UncommonSense

4/19/2002

Daily Read

Washington-Pravda spokespuke sword-swallower Michael Kelly explaining how what Bush said wasn't really what he meant, but that what he got was exactly what he meant, even though he didn't say it. In so many words. Really. Trust me.

Ah, another person arguing that conspiracy theories are crazy because people are crazy to believe in conspiracy theories. Attack the messenger when you can't attack the message. Paint them with little green men (always good for a laugh). Tell half the story, and ignore the difficult unanswered questions like: if it was a lone gunman, explain the fourth shot from the grassy knoll; or, why did the Pentagon order air cover from over a hundred miles away when it had two fighter wings on the ground eight miles away? In fact, the official story of 9/11 is that of a conspiracy, a theory based on unverifiable (and in some cases disproven) facts. To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, when you eliminate the improbable - that 19 fanatically Muslim Middle-Eastern men (there would have been 20, but the 20th had been in FBI custody for a month, yet they went ahead with their plans despite the possibility of their cover having been blown) with verifiably poor flying skills and a propensity to get drunk and brag about the destruction of America in titty bars, simultaneously hijacked four airliners and held a couple of hundred people at bay with nothing more than plastic boxcutters while flying sophisticated airplanes which none of them had ever flown before for over an hour unchallenged by the US military toward the country's largest population center and its seat of government and then crash into, at full speed and directly on target, ALL three of their three chosen targets - whatever remains, however impossible, must be true.

Senate defeats ANWR drilling. Oh gee, now we won't be able to sell all that oil to Japan.

Dubyaspeak quote of the day: "When I was coming up, it was a dangerous world, and you knew exactly who they were," he said. "It was us vs. them, and it was clear who them was. Today, we are not so sure who the they are, but we know they're there." -- Iowa Western Community College, Jan 21, 2000

House GOP plays politics, dares all comers to try and play politics. This is a tiresome song and dance, getting ever more tiresome each go-round.

"The secretary's trip made it clear that our nation thinks beyond the short term, that we're serious when we talk about two states living side by side and that we're laying the foundations for peace, the structures necessary to get to peace," Mr. Bush said. This reminds me of Chris Rock's statement about men who say things like 'I want to be a father for my children' and 'I've never been to jail.' What do you want, a cookie? This is what we're supposed to be doing, Mr. Bush. These are MINIMUM expectations. You should be doing MORE, not patting yourself on the back for just now deciding to do what you should have been doing all along. What do you want, a cookie? Or how about a pretzel?

US Military attache implicated in Venezuelan plot? I'm sure he was acting on his own authority. He must have been. No, he didn't receive any orders at all. He wasn't there in an official capacity, except to observe. Look, look, look! A train wreck; a plane crash; mad cow disease; oops we bombed some Canadians; hurry, get the LAPD on the phone and tell them it's time to implement Robert Blake Scenario OJ2. Codeword is Fred. Repeat, codeword is Fred.

Daily Screed

Today is the anniversary of the bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. I hope we don't get any celebratory acts of national distraction.

But don't forget that this is also the anniversary of the destruction of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco.

The other night, I was watching one of those 'caught on tape' shows on Discovery channel or TLC or wherever. This wasn't one of your FOX-style car crash/robbery shooting/riot shows; it was about important historical events caught on film. On this episode, they covered a number of events, including the Kent State shooting. Curiously, the only recording of the moment of the shooting was made by a journalism student from his dorm room window. Even though there were news cameras there before the shooting, none of them managed to get the actual act on film. It was this student's film that disproved the military's official version of the events (what, the military tried to lie about what happened? Conspiracy theorist!).

I digress.

So, another one of the stories was about the LAPD shootout with the SLA. You'll remember that it was the SLA who kidnapped Patty Hearst. They were the poster children for GOP fantasies of left-wing activists during the 70s. "People like these guys were why we lost the war in Viet Nam."

