Take The Red Pill
Topic: State Of The Union
Do you find yourself contributing nothing to improve the situation of your fellow man? Do you feel good when you think about how little you contribute to the human race?

Do you want to start living up to the ideals that you once created for yourself but have since left in your past, chalking them up to youthful idealism and naivete?

If you've answered "no" you'll always have an infinite number of rebirths or eternal damnation in hellfire (depending on what you believe) to think it over.

What if I told you that you could help out in a big way just by NOT doing something? What if I told you that by purchasing goods from a particular store you would put your friend and neighbor out of work?

Would you still buy at that store? What do you think she would do if the situation was reversed?

It bewilders me to think that intelligent and responsible people would do something so blatantly harmful to their neighbors and their community but when you shop at WALMART that's exactly what you do.

The only reason someone would have for harming their neighbors and communities would be because they didn't know any better, so here's what WalMart does:

- Wal-Mart undermines global labor standards
- degrades our environment
- destroys consumer protection standards
- destroys the economies of our cities and towns

And this is how:

H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive officer of Wal-Mart earns 897 times the pay of the average Wal-Mart worker

Project on Technology and the Workplace at the Century Foundation, stated,

"the average pay of a sales clerk at Wal-Mart was $8.50 an hour, or about $14,000 a year, $1,000 below the government's definition of the poverty level for a family of three."

and that their workforce is,

"larger than that of GM, Ford, GE, and IBM combined"

and

"fewer than half of Wal-Mart's employees can afford even the company's least-expensive health plan."

and

"Wal-Mart is the behemoth that forces everyone else's wages down and then says, "Hey, we're no worse than anyone else." They turn everyone else into Wal-Mart and then say, "Are we any worse than the other Wal-Mart wannabees?" Now that everyone has to play their game, they like to come across as the industry's statesman. It's disgusting."

According to The Washington Post,

"To win Wal-Mart's business, suppliers have been forced to close U.S. factories and source overseas, with millions of American jobs lost in the process."

Wal-Mart used to say:
“The Buy American program is both a commitment and a partnership.”

70% of Wal-Mart merchandise is imported from China

"Wal-Mart is China’s Eighth Largest Trading Partner. One company, ahead of Russia and Germany!"

"Wal-Mart alone accounts for 10 percent of all imports from China"

"60% of its employees – 600,000 workers nationwide – do not have (health care) coverage and the monthly premiums for employees who elect for family coverage runs as high as $300 per month. And in 2002 the company further limited access to its health care coverage by requiring full-time associates to be employed for six months before being eligible."

Wal-Mart Fined $3.1 Million In 2004 For Environmental Violations In Nine States

- Florida: Wal-Mart Fined $765,000 for Petroleum Storage Violations
- Georgia: Wal-Mart Levied With Fines For Water Contamination
- EPA Takes Action Against Wal-Mart, Its Contractor for Clean Water Act Violations at Construction Site
- Wal-Mart Settled Case Involving Clear Air Act Violations
- Wal-Mart Built Store On Traditional Mayan Grounds
- Wal-Mart Built Atop Indian Burial Grounds
- Wal-Mart Built Again On Indian Burial Grounds In 1997

The question is do you take the information that you've learned here and do the right thing or can your consciousness allow you to pull the wool back over your eyes?

"This is your last chance. After this there is no turning back. You take the blue pill: the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill: you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

Take the red pill.

For more information:
The Wal-Mart Manifesto Wal-Mart Watch Wal-Mart's Smiley Face Turns Angry (Part 3) Nickel And Dimed (Wal-Mart Letter)

No News Is Good News
Topic: State Of The World
NEWSFLASH!!!

We interupt you burying your head in the sand for this special announcement:

World Terror Attacks Tripled in 2004

"The State Department last year initially released erroneous figures that understated the attacks, fatalities and casualties in 2003 and used the figures to claim the Bush administration was prevailing in the war on terrorism."

We are sorry for the inconvenience that this message has caused but after all we are the group that believes if it's bad for America it must be good for liberals.

In the future we'll try not to let reality get in your way of having an excessively good time.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled position of sticking your head in your arse.

In Their Own Words
Topic: Iraq
I just wanted to remind all the revisionists of history of all the lies, incompetence, contradictions and the REAL reason we were given for the invasion and occupation of Iraq by this administration.

