Global
Dear Harvey and Bob (if I may),
Thank you for the HONEST article on the "alleged" Ohio Mall attack. It's
too bad the major corrupt media in this country refuses to tell the whole
truth.
Every time there's real news about the Bush Administration's lies and
deceit, "Asscroft" or some other crony comes out with a "major" discovery
regarding terrorist activity. Man that "Asscroft" is really on top of things.
How dare these bastards call themselves Christians. I can only hope God
strikes them down for what they have done to the innocent and this country.
What a bunch of hypocrites!!! Unfortunately, there are many, many more in
this country to deal with. The likes of Rush "Limpballs" and Bill
"O'Really?" to name a couple.
I hope and pray they are all seated side by side in Hell some day soon.
Thank you both for your honest and forward thinking journalism. Maybe one
day you will represent the mainstream media in this country. If not, God
help us all.
Perry Stigall
Dallas, TX.
It's funny. I'd seen all this stuff before--I mean it isn't as if there
was anything really new here for anyone who's been paying attention for
the past few years. And yet, I cried. Maybe it's the deprogramming of
having at least some of what we've seen replayed with any decent focus for
One Brief Shining Moment, beyond the self-imposed straitjacket of a docile
and dangerously inept US press. Maybe it's just the oxygen given to all
those impulses so many of us have kept in check, all those shoots of
anger, sadness and embarrassment blossoming into full blown consciousness.
My own thought process in response to Michael Moore's new film reminded me of one of those dessicated sponges you put in water-a few hours later and voila: your tiny piece of foam has bloated into a full blown fish, or frog, or palm tree ten times its original size. Or maybe like opening an archive, unzipping a million saved files at once. My brain fairly exploded with repressed anger going back to the Florida recount disaster: things I had known in much more detail before Moore scratched the surface again and brought it all flooding back..
My own thought process in response to Michael Moore's new film reminded me of one of those dessicated sponges you put in water-a few hours later and voila: your tiny piece of foam has bloated into a full blown fish, or frog, or palm tree ten times its original size. Or maybe like opening an archive, unzipping a million saved files at once. My brain fairly exploded with repressed anger going back to the Florida recount disaster: things I had known in much more detail before Moore scratched the surface again and brought it all flooding back..
AUSTIN, Texas -- When it comes to religion, I've always believed it's more important to walk the walk than to talk the talk. I come from a tradition (Episcopal) that considers it rather in bad taste to wear your religion on your sleeve, presumably from Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 5 and 6:
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
Of course, I also had some Baptist input and so am fond of making a joyful noise unto the Lord. Texans even like to sing hymns around campfires while drinking beer -- I'm not sure if that counts.
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
Of course, I also had some Baptist input and so am fond of making a joyful noise unto the Lord. Texans even like to sing hymns around campfires while drinking beer -- I'm not sure if that counts.
In early July, the U.S. Senate will consider legislation that would make it much more difficult to hold corporations accountable when they deceive consumers, trample our civil or workplace rights, or pollute the environment. This bill - the falsely-named "Class Action Fairness Act" (S. 2062) - is backed by tobacco companies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and big banks.
Senator Bingaman (NM) plans to offer a pro-consumer amendment that will improve the bill. Unless the Senate adopts the Bingaman amendment, this bill will unfairly make it harder for consumers to have their day in court.
Please take a moment to ask your senators to support the pro-consumer Bingaman amendment and make the class action bill fairer. Then ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
Take Action: pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=6&id4=OHFreep
Background
Senator Bingaman (NM) plans to offer a pro-consumer amendment that will improve the bill. Unless the Senate adopts the Bingaman amendment, this bill will unfairly make it harder for consumers to have their day in court.
