Grammar Mistake or Intentional?

Read this piece on Gaza and take notice of the word "occupiers".  Was the use of that word intentional, implying that Gaza is an occupied land, or was it just an inadvertent grammatical mistake, the proper word being "occupants"?

Who knows when the press is known for partisanship?

Leanderthal

James Carroll's Prose Humbles Me

Here is James Carroll on heroes and our immoral wars.

Leanderthal

Noam Chomksy on Israel

Of all those who criticize Israel Noam Chomsky should have the most credibility.

Here's his expose on Likud Israel's Soul Crushing Cruelties perpetrated against Palestinians.

Leanderthal

On Top of Her Game

Sometimes quoting someone else makes it unnecessary to say any more.    Here's Maureen Dowd at her best.

Molly Ivins, Gail Collins and Maureen Dowd have been priceless in their contributions to our  political discourse.

Leanderthal

Rainbows

Here's a cartoon which speaks volumes for the pluralism of American society which voiced it's values last Tuesday.

Give thanks.

Leanderthal

Romney's Alternative to FEMA

Here's a great cartoon which captures the idiocy of the Romney campaign perfectly.

Remind everyone you know to vote Tuesday.

Leanderthal

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid---------------

if Romney becomes president.

In case you still need a reason to keep Romney out of the White House here's the most frightening things he believes which I've come across.

Leanderthal

What's a Picture Worth?

Try this one?

Leanderthal

Strong Leaders

Here's an article in the NYT today about Romney being seen as a strong leader.

There have been many strong leaders is the history of civilization. Some were
evil.   Hitler was a strong leader.

Too often people will believe lies when the leader appears strong.

Leanderthal

This Says It All

Here's a piece from Joe Klein which explains it all, why Obama blew it at the first debate.

It scares me, a lot.  He hates confrontation.  I do too, but there are times ---------------.

Obama is president of the United States.  He has got to be political right now,
call out Romney for the charlatan he is, drive home the point of Romney's disdain
for half of all Americans, be specific with each lie and call him out as a liar trying
to mislead the American public.

Essentially, bullies are cowards, and usually back down when the guy being bullied
stands up and fights back.

I know that Obama has been criticized a lot by his own people.  Lets hope
he stiffens his spin, gets in the game and fights back.

Leanderthal

America"s Imperialism/Militarism DNA

Here is Tom Englelhardt's essay on American Imperialism/Militarism,  describing it as if it is in America's DNA, which is so dominant that it can't help itself.

It should be must reading for all citizens, at least those who vote.

Leanderthal

This Could Be Big

Iran has asked for trouble today with this.

And "this" could be big, if not huge, in world
affairs.

Netanyahu must be thrilled.  Romney must be licking his chops.

How and when will Obama respond?  Soon I hope, and with
straight forward, unequivocal language about Iran's intentions being a
real threat to peace in the Middle East.

This is an escalation on Iran's part.  Up until now they
have maintained that they are working on Uranium for
power generation purposes only.

Curious what you all think about this.
I am no war monger, but this puts Obama
in a tight spot.  Almost seems like Netanyahu
is in cahoots with Iran to embarrass Obama.
It's been  clear that Netanyahu wants Romney
to become president.

Leanderthal

Oops. Spoke Too Soon

Here's the next piece from Nader.   He seemed to be taking sides in the election yesterday.  Today, not so much.

Leanderthal

Nader Taking Sides

Here's a surprise for you.  Ralph Nader is actually taking sides in the election.

His free gift to Obama of a letter to Romney is welcome.

Leanderthal

Any Problems Reading My Blog?

I received an anonymous comment about text on  this blog running past margins, or something like that.

Please let me know if anyone else is experiencing a problem.  This is the first I've heard of it.

Leanderthal

Why I read Kevin Drum at Mother Jones

Here's why.

In watching some re-runs of 911 today I can still not say that I believe the official line.  Those who observe that the collapse of the twin towers look awfully like a controlled demolition make me wonder about the truth.
Those who initially reported that a bomb had gone of around the heliport at the Pentagon, and sketch physical
evidence of the remains of an airliner, make me wonder also.

Like the Kennedy assassination and the follow up killing of Oswald, it's likely that we will never know the truth.

People of the ilk of Dick Cheney don't inspire my confidence that they are without guilt for 911.

Leanderthal

The Map of Where We Stand

Here's another map of the U.S. which reveals, by color coding, how divided we are as a people.

This map is about how the electoral college stats look now.

There have been similar maps depicting how the country is divided in other ways. One was about education, as in completing high school or not, and earning a college degree or not.

What has struck me though, regardless of what the maps were depicting, was the consistency of red state, blue state grouping.   Red states predominate down the middle of the country, and in much of the southeast. Blue states seem to group along both coasts, Atlantic and Pacific.

It's tempting to try to draw conclusions, or at least make broad generalities based on these visuals.  Both the West Coast and the East Coast are where many of our largest cities are located, in which its citizens are acutely aware of the distinctions between the haves and the have nots, perhaps more so than in the more rural states, especially in the middle of the country, and where the values might be more oriented around individual hard word, as in farming for example, and being successful as defined by individual effort,  and where the minority population might be smaller than in the large cities.  In the southeast the states are likely to be more concerned with the influx of immigrants from  south of the border, as in Florida, Texas and New Mexico.

As I write this I am acutely aware  of how easy  it is to debunk this generality.  The Koch brothers are Californians for example.

I'm also aware that I am, by nature, one who likes to focus on the big picture, the forest, and can easily overlook or at least not pay much attention  to the individual trees which make up the forest.

Nevertheless, when one looks at these maps it's hard not to see that  red states and  blue states seem to be grouped in a rather obvious way.  Blue states on both coasts and red states in the middle of the country.

Why does this matter?  Perhaps it matters when one reads the Republican Party platform, which is all about
individual hard work, not depending on a government financed safety net.  What is so obvious about this is that such a value system is at the heart of how this country has been so successful.