This weekend 24 more Iraqi civilians were added to the total of over 24082 men, women and children already killed there not to mention over 1700 troops and hundreds of thousands of injuries and maimings.

We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.
Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
CNN Late Edition 9/8/2002

But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them.
George W. Bush, President
Interview with TVP Poland 5/30/2003

How the United States should react if Iraq acquired WMD. "The first line of defense...should be a clear and classical statement of deterrence--if they do acquire WMD, their weapons will be unusable because any attempt to use them will bring national obliteration."
Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
January/February 2000 issue of Foreign Affairs 2/1/2000

We are greatly concerned about any possible linkup between terrorists and regimes that have or seek weapons of mass destruction...In the case of Saddam Hussein, we've got a dictator who is clearly pursuing and already possesses some of these weapons.. A regime that hates America and everything we stand for must never be permitted to threaten America with weapons of mass destruction.
Dick Cheney, Vice President
Detroit, Fund-Raiser 6/20/2002

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
Dick Cheney, Vice President
Speech to VFW National Convention 8/26/2002

There is already a mountain of evidence that Saddam Hussein is gathering weapons for the purpose of using them. And adding additional information is like adding a foot to Mount Everest.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Response to Question From Press 9/6/2002

Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.
George W. Bush, President
Speech to UN General Assembly 9/12/2002

Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons. We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.
George W. Bush, President
Radio Address 10/5/2002

The Iraqi regime . . . possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas.
George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech 10/7/2002

And surveillance photos reveal that the regime is rebuilding facilities that it had used to produce chemical and biological weapons.
George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech 10/7/2002

After eleven years during which we have tried containment, sanctions, inspections, even selected military action, the end result is that Saddam Hussein still has chemical and biological weapons and is increasing his capabilities to make more. And he is moving ever closer to developing a nuclear weapon.
George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech 10/7/2002

We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas.
George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech 10/7/2002

Iraq, despite UN sanctions, maintains an aggressive program to rebuild the infrastructure for its nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile programs. In each instance, Iraq's procurement agents are actively working to obtain both weapons-specific and dual-use materials and technologies critical to their rebuilding and expansion efforts, using front companies and whatever illicit means are at hand.
John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control
Speech to the Hudson Institute 11/1/2002

We estimate that once Iraq acquires fissile material -- whether from a foreign source or by securing the materials to build an indigenous fissile material capability -- it could fabricate a nuclear weapon within one year. It has rebuilt its civilian chemical infrastructure and renewed production of chemical warfare agents, probably including mustard, sarin, and VX. It actively maintains all key aspects of its offensive BW [biological weapons] program.
John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control
Speech to the Hudson Institute 11/1/2002

Iraq could decide on any given day to provide biological or chemical weapons to a terrorist group or to individual terrorists,...The war on terror will not be won until Iraq is completely and verifiably deprived of weapons of mass destruction.
Dick Cheney, Vice President
Denver, Address To Air National Guard 12/1/2002

If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing 12/2/2002

The president of the United States and the secretary of defense would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true, and if they did not have a solid basis for saying it
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Response to Question From Press 12/4/2002

We know for a fact that there are weapons there.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing 1/9/2003

I am absolutely convinced, based on the information that's been given to me, that the weapon of mass destruction which can kill more people than an atomic bomb -- that is, biological weapons -- is in the hands of the leadership of Iraq.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
MSNBC Interview 1/10/2003

What is unique about Iraq compared to, I would argue, any other country in the world, in this juncture, is the exhaustion of diplomacy thus far, and, No. 2, this intersection of weapons of mass destruction.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
NewsHour Interview 1/22/2003

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production.
George W. Bush, President
State of the Union Address 1/28/2003

Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.
George W. Bush, President
State of the Union Address 1/28/2003

We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Remarks to UN Security Council 2/5/2003


There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more. And he has the ability to dispense these lethal poisons and diseases in ways that can cause massive death and destruction. If biological weapons seem too terrible to contemplate, chemical weapons are equally chilling
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Addresses the U.N. Security Council 2/5/2003

We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.
George W. Bush, President
Radio Address 2/8/2003

In Iraq, a dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilized world -- and we will not allow it.
George W. Bush, President
Speech to the American Enterprise Institute
2/26/2003

If Iraq had disarmed itself, gotten rid of its weapons of mass destruction over the past 12 years, or over the last several months since (UN Resolution) 1441 was enacted, we would not be facing the crisis that we now have before us . . . But the suggestion that we are doing this because we want to go to every country in the Middle East and rearrange all of its pieces is not correct.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Interview with Radio France International 2/28/2003

