For The Greater Good: DISSENT!
Topic: State Of The Union
Ridge reveals clashes on alerts

A little late for the reelection but in plenty of time to help the historians classify this President and his administration as the most undemocratic, lying, manipulating set of thieves this country has ever and hopefully will ever know.

The Mountain Grows: Episode XXVVIII
Topic: Iraq
If you haven't been paying attention you should really read this and if you have it's just a final confirmation of what thousands of sources from around the world have already confirmed.

Smoking Gun Memo?

P.S. Just on the off chance that someone with the resources of a mainstream news outlet behind you happens to be reading this, I have this to say to you:

WAKE UP!

THIS IS JUST THE TIP OF THE FUCKING ICEBERG!

DO THE JOB THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO BE DOING WHEN YOU ENTERED THE JOURNALISM FIELD AND STOP BEING SOME CORPORATE LACKEY!

Did you really think that you were going to turn out to be some some shill for a corporate game of luring customers into such serious newsworthy topics as Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant or Ben Affleck and J Lo?

The Mountain Grows
Topic: Iraq
Gary Schroen is one of the CIA's most respected veteran spies. Here's what the man had to say on the distraction known as Operation Iraqi Liberation (O.I.L.):

He's Not A Crook And Liar: Gary Schroen

Moral Dilemma For All Time:
Topic: Hopefully Humorous
A dilemma for you...what would you do?

This test only has one question, but it's a very important one.

Please don't answer it without giving it some serious thought. By giving an honest answer you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation, in which you will have to make a decision. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Thoughtfulness is important for this evaluation to be meaningful!

Ready? Begin!

You're in Florida...In Miami, to be exact... There is chaos around you, caused by a hurricane and severe floods. This is a flood of major proportions. You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper caught in the middle of this great disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is showing all its' destructive fury. You see a man in the water! He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away with the water and debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. Suddenly, you know who it is... it's George W. Bush. At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under, forever.

You have two options. You can save him or you can take the most dramatic photos of your life. You can save the life of President Bush, or you can shoot a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most powerful men.

Now, here's the question (please give an honest answer):

Would you select color film or rather go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

---

You wanna know what kind of damn liberal I am? After realizing who the victim was I decided it didn't matter, I'd still choose black and white film. No, just kidding. I'd save the sorry sack but he'd probably jump back in and drown himself after the relentless tongue lashing I'd give him!

How Much Do Republicans Care?
Topic: Iraq
Is this the party that represents your beliefs?

How Much Do Republicans Care?

P.S. Check out the Video and Pic of the week!

Let The Games Begin!
Topic: State Of The Union
Last night whilst perusing Crooks And Liars I stumbled across an article entitled "The next Schiavo Campaign."

It talked about how the Republicans and the Religious Right (isn't that a contradiction in terms?) are going to try and politicize the case of the firefighter who suddenly woke up from a high-level conscious state or coma or whatever you call it. Crooks And Liars believes that the Republicans and the Religious Wrong are going to try and draw parallels between this case and that other one where the woman was in a persistent vegetative state (of course blaiming it all on the evil liberals.)

After reading the article I said to myself,

"Boy, Crooks And Liars is usually dead on but I don't know if I can believe these accusations. I think the Republicans will take the time to understand the astounding differences between these 2 cases. Being the rational group of people that they are they'll probably consult the experts who will tell them that the firefighter's case is an aberration without medical definition and for lack of a better term, a miracle, the odds of which are probably billions-to-one. I just can't believe that the Republicans and the Religious Right would act any other way. After all the Republicans always act rationally. And need I mention the nearly 2000 years of non-partisan Christian infallibility?"

If on the off chance Crooks And Liars are in fact correct and The Indy Voice is wrong and the media's collective eyeballs are focused on the ensuing circus for the next 2 weeks, I preemptively wanted to inform you that there is in fact more important things taking place in this country and throughout the world.