What is less obvious about this however is that this system of values is wonderful as an abstract ideal, but when the individuals who have espoused such ideals find themselves in deep shit, often in spite of doing all that they could,  they are at the mercy of those who, immune financially to the possibility of ever being in such dire straits, used their deep pockets, like the mafia, to threaten their senators and representative that they will withdraw financial support unless they tow the line dictated by their corrupt patrons.

The Republican Party, as it is constituted today, is anathema to any and all who have a care for the disadvanged, those who honestly, as best they could, tried to make it on their own, but were thwarted by
things like devasting health care costs, disabilities which prevent one from holding a job, and earning a living, or perhaps just having grown old, and experiencing all that goes with growing old.

One needs only to drive around the hometown and make note of  where the GOPher signs are displayed.   My experience has it that I  find signs for Republicans in front of properties which clearly are worth millions in the marketplace,  and also in front of properties whose known owners have consistently thwarted any and all attempts to pass regulations designed to protect endangered species, and/or ridicule scientists who are crying in the wilderness about the long term effects of climate change on our home planet.

Leanderthal, One Voice Crying in the Wilderness.

GOPhers' Alternative Universe

Dear Reader,

Mind boggling, idiocy, lunacy, unhinged from reality, hateful comments:  that's all I can think of to say which is printable in a publication intended for thoughtful and decent people.

The following links take you to two examples of publicly made comments coming from some of the most obviously unhinged GOPhers, as they begin to realize that the speakers at the DNC convention are making it clear that the speakers at their own GOPher convention, whom one would assume were chosen because they were thought to be good spokespersons for their approach to governing, bombed.in the minds of almost everyone, including those, who like me, had  held out hope  to now as  Republicans,  let alone that Cloud based, amorphous non-constituency, euphemistcally called Independents.

Click here and here to read examples of what I came across in the public sphere in just the last few days , that which has been reported by some element of the media with which we are which qualifies for my including their authors in my  list  people who are idiots, lunatics, hateful and unhinged.

When Will They Ever Learn?

Here's the most recent piece I've come across regarding the threat of Global Warming which grabbed  my attention enough to share it with you.  

The answers to the title of this post include,  but are not limited to:

Not until those of enormous wealth wake up to the reality that their good fortune has been built, not only on the backs of those they could intimidate, but on their own tragic denial of what they know to be true.

Not until the Koch brothers generation has passed on.

Not until it's no longer true that the sins of the fathers are passed on to the next generation.

Not until all human beings understand that they should all use their brains.

Not until the climate of the Arctic and the Antarctic becomes rain forest.

At least that gives us some hope.

Leanderthal

Leanderthal

Calling Out Adults

Will all adults please take two steps forward.

Mr. Romney, stand fast.

Leanderthal

Holy Hyporcrites!

LA governor Bobby Jindal has been  joined in the circle of GOPher hypocrites by a GOPher businessman who, like Jindal, went public(in his convention speech) with a complaint that the government hasn't given him enough financial support.

Holy Hypocrites!!!

Leanderthal

GOPhers Are The Animals

You will understand the title of this post when you read this.

Stories like this should go viral  so that all decent  people know what kind of people are attracted to today's Republican party.  Low Lifes for sure.

Geesh!  How crude can  they get?  How uncivilized can they get?  Why isn't CNN screaming at the GOPhers for humiliating one of their own?  Of course you know the answer to that one.  Money, as usual.  CNN
doesn't want to be excommunicated from the Republican theocracy.  Cowards, hypocrites, sleazes.  That camera operator should quit and sue the hell out of CNN, the Convention  operators, Tampa, and any and all other parties even remotely involved in what was going on when the bastards through their nuts and said, "This  is how we feed animals".

Leanderthal

Gov. Jundal Redefines Hypocrisy

This piece about Gov. Jindal slamming Obama for not providing enough money to LA for the expected hurricane damage really takes the cake.  He's been one of the most outspoken GOPhers criticizing Obama for government spending.

I really hope that the American people can be trusted to see through this amazing hypocrisy and repudiate the lies coming from the GOPhers by sending Romney down to defeat.

Leanderthal

E.J. Gets It

Here is E.J. Dionne's analysis of what Elizabeth Warren must do to beat Scott Brown in November's Senatorial race.  As he says, her task, that of  working to be seen as a likable person, is not the kind of thing often asked of law professors.   So far, for this writer, she has come across as a bit of a shrill, with a one topic message: prosecute the financial system's crooks, those who put us into this deep recession, and who, so far, have escaped any kind of real punishment for their crimes.

That's why I will vote for Warren; wanting her in the Senate to work on going after those crooks.  I do hope see realizes the need to compete with Brown on the image thing.

Brown has been doing a much better job than Warren in the image department. He comes across as very likable in his ads, a regular guy, driving his pickup truck again in this campaign.  His slogan, "He's  one of us", has caught on well.  In my town I see the yard sign with that slogan out front of lots of very expensive homes; we're talking $million mansions here.  That's no surprise.  The wealthy don't want people like Warren messing up their exclusive playgrounds.

Another crucial reason to vote for Warren is to do all we can to ward off the possibility that the GOPhers will become a majority in the Senate.

Those of you who read this and are eligible to vote in Mass, please vote for Warren and spread the word to those in your immediate and wider circle.

Leanderthal

Idiots Vote For Idiots

We can only get idiots like Akin elected because there are so many idiot voters.

Even RMoney calls what Akin said "inexcusable".

Leanderthal

Praise for EJ Dionne on his Gun Control Stance

This needs no words from me other than praise for EJ Dionne.

Leanderthal

The Old New Englander on the tragedy at Aurora

Here's an excellent essay by The Old New Englander on  his blog.

Please note the point he makes in the last paragraph, that the states'
National Guards are those well regulated militias which the founders
alluded to in the second amendment, the right to bear arms.

Leanderthal

Guns According to Juan Cole

This is the best I've read in a long time on the problem of assault weapons available to the public.

Juan Cole calls a spade a spade here.  Corrupt politicians are targeted by his legitimate vitriol.

Leanderthal

Passing It On

Tom Toles of WaPo posted his Friday rant and clearly wants it to be passed on.

Here it is.

