The Vidiot's weekly blog:

What pissed me off this week? 6/27/2005

(updated every Monday at some point during the day)

...'cause I'm angry and my friends are sick of listening to me...

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This is getting ridiculous. I mean really. The news is on and they're talking about that girl in Aruba, runaway bride is back, Tom Cruise is displaying his insanity all over the place, yet the outrage has yet to materialize. More and more stuff is coming out about this group of thugs like Cheney's connections to Gitmo, secret bases that were built before Congress allotted funds for them, Bolton might be appointed during a recess, I mean, I could go on and on (you know that much about me I would assume) so I have to ask: Where's the outrage? From anybody?

Is the media just ignoring it? Are we really all pissed off? I mean, right now, I'm in republican country and I was poking around a garage sale (where I found the most fabulous lightweight little motorcycle lift you ever saw for only $15! I can now lube and tighten my chain all by myself!) and this older guy who certainly looked the part of republican, said something to the effect of "I wonder where George will take us next?" and he shook his head. Now, there are a lot of GW'04 stickers on cars out here. For him to feel comfortable enough to say that to a stranger? Whoa. (I suggested that since they just reported that Iran had a more stable oil supply than Saudi Arabia, it would be Iran. He chuckled, mordantly.)

So, maybe we are all really pissed off and the media isn't covering it. Wouldn't be the first time they missed the boat on a story. Sure there are a few flag-waving morons out there who don't believe the government would ever lie to them, but maybe the tide is turning? One can hope.

But I'm beginning to think we need to really show how upset we really are. So here's my idea: I've stopped shopping. I'm not buying anything I don't need. I'm buying used stuff or generic stuff or organic stuff or stuff from small shops that I do need, and that's it .I know I live in NYC and it's easy for me to not go to Kmart or Wal-mart or McDonalds or any other chain. But try we must I believe.

Imagine, if every pissed off person just stopped shopping. Only spent on necessities and only shopped wisely and locally, imagine the effect that would have.

Well, one can dream, can't one?

Video of the Week: Dance!

Craft of the Week: Homebrew AC

Mark your Calendar of the Week: World Beard and Moustache Championship

Blog of the Week: Overheard in New York

Report of the Week: Election Fraud 2004

Tech of the Week: The Chronicles of George

Idea of the Week: Start a Whisper Campaign

Must-Read of the Week: Thom Hartmann's "They Died So Republicans Could Take the Senate"

Sums up my Week in Nutshell: Short Quiz

Coingate Blog of the Week: loganselm

Test of the Week: Geography

I watched Conyers this week when he conducted the hearing on the Downing Street Memo. I apparently did not see the same thing Dana Milbank saw.

Excerpt:They pretended a small conference room was the Judiciary Committee hearing room, draping white linens over folding tables to make them look like witness tables and bringing in cardboard name tags and extra flags to make the whole thing look official.

What a creep! It's all snide. It's all crap. Whatever happened to a journalist reporting the facts??!! The WaPo didn'tdefend it very well either.

Excerpt; Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler used his June 19 column to respond to FAIR's June 14 Action Alert regarding Post reporter Dana Milbank's use of the term "wing nuts" to describe activists pressing the media to take the Downing Street memos more seriously.

Meanwhile, the DoD is building a database of possible cannon fodder.

Excerpt:The Defense Department began working Wednesday with a private marketing firm to create a database of all U.S. college students and high school students between 16 and 18 years old, to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches, the Washington Post reports Thursday.

And Karl Rove has diarrhea of the mouth.

Excerpt: Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said we will defeat our enemies. Liberals saw what happened to us and said we must understand our enemies.

(Honestly. What Rove said pissed me off, but it didn't cause me to foam at the mouth. I mean, the guy is evil. What do you expect him to say? Something rational, thoughtful and sane?)

And why is it this is the first time I've heard of this guy?

Excerpt: WTC Basement Blast And Injured Burn Victim Blows 'Official 9/11 Story' Sky High; Eye Witness Testimony Is Conclusive That North Tower Collapsed From Controlled Demolition

As if the existence of Gitmo is bad enough, there's the fact that it was built by Halliburton while Cheney was CEO.