I am not eager to send young Americans into harm's way in Iraq, or to see innocent people killed or hurt in military operations. Given all of the facts and circumstances known to us, however, I am convinced that if we wait, a threat will continue to materialize in Iraq that could cause incalculable damage to world peace in general, and to the United States in particular.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Letter to Future of Freedom Foundation 3/1/2003

Iraq is a grave threat to this nation. It desires to acquire and use weapons of mass terror and is run by a despot with a proven record of willingness to use them. Iraq has had 12 years to comply with UN requirements for disarmament and has failed to do so. The president is right to say it's time has run out.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Senate Speech 3/7/2003

So has the strategic decision been made to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction by the leadership in Baghdad? . . . I think our judgment has to be clearly not.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Remarks to UN Security Council 3/7/2003

Getting rid of Saddam Hussein's regime is our best inoculation. Destroying once and for all his weapons of disease and death is a vaccination for the world.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Washington Post op-ed 3/16/2003

Let's talk about the nuclear proposition for a minute. We know that based on intelligence, that [Saddam] has been very, very good at hiding these kinds of efforts. He's had years to get good at it and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.
Dick Cheney, Vice President
Meet The Press 3/16/2003

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.
George W. Bush, President
Address to the Nation 3/17/2003

The United States . . . is now at war "so we will not ever see" what terrorists could do "if supplied with weapons of mass destruction by Saddam Hussein."
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Senate Debate 3/20/2003

Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly . . . all this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing 3/21/2003

There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. And . . . as this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them.
General Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief Central Command
Press Conference 3/22/2003

One of our top objectives is to find and destroy the WMD. There are a number of sites.
Victoria Clark, Pentagon Spokeswoman
Press Briefing 3/22/2003

I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction.
Kenneth Adelman, Defense Policy Board member
Washington Post, p. A27 3/23/2003

We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
ABC Interview 3/30/2003

We simply cannot live in fear of a ruthless dictator, aggressor and terrorist such as Saddam Hussein, who possesses the world's most deadly weapons.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Speech to American Israel Political Action Committee
3/31/2003


We still need to find and secure Iraq's weapons of mass destruction facilities and secure Iraq's borders so we can prevent the flow of weapons of mass destruction materials and senior regime officials out of the country.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Conference 4/9/2003


You bet we're concerned [concerned that those weapons might have been shipped out of the country]about it. And one of the reasons it's important is because the nexus between terrorist states with weapons of mass destruction ... and terrorist groups -- networks -- is a critical link. And the thought that ... some of those materials could leave the country and [get] in the hands of terrorist networks would be a very unhappy prospect. So it is important to us to see that that doesn't happen.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Conference 4/9/2003


Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find -- and there will be plenty.
Robert Kagan, Neocon scholar
Washington Post op-ed 4/9/2003


I think you have always heard, and you continue to hear from officials, a measure of high confidence that, indeed, the weapons of mass destruction will be found.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing 4/10/2003


But make no mistake -- as I said earlier -- we have high confidence that they have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about and it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing 4/10/2003


Were not going to find anything until we find people who tell us where the things are. And we have that very high on our priority list, to find the people who know. And when we do, then well learn precisely where things were and what was done.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Meet the Press 4/13/2003


I have absolute confidence that there are weapons of mass destruction inside this country. Whether we will turn out, at the end of the day, to find them in one of the 2,000 or 3,000 sites we already know about or whether contact with one of these officials who we may come in contact with will tell us, ``Oh, well, there's actually another site,'' and we'll find it there, I'm not sure.
General Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief Central Command
Fox New 4/13/2003


We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them.
George W. Bush, President
NBC Interview 4/24/2003


There are people who in large measure have information that we need . . . so that we can track down the weapons of mass destruction in that country.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Briefing 4/25/2003


We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so.
George W. Bush, President
Remarks to Reporters 5/3/2003


I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Remarks to Reporters 5/4/2003


We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Fox News Interview 5/4/2003


I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein -- because he had a weapons program.
George W. Bush, President
Remarks to Reporters 5/6/2003


U.S. officials never expected that "we were going to open garages and find" weapons of mass destruction.
Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
Reuters Interview 5/12/2003


