World War III

The administration of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney is set on a course that leads directly to a third world war.  And a third world war leads almost inevitably to most of us dying horrible deaths.  And we're not talking about it. 

The White House has made clear it is seriously considering attacking Iran with massive bombing aimed at destroying the nation's military and changing its government.  Iran will certainly retaliate.  If attacked, and possibly even if not attacked, Israel will join in the fighting.  The resistance in Iraq will intensify dramatically.  Controlling the oil of Iran and Iraq will be out of the question short of thorough genocide.  Anti-American furor will sweep the Muslim world.  The nuclear nation of Pakistan will be a prime target for an Islamic revolution. 

US Arabs and Muslims: the search for common identity

As the security check line began moving slowly at Washington Dulles airport, one passenger standing a few steps ahead of me appeared particularly uneasy. His dark skin, long beard, trimmed moustache, prayer spot centered on his forehead, and overall demeanor quickly gave away his identity, though he had obviously labored little to hide it. He was a Muslim and a religious one at that. Predictably, a few minutes later he was singled out and his clothes spread across a separate station reserved for those "randomly" selected for extra security check.

Labor Day

The Death of the DRE: gone the way of Lawn Jarts

Let’s make it official. The DRE is dead. DRE, of course, stands for “Direct Recording Electronic” voting machine. It also goes by the name of touchscreen voting machines. But whatever you call it, for all practical purposes, it is dead.

Consider the evidence. How many new DREs have been sold by vendors such as Diebold (ah, Premier), Sequoia, ES & S, and Hart? The vast majority of sales have already taken place. And there are still some states that have statewide implementations from one vendor without VVPAT, such as Maryland and Georgia . But the truth is that no one recently has come out with a new DRE device. Third tier vendors (see my site for a listing) have had little success and many of them are now folding up shop, and the ones that are still remaining have got to be hurting, or working on other lines of business.

Gonzales between the lines

A corrected transcript of the resignation letter by Alberto Gonzales:

      Original: "Thirteen years ago, I entered public service to make a positive difference in the lives of others.''

      Corrected: My client asked me to come to Washington to hide his mistakes from the nation, like we did in that DUI business in Texas.

      Original: "I have traveled a remarkable journey, supported by the unwavering love and encouragement of my wife, Rebecca, and our sons, Jared, Graham and Gabriel.''

      Corrected: Like other Texas Bushies, I came from Houston to find unwavering love and support from Karen, Dick, Scooter, George and Karl.

      Original: "Yesterday I met with President Bush and informed him of my decision to conclude my government service as attorney general of the United States effective as of September 17th, 2007."

New Orleans: Not lost to a hurricane, but by government betrayal

U.S. and state government officials refused to allow water or food relief into New Orleans. This was a brazen attempt to "starve people out" - a "war crime" under the Geneva Conventions. Hundreds of people died unnecessarily of thirst. And yet, there was no shortage of water or food being sent.

The questions raised here still are unanswered.

"I'm sick to death of hearing things from uptight narrow-minded pigheaded politicians. All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth."
- John Lennon

AS HURRICANE KATRINA RAVAGED THE GULF STATES, many organizations kicked into high gear to send relief to local groups in Mississippi and Louisiana, with no help from the government or formal relief agencies. Among them was the Malcolm X Grassroots movement, with whom the Brooklyn Greens shared an office. Tons of donated supplies poured into the office and were trucked to Jackson Mississippi, where they were distributed through community-based efforts.

My son, back from Iraq, lives on tower on National Mall

It's been said that people fear public speaking more than death. I can definitely attest to that. I'm extremely nervous and inexperienced with this, so please bear with me.

My son, Evan Knappenberger, is a former Albemarle High School student and a veteran of the Iraq War. As I speak these words, he is sitting in a makeshift guard tower on the Mall in Washington DC, protesting the US military's stop-loss policy, which is the involuntary extension of soldier's active duty enlistment time.

When he joined the Army in 2003, Evan had high aspirations for serving his country and bringing comfort to the Iraqi people who had suffered under the rule of Saddam Hussein. He was looking forward to lending his talent and intellect to the fight against terrorism. My husband and I also had hopes that Army service would equip Evan with skills and experience that would serve him well in life, and money to undertake his college career.

Enforcement hammer falls on nation’s largest organic factory dairy

USDA requires Aurora Organics to reduce dairy herd size and remove organic label from some milk

CORNUCOPIA, WI: The USDA issued an urgent news release Wednesday evening announcing enforcement actions taken against the Aurora Organic Dairy, based in Boulder, CO, the nation’s largest organic factory-farm operation. USDA’s enforcement requirements for Aurora include "removing certain animals from the organic herd and ceasing to apply the organic label to certain milk."

The action is the result of an investigation triggered by formal legal complaints filed in 2005 and 2006 with the USDA by The Cornucopia Institute charging multiple violations of federal organic regulations. Cornucopia, a Wisconsin-based farm policy group, made on-site visits to the dairy giant’s factory-farm operations in Colorado and Texas, gathering evidence supporting its complaints.

America needs a guarantor

In an interview with The Washington Post on November 11, 2003, George Soros said that removing President George W. Bush from office was the "central focus of my life" and "a matter of life and death." He said he would sacrifice his entire fortune to defeat President Bush, "if someone guaranteed it".

Again in 2006, during an interview with Charlie Rose, when Charlie asked him about that particular statement, with the following question; "You would have gladly given away ninety percent of your fortune in a minute?" Soros replied; "One hundred percent, because I think it would have made a tremendous contribution to mankind."

According to Forbes Magazine in March 2007, George Soros´s net worth stood at 8.5 billion U.S dollars and placed him as the 80th richest man in the world, surely this sum should be enough to creatively remove President Bush from office. I am surprised that in a country which prides itself on its entrepreneurship, intellect and creativity, where garage start-ups with tiny financial sums are part of the corporate culture and many have gone on to become world leading multinationals, there are no entrepreneurs available to

“Free trade” policy craze is crazy, like healthcare

The most recent statements coming from Ford and General Motors, demanding massive cuts in the benefits paid to auto workers or those companies will move their factories to low-wage countries, demonstrates the complete failure of current government economic policies. The automobile manufacturers should not be able to make such threats nor should they need to make such demands. The failures of current government economic policy makes both a reality. Changes in government economic policies can quickly correct the situation.

Our falsely named “free trade” policy craze is simply crazy. The very idea that American workers should be forced to compete in our own domestic market with the poorest of the poor workers from all over the world is a recipe for long-term economic decline for America. It undermines the entire economic and political structure of the American nation.

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