctioned killing. very logical...really.

new mexico wants to join a few other states in making those convicted of a sex crime against a child for a second time eligible for death (when you say it that way, it almost sounds like it is supposed to be a privilege...and perhaps, considering the disgusting manner in which we operate our over-crowded prison system, it is...and for those of you wanting to rain hell on the republicans for this shit, oklahoma was the last state to slip farther into the dark ages...the governor that signed the bill, a democrat...and bill richardson, the fuckhead supposedly running this state - although you wouldn't know it from all the time he spends elsewhere attempting to boost himself for a presidential bid - is in favor of state sanctioned murder). proponents will say this is to show how important our children are to us, and to deter people from raping kids...cause that is going to work.

so we will waste millions of dollars on cases trying to kill someone...see, when you seek the death penalty, you end up with two trials and a hell of a lot more time and effort, and the state foots the bill, usually for both sides. and it gets really, really expensive...stupidly so considering for the most part these people are never going to get out of prison anyways. and we will "protect" our children by putting them through the ringer even more than they would otherwise...not only will they have to testify at trial, but the cross-exam will be hell for them, and then they will have to be involved in the sentencing trial, and then go through decades of appeals. yea...let's protect them by making sure they can't try and move on with their life and heal for at least a good twenty years...brilliant.

not to mention the very real possibility that seeking death for repeat sex offenders may very well have the opposite effect and actually encourage them to do even further harm to the child. dead kids don't speak...and if you know they will seek death anyways, well, you got a better shot if you don't leave a star witness. again, brilliant.

silly me, i always figured the more "civilized" a society became, the less blood thirsty they would be for revenge...although maybe that still holds true...we are just heading back to barbarism...

along those lines...violent crime is up in this country, murders by almost 5 percent according to the latest fbi statistics. looks like our increased penalties and "cracking down" on crime are really paying off. really, look how well longer sentences deter folks from violent crime. look how well placing an obscene proportion of our population behind bars is at getting the crooks off the streets and making them safer for us law-abiding schmucks. yea...this approaching is working fantastically...let's keep it up. at what point to you step back and realize this isn't working for shit and become open to something other than more vengeance? i know, i know...that was a very un-christian and un-american question to ask...may god smite me for questioning the ways of his obviously chosen people...

the bill of rights disintegrates because freedom just gets in the way...

what happened to us?

three men hung themselves at gitmo...well, that is what the folks running the place are telling us. a not-so-small bit of me doesn't by it...not after reports of others finding interrogation techniques leading to death. and if i am questioning this, i can only imagine what the rest of the world is thinking. yea...suicide...right...

to say prison is a depressing place is a vast understatement. although i have never been locked up in one...visiting them on a regular basis is all that is necessary to convince me that being locked up in one would drive me out of my mind. on top of this, we have allowed an attitude to fester which treats prisoners as subhuman...in our own prisons. add to that a feeling that those being held are terrorist monsters who want to murder your children and dance on their graves, and you have the recipe for disaster. then give a wink and a nod to torture from the highest levels (i mean, seriously guys...at least lie about it like every other president did...you don't seem to have issues with fudging the truth here and there) and these places must be run in such a manner to drive any man to despair.

so when three men that are locked up in a miserable place without contact with the outside world in any way other than the occasional "visit" from their friendly water-board provider kill themselves...it would make sense to recognize it as an act of desparation seeing as how they are being held without trial, indefinitely, and without reason (i do not buy for a second these are the "bad" guys...the ones we are really worried about never make it to gitmo...although it does serve as a nice distraction). but apparently not...

admiral harry harris described the suicides to reporters in this appalling way..."they have no regard for human life, neither ours nor their own. i believe this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetric warfare against us." wow. what do you say to that? it's bad enough we except thousands upon thousands of civilian deaths without so much as an afterthought...but now suicide by hanging, when locked up without hope, and without injuring anyone else...is an attack against america. what in god's name were you thinking admiral? is this an attempt to convince al queda to start mass hangings of themselves as part of the war?

where has our humanity gone?

conspiracy theory, "containing" china, and ceasefires...

a very interesting thing happened here in albuquerque...and it is time for conspiracy theorists to come out and play. see, we recently had a trial of the former state treasurer for corruption...the feds took the case, and they thought they had a slam dunk. unfortunately for them, one juror thought they were slimy shitbags and wasn't going to give them their verdict (and to that juror...i say hooray...this place reminds me more and more of home every day). well, a few of his cohorts testified against him, and received deals and walks from the feds for their efforts. but the attorney general's office for new mexico did something unheard of (and, if no matter which side you fall on...incredibly, stupendously stupid...say goodbye to cooperation)...they charged those folks that testified in state court, based upon the testimony they gave in the federal trial. perfectly legal, i know...but really, really fucked up.