I find it a rather good summation of what is happening to our workforce.  Sadly, it's
pretty gloomy, but likely very accurate.

Leanderthal

Juan Cole on Backlash Against Israel

Here is a well written summary of what Israel is doing to itself.

Juan Cole publishes Informed Comment, which focuses on the Middle East.

Leanderthal

Religion as Rorschach Test

I don't usually write about religion on this blog, but here is an essay by an  avowed atheist, Greta Christina, which makes some sense to me.  I would hope that these ideas could be discussed without acrimony by believers and non believers alike.  But that's probably a pipe dream.

Leanderthal

Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Here's a picture which needs no words.

Leanderthal

.

Dems Tie Themselves Up In Knots

Recently I wrote about Dems falling all over themselves looking for moral purity.

Here's E.J. Dionne with a similar idea.

All this is in sharp contrast to the GOPhers falling in line behind their candidate because they are focused on
winning, not on what the candidate believes.

Leanderthal

How Many More?

How many more atrocities need to be seen, in this case literally, before our military/industrial complex,
convincing one more president that they are really in charge of our foreign policy, will stop wasting our lives and treasure in attempts to subdue a people of another state?

Likely none.  Those who make $billions waging war, somewhere all the time, really don't give a damn when they are wasting lives and treasure.  They are loyal only to making huge profits.

I highly recommend reading Captains and the Kings, by Taylor Caldwell, ca 1970.
This is nothing new.  Ike knew all about the risk, and warned us, but we did not listen.
Now those of us who voted in the late 1950's are a diminishing lot. Those born after that time
might not, probably don't, know what Ike told us.

Leanderthal

Obama's Opportunity

Here's the latest on how Bain Capital can and should be the Achilles Heel of Romney's campaign.

Obama has to take this opportunity to capture this latest news to paint Romney as a ruthless takeover
giant who makes money off the agony of the unfortunate.  Fight fire with fire please Mr. President.
The GOPhers have openly said that their single most important mission is to make you a one term president,
Please dig in your own heels, stand your ground, which in this case is not permission to injure somebody
physically, but is the kind of opportunity we liberals could only dream about.

No squeamishness now, no worrying about moral certitudes now,
no time for confessions now.

Expose Romney for who and what he is, a self satisfied, good looking, self righteous
super wealth Narcissist,who makes political decisions by holding up a wet finger to see how
the wind blows, but who has no difficulty at all in making business
decisions because his method of evaluating the up side and the downside
is not how it makes him look to the populace, as in campaign decisions,
but how much money it makes, whether or not the target survives.

Obama is on solid ground to shine the Cape Cod Light Beacon on Romney
as one of those who has shipped thousands of job offshore.  It seems
that he thinks Chinese Communism is a great partner for American Capitalism.

How about that for irony?  Make the SOB cringe by mocking his fake
loyalty to American jobs.

Leanderthal




























..

Robert Lanza on Death as an Illusion

Here's a fascinating piece by a noted scientist on his biocentrism theory.

Leanderthal

The Sleaze

Every now and then it's important shine a bright Cape Cod Lighthouse beacon on the Senate's senior sleaze,
Mitch McConnell.

Here is Chris Wallace, he of Fair and Balanced Fox News, trying to get McConnell to answer a simple question.
It's called a Tap Dance.  To me it's more like stomping around in a pile of shit.

Leanderthal

Keeping It Simple, Stupid

I've been saying this for a long time now; the genius of the Rove/Bush cabal was to keep it simple.  Good versus Evil for example. George W. Bush famously said, "I don't do nuance".

Here's a really good piece which fleshes out what the GOPhers do to influence simple people.

The Dems need to understand this and try to avoid making everything a moral dilemma, getting themselves tied
up by their scruples, and confusing the simple people.

Leanderthal

Liberal Moral Purity?

Here's a piece by a guy who says that Liberals have always had to decide whether to vote for the Democratic candidate for president, who is more a centrist than a left winger, or sit out the election, and risk
a GOPher victory.

Moral purity!  Of course there is no such thing, but right now I'm put off, kind of horrified, by Obama's use of drones to assassinate enemies, plus his being co-opted, like all recent presidents, by the military/industrial complex.

But I have to vote for him because the possibility of Romney being elected is much more repugnant.

Dems need to fall in line behind their nominee, just like GOPhers always do, and stop falling all over themselves to do the righteous thing.  That's self-righteous.  Moral purity/conviction be damned.

Leanderthal

Liberal Squeamishness?

I think this guy's on to something.  I've been saying for  years that GOPhers fall in line, and Dems fall all over each other with what this guy calls squeamishness, having trouble with the moral implications of buying elections.

Leanderthal

A Must Read Piece on Education in America

This rather trenchant essay by Mr. Sale is a little long, but stay with it.

Today's GOPhers know all about this and are exploiting the gullibility of the uncultured masses, who are easily
led to accept the idea that all things can be seen in  black and white contrast.  The genius of the GOPhers since
Rove/Bush has been to keep it simple for the simple people.  As George W. Bush once told a journalist, "I don't do nuance".

Couple that with the recent Gallop Poll which found that 46% of Americans believe in Creationism,
not Evolution.

How can a thoughtful, educated, cultured American become president in view of these realities?

Leanderthal

Fodder Obama Campaign

Read here some news about Bain which Obama should use without anyone being squeamish about it.

Leanderthal

More on Mind Boggling Stats

Here's another person's view on the poll which  says almost half of Americans believe in Creationism.

It seems that the stats are pretty much the same for well educated folk as less educated folk.

What does that say about our education system?

Leanderthal

Mind Boggling Stats

It's mind boggling that almost half of Americans believe in Creationism, including God creating humans and the Earth about 10,000 years ago.

What is so scary is that these people will vote, clearly not on facts, but on their own belief in how the world was made, at best a fairy tale, like Santa Clause and  the Easter bunny.  Why do they come to see that those are really fairy tales, but continue to believe that Creationism is true reality?

That the numbers have changed little over many years, and a couple of generations, does not bode well for
having an enlightened electorate any time soon.

How does one campaign for office in view of this fact?