For one, the Lynddie England case has been declared a mistrial after she pleaded guilty for torturing detainees who had neither judge nor jury decide their guilt. Apparently Charles Graner the other lackie convicted of the same crime, testified during the sentencing phase of the trial that the pictures he took of England holding a naked prisoner on a leash at Abu Ghraib were meant to be used as a legitimate training aid for other guards and England had been just following orders. The court was then cleared by the judge who advised the defense that "You can't have a one-person conspiracy." The judge instructed them that if she didn't understand that the orders were unlawful then she should plead not guilty because as a soldier her job would be to follow lawful orders. (For more information Judge Throws Out England's Guilty Plea)

Call me crazy but I just find it suspect when anyone says that a highly functioning and brilliant private like England couldn't have masterminded the naked man pyramid. I say let's get the 9/11 new trial over with, hold England responsible 9/11 for her one woman conspiracy and let's 9/11 get the whole Abu Gharib scandal 9/11 behind us. She's the 9/11 only one 9/11 responsible. Let's concentrate 9/11 on the more 9/11 important 9/11 things going on in the world. The longer 9/11 it goes on makes people 9/11 around the world 9/11 suspect that the responsibility for the decision goes all the way up 9/11 to the President 9/11 himself and we can't have 9/11 that no matter 9/11 what the facts 9/11 actually are.

As for who's correct The Indy Voice or Crooks And Liars I'm going to start a betting pool.

Alright, who's gonna bet on The Indy Voice? Do I have any takers?

Let the games begin!

Our Progress
Topic: State Of The Union
Now this is what I call progress:

It's too bad that the liberals aren't in the back pockets of the corporations like Tom Delay and his Republicans buddies. It would have been a lot easier for them to put up more of these! Instead Democracy For America had to mobilize a grassroots campaign of over 20,000 people from across the country. It's a good start but I still think a lot more people need to know that their elected leaders are being purchased by corporate interests and not only CAN they do something about it but it is their DUTY as an American to act.

---

Just a reminder for all of you that choose to vote for Bush, here's what you're missing with your so-called "Christian" President, who hasn't done a damn thing to help citizens who don't own a major corporation:

Kerry's Put Kids First Act

Instead Bush and his Republican do-do brains are pushing an initative to f*&K with the tax code, which is certainly not going to help you, bankruptcy legislation which is going to help creditors suck the remaining life out of you following an unexpected illness or injury and we can't forget the privatizing of Social Security which seeks to spread the conservative myth of big-bad government by destroying the longest running and most successful liberal created policy in the history of mankind (and womankind). Oh, and lest we forget spreading democracy to Iraq which is now the latest reason for attacking and occupying a country who's citizens didn't want us to and who posed no threat against U.S. Just think of all the bombs and bullets that the ever-growing price tag of +++$200,000,000,000 has purchased to bring "Democracy" and "peace" to the Iraqis. Hey, but what do you care, it's only your money he's spending and your children who are going to have to die. But it's a different world since 9/11 right?

Sounds like the same old shit of the haves taking advantage of the know-nots.

If you didn't, you should've voted for Kerry. Either way get out there and make a positive difference in the life of someone else. Why not help Kerry help 11 million children?

Peace Is Now!
The world is burning down
Can't you smell the smoke in the air?
War, disease and famine
This demon, she is everywhere

Poets and preachers and politicians
They've all had their say
And we've got 10,000 years
Devoted to nothing
But tomorrow and yesterday

If all of the ignorance in the world
Passed a second ago
What would you say?
Who would you obey?
I am here to say that

Peace is now

Mr. president,
I hereby pardon you of all your crimes
For they are just as much mine

Selfishness and separation have led me
To believe that the world is not my problem
The world is not my problem
I am the world
And you are the world

Peace is now

One of my favorite songs (10,000 YEARS by the band Live).

I'm vaklempt, talk amongst yourselves.

Hiding From The Truth
"You can run but you can't hide" from the truth should be the new slogan for the administrations (yes that is meant to be plural) that illegally and immorally took us to war which has killed over 25,000 people.

It was all a LIE.

Blair hit by new leak of secret war plan

British military chief reveals new legal fears over Iraq war

LOCK EM' ALL UP!

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)