Please take a moment to ask your senators to support the pro-consumer Bingaman amendment and make the class action bill fairer. Then ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
Take Action: pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=6&id4=OHFreep
Background
You can set your watch by it. The minute some halfway decent government in Latin America begins to reverse the usual order of things and try to give the have-nots a break from the grind of poverty and wretchedness, all the usual suspects up here in El Norte rouse themselves from the slumber of indifference and start barking furiously about democratic norms. It happened in 1973, in Chile; we saw a repeat performance in Nicaragua in the 1980s; and here's the same show on summer rerun in Venezuela, pending the vote on recall of President Hugo Chavez on August 15.
Chavez is the best thing that has happened to Venezuela's poor in a very, very long time. His government has actually delivered on some of its promises to the poor. A million new pupils are in the schools, with millions more getting school meals. Public spending on education has tripled and doubled on health care. Venezuelan poor people are living longer, and more of their babies are surviving past the first weeks and months. The government is promoting one of the most ambitious land reform programs seen in Latin America in decades.
Chavez is the best thing that has happened to Venezuela's poor in a very, very long time. His government has actually delivered on some of its promises to the poor. A million new pupils are in the schools, with millions more getting school meals. Public spending on education has tripled and doubled on health care. Venezuelan poor people are living longer, and more of their babies are surviving past the first weeks and months. The government is promoting one of the most ambitious land reform programs seen in Latin America in decades.
The lasting legacy of Ronald Wilson Reagan will be Star Wars and a bloated imperialist U.S. military budget. At the beginning of the recent war against Iraq, nearly two dozen years after Reagan first took office, his impact was plainly clear: the mainstream media pointed out that the U.S. military was estimated to be stronger than Rome at the height of her imperialism and stronger than Nazi Germany in 1940.
Reagan, starring in “The Return of the Cold War,” doubled President Carter’s military budget, increasing it from $145 billion to $290 billion in his first year. The Reagan-Bush Administration spent $1.5 trillion in their first five years, the largest military build-up during peacetime ever recorded. Star Wars was funded to the tune of tens of billions of dollars with the stated goal of nuclearizing space. But we were promised if the Soviet Union caved in there would be the mythical “peace dividend.” Americans would benefit from a much smaller military budget.
Reagan, starring in “The Return of the Cold War,” doubled President Carter’s military budget, increasing it from $145 billion to $290 billion in his first year. The Reagan-Bush Administration spent $1.5 trillion in their first five years, the largest military build-up during peacetime ever recorded. Star Wars was funded to the tune of tens of billions of dollars with the stated goal of nuclearizing space. But we were promised if the Soviet Union caved in there would be the mythical “peace dividend.” Americans would benefit from a much smaller military budget.
Bob,
thanks for the great column about the Gipper. For some reason I found myself cracking up when I read your column- great title! Very refreshing to read something about WR Reagan with a little depth to it. Way back when in high school I remember being scared to death that this guy might accidentally start a full-scale nuclear war (he was too easily confused by movie imagery). But the really sad thing is that he was actually a much less threatening and dangerous person than our current president. Ronald Reagan may have been mean-spirited at times, but he was generally not Machiavellian . Unfortunately, Bush/Cheney/Rove seem to have memorized "The Prince" as their guide to success in politics.
AUSTIN, Texas -- As I.F. Stone used to say, "All governments lie," so that's no shockeroo. What's peculiar is the reaction in the media.
-- You may recall that when even the administration finally admitted Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction (with that adorable video of President Bush on his hands and knees searching under sofas in the Oval Office for the missing WMD -- oh, it was so amusing. Eight hundred American dead.), we were treated to the following rationales:
1) Didn't make any difference because Saddam Hussein was a really, really bad guy anyway.
He was, of course, and it was always the only decent rationale for getting rid of him. It was the argument made by Tony Blair but specifically rejected by the Bush administration. Paul Wolfowitz explained in Vanity Fair that human rights violations were not a sufficient consideration for invasion.
2) It was all Saddam's fault that we thought he had WMD. The wily coot fooled us by repeatedly denying that he had any, a fiendishly clever ploy.