Leanderthal

Uh Oh

This cartoon is creepy.

Puts a whole new slant on studying and practicing the skills that lead to jobs.

Leanderthal

More from the Department of Damage Already Done

How can one be one's on friend and also one's own enemy?

Say stuff like this.

Leanderthal

From the Damage Already Done Department

Once again, with friends like this----------.

Leanderthal

Fundamentalist Religious Beliefs: Driving Thinkers Out of Religion

Here's a pretty thorough expose' of how Fundamentalists are driving people who question out of church.

If the world is only 6000 years old, what's powering  your car?

Leanderthal

"Operation Perpetual War"

Here is Anne Telnaes' powerful message for Memorial Day.

It requires no further comment.

Leanderthal

Who Will Stop This?

Here's a tragic tale of a couple who apparently got screwed over several times by Wells Fargo, and who finally shot himself out of what must have felt like sheer desperation.

Who will stop this?  Certainly not Romney, and I'm not so sure about Obama who hasn't yet demonstrated that he has the balls to go after the big banks.

Why? As always follow the money trail.

How corrupt are we as a country willing to be?  We've already become sickeningly corrupt

Who will stop this.


Leanderthal

An American Orthodox Jew's Rational Approach to the Israel/Palestinian Standoff

You would be in  large company if you looked twice at the title of this post, and thought to yourself, "Is this the oxymoron of the day? An Orthodox Jew has a rational approach.

Yet here is the most intelligent, yes rational, piece I've come across on the seemingly intractable
conflict between the two predominant age old conflicts.

Leanderthal

Hitting Bottom?

Is this what the GOPhers have become?  If so they will likely continue descending into a kind of  political bottom. I'm of  two minds on that. I grew up in a Republican family, and as a CEO in business for many years I continued to believe that the GOP was a party of decent people who endorsed the belief that those of us
who worked in decent organizations were allingning ourselves with the right people. Somewhere along the line
I began to sense that it was no longer so.  I didn't leave it, it left me and untold thousands of voters.

Unfortunately there are still those who have not just hung on but who keep voting against their own interests.Sorry to say that it's they who are energized by GOPher politicians' appeal to their basest instincts, easily and happily succumbing to and  embracing the hate which lies just below the surface.

Recently, a woman at a Romney event called President Obama treasonous.  If Romney had any balls, had any respect for decency in the public square, he would have denounced such talk; but he ignored it and went on to speechify on the woman's questioning Obama's adherence to the Constitution.

Obama  is a Constitutional Law professor. What are her credentials?

Leanderthal

Pat Lang Gets It

Here's Pat Lang, of Sic Semper Tyrannis, on what will stop the budget problem.

I find this to be the best and most succinct list on the subject.

Leanderthal

Who's the Candidate, Mitt or Ann?

Oh, please!

Here's  a link to one of the most obviously cynical attempts to fool the gullible public in the 2012 presidential campaign.

Last week Ann Romney made big points by ridiculing the idiot who publicly rebuked her for not working a day in her life.

Today she made a fool of herself by saying that the dog loved riding on top of the car back in the "80's.

Anyone who has loved a dog knows how excited that animal friend can get when he/she sees the pet carrier, knowing that it's not going to be left behind.  But how pleasantly excited would any creature still be when finding itself strapped to the top of a car travelling at highway speeds, with the noise of 18 wheelers, buses and traffic in general accosting it from all sides, with no possibility of escape?

The full story has it that the dog shit all over the car.  Ann somehow left that part out.

Hey Ann, tell us again how much the dog loved it.

She admitted that this story is giving Mitt the most trouble in his run for president. It won't be long before her MS and Mitt's support of her in that devastating and still incurable illness is introduced in a cynical attempt to paint her husband as a caring person. 

Disclosure:  My  oldest son is in the advanced stages of MS.  It's horrible. And stress exacerbates the symptoms.  Yet Mitt is running for president, and, if successful, his wife, Ann, will experience the ultimate in spousal stress, the  wife of the  President of the United States.

So Mitt. how narcissistic can you get?  And Ann, how much sacrifice of your integrity and your health are you willing to make?

Leanderthal

Andrew Sullivan

I've rediscovered Andrew Sullivan.  Here's  a link to one of his offerings which I find to be powerful.

Andrew Sullivan is a featured blogger and  essayist at The Daily Beast.  Check it out.

Leanderthal

Voter Registration Requirements

Here's my suggestion for a voter registration requirement.  All Americans who are, or plan to be, registered voters should be required to read this essay by Tom Engelhardt of TomDispatch.com.

I will vote for Obama again because the alternatives offered by the GOPhers are actually more frightening.

Leanderthal

In Case You Wondered

In case you wondered why I'm so anti-AIPAC here is one big reason.  I rest my case.

No, probably not.  I'll probably keep crying in the wilderness over the Israel First agenda of  this transparent, in your face, cabal of questionable Americans whose deceit is so dangerous to America, Israel and world peace. 

Leanderthal

LIsten To This Voice Crying

Chris Hedges cries out to us here about the dangerous, frightening war mongers of AIPAC.  It's the best, most complete and most alarming cry in the wilderness I've found on this cabal of Neocons whose only allegiance is to increasing their wealth by making war. Whether they are citizens of the U.S., Israel or any other country their loyalty is not to any  country, only to the sinister ways of their fellow war criminals.

Taylor Caldwell wrote "The Captains and the Kings" in the '70's which exposed, via historical novel, this sinister cabal throughout  history and what they did during the Civil War and other conflicts which they exploited for their selfish gain. 

Forgive us Ike, for we know not what we do. 

Truly, there's nothing new under the sun, at least as far as the human race is concerned. 


Leanderthal

Chomsky on Iran's Intentions

This article needs no comment from me, except for the fact that I wish most Americans and Israelis
believed as Noam Chomsky believes.

Leanderthal

In The Sad But True Department

Redefining "pandering".

Here's an opinion piece on why and how Obama, has changed his tune on Israel.
In this case literally.

It's an election year. Surprise

Geesh.

Leanderthal

War With Iran?