so you wonder, why in god's name would the state do this? not only will this mean that the federal retrial is shot, and the feds now absolutely hate the folks in charge in new mexico and will never share information with them again...but people will not cooperate in high profile cases. which is where the conspiracy theory comes in see...there have been reports (briefly front page material) that another corruption scandal is hiding in connection with our brand new court house. hmmm...piss off the feds, kill their retrial, and ensure nobody cooperates in a similar corruption case...with another corruption case in the headlines. interesting...

china will take our spot on top of the world, economically and militarily...and it will probably happen sooner than you would've ever imagined a few years ago (and for that i say thank you, to gw and his cronies and to the jackasses, democrat and republican, that supported ignorant policy that ignores the lessons of the past). so why in god's name are we antagonizing this country? what is with our policy of containment? and yes, we are actively attempting to contain china militarily...unfortunately, japan and south korea don't really want us around anymore, and other countries in the area grew tired of our presence a long ass time ago. let's follow the british model and piggy back onto china to carry us through the horrible transition from economic hegemon to second-rate power, and we can mindlessly follow them into disaster in a century or so...

hamas called an end to the ceasefire with israel. so i suppose that means that while israel was lobbing bombs at families on the beach the ceasefire was in effect. somehow israeli action doesn't qualify. shit, that must have been a hell of a deal for israel...a ceasefire with those pesky hamas folks that doesn't mean they have to actually cease firing. can we get a deal like that with the insurgents? as the israeli-palestinian disaster is about to show yet again, blowback is a bitch...not that we ever learn the lesson.

we promised the world we'd tame it...what were we hoping for?

sports writers and "volunteer" armies...

sports writers are on my nerves these days because they are condemning the journeyman relief pitcher who snitched on other baseball players after being busted accepting human growth hormone. now, in my line of work one typically will not look too favorably on those that rat out other criminals, partially because it makes the job harder, partially because it violates an unwritten rule of society's underbelly, and partially because snitches get people hurt and killed...even innocent ones. i also have a problem when people condemn someone for not helping law enforcement in their investigation...as if that is not their constitutional right. so when sports writers were going on and on about the duke lacrosse rape scandal (which is beginning to look more and more like a dog for the prosecution) and how despicable it was that the team was not talking (and on a side note...let me tell you this folks...no matter how innocent you are, DO NOT TALK...in the end, 99f the time it will come back to bite you in the ass...lawyer up, and do it the second they start asking). fine...most people feel that way (because we live in a repressive vindictive society...yea, i said it...what?). but now that grimsley ratted on guys who are destroying a game they love they are all pissed at him and calling him a no-good cowardly piece of shit. this is one of the rare instances where i say fuck that...nobody is going to give a shit that he ratted on millionaire ball players but millionaire ball players...and owners...and bud selig. we want some to turn in their friends...and then get mad when someone turns in those that aren't their friends (and one's with enough money to make sure they get a decent deal). i am much more comfortable with those whose friends are looking at very long prison terms (as they themselves are) remaining quiet than i am with some rich schmuck who cheated to get into and stay in the bigs.

on a side note, it has been rumored that they wanted him to wear a wire in a sting on bonds...if i were barry, i would be very, very worried. the feds are pissed at you and extremely bent on taking you down...not a good position to be in.

a soldier from washington informed his superiors he would not be showing up for another tour in iraq...and a lot of folks are telling him "too fucking bad"...and to be honest, i sympathize with both sides here, the kid served his country and has legitimate reasons not to return to action, but at the same time, it is difficult to keep military order when soldiers can choose to not show up. but here is my problem with a lot of what i am hearing from the "too fucking bad" crowd...the "he signed a contract and he needs to live up to those obligations" line. right...a kid that is badgered by recruiters (who by the way, have one of the worst jobs on the planet) when he is barely old enough to enter into a legally binding contract, barely old enough to vote, and not old enough to take the edge off from war with a beer, and he has got to live up those contractual obligations. of course he is old enough to enter a contract calling for him to put his life in danger based on the whim of a country whipped into a war fever. not to mention, how many of those fucking people decided they didn't like a job they were contractually obligated to and just quit. contracts are not written in stone like that...and it is ridiculous to use that as an excuse. admit that your concern is discipline in our military forces and not some high and mighty contract law.