So the LAPD corners several members in a house and a gun battle ensues. The standoff ends when, lo and behold, the SLA house mysteriously catches fire and kills everyone inside.

Just like at Waco, 20-odd years later.

4/18/2002

Daily Read

Does this innocent little calf look like a harbinger of doom? Israeli and Christian fundamentalists are welcoming her as a sign of the end times. Yes, the end times. It really is funny how people who warn of the dangers of paganism can earnestly await the burnt-offering sacrifice of a rust-colored cow.

At last, Greg Palast's take on the Venezuelan coup.

McCain as a Democrat? Isn't this the saddest statement about the spineless Democratic party, that the best candidate we can field is a Republican?

A great re-review of the re-release of Amadeus, especially the Note at the end.

Sorry, this is a Salon premium link, but there is enough here to get my point across, a point that seems to have been missed. So David Horowitz, right-wing ideologue that he is, admits in his dismissal of David Brock's book, Blinded by the Right, that Brock lied about Anita Hill. So if Brock lied about Anita Hill, does that mean that Anita Hill was telling the truth. And if Anita Hill was telling the truth, doesn't that mean that Clarence Thomas lied at his Senate confirmation hearing? And if he lied at his Senate confirmation hearing, isn't that grounds for impeachment?

Daily Screed

My hometown college basketball team, the University of Memphis Tigers, is losing its star player, Dajuan Wagner, after only one year. I've read many a screed about the importance of staying in school and the shame of these kids moving on to the NBA before finishing their education.

So let's change the subject for a moment, from basketball to business. Let's say Milton has a brilliant high school career: straight A's, class president, captain of the debate team that won the state championship, leader of the national young business administration, etc. As he nears graduation, he is approached by numerous colleges, the most prominent being Harvard Business School, with offers of a full scholarship.

At the same time, IBM offers Milton a position as VP of midwest operations, with a starting salary of a quarter-million a year, plus stock options. They'll teach him everything he needs to know about running IBM, as he has already demostrated his intelligence and potential.

Milton's father works three jobs so that he can afford a house in the school district where Milton had the best opportunity to prove his business accumen. Milton's mother has been dead for fifteen years. His father has no insurance and no savings and his heart is not so good, but he has sacrificed everything over the past 15 years to provide for Milton.

If Milton chooses Harvard Business School, it will be at least four more years before he can begin earning the big bucks. Meanwhile, Harvard has adopted an advanced learning program that works very well, but which sometimes causes permanent brain damage. If something goes wrong, Milton's career in business will be as fried as his brain.

If, for some reason, Milton can't cut it in business and gets fired by IBM, he is still young enough to go back to school and choose a different career path.

What choice should Milton make? What choice would you make?

I spent many a year in school for the supposed purpose of becoming a writer, but given the opportunity, I would gladly have exchanged my education for a series of bestselling novels. Would anyone have seriously admonished me for giving up my education to fulfill a five book A-list author contract with Random House?

So why howl when some 19-year-old looks at his chances of a career-ending injury before his career even gets started? Education is not only for the young, and to be quite frank, I'd much rather go back to school in luxury and comfort after having spent 10 years pursuing my dream and making millions of dollars, than to spend it struggling to balance classtime and practice, tests and tournaments, school and home, all the while hoping my knee doesn't blow out before I get a shot at the big time.

Really, it isn't a choice at all. I wish Dujuan Wagner good fortune and much glory.

4/17/2002

Daily Read

Most of the time, I find David Talbot's ideas middling good - sometimes he's right, sometimes he's deluded. Frankly, I think he's too damn comfortable, most of the time. But today's article, Fight or Flight? is dead right. A must read.