Excerpt:A contract awarded to a Halliburton subsidiary in June 2000 while Vice President Dick Cheney was still at the helm of the firm spawned the detention centers at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, RAW STORY has discovered.

And they continue to get big contracts.

Excerpt: Halliburton Co. won a contract potentially worth more than $1 billion to support U.S. troops in the Balkans and other areas in Europe.

(Maybe all that evil is finally taking it's toll on Cheney??)

But it's even more delicious than that. Seems that bases were being secretly built in Saudi Arabia before 9/11 even happened, in preparation for a war in the Middle East.

Excerpt: Long before the US pullout, a new home for the operations had secretly been built in the deserts of Qatar.  What had been in October 2001 "nothing more than a runway and a field of sand covered by two-dozen tents and a few warehouses", the Al Udeid Air Base was transformed in a few short months into one of the largest air bases in the world.  

Except: As the costs of the Iraq occupation spiral, British and American oil companies meet in secret next week to carve up the country's oil reserves for themselves.

The Abramoff story just gets weirder and weirder. There is of course the Tribal angle.

Excerpt: Though far removed from Washington, the Coushatta Indian tribe quickly learned the cost of influence in the Capitol: "Wire all funds. Professional Services. $3,405,000.00," one of the tribe's lobbyists, now under investigation, wrote the Coushattas in 2002.

And now, it seems he might have a connection to Mohammad Atta.

Excerpt: The 'secret world' of Jack Abramoff being probed by investigators today has definite connections and unmistakable links to the one inhabited during their final year in the U.S by Mohamed Atta and the other hijackers.

Meanwhile the guy was supposed to be looking into DeLay's ethics issues is resigning.

Excerpt:The chairman of the House ethics committee, Representative Doc Hastings, Republican of Washington, is warning that he may resign from the post this summer because of a stalemate of months with Democrats over whether and how to conduct investigations of Representative Tom DeLay and other lawmakers, Republican Congressional officials said.

Yeah, that's the reason. Because of the stalemate. [wink wink]

Why is he really resigning, you might ask? 'Cause he's got ethics issues of his own, natch.

Excerpt: Rep. Doc Hastings, already under fire as chairman of the stalled House ethics committee, accepted a $7,800 trip to England in 2000 from a company he championed for a multibillion-dollar contract at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, records released by an advocacy group yesterday show.

We're doomed.

Excerpt: The Senate soundly defeated a proposal Wednesday for mandatory reductions in heat-trapping pollution that may be warming the Earth. Supporters managed to get five fewer votes than they did two years ago.

That crazy chimp wants a lot of war. Not just in the Middle East, but in the Pacific as well.

Excerpt:North Korean leader Kim Jong-il attempted to engage President Bush directly on the nuclear weapons issue three years ago but the administration spurned the overture, two American experts on Asia said on Wednesday.

I think they're making a bigger deal out of this than they need to.

Excerpt: They are out to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution -- the two term limit on the presidency! The GOP has already announced it is out to "restructure the entire federal government" just last month. In fact they made this declaration just 2 weeks after the Downing Street Memo was released to the public.

I mean, it takes YEARS to get an amendment passed. Between getting a large majority of the states to pass it and getting it through Congress? It won't affect Bush. But, having said that, a third Bush term is a scary prospect.

If I were Chavez, I'd increase my level of personal security.

Excerpt:Venezuela's state oil company has found significant new oil reserves after drilling three new oil wells, a company executive said Tuesday.

So, we have a housing bubble that's going to pop, causing home values to plummet.

Excerpt:The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is warning the U.S. housing market is in danger of a serious disruption because some markets are ultra-pricey.

We have a new decision by the SCOTUS that says that private interests can take private property using eminent domain.

Excerpt: A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development in a decision anxiously awaited in communities where economic growth often is at war with individual property rights.

And we have tougher bankruptcy laws.

Excerpt: Republicans in Congress want to significantly tighten regulations to keep people who declare bankruptcy from ducking debts they should be able to settle, but Democrats and physicians' groups argue the move would penalize Americans who go broke because of huge medical bills they can't pay.