I just don't know whether it was all destroyed years ago -- I mean, there's no question that there were chemical weapons years ago -- whether they were destroyed right before the war, (or) whether they're still hidden.
Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, Commander 101st Airborne
Press Briefing 5/13/2003


We said all along that we will never get to the bottom of the Iraqi WMD program simply by going and searching specific sites, that you'd have to be able to get people who know about the programs to talk to you.
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
Interview with Australian Broadcasting 5/13/2003


Before the war, there's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical. I expected them to be found. I still expect them to be found.
Gen. Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps
Interview with Reporters 5/21/2003


It's going to take time to find them, but we know he had them. And whether he destroyed them, moved them or hid them, we're going to find out the truth. One thing is for certain: Saddam Hussein no longer threatens America with weapons of mass destruction.
George W. Bush, President
Speech at a weapons factory in Ohio 5/25/2003


Given time, given the number of prisoners now that we're interrogating, I'm confident that we're going to find weapons of mass destruction.
Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
NBC Today Show interview 5/26/2003


They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Remarks to Council on Foreign Relations 5/27/2003


For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction (as justification for invading Iraq) because it was the one reason everyone could agree on.
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
Vanity Fair interview 5/28/2003


The President is indeed satisfied with the intelligence that he received. And I think that's borne out by the fact that, just as Secretary Powell described at the United Nations, we have found the bio trucks that can be used only for the purpose of producing biological weapons. That's proof-perfect that the intelligence in that regard was right on target.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing 5/29/2003


We have teams of people that are out looking. They've investigated a number of sites. And within the last week or two, they have in fact captured and have in custody two of the mobile trailers that Secretary Powell talked about at the United Nations as being biological weapons laboratories.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Infinity Radio Interview 5/30/2003


You remember when [Secretary of State] Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons ...They're illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two...And we'll find more weapons as time goes on.
George W. Bush, President
Press Briefing 5/30/2003

It was a surprise to me then -- it remains a surprise to me now -- that we have not uncovered weapons, as you say, in some of the forward dispersal sites. Believe me, it's not for lack of trying. We've been to virtually every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad, but they're simply not there.
Lt. Gen. James Conway, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force
Press Interview 5/30/2003

Do I think we're going to find something? Yeah, I kind of do, because I think there's a lot of information out there.
Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, Defense Intelligence Agency
Press Conference 5/30/2003


Q: The fact that there hasn't been substantial cache of weapons of mass destruction -- is that an embarrassment?

Wolfowitz: No. Is it an embarrassment to people on the other side that we've discovered these biological production vans, which the defector told us about?
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
CNN Interview 5/31/2003

This wasn't material I was making up, it came from the intelligence community
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Press Briefing
6/2/2003

We know that some of them, especially the biological weapons, were being destroyed," Hastert said, adding that it would "take a little while to find weapons of mass destruction... and we're going to continue to do it.
Dennis Hastert, House Speaker R-IL
Press Briefing 6/4/2003

We recently found two mobile biological weapons facilities which were capable of producing biological agents. This is the man who spent decades hiding tools of mass murder. He knew the inspectors were looking for them. You know better than me he's got a big country in which to hide them. We're on the look. We'll reveal the truth
George W. Bush, President
CAMP SAYLIYA, Qatar 6/5/2003

I would put before you Exhibit A, the mobile biological labs that we have found. People are saying, "Well, are they truly mobile biological labs?" Yes, they are. And the DCI, George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, stands behind that assessment.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Fox News Interview 6/8/2003

No one ever said that we knew precisely where all of these agents were, where they were stored
Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
Meet the Press 6/8/2003

What the president has said is because it's been the long-standing view of numerous people, not only in this country, not only in this administration, but around the world, including at the United Nations, who came to those conclusions...And the president is not going to engage in the rewriting of history that others may be trying to engage in.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Response to Question From Press 6/9/2003

Iraq had a weapons program...Intelligence throughout the decade showed they had a weapons program. I am absolutely convinced with time we'll find out they did have a weapons program.
George W. Bush, President
Comment to Reporters 6/9/2003

The biological weapons labs that we believe strongly are biological weapons labs, we didn't find any biological weapons with those labs. But should that give us any comfort? Not at all. Those were labs that could produce biological weapons whenever Saddam Hussein might have wanted to have a biological weapons inventory.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Associated Press Interview 6/12/2003