Pat Lang says that it's an 80% certainty that Israel, (Netanyahu and Barack) will try to drag the U.S. into war with Iran before November.  That's a chilling thing to read.  I certainly hope he's wrong, and that Obama will not let us by used by these creeps. 

Here's Lang's post at Sic Semper Tyrannis.  The Colonel(US Army Retired)  doesn't pull his punches when he takes on trouble makers.  His expertise and experience in his military service was Middle East Intelligence.  He knows Israel.

Leanderthal

Israel Firsters

Here's the latest post by Pat Lang on so-called Israel Firsters.  These people need to be exposed as the war drum beaters they really are, along with AIPAC, the unregistered political arm of a foreign country, Israel. It will take American Jews who see them for the danger they represent to their own country, America, to marginalize them.  Fortunately there is "J" Street and also the Israel Policy Forum.

Dershowitz is attacking M.J. Rosenberg, who is an outspoken critic of the Likud Party which wants to drag the U.S. into war against Iran, and of its leader,Netanyahu, who mocks the very idea of Israel as a democracy, for his support and encouragement of the Settlers and the denial of some of their own citizens' civil and human rights, namely Israel's Arab citizens.

Leanderthal

Obama Playing Nice With Israel

Here's Pat Lang's take on Obama playing nice with Israel.

I pay attention to Lang because his military service (he's a retired Colonel) included
broad experience in Intelligence work, with a concentration on the Middle East.
He knows Israel. 

Leanderthal

AIPAC: A Serious Problem.

Here's the best summary I've found on how AIPAC's influence subverts our Democracy.  And Israel is said to be the only democracy in the Middle East, and as such deserves our unquestioned loyalty and support.

I am anti-Likud, anti-AIPAC,  not anti-Semitic.  I suggest reading opinions found at the web sites of the Israel Policy Forum and "J" Street for the views of more progressive Jewish Americans. 

Israel is a democracy in name only, so long as it is ruled(as in not governed) by the far right wing Likud Party, headed by the likes of the corrupt Netanyahu who leads the fight against the rights of Palestinians, even those who are their own Arab citizens.  The Likud is intent on being certain that Israel remains essentially a Jewish theocracy, not a democracy. 

AIPAC is a group of Jewish American people who use their huge financial clout to buy off politicians for the sole purpose of influencing those politicians to avow and vote for any and all legislation/regulations which AIPAC supports on behalf of Israel. 

They threaten anyone who dares criticize them and/or Israel with the stamp of "Anti-Semite" or "Anti-Zionist", and they use their financial clout to support the election campaign of more pliable replacement politicians. That's enough to scare any pol who is more afraid of losing his/her job than standing up and doing the right thing.  Sorry to say it's clear that they, our whoring politicians,  are legion.

What's wrong with this picture?  Congress has the disapproval of a huge majority of Americans, 70-80%, yet about 80% of members of Congress and the Senate are returned to office in most elections.

The result of course is that AIPAC, as the unregistered agent of a foreign government, and which enjoys the tax avoiding status of a Not For Profit organization, is calling the shots when it comes to US foreign policy, at least with respect to the Middle East. 

The only people who can stop this are our own American citizens.  That's what a democratic republic, the United States of America, is all about.  We must elect politicians who are well grounded in loyalty to their own country, and with sufficient strength of character, to stand up and do the right thing.  I am not beating the tub for flag waving here, nor advocating for America as the embodiment of all that is right in the world, like those who subscribe to the self-aggrandizing American Exceptionalism meme.

I am simply saying that we, us, the American citizens, must stand up and do the right thing by voting for those Representatives and Senators who are strong enough to resist being bought and paid for by the likes of AIPAC and any and all deep pocket lobbies. 

Sadly, that requires a monumental change in how political campaigns are funded.  Citizens United must be overturned. 

The next president will likely have the opportunity to name one or two replacements for retiring Supreme Court justices.  A Democratic President could move the makeup of SCOTUS in the direction of it being a more progressive institution.  Yes, SCOTUS is comprised of a politically influenced group of human beings, regardless of the fine theory that it was intended to be objective, politically neutral, in its deliberations.

But that's another story, perhaps for another post someday. 

Leanderthal

That Does It !!!

That does it !!!  I'm shocked!  Shocked!!
The world really is coming to an end.

How much more oh Lord; how much?

Leanderthal

Madness

Here's an article which sheds light on a movement which can only be described as sheer madness.

I am not anti-Semitic, nor anti-Zionist, but I am anti-Likud/AIPAC(they are one  in the same for all practical purposes), just as surely as I am anti-Organized Crime.

AIPAC operates as an agent of a foreign government, Israel, without being required to register as such as required by State Dept policy.  AND they enjoy the status of a Not For Profit, avoiding paying taxes, while reaching their poisonous tentacles deep into the pockets of far too many American politicians, for the sole purpose of buying loyalty and uncritical support for Likud behavior, however dangerous to America. 

Add to that the reality that American taxpayers fund billions of dollars a year of foreign aid to Israel, plus military armaments costing in the billions as well.  Where is the anger, the outrage which Americans should be displaying over this?

These are the people who,  along with the military/industrial complex which Ike warned us about, stand to make billions by stirring up enmities and tribal hatreds around the world, fanning the flames of emotional behavior, beating the war drums, rattling the sabres, to be sure we  Americans
are at war somewhere, all the time.

They will work to ensure that there is no military draft, because that would arouse the public from its slumber when sons, daughters, mothers and fathers are sent to war.  It would likely lead to the kind of demonstrations in the streets which we saw when it became clear that the Vietnam war was a scam
which cost the lives of thousands.  These people are war criminals, who don't want to wake the sleeping dog of American public opinion, that which led to our getting out of Vietnam.

Cheney/Bush and their Neocon cabal did it to us again in Iraq.  It's deja vu days people. What you are reading in the so-called Main Stream Media and hearing on Fox News is a re-run of 2002-2003.
These are same stenographers for the Pentagon as those in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq. It was WMD then; It's nuclear weapons now. 

Fool me once, shame on  you .  Fool me twice, shame on me.

Leanderthal

Israel/Iran/US: What To Believe?