So, the stage is set. All that property that is now owned individually will decrease in value, private developers will then be able to acquire the property at bargain-basement prices, because that will then be the 'fair market price' and that home, once worth $800K, is now worth $400K thereby leaving the homeowner holding the bag on a $400K mortgage (after the private developer abuses the eminent domain laws) and the tougher bankruptcy laws will no longer allow them to discharge the leftover mortgage on the property they no longer own. Whew.

Sucks, huh?

So, perhaps one should declare bankruptcynow. Nip it in the bud.

Excerpt; Declare bankruptcy, and quick. The laws are changing, and time is running out. After October, not only will it be harder to do, it will be more expensive and fewer lawyers will be doing it. According to this article from the Missoulian, the new law is simply too cumbersome to make it worthwhile for lawyers. So if you think you can wait and have your debts wiped clear in the future, forget about it. Instead of declaring Chapter 7, you'll likely be forced to declare Chapter 11 and repay your debts over an extended period, living for the next 5 - 7 years paycheck to paycheck, like an indentured servant to the banks.

Excerpt:President Bush on Tuesday told the Southern Baptist Convention a compassionate society would rely more on religious groups to provide social services and oppose expanded embryonic stem cell research.

Gee, I wonder where the money will go. For recruitment?

Excerpt:According to religious-right reports (not propaganda), at least two to three million potential recruits have attended taxpayer-funded meetings, where they have "signed" one of the most important of all pledges: No sex before marriage. These are ideal military recruits.

Or insanity.

Excerpt: New evidence from an archeological find in China supports the long held Christian belief that Noah's sons rode giant flying dinosaurs to transport duck billed platypuses from Australia, and penguins and polar bears from the Antarctic, to name a few.  "Those must have been some mighty big flying dinosaurs," says Pastor Deacon Fred. "Imagine the look on Noah's face when his sons flew in for a landing with a pair of Hippos strapped to the back of one of them things!  Glory to God!" 

Actually, those things are pretty similar.

Listen, religion should be separated from law for good reason. So really stupid issues won't be raised.

Excerpt: The decision by local court officials to deny the use of the Quran for oaths has garnered national media attention and the scrutiny of a Washington-based Islamic civil rights group.

Here's a possible result of a pandemic.

Excerpt:: An influenza pandemic would dramatically disrupt the processing and distribution of food supplies across the world, emptying grocery store shelves and creating crippling shortages for months, an expert warned Thursday.

Well, stock up on your bags of beans and rice. You may need it.

Excerpt: The sore throat and bronchitis in bird flu patients in northern Vietnam may reflect an improved ability of H5N1 to grow in the upper respiratory tract, leading to more efficient spread of the virus including human to human transmission.

And the mutation has been shown in tests.

Excerpt: So, now there are hundreds of H5N1 positives in patients in Vietnam, but more tests are required, but Vietnam lacks the testing facilities. There is so much H5N1 outside the lab that H5N1 cannot be grown inside the lab.

Yes. I'm alarmed too.

Excerpt: Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, sees the developments in Asia as more reason to worry. He doubts the past will predict the virus' future.

Yup. It's a fascist state alright.

Excerpt: Treading warily into the nexus of art and politics, the First Amendment and the symbolism of the twin towers site, Mr. Pataki made the demand after learning that one of the groups, the Drawing Center, has featured some politically themed and controversial artwork in its shows. A current display at its SoHo gallery, for instance, appears to make light of President Bush's description of Iraq, Iran and North Korea as the Axis of Evil.

Watch what you say, Citizen!

I can't even address this. This guy should seek help now.

Excerpt: A former Marine convicted of trying to contract his wife's murder says he deserves a light sentence because she squandered his money and wouldn't give him sex, dinner or clean laundry.

Yeah, his wife made him try to kill her. It had nothing to do with the fact he had poor anger-management skills.

Why is anyone still eating beef?

Excerpt: But pending legislation calling for the nation's first electronic livestock tracking system would prohibit the public from finding out anything about animals in the system, including the history of a cow sick with bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

A couple of articles this week on Orgasms. Just thought they were interesting.