I have to agree. Perhaps the most shameful display of undemocratic principles during the Venezuelan coup was not perpetrated by the Bush administration. After all, they are Republicans, they are Bushes, such actions (and their subsequent implausible denials) are to be expected. The most shameful actors were those bastians (or should we say bastardians?) of liberal journalism - The New York Times and The Washington Post, both of whom printed editorials in favor of the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Venezuela. I suggest that this, more than anything else, is proof positive of what kind of politics these two notable newspapers really favor. At least the Washington Times doesn't try to hide the fact that it is a right-wing Moonie rag.

I have to assume that when Phyllis Schafly calls Charles Pickering a fine judge, she is refering to the sublimity of his buttocks. The rest of this piece of whoredom is just as laughable.

More indications that the success of Stupid White Men is not a fluke.

This is a reconstruction of a great post from Democratic Underground. The poster is AngryWhiteDemocrat:

Can anybody tell me why the Republicans were so outraged over this:

But those same Republicans find nothing wrong with Israeli soldiers doing this:

Daily Screed

Dear Congressman Norwood (R-Georgia) :

I read your comment in the Atlanta Journal Constitution regarding Congresswoman McKinney's efforts to hold government accountable for performance.

On September 11, America experienced a horrible failure of our national security and intelligence infrastructure. Despite our investing approximately $350 billion a year in what is supposed to be the world's finest military and intelligence capacity, over 3,000 people died as the world watched helpless to do a thing. An hour after the first act of war, the Pentagon could not protect its own headquarters. Shortly thereafter, we were asked to underwrite a $48 billion increase in the Pentagon's budget, on the theory that more money would make us safe.

Congresswoman McKinney has asked that we investigate whether the reports by numerous mainstream press that we had been warned are true and why they failed to help protect us. She has also asked why there is $2.3 trillion missing at the Pentagon as confirmed by Secretary Rumsfeld in Congressional Testimony before the Armed Services Committee of which Congresswoman McKinney is a member.

Unlike Congresswoman McKinney, you believe that we should pay and not understand whether our money is put to proper use and gets the proper performance.

Your constituents in Georgia, based on 1999 IRS Individual taxes for the state of Georgia, pay 5,324 dollars every year for ever man, woman and child. Of that amount, based on the President's budget before the 9-11 increases, 4,595 dollars, or approximately 85% went to the eleven agencies who based on Senator Thompson's report "Government on the Brink" and Congressman Horn's annual report card could not produce reliable financial systems or financial audits, as required. Of those eleven agencies, two (Department of Defense and HUD) are missing over 3.3 trillion dollars between fiscal 1998-2000.

In the meantime, a 'Your Turn' Atlanta Journal Constitution Poll indicates that a majority of your constituents believe that government officials knew the attack was coming:-

Are you satisfied the Bush administration had no advance warning of the Sept. 11 attacks?

Yes. 47% (4650)
I'm not sure. Congress should investigate. 2% (222)
No. I think officials knew it was coming. 51% (5093)
Total Votes 9965

Congresswoman McKinney is trying to make sure that the citizens of Georgia do not have to pay even more while they get even less.

What are you doing --- for your taxpaying constituents as opposed to government contractors?

Sincerely Yours,

Catherine Austin Fitts

President Solari

Former Assistant Secretary of Housing, First Bush Administration

Former Managing Director & Member of the Board, Dillon Read & Co. Inc.

4/16/2002

Daily Read

A great read, by my good friend Carolyn. Note to Salon editor Jennifer Foote Sweeney - where exactly is Alabama, GA?

Damage control alert. Bush officials met with leaders of the coup in Venezuela and agreed that Chavez should be removed. This, friends, is an impeachable offence. Chavez was the democratically-elected leader of Venezuela and we have NO BUSINESS meeting with those seeking to depose him and install a friendly distatorship. And believe me, this account has been as scrubbed and vetted as it possibly can be. The reality is much, much worse and is bound to come to light. All you have to do is look at their vehement denials of all the sleazy things they 'didn't do.' Then look at what was going on last November and December. Shameless, disgusting Bush official says of Chavez - "Legitimacy is something that is conferred not just by a majority of the voters, however." We have a government of used-car salesmen... sorry, that's an insult to used-car salesmen.