Here's a piece from the Daily Beast reporting that Israel will not warn the US of an impending air strike against Iran.

What is one to trust and believe?  Is this a straight forward position taken by Israel, or is it just another
war drum, sabre rattling orchestrated piece of propaganda from the AIPAC/Neocon Israel Lobby  cabal?

I know it's never as simple as one would wish it to be, but isn't it about time to tell Israel that they have squandered any trust they might have had on the part of American citizens, and that the billions of dollars of aid, munitions, etc.. has been stopped?

Not gonna happen.  Too much money has been stuffed into the pockets of US politicians to buy their unquestioned loyalty to Israeli causes, however questionable(that's a euphimism for sinister) they may be.

I'm not anti-Semitic nor anti- Zionist, but I am anti-Likud/AIPAC, just as sure asI am anti-Organized Crime.  

Leanderthal

Juan Cole on the Iran/Israel Thing

I hope you will read Juan Cole's assessment here.

He writes what I think.  He is the best source of reliable Middle
East stuff I have found.  

Leanderthal

The Big Scam: Facebook

Update Below!

Here's your classic curmudgeon crying in the wilderness.  I'm aghast at the so-called Social Media success.  The people who invented such intrusive mechanisms like Facebook, Connect.In and Twitter have found a need which people weren't even aware they had until they were told so.  Now that's brilliant marketing! I suspect that Facebook will become a case study at HBS if it hasn't already, especially since its inventor and founder is one of their own. 

It continues to amaze me how gullible people can be.  Facebook is a giant scam offering opportunities to "Friend"(yet another noun cannibalized and made into a verb) all kinds of people, most of whom  you wouldn't allow into your home if they knocked on your door.  

It's of coursel about making huge bucks by accumulating all kinds of information which you wouldn't be likely to share with strangers (Guess what folks, the Internet is a humongous gang of strangers).  This information is sold to organizations which are dying to know as much as they can about you so that they can bombard you with their ads whenever you log on to Facebook and who knows how many other Internet sites. 

BTW, Google does the same thing.  Ever wonder why you see ads for companies whose web addresses you recently visited when you log onto sites like TPM, Truthout, Truthdig, Salon.com and Alternet, to name only a few that come to mind right now.   

What got me ranting about this tonight?   I wanted to leave a comment on Mat Taibbi's piece on Truthdig about CNN's beating the war drums for bombing  Iran. (That's Mat Taibbi of Rolling Stone.) Problem is that you can only leave a comment if you use Facebook to log on to the comments option. This is a first, at least for me.

Facebook is a danger to our privacy just as surely as are Patriot Act wiretaps.

It's recent multi billion dollar IPO has gotten a lot of people drooling and dreaming of making big bucks, counting on this being the 21st Century's IBM.  They may be right for all I know.  Somehow I have to think that I should approve of the product a company I invest in is selling.( That naivete' is probably why I'm not living on Easy Street.)  Facebook has been forced to change any number of its rules, policies and procedures which have been found to violate personal privacy. Yet people still can't wait to sign up.  It's truly phenomenal how deep into our culture the tentacles of this invasive species have penetrated.  "Find us on Facebook" has become a ubiquitous phrase found in virtually all advertising today.  Even US Government agencies implore you to find them on Facebook. 

I am a Facebook dropout, having tried it for a couple of weeks at the request of my grandchildren.  I was being asked to be friends with perfect strangers, and I couldn't care less about knowing that one of my grandchildren had to stay late after school for some reason.  I'm still not sure I was able to wipe the Facebook slate clean of the few details I was required to provide when signing up.  Fortunately I hadn't revealed anything of real importance to my privacy.

For more awareness try Googling "Facebook Social Media". One of the listings is about Facebook Social Media Marketing, and one such source out there is Social Media Marketing for Dummies. Now there's a truly accurate title for a book.  

Be careful out there folks.  It's been said that TV is a vast wasteland.  Social Media is a vast scamland.

Update:  Here's a link to a site which my son tells me provides instructions for removing your account from Facebook, thereby breaking all ties to it.  I just received this tonight, and haven't checked it out yet. 
http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=224562897555674&ref_query=remove+account

I am skeptical though that Facebook would actually show you how to do this without  retaining some vestige of your past usage. For example when my granddaughter updated her Facebook page and I mistakenly clicked on the Facebook no-reply email sent to inform me of that fact Facebook wrote "Welcome back Lee".

Yes, I'm paranoid, and perhaps you should be too.  


Leanderthal

Credible Sources for Mid East News

Juan Cole's blog, Informed Comment, a sample of which is found here, and Pat Lang's blog, Sic Semper Tyrannis, a sample of which is found here, are two examples of what appear to be credible sources for accurate Mid East news. To be sure they are biased toward refuting the Neocon propaganda for war against Iran; however that's a bias which is sorely needed to counter the Neocon plan to take us down another dangerous path toward war. 

This is especially important since the so-called Main Stream Media seems once again to serve as the loyal stenographers of the Neocon/Military/Industrial Complex which fooled us into blindly buying into war against Iraq. There is virtually no light between that cabal and the non-registered Israel political arm in America, AIPAC.   The combined resources of these two lobbies are powerful and their poisonous tentacles reach into the pockets of far too many politicians in all branches of government.  

Fool me once, shame on  you. Fool me twice, shame on me.  Buying into the American and Israeli arms dealers' war against Iran would lead to the disastrous result of being the second fool.

Leanderthal 

Mr. Fish, Shock Jock of Cartoonists

Mr. Fish is a political cartoonist, one who usually aims to get your attention by the use of shocking imagery, like his recent pornographic image of George Washington.

Here, he writes rather than draws, and it's effective, if somewhat overdone in the pedantic English department  manner of imagery.  Clearly he's a far left liberal, in the mode of Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com.  He  finds fault with Obama as often as with the GOPher clowns pretending to be serious statesmen.  Frankly I find myself liking and also disliking his messages; liking because I often agree with them, and disliking because he likes to shock in the extreme, bordering on the pretentious. 

