'TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Election 2006
By Baron Dave Romm
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Election Day 2006 is November 7, tomorrow. The following is based on the Shockwave Radio Theater program of Nov. 4, 2006. I was writing about the crimes and moral lack of conservative Republicans in the last year, but the editorial was too long to fit into a half hour program. So I crunched it down to bullet points. This is the bullet points, followed by the longer reasons.
Remember to vote, and watch out for voting irregularities (you could be eligible for $500,000; more below) and also watch out for NO irregularities, as Republicans are going to lie when the Democrats win. Also keep in mind that a large part of the voting fraud has already occurred, with the purging of voting rolls, voter suppression and scare tactics.
This just in: Saddam Hussein sentenced to death. Saddam's lawyer claims they were pressured to make the decision before the US election. Is anyone surprised at this blatant manipulation by the Bush administration? Is anyone stupid enough to think this reflects well on disastrous war? This isn't the first time the Bush administration has counted on the gullibility of his conservative base.
In this election, and in 2008: Zero tolerance for Republicans.
Let's just look at the last year of Republican corruption, scandal and treason. An