My god, is there nothing Bush won't do to get his way? The man who could possibly talk Saddam Hussein into allowing weapon inspectors back into Iraq is opposed by the Bush administration. Every day brings fresh news of the audacity of this government. It fills me with horror. Bush doesn't want Saddam to comply. He wants to go to war, pure and simple. He doesn't want peace. He doesn't want anything but war war war money money money mine mine mine. Daffy Duck as president.

Online Journal is beginning a four-part indictment of the events of September 11th, first installment is here. Another good compilation of articles can be found here.

Daily Screed

Amen, Brother Carroll. Amen. As Rodney King said, can't we all just get along?

The situation in Israel. Say this with a sigh. We call it a situation. A situation is most often associated with a comedy, and a bad one at that. Maybe this is a comedy of errors, if only it weren't so tragic.

Here's the thing. No matter what you believe, you have to understand that this whole situation is about a rock. It's all about a rock on top of a hill. And it's about the stories people made up about that rock thousands of years ago. Stories that can't be verified, no matter how you wring the Torah, Koran, and New Testament.

On that rock, Abraham is said to have placed Isaac in preparation for sacrificing him to Jehovah. Later, they all moved to Egypt for 400 years, and when they came back, nobody knew exactly where that rock was. So they picked a city that they wanted to conquer, and they said, our holy rock sitteth upon yonder hill in the city's midst. Let us slay the defilers. And when they were done, they built a temple there, because it was better to have a pretend holy site than no holy site at all. They couldn't very well admit that they didn't know where it was.

On that rock, Jesus is said to have driven out the money changers from the Temple. And for his trouble, they nailed him to a cross atop another nearby rock. It isn't the same rock, but it is close enough for hand grenades. Except that nearby rock probably isn't the right rock, either. The correct rock is probably somewhere outside the old city walls. But the mother of an emperor 1,600 years ago decided that it would be much easier to make a claim to Jerusalem if the Christian holy rock was inside the city. So it is.

On that rock, Mohammad leapt heavenward. He was good enough to leave a footprint. How nice of him to start his journey from the holiest site of someone else's religion. Palestine is nothing but a collection of nearly identical hills. One is as good as another. He'd have saved the world a world of trouble by choosing another hill. But he didn't.

So we have three great religions all claiming the same rock. We have three great religions who cannot, even in their most sublime moments, give up their pagan hunter-gatherer spear throwing afraid of the dark belief in magic pebbles. God, the all-powerful, all-knowing has, according to these three great religions, ordained that we shall spill our blood for the sake of a magic stone. A rock that someone pointed to a long long time ago, and said, "This place will do as well as any other."

I wish that we could, just one more time, have the wisdom to say, "This place will do as well as any other." America has lots of rocks and barren hills. Come to America, O' Israel. There's room, and to spare.

Letters to the Editor Washington Post

Re: Democrat Implies Sept. 11 Administration Plot

By Juliet Eilperin

Friday, April 12, 2002; Page A16

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I was disappointed to read your description of Congresswoman McKinney's radio interview by Dennis Bernstein on KPFA/Flashpoints.

Congresswomen McKinney called for transparency in policy formulation and expenditure of significant resources beyond our means by the Bush Administration. She pointed out the cost of the absence of reasonable standards of transparency included Secretary Rumsfeld's recent confirmation that $2.3 trillion is "missing" from the Department of Defense.

I was charged with cleaning up significant Iran-Contra fraud both in the first Bush Administration and as a board member cleaning up BCCI fraud through First American. Given the history of financial fraud allegations associated with the Bush family and the major donors who funded the last election and legitimate concerns regarding Enron and DOD procurement and accounting, Congresswoman McKinney's call to respect traditional standards of transparency and investigation merit your respect and consideration.