It's likely though that I would not have read this piece had I not seen his cartoons; and I'm very glad I did.  I hope you will read it and be glad you did it too.

Leanderthal

An Essay on What Makes Right Wingers Tick

This essay speaks for itself.  It's the first attempt I've seen which tries to understand the psychology behind the behavior of people who cheer the idea that people without insurance deserve to die.

Leanderthal

This is Hilarious

I'm posting about this because the title of the article in question is simply hilarious, that is if you enjoy a little locker room humor.  You have to understand that the article is about GOPhers threatening to add something about contraception to a highway bill.

With that in mind, how can you not laugh at the title of the piece:  "Where the Rubber Meets the Road"?

Leanderthal

More Most Dangerous Fellas

Update Below:

Here's a post on Sic Semper Tyrannis which shines a bright light on the nefarious and shadowy work of AIPAC, the unregistered, so far, Israel Agent, the American political arm of the current Israeli political power, the far right hawkish Likud party.  

These people, AIPAC, are known as Israeli Firsters, a label reserved for Americans who put Israel's interests ahead of the interests of their own country.   They would call me an anti-Semite, if they paid any attention to me and my little blog.  That's the propaganda they spread about anyone who dares to find fault with their unwavering, uncritical support of the Likud hard liners who are currently the rulers of today's Israel.

By that definition many Jewish public media journalists qualify for that label; such clear and objective thinkers as Eric Alterman, Glenn Greenwald and Roger Cohen, to name only three which come to mind at this moment.  But indeed they and the less public bloggers are many, if not legion.


To call Israel a "democracy" is to use a word which can only be described as an oxymoron at best. How can  a country be a democracy when it treats a huge block of its citizens and residents, the Palestinians, as second class citizens at best, denying them the rights accorded to its Jewish citizens.  It is a Jewish state, not a democracy. 

Update:  Here is Joshua Holland's wonderful  and trenchant piece on the problem of criticizing Israel.
"We give up .Please give us an acceptable way of insulting you---------" is aimed at AIPAC which excoriates anyone who dares to criticize Israel. 

Leanderthal

A Most Dangerous Fella

Eric Alterman tells us here about Sheldon Adelson's Israeli hard line support and how he has bought Gingrich's loyalty to that position, which is 180 degrees from the position Gingrich had publicly stated before becoming Adelson's prostitute.

Even though it seems Gingrich's rocket has flamed out this is still a story which people who think should read; a story of how people with huge egos and huge bankrolls can buy influence right here in River City.

Leanderthal

Crying Wolf----Again

Here's an opinion piece which makes sense by exposing the right wing war hawk Neocons for crying wolf again.

Leanderthal

A Fellow Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Here's Glenn Greenwald's lonely cry in the wilderness about the sacrifice of American liberties at the altar of hyped domestic terrorist  threats.

This point of view deserves to be, and needs to be, shouted out all over America.  You can help give this its needed hearing by being outspoken on the issue with your circle of friends and acquaintances. 

Those who stand to make huge profits by promoting and prosecuting endless war are the real enemies of American democracy.  They are collectively called Neocons, and are the loudest voices in the cry for uncritical support of Israel at any cost.  They want America to support Israel in the bombing of Iran, a country which  has not invaded another country in recent history, and which is not suicidal enough to attack Israel. 

Good Grief!!! Geesh!! Speak UP!!! Make your voice heard outside the wilderness. 

Leanderthal

Fool Me Once--------

Full me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  It seems to me that this old maxim is the take away message from the Hill poll mentioned in Kevin Drum's post today.

Read here how easy it still seems to be to fool human beings into supporting, even clamoring for, war.
Shame on the Neocons and shame on us.

It's in the genes. Maybe someday, eons from now, a mutant gene in the ageless process of evolution will emerge which will change all that. Survival of the fittest will benefit those humans in our homo sapien, sapien species who eschew violence. 

The news media will fight it though.  Everyone getting along doesn't sell. 

Leanderthal

How's This For Straight Talk?

Tom Toles labels space colonies "lunacy".

The point is we're stuck here on Earth, so we need
to clean it  up.

Leanderthal

Exposing the Self-Serving Cynicism of the Israeli Right Wing

Here's Juan Cole's excellent essay on the cynical, self-serving propaganda of the hard line Israelis and their Israel-first American conspirators. 

This point of view needs to be made known and exposed widely.

Leanderthal

Scalia On Citizens United Decision

Here's SCJ Antonin Scalia's comment to people, like me, who disdain the Supreme's decision to open the flood gates for corporations to use their funds, the largest of them usually publicly owned, with no limit and no accountability as to their sources, to sponsor candidates for public office:  Turn off the TV.

What a condescending wise-ass crack!  And we are supposed to respect  him as a Supreme Court Justice.

It is, in fact, a travesty of justice.

Leanderthal

Kathleen Parker Says It All

----though we are all sinners, we are not all running for president of the United States. Gingrich’s sins of the flesh ultimately are of less importance than the narcissism and grandiosity that compel his actions.

 Here's her column on Gingrich, deserving of a full read.

Leanderthal

The Wizard of Newt

Charles Blow pulls back the curtain on the Wizard of Newt here.

Gingrich is running a clinic on how to stir up  hate.
He unleashes a crazed crowd and causes a feeding frenzy for that in South Carolina.

Leanderthal

Almost But Not Quite

Gail Collins almost makes me not miss Molly Ivins. Almost.

Read Collins' column on Gingrich here.

What a sleaze he is!!

Leanderthal

Important Story on the Perfidy of Likud Israel and AIPAC

It's rare to find a credible source for revealing clearly perfidious actions on the part of the far right Likud thugs in Israel and their American agents, AIPAC.  Juan Cole is such a source.  I don't yet know who Mark Perry is (I will check him out), however, since he is credited with being Juan Cole's source here it's likely he is a reliable one.

Likud and AIPAC are responsible for giving Israel a black eye in the minds of many Americans.  What's really disturbing is the lack of push back by any recent American administration, of either party,  engendering tacit approval of these anti-American organizations. As Cole observes the GOPher presidential wannabees seem eager to kiss the asses of these guys. 