-- You may recall that when even the administration finally admitted Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction (with that adorable video of President Bush on his hands and knees searching under sofas in the Oval Office for the missing WMD -- oh, it was so amusing. Eight hundred American dead.), we were treated to the following rationales:
1) Didn't make any difference because Saddam Hussein was a really, really bad guy anyway.
He was, of course, and it was always the only decent rationale for getting rid of him. It was the argument made by Tony Blair but specifically rejected by the Bush administration. Paul Wolfowitz explained in Vanity Fair that human rights violations were not a sufficient consideration for invasion.
2) It was all Saddam's fault that we thought he had WMD. The wily coot fooled us by repeatedly denying that he had any, a fiendishly clever ploy.
1.
Back in the day before the gray
I was Mr. Right
And it was my right of way
Met a guy in church kinda like John Birch
In that subtle way
That didn't have to say
Well it was all about the money in those days
We had our kids to raise
And we kept them cool in the back yard pool
Yeah it was so about the dough you know
Sometimes I had to tune out
Just to count
2.
Then came a time of drinks
Out on the links
With party brass
Said laws for the tax cuts we would get
(And bill it to the debt)
Had come to pass
So we told God bless the nation
And we toasted
To our fortune and our station
Yeah we told God bless the nation
And with righteous indignation
Hit the gas
3.
Then came that morning when
The paper read
Of thousands dead
Miles of city blocks
reduced to rocks
And so I checked my stocks
And there it was you know
In my portfolio
To my alarm
This company that paid to me so handsomely
That was a part of me
Built the bomb
4.
Back in the day before the gray
I was Mr. Right
And it was my right of way
Met a guy in church kinda like John Birch
In that subtle way
That didn't have to say
Well it was all about the money in those days
We had our kids to raise
And we kept them cool in the back yard pool
Yeah it was so about the dough you know
Sometimes I had to tune out
Just to count
2.
Then came a time of drinks
Out on the links
With party brass
Said laws for the tax cuts we would get
(And bill it to the debt)
Had come to pass
So we told God bless the nation
And we toasted
To our fortune and our station
Yeah we told God bless the nation
And with righteous indignation
Hit the gas
3.
Then came that morning when
The paper read
Of thousands dead
Miles of city blocks
reduced to rocks
And so I checked my stocks
And there it was you know
In my portfolio
To my alarm
This company that paid to me so handsomely
That was a part of me
Built the bomb
4.
SUPER SIZE ME, now playing at the Drexel East, is one of the very few films
that can be called a "Must-See" for all Americans. Whether you eat at
McDonald's or not.
It's rare a piece of reportage that can cut to the very heart---or stomach---of the American way of life. But Morgan Spurlock's solid, brilliant and cunning documentary is one for the ages.
Spurlock builds his case carefully. In great physical condition to start, he visits three physicians and a physical therapist to document his weight, cholesterol, heart functions and more. He starts out at six-feet-two, 185 pounds, with vital statistics that could easily get him sent to Iraq (which McDonald's would probably like to see at this point). .
Then he embarks on a solid month of eating at McDonald's. Starting with what must be the most graphic barf in US film history (you might do well to turn your head during this scene), we follow the downward spiral of Spurlock's body to the brink of fast food death.
It's rare a piece of reportage that can cut to the very heart---or stomach---of the American way of life. But Morgan Spurlock's solid, brilliant and cunning documentary is one for the ages.
Spurlock builds his case carefully. In great physical condition to start, he visits three physicians and a physical therapist to document his weight, cholesterol, heart functions and more. He starts out at six-feet-two, 185 pounds, with vital statistics that could easily get him sent to Iraq (which McDonald's would probably like to see at this point). .
Then he embarks on a solid month of eating at McDonald's. Starting with what must be the most graphic barf in US film history (you might do well to turn your head during this scene), we follow the downward spiral of Spurlock's body to the brink of fast food death.