Excerpt:New research indicates parts of the brain that govern fear and anxiety are switched off when a woman is having an orgasm but remain active if she is faking.

And keeping your socks on helps!

Excerpt: PEOPLE find it easier to have an orgasm when they are wearing socks in bed, surprised Dutch scientists have discovered.

Once again, the animal kingdom shows that it is more evolved than man.

Excerpt: Police say three lions rescued a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by men who wanted to force her into marriage, chasing off her abductors and guarding her until police and relatives tracked her down in a remote corner of Ethiopia.

As a biker, I can sympathize.

Excerpt:Two unlucky motorcyclists lost £10,500 in cash when their rucksack burst on the M3, near Winchester.

This can't be good.

Excerpt:A massive crack in the earth opened up last week in Claude, Texas and its creating a stir among geologists.

Well, if Hell is ever to break loose, it would start in Texas.

Previous rants

At the very least, point your CNN-loving friends to my links page. Just getting started in reading alternate news sites gets people thinking. I have one friend who was very happy-go-lucky, thinking ol' Greta was telling the whole truth until I opened up his eyes a bit. Now, he's all depressed. He'll get over it. You gotta' get depressed before you get angry and you gotta' get angry before you can accomplish anything. We're all in mourning. We have to move through the steps. But we gotta' hurry it up.

Read. Inform. Spread the word. Even if it means your friends avoid you for awhile. If they really love you, they'll start to listen.

"POSSE COMITATUS ACT" (18 USC 1385): A Reconstruction Era criminal law proscribing use of Army (later, Air Force) to "execute the laws" except where expressly authorized by Constitution or Congress. Limit on use of military for civilian law enforcement also applies to Navy by regulation. Dec '81 additional laws were enacted (codified 10 USC 371-78) clarifying permissible military assistance to civilian law enforcement agencies--including the Coast Guard--especially in combating drug smuggling into the United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive and technical assistance (e.g., use of facilities, vessels, aircraft, intelligence, tech aid, surveillance, etc.) while generally prohibiting direct participation of DoD personnel in law enforcement (e.g., search, seizure, and arrests). For example, Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETS) serve aboard Navy vessels and perform the actual boardings of interdicted suspect drug smuggling vessels and, if needed, arrest their crews). Positive results have been realized especially from Navy ship/aircraft involvement.

(Tom Ridge has practically said he'd do away with this act.)

{back}

Who am I?:

I am a biker chick who lives in NYC. This blog is about current events and my left-leaning, acerbic spin on those events. Nobody pays me anything to do this. Nobody tells me what to write. I will NEVER tout anything for anybody's money! EVER!

Use this instead of Google:

Clusty.com

These sites are good at culling stories from a multitude of media sites:

buzzflash.com
unknownnews.net
rawstory.com

Here are some excellent blogs:

Bartcop
Daily Kos
Atrios
Tacitus
Josh Marshall
Two Glasses
Brad DeLong
The Wonkette
Urban Survival
Greg Palast
Mark Crispin Miller

Link exchange:

Ilia Dreams Blog
Iraq War Blog
BushVote.com
Dommecile.com
Funny Farm

media-bias exposed:

dailyhowler.com

these are good left-wing journalism sites:

onlinejournal.com
thenation.com
inthesetimes.com
tompaine.com
commondreams.org
truthout.com
guerrillanews.com

a little more to the left:

wsws.org
indymedia.org

conspiratorial:

whatreallyhappened.com
almartinraw.com

HIGHLY entertaining:

surfingtheapocalypse.com

really good "Alternate Thinking" site:

goroadachi.com/etemenanki/

and for godsakes, stay away
from FOX NEWS,  MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
It's ALL CRAP!!!
watch the BBC news
or ITN news instead.

if you must succumb to reading a newspaper: 

www.guardian.co.uk 

or any other paper in another fucking country. All of our newspapers are owned by the same idiots that own the TV stations (and whose companies are diversified in industries that support the war machine) so all of the news is all the same CRAP.