How long Lord, how long? 

Leanderthal

He Gets It

Tom Toles, the WaPo cartoonist, gets it here in his Friday Rant blog post, and hopes the voters finally will too.

It's all about the taxes stupid.  No, not you; it's the gullible public.

Leanderthal

Send In The Clowns

Don't bother, they're here.

And this guy says he's ready to be president on day one?
I don't think so.

He sticks his foot in his mouth without any help from others.
Voters should stick a foot in his other orifice.

Leanderthal

Our Politicians: For Sale By Owner

Update Below.


Please read Bill McKibbon's piece here about the need to go from being just a disgusted cynic to being an angry activist, or at least a supporter of those who are.

This is what the Occupy movement is all about, being an angry activist.  However if you're like me, not about to do what they do, live in tents and endure all manner of difficulties which accompany doing that, at least don't disparage them, as the 1% and their servile public servants want you to do.

Recent articles have revealed that members of Congress are, by and large, quite wealthy.  Even better off financially are former members of Congress who have become lobbyists and/or speechifiers, like Palin and Santorum.

Something in the Bible has it that the poor we will always have with us.  Same goes for the rich.  But at least we can support those who are active on our behalf in working to reign in the damage the rich are doing at the expense of the poor. That should include kicking the whores of both parties out of office.

Before we can do that though we need to fight, or at least support those who fight for us, to reverse the Supremes' Citizens United decision.  That reversal will be necessary if we have any chance to elect presidents and members of Congress who are honest, genuine public servants, not on the take, not expecting to be private servants of their personal pimps, big corporations like Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Banks and the like.


I've been calling D.C. the home of the Elected Mafia for quite awhile now.  It's an  apt label for those who essentially live by the practices of extortion, protection money(racketeering), bribery and payoffs.  Elliot Ness used to put them in jail for tax evasion when he couldn't put them in jail for their other crimes.

Who will be our Elliot Ness? I had hoped Elizabeth Warren would get that job, but alas, she frightened the GOPhers so much they had to blackball her.  Pity.  We need her, or someone like her, now.

Leanderthal
Surviving specimen of
a homo sapien species
long thought to be extinct.

Update:  Here's Mitt Romney's public statement about the need to be rich when running for office.

All In One Place

I found the issues I find troublesome in the Obama administration all in one place, in Glenn Greenwald's current post at Salon.com.

You can find them in the fifth paragraph(not counting the paragraphs written by others whom he quotes).

Check them out here.

Update:  Greenwald's point is that there is essentially so little difference between Obama and Romney on these issues that they won't be debated by the two men who are likely to be the contestants in the 2012 election contest.

Am I going to vote for Obama?  Of course.  I'd rather disagree with him and  hope for change in these issues than risk the chance of a GOPher in the White House.

Leanderthal

Talk About Creeps-----!!

This one also speaks for itself.

What a world!!!

Leanderthal

They Deserve Each Other

Speaks for itself.

Leanderthal

"I find him by far the creepiest of the lot. "

Update III Below.

Update II Below.

Update Below.

Describing Rick Santorum, one of the current front runners in the GOPher
race to become that party's  presidential candidate,
Kevin Drum of Mother Jones says it best.

"------I find him by far the creepiest of the lot.".

Me too.  Others are clowns, but Santorum's the real deal in the world of creep.   
Why, because it seems he really believes the shit he spouts.  At least
you know where he stands on big issues, and his stance is the most
frightening and the creepiest of them all.

Read Drum's "Onward American Soldiers" post here.

A frightening creep; that pretty much sums up Santorum.


Remind me to put Iowa on my list of places not to live. 
According to a pie chart I saw recently its demographics
show it to be about 90% white, and from all recent appearances,
is the Mecca of the North for Christian Evangelicals,
among the most frightening and creepiest of all in the
world of demagoguery. 

I find Israel to be a frightening and creepy place, the penultimate
of anachronistic cultures, in defining itself as a Jewish State;
which, at least today, apparently means treating anyone not Jewish as
second class citizens at best, and fair game for the far right Likudniks
and Ultra Orthodox Jews at worst. No melting pot, multi-culturalism there.

Perhaps it's like that in Iowa.  It seems to see itself as a
White Protestant Evangelical State, likely exhibiting a similar
intolerance for any who don't conform to that narrow world view.

The hard to dismiss evidence is found in Santorum's public statements
quoted, in part, by Kevin Drum in his post.
While other GOPher presidential wannabees pander to
whatever audience they address at any given time, my fear is that
Santorum really believes what he says.

Someone like that should never be permitted to live in the White House.
That would be truly creepy and, to say the least, frightening.

Leanderthal

Update:  I just remembered that Iowa legalized gay marriage.  I have to amend my statements about the state being the home of so many Christian Evangelicals to make the observation that the Iowa GOPher party is the home to so many Christian Evangelicals.

Update II   Back to Santorum as the creepiest of them   all, here's another example.  What's sticking in this guy's craw that's making him support such nasty positions?  Unfeeling logic activated and nourished by Big  Insurance extortion?

Refer to my post titled Politicians; Bought and Paid For, 1/7/12 for more on politicians on the take.

Update III  Just in case you'd like another example of Santorum's world view which gives me the creeps, check this out.


























 

Who Knows?

Robert Reich predicts that Biden and Hillary will switch roles before the 2012 election.  Don't know if Hillary would go for it, but wouldn't that make for an interesting election?  Biden is no draw when it comes to impressing the electorate, but Hillary?  Could be a game changer.

Read what Reich has to say here .

Leanderthal

.

This Excites Me

Here is a short essay by Martin Rees, well known astronomer, on some of the mysteries of the Universe.

I get so excited reading such works that I'm always sad when I've come to their end. 

Leanderthal

The Best Description of 2011

The Festival of Sleaze.  That's what Dave Barry calls the year we just survived.

Have you ever seen a more apt description of our current public figure creep show?

Leanderthal

One Of My Favorites: NIcholas Kristof's Columns

Here's a perfect example of why I like Nicholas Kristof's columns in the NY Times. 

Bet you will too, if you don't already.

Leanderthal