Those documents were only one piece of evidence in a larger body of evidence suggesting that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Africa ... The issue of Iraq's pursuit of uranium in Africa is supported by multiple sources of intelligence. The other sources of evidence did and do support the president's statement.
Sean McCormack, National Security Council Spokesman
Statement to press 6/13/2003

My personal view is that their intelligence has been, I'm sure, imperfect, but good. In other words, I think the intelligence was correct in general, and that you always will find out precisely what it was once you get on the ground and have a chance to talk to people and explore it, and I think that will happen.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Briefing 6/18/2003

I have reason, every reason, to believe that the intelligence that we were operating off was correct and that we will, in fact, find weapons or evidence of weapons, programs, that are conclusive. But that's just a matter of time...It's now less than eight weeks since the end of major combat in Iraq and I believe that patience will prove to be a virtue
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Pentagon media briefing 6/24/2003

MS. BLOCK: There were no toxins found in those trailers.

SECRETARY POWELL: Which could mean one of several things: one, they hadn't been used yet to develop toxins; or, secondly, they had been sterilized so thoroughly that there is no residual left. It may well be that they hadn't been used yet.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
All Things Considered, Interview 6/27/2003

That was the concern we had with Saddam Hussein. Not only did he have weapons -- and we'll uncover not only his weapons but all of his weapons programs -- he never lost the intent to have these kinds of weapons.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
All Things Considered, Interview 6/27/2003

I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they are.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing 7/9/2003

NEVER FORGET

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Take a look at the "Video of the week."
Also check out Blogswarm which originally compiled this list of quotes.

How To Talk To A Conservative
Topic: State Of The Union
Ann "The Blonde Natasha" Coulter wrote an entire book devoted to the intricacies of conversing with a liberal. Well you know what Natasha? I don't need a book to describe to liberals how to talk with conservatives, all I need is 2 words: the facts. The facts drive conservatives absolutely crazy. I've actually had a conservative come right out and tell me that he hates debating me because every "liberal" he debates gets emotional and it galls him to no end that I use the facts to make my arguments. That's how you do it boys and girls. When you must talk to a conservative use the facts because when people think, liberals win.

You know what secretly eats at the heart of almost every conservative? I'll let you in on a little secret. They consider themselves to be gurus of all things financial so when you're contradicting one of their laissez-faire brain farts use the facts, it'll drive em' crazy. For instance, I just read an article I found on the bottom right-hand side of The Indy Voice on Buzzflash entitled Pass The Buck by Paul Krugman of The New York Times. Everything I know to be true regarding health care in this country is laid out all pretty-like using, of all things, the facts. Like the tidbit about how public systems of health insurance like Medicare and Medicaid are close to 4 times more efficient with your dollars than private companies. Why you ask? Profit, plain and simple. When you use a private health insurance company you are paying some shareholder somewhere a very large piece of that price tag.

So you say? I'm healthy and I'm a stockholder, I'm probably making a piece of all those sickos. Here's the problem as Krugman clearly points out. If you're an employee your employer usually pays a large slice of your health insurance. The problem is that because of the sky-rocketing cost of health insurance, employers are being forced to hire less people, layoff employees or require employees to pay an exceedingly greater share of their "benefits." The other option is to go out of business.

The biggest irony of the situation is that this private system insures 85 percent of the population and COSTS MORE to do so than if the public system insured 100% of the population. Krugman attributes this massive problem to competition. I say competition is just a symptom of a greater problem of profit being involved with a human necessity.

The question is where does it stop? We can privatize water systems but then companies will trade off water quality for profit. We can privatize energy and we all observed how that was manipulated on the west coast. With a public system you wouldn't have incentives to act in these ways.

I'm not proposing the privatization of video games or other non-essential goods and services but why can't the government work towards making sure that the basic human needs of it's citizens are met. After all isn't government just a group of people like you and I, who are formally associated with one another to perform a task or accomplish specific goals that are in the best interests of the communities that they serve? How is that different than a private company? One word: PROFIT.

So the next time your forced to talk to a conservative why not mention that their ideas about private companies and competition are not only completely wrong in the case of health insurance, they're wrong by close to 400%. It'll drive em' nuts!

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Topic: State Of The Union
If you don't live in the world of politics you may not be aware that Republicans are attempting to do away with a tradition in the Senate known as the filibuster. The filibuster allows for just one Senator to be heard and requires a vote by 60 Senators to force that Senator to sit down. The Democrats are saying that they will shut down the Senate if Republicans succeed.