Sincerely Yours,

Catherine Austin Fitts

Solari

Former Assistant Secretary of Housing-FHA Commissioner, First Bush Administration

Former Managing Director and Member, Board of Directors, Dillon Read & Co. Inc.

4/15/2002

Daily Read

Good for the people of Venezuela. It looks like the CIA/World Bank sponsored coup to take over the country's oil supply has been reversed. Some interesting facts about the coup: Pedro Carmona, appointed by the military, was head of Fedecameras, Venezuela's largest business association, sure to be friendly to World Bank demands; upon seizing power, Carmona threw out the Congress, Court, and constitution; the US first called for restraint, but once the coup was accomplished, praised the results and expressed hope for the new regime, then when it was reversed, cautioned Chavez (makes you wonder what kind of democracy it is we support); Condoleeza Rice also says that this is no time for a witch hunt, meaning that investigations might turn up CIA sponsorship of the coup. All of this was predicted by Greg Palast months ago, after he obtained World Bank documents. These articles continue to blame Chavez' leftist policies and support of Iran, Cuba, etc., for out problems with him, when it was his refusal to bow to World Bank demands and sell off his countries resources that made him a target for CIA insurgency operations. I congratulate the people of Venezuela on their victory for self-rule, and hope that Americans will show the same courage.

This has the stink of DynCorp all over it. One of the major causes that led to the fall of Rome was the reliance on mercenaries to defend the empire. The US Government uses mercenaries in the drug war, and now they are talking about using mercenaries in the war against terrorism. This is not only a strategic mistake, it is a political payoff - it is the US government creating a market and then selling that market to friendly corporations like DynCorp.

It looks like the old crystal doorknob was being a little too hopeful last week. Unfortunate. I would take a politically sleazy peace over no peace at all. Things don't look good, especially since it appears that Bush is more concered with not failing than attempting to succeed. Meanwhile, Powell is hung out to dry. If Powell succeeds, Bush will take the credit, and if he fails, he will fail on his own.

We do not negotiate with terrorists. Except when we do.

Trent Lott and the Senate Republicans don't want to get into a web page parody pissing match, as the Dems clearly have the superior force and wit. Let's start now by emailing the URL to my own little example to Senator Lott now.

Daily Screed

Today's the big day. Today, I send the vast majority of my savings to the IRS. Thank God for Bush's tax cut. What tax cut? I don't see no stinkin' tax cut. That six hundred bucks I got last August? I put that in the bank, knowing that I'd have to pay it back today. If I hadn't...

... I'd be six hundred bucks in the hole and filing an extension request.

In all fairness, I am paying a substantial amount this year because I earned more from my royalties than ever before. That money is not taxed on the front end. But had I not earned a dime in royalties, I'd still be giving back that six hundred dollars today.

I don't begrudge paying this money in taxes. I expected to pay it, and I set aside money from my royalties in order to pay it. That's the price of living in a civilized society. Sure, I'd like to keep that money. I could use it. But I never counted that money as mine in the first place.

That's why a tax cut fails to get me excited. That's not entirely true. Tax cuts do get me excited. I wonder where they are going to make the cuts in funding, I wonder who is going to suffer, and I wonder who is getting the largest benefit of that tax cut. The answers to these questions are - programs that benefit the poor, the poor, and the very wealthy.

So here I am, living paycheck to paycheck, trying to get ahead, and setting aside money that isn't mine in the first place, to pay taxes so that I'll have an America to live in. And who is complaing about taxes? Some guy with four houses, seven cars, three wives, and a couple million in the bank. Sure, paying 200,000 in taxes has to turn your stomach.

But think about it, George. You still got a half million last year. If I have seven dollars, and you take two of them, that only leaves me with five. But if I've got 700 grand, and you take 200 grand, I've still got a half million bucks! That's a lot of Oreos, buster. Five hundred thousand dollars, George. Five hundred thousand dollars. That's what you've got after taxes. If this math is too hard for you, I'm perfectly willing to trade places for a year.