on a similary note...the last one that did this got something like 10 to 15 years in military prison. puts a whole new spin on "volunteer" army...

if you're free start running away...cuz we're coming for you...

profiling, blowback, and a slimmer of hope...

on the western edge of new mexico, eastbound I-40 there is a port of entry point where trucks are stopped to ensure the paperwork is proper and collect tax monies. but it has another purpose which has been rising over the past few years...which on it's face seems like a wonderful thought, until one examines how it is being accomplished. see, the yahoos out there have decided it is partly their job to become involved in illicit drug shipment interception. yea...sounds all well and good, we all hate what drugs can do to a person and a community (although oddly...we let alcohol go on when it does the same and worse...and it's banning caused one of the largest explosions in violent crime our cities have seen...but nobody wants to consider the best way to go about accomplishing an end to drug use, or at least a safer drug use, because that would make too much sense...instead those spouting themselves off as "conservatives" cry that the government must pry into their lives by making drug use a horrible, horrible crime, somehow equating "conservatism" with government intervention...hmmm...but i digress), and lately it seems we all hate constitutional protections (especially those of us that "don't have any reason to worry"...which is exactly why you should be worried, without these protections it is easier to convict the innocent, that is why they are there...but then history is not our country's best subject)...but there is a line, and i draw it at profiling.

see, they are looking for black truckers. and when one comes through that is working for a smaller company, they are harrassed and detained as long as possible because the folks at the port of entry believe they must be hauling drugs. take a look at the prison, and you'll see that all the truckers in there for drug trafficking are black...and i don't believe for a second us crackers don't love to get involved in the drug trade just as much. this practice is an afront to american ideals and your constitutional rights, that's right...YOUR RIGHTS. it is embarrassing...i for one am ashamed at the actions my government is taking in my name.

speaking of shame at the actions my government is taking in my name...blowback is a bitch. if we hadn't figured that out from embassy bombings overseas, the giant craters in new york, arlington and pennsylvania should've been a pretty damn good sign. but the cia is still up to no good in covert operations in areas that already are not happy with us. remember the horrible warlords in somalia? well, now the cia is in bed with the like in the name of the war on terror. and they are royally fucking it up, pissing off more people, and giving strength to islamic extremist groups which it was supposed to undue. we tried this in indonesia...didn't work out to well...unless creating a plush home for terrorism is "working out"...american arrogance strikes again...and THAT is why "they" hate us...

and don't even begin to think this is not a bipartisan problem. both sides have been fucking with people overseas for decades...and the crow is coming home to roost. you don't think a huge part of the reason we were not welcomed with rose pedals in iraq is because we decimated the civilian population for a decade and starved them of necessary medicine and supplies? and maybe iran wouldn't be part of this "axis of evil" if it weren't for the bipartisan approach there decades ago? you "blue" folk should be just as ashamed as the "red"...

the senate gave a few bitch slaps to stupid policies in the last couple days...and it provided a slimmer of hope that perhaps the republican party will learn and escape the grips of fundamentalist extremist assholes (i wouldn't hold my breath though). the so-called "gay marriage amendment" (which is an amusing name since it is actually meant to forbid gay marriage)...failed miserably. possibly because it is championed by the party that is supposed to be championing "state's rights" and "conservatism" (thank god the republican party was in charge while we fought a disgusting, long, bloody war against the same ideals the republican party now embraces). thank god 48 folks saw the idiocy in writing discrimination back into the constitution after so many died to get it written out.

the senate also rejected the estate tax cut...and thank god. bill frist said "a death tax is unfair." which is laughable...how is it unfair? you are taxing a dead guy...he has no use for his ridiculous fortune anymore...he is dead. but then the american aristocracy does have an interest in it continuing to compile into huge family fortunes which pull it farther and farther ahead of those that aren't born into great wealth...keep it all in those same 200 families and the rest can fuck themselves. stratification of wealth is a sign of an economic power in decline...the least we could do is try and slow it.

i used to think i at least would have most of my lifetime before the united states fell from it's perch. i used to think the united states would run the full 150-175 years as world hegemon, economicly and militarily, now i am hoping it makes it past my 40th birthday.

sooner or later all will be revealed...

the gays attack, activist judges, the estate tax, and proving dui...