You may be surprised to hear this but I hope that the Republicans are successful. You see the Republicans have been fighting a war for years against an adversary who doesn't know it. The Democrats need a good wake up call and this is it. They can either decide to be an opposition party and shut down the Senate ensuring that nothing gets done in Washington or they can continue negotiating in good faith with a foe that isn't negotiating.

I would say that based on the modern history of the neo-Republican party their quest for ultimate power has emboldened them to justify their means no matter what the costs. Based upon all the evidence that has piled up pointing to this fact if I were a Democratic Senator I would assume that since they have within their power the ability to do away with the filibuster they should consider it a foregone conclusion barring an act of God.

This is what I recommend for the Democratic party. Since you are the only literate people in that half of the Congress I suggest you go down to the local library and pull out a copy of "The Art Of War" by Sun Tzu. Now he's dead but his book has been translated adequately by a man by the name of James Clavell. Get that book and flip to page 58. It is there that you'll find Sun Tzu discussing "the nine situations" (of warfare). At the end of his brief synopsis on the situations the last one reads "On desperate ground..." Sun Tzu's only answer to an army or in this case the Democratic party, faced with a situation of the utmost desperation is...

...FIGHT!

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Take a look at this:

Go Get Em' John!

Re-Confirmation
Topic: Misc.
I just wanted to thank the Catholic church for re-confirming why I will never go back. They've allowed their dogma to become their only doctrine of faith and if infallibility looks like Joseph Ratzinger I don't ever want to know what they consider fallible. Whether it's World War II, the reformation, divorce, abortion, contraception, or their gluttonous and sumptuos priestly palaces in which they allowed the savaging of innocent children to go unpunished the only thing that the Catholic church has been consistent about is its hypocrisy.

P.S. Did you notice the Bushevik (BuzzFlash's term) trick that Ratzinger pulled by choosing a Papal name used by a historically moderate Pope, when he is in fact an ultra-conservative. It's analagous to Bush's "no child left behind" which leaves millions of poor children wondering why the words "white" and "rich" were left out of the name.

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Click on "The Raw Story" on the right-hand bottom side.

Vast Left Wing Conspiracy
Topic: Hopefully Humorous
The Dailykos.com is reporting on the vast left wing conspiracy and our methods of deceit.

Take a look for yourself:

Vast Left Wing Conspiracy

Death and Taxes
Topic: Misc.
I was having a conversation with some neighborhood friends about whether or not the lottery should be allowed in the great state of North Carolina. As is typical of conversations in politically correct America you could see the feelers being sent out by those who didn't want to give their true opinion but rather see what the general consensus was in the group before committing one way or another. I listened for a bit. Somebody was talking about morality, another about education and another about politicians ruining a good idea. I felt it was time for some common sense. "Look," I said, "if you want money for education, why create a lottery? Why not just raise taxes and pay for it?" To which one of the conspiciously silent members blurted out "NO!"

Prior to my saying what I actually said and pondering the approaches I could have taken, I fully expected a reluctant response given this tact but I didn't expect such a clear and decisive taking of one side by one of our previous fence sitters. I mean God forbid that I raise the scary specter of people using government to accomplish community priorties and goals and actually having to pay for it too. What could I have been thinking? I wondered why I received such an instantaneous reaction to something as inevitable as death. The man who made the comment is a good-natured neighborhood friend, an outward conservative Republican but surely he realizes that the tax burden in America is lower than every industrialized country in the world? Why hesitate at raising taxes for the sake of education? After all I'm pretty sure that he was educated through the public school system, why shouldn't those that come after him be afforded the same luxury? Honestly, I don't like taxes but if my money has to go somewhere I think that education should be at the top of the list.

I don't like taxes when it goes to pay for corporate welfare or some dipshit Senator's wet dream about adding a pork filled line-item to some bill in Washington or my state legislature. I don't like taxes when they go to build bombs or prisons especially when they don't go to the causes of the problems that made the creation of the bomb or the prison necessary. Basically my philosophy on taxes can be summed up by an axiom found in the most auspicious of places, the rear bumper of many a 1960's Volkswagen bug:

"It'll be a great day when our schools have all the money they need and the Navy has to hold a bake sale to buy a battleship."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear it now from the conservatives (I can read your minds by the way; more like a short pamphlet than a book), "but what happens if we get attacked by a rogue nation and our Navy's to busy holding a bake sale?" The answer is simple: WE DIE, which by the way if anyone hasn't told you, is an inevitability that every living being is going to have to face. But in my world we'll all die educated, knowledgeable and capable of thinking freely for ourselves, with a solid roof over our heads, with more than adequate health care that we'll so seldom need because our bellies will be full with nutritious food and these basic services will be paid for and used by all. This picture of what reality could be isn't some far out left wing utopia, but it's a good starting point.