beware all you married peoples, that unholy union of john and jimmy down the street and jill and jane across the way will spell the end of your marriage! civilisation itself will follow! wait...what's that you say? your marriage is crumbling on it's own accord, because of financial problems which somehow managed to continue to mount as a stock market continued to climb...and because of infidelity (and not even of the homosexual kind)...and your children actually saw john, jimmy, jill and jane together and haven't become raving, sex-crazed maniacal homosexuals? how can that be? gay marriage has been around for all of a few years now. surely by now it would have decayed your marriage. i mean look how society in canada has fallen apart, or massachussetts for that matter. oh...it hasn't. damn. well...we republicans dreadfully need a vote or two, and seeing as how our record on the economy, the wars, health care, jobs, well pretty much anything people tend to care about over the long term, has been miserable as of late, we figured this bullshit christian army shit would pull out the god-fearing folk and give us one last hoorah before we go out in a blaze of nonglory.

really, you must understand, those godless heathen activist judges are out to destroy america...a few want to force us all to perform unspeakable acts on animals (the obvious and natural progression from gay marriage). but seriously...i am sick of this "activist" judge talk...it only makes you seem ignorant and devoid of any knowledge of how our legal system works. that is their goddamn job...see, about two centuries ago we chose to follow the british model of common law rather than the continental civil tradition (along with a brilliant move by marshal might i add). and so we get judges that fashion the law over time. that is what they do...that is how the system works...that is how it has always worked. hell, "activist" judges struck down the new deal left and right...but then if socialistic programs were struck down today it would mean those judges were "following the letter of the law"...same old bullshit, different era.

repealing the estate tax (or as gw likes to call it, "the death tax"...du du du du) will be yet another nail in the coffin. it is bad enough that the list of the richest of the rich has basically remained the same in this country for the better part of it's history (with an occassional addition), but now we will try and make sure that ridiculously and uselessly large family fortunes continue to grow exponentially over time while at the same time depriving the government of badly needed funds. so we get even more stratification of wealth and even larger deficits...an all but guarantee that your country is about to drop to second-rate. i would be willing to bet that the tiny share of estates that are actually seriously effected by this are in the hands of a group of about 100-200 families. and guess what, they happen to be the richest of the rich...so yea...let's help them out...seriously, their kids worked hard at sitting around throwing food at the help for 20 some years, they deserve the money. and no, it is not being reinvested in jobs in america...stop lying about that.

not that it matters, the entire system will collapse soon anyhow. see, the only thing keeping the dollar afloat now is a handful of eastern economies that still think they need the united states to thrive...mostly what we once thought of as satelitte states (although we wouldn't admit that). that and the fact that for some messed up reason, oil producing countries agreed to price their product in dollars. except they are doing that less and less these days...and when the dollar falls off the oil standard, or when the world maxes out on oil production (a lot closer than you think)...watch out. but in the meantime, keep driving your gas guzzling oversized wannabe truck to the grocery store...really.

prosecutors here in new mexico are declaring the end of the world because they actually have to prove someone was intoxicated while they were driving when they charge an offense named...you guessed it...driving while intoxicated. what a concept...to be convicted of "driving while intoxicated" you must be intoxicated while driving. who would've thunk it? the new mexico court of appeals dropped a conviction recently because the BAC test was administered over an hour after the person was driving and the state offered no evidence to scientifically link that to the time the person was actually behind the wheel. and since anyone who has ever slammed a beer knows...your BAC increases over time when you just quit drinking, one would think that it may be higher an hour later. but god forbid the state have to prove an element of the crime...how are we supposed to fix the rampant dwi problem if we actually have to show dwi before putting people in prison? god knows we aren't going to spend money on public transportation (even though it would be a hell of a lot less than the money we throw at "fighting" dwi)...so how about we just lock up anyone with red eyes who doesn't come to a complete stop...even if we get a bunch of folks with seasonal allergies, at least the roads will be safe for our children again.

your blame is at the cause...

where the hell is home?

for the last few years, whenever i returned to good old mount prospect i felt more and more out of place (pretty impressive considering i always believed someone upstairs made a mistake and sent me down with the wrong stork to a midwestern family instead of the couple in the mountains). this summer there is no mount prospect to go back to...and it is odd. my entire childhood was in the same house, the same school system, the same friends...hell, my best friend in 2nd grade was my best friend nigh a decade later. it is strange to realize that i will never turn off 294 and roll up rand to central before turning into the old neighborhood...never again pull into that driveway and walk to the back door to my mother frantically preparing dinner in the expanded kitchen...never again sit in the basement and remember all those nights...never sit awake at night waiting for the tell-tale knock on the window that means an adventure awaits outside. as someone that grew up with a very defined home, in a house filled with memories...it seems unreal that i no longer have that...that connection is forever gone.