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I've been told that people visiting The Indy Voice don't really take a look at the "Video" "Pic" and "Story" of the week (upper left in case you missed them). I just have one question for you, WHY THE F$#@ NOT? The Indy Voice is always ahead of the curve and these links highlight what the mainstream media is going to get around to talking about. I always have them beat (with some help from my friends) by a good week. So take a look and see what you're going to be seeing.

Here's a site I found that was created by a (Great) Danish photographer who apparently spends a lot of time in America. His photographs offer a glimpse into the reality for so many millions of Americans. As these own eyes can attest the evidence is startling no matter how many times you see it.

American Reality

I stumbled on to his site through this article. Approach it with an open mind:

Everybody Pulls His Weight

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MAKE SURE YOU PAY YOUR TAXES!!!

Sex Education
Topic: Hopefully Humorous
A man boarded an airplane and took his seat. As he settled in, he glanced up and saw an unusually beautiful woman boarding.

He soon realized she was heading straight toward his seat. Lo and behold, she took the seat right beside his. Eager to strike up a conversation, he blurted ut,

"Business trip or vacation?"

She turned, smiled and said,

"Business. The Annual sexual Education Convention in Chicago."

He swallowed hard. Here was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, sitting next to him, and she was going to a meeting for sex education!

Struggling to maintain his composure, he calmly asked, "What's your business role at this convention?"

"Lecturer," she responded, "I use my experience to debunk some of the popular myths about sexuality."

"Really!," he said. "What myths are those?"

"Well," she explained. "One popular myth is that African American men are the most well endowed, when in fact, it's the native American Indian who is most likely to possess that trait. Another popular myth is that French men are the best lovers, when actually it is the men of Jewish descent. We have, however, found that the best potential lover in all categories is the Southern Redneck."

Suddenly, the woman became a little uncomfortable and blushed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't really be discussing this with you. I don't even know your name."

"Tonto," the man said. "Tonto Goldstein. But my friends call me Bubba."

Ann strikes again!

Who's For Dinner?

Topic: State Of The Union

Would cha looky what I found reading an article about Tom "The Exterminator" DeLay trying to (again) blame the "liberals" for all his problems,

"That's the problem, you know, Republicans eat their own. ... Democrats stand by their own until hell freezes over."

Senator Trent Lott
Ex-Majority Leader

Read it yourself:

DeLay Urges GOP to Blame Dems Over Ethics

According to Lott, Republicans "eat their own." I'm just trying to think of an example of when that has ever happened....

I can't think of 1. I can't think of a single example of when any Republican was ever throw out of office by other Republicans for well, anything. Lott was done away with as Majority Leader not because he made controversial racial remarks but because he was ineffective at pushing the Republican corporate agenda. Reagan was an "I don't remember" kind of criminal who authorized the subversion of congress (I think pissing on the constitution is still considered a crime but I'm not sure) and he's a freaking God in demented conservative circles. And it has been said that had Nixon not resigned the Republicans in Congress might not have voted for impeachment. I'm just wondering what one of these guys has to do to get thrown out of office. Would raping a congressional aide on a lectern qualify? Would it matter if congress was in session or not? If you're a Republican of today these are tough questions.

What about the guy the Republicans put back in office this Novemeber? George W. Bush has lied about gay marriage, education, Schiavo, abortion and oh yeah, taking our country to war. (What is the reason this week?) Let us not forget about his latest ruse about Social Security being an "imminent crisis" in need of so much correction that his "reforms" will certainly destroy it. Do you hear the Republican voices howling? Do you see any one of them sticking up for the truth? Do you see any of them standing on principle? The answer is resounding or in this case a barely audible "no." Republicans don't "eat their own" they stand by their own despite improprieties, ethics violations, constitutional law breaking and lies. Some may say that's an admirable characteristic called loyalty, while those interested in the truth and the greater good would characterize it as simple power hungry stupidity.