and so i am stuck here in the desert, in 100 degree heat at 6 percent humidity, and no hope of a cloudy day anytime soon...and it is the only home i have...there may be a "going back to chicago" but there will never again be a "going back home"...

this has made me realize now more than ever, that home is less of a location, and more of a feeling. in the end, we feel at home not because of comfort we feel with our surroundings, but with the people that fill those surroundings. these last few years as i've been searching for home, maybe it was right under my nose the entire time...something bacchus and hermione like to remind me of often. so to my friends...in chicago, elsewhere in the midwest, in new mexico and the mountains, thanks for making whatever pit i find myself in feel like home, even if just for brief interludes...

i have been told this blog tends to be full of anger, that i come across as just plain mad...well, it is, and i am. i am not trying to convince anyone of anything...if i was, i am not such an idiot to think that spewing obscenity, sarcasm and mockery in general is the way to go about it. i need an outlet though...i read the news and i see these folks with their 30 second clips and my soul weeps for the world...and so i vent. in the end, i know i don't have many answers (although i like to think i may have one or two), hell, i don't even think there are answers to a lot of it...i just wonder what in god's name people are thinking...what drives them to such stupidity...and why nobody seems to think critically about anything anymore.

i guess my point is...if you want to know my thoughts and want them portrayed in a thoughtful, civilized, respectful manner...just ask. in the meantime, i will most likely continue to explode through my fingertips to avoid doing it through my head...thanks for reading...

the world's got me dizzy again...you'd think after 26 years i'd be used to the spin...

education for those that claim they are republican...

it seems the vast majority of you claiming to be republican have no idea what that means anymore. somewhere along the line you began to think being republican meant "support militarism, imperialism, and rascism at all costs because it is necessary for the hellfire-evangelical-southern-baptist vote below the mason-dixon line and blindly follow whatever it is that a member of the bush family tells me." so in the interest of clarifying some things for you "conservatives" that don't realize that spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the military, war, and combatting immigration isn't conservative...here is a history lesson on the republican party, and why those responsible for it wish they could arise from the dead and slap some sense into your ignorant ass...

this may come as a shock to you, but the issues which were major contributions to the development of the republican party were negative responses to trends at the time that have come to be the pillars of "republicanism" in the last decades. in the mid-19th century the united states went to war against mexico, basically for no good reason. it was pretty obvious to a large portion of the population that this was a blatant imperialistic land grab...which the leaders of the day liked to hide as "manifest destiny." imperialistic wars seeking land were unamerican to republican founders...and they spoke out loudly against the mexican-american war. now of course, imperialism and militarism are the basis of the republican party...odd.

one of the big issues that pushed republicans into a party of their own may have been the growing popularity of the know-nothings in the period just approaching the civil war. for those of you that don't know a damn thing about the history of your own country...let alone the world as a whole (and for that reason have doomed yourself to the most painful and swift decline of a world hegemon since spain collapsed in record time)...the know-nothings basically were built around rascism. they were a party of xenophobic morons (and for those of you not aware "xenophobic" is a person holding undue contempt for foreigners). republican founders realized such a stand was not only un-american, but stupid...in fact, lincoln once declared if the know-nothing ideals ever won out he would rather move to another country where they at least did not pretend to love liberty. of course now republican apparently has completely flipped to mean "one who hates foreigners and those with dark skin, along with anyone not a member of my christian army."

if only the confederates knew that 150 years later their backwater, armageddon, evangelical, science and progress hating, if it isn't in the bible it is bullshit (unless of course my preacher says it...because let's face it, the vast majority of the crap being spouted by the religious right is not actually in the bible...but then most people don't read, so that is a problem...and for the record, yes, i have read the bible, cover to cover...and i am sure you will be shocked by this, but the "left behind" series actually isn't accurate), rascist views were going to control the party that set out to destroy them and force reconstruction on them maybe we could have avoided those years of war.

furthermore, lincoln was well known for declaring that labor should always be placed above capital. the first republican administration was leery of corporations, and especially unhappy with war profiteers. somehow that became subjugate all things to capital, even if it means destroying our manufacturing infrastructure in the same way that every major economic power before us has done and then watch it all crumble in the same way it has for each of those powers...and give shitloads of money and help to war profiteers. fantastic...good job buddy...you did it.

so to jerry falwell, pat robertson, the bush dynasty and their cronies...get the fuck out the party and let us go back to what made republicans a viable option for this country.

i might as well just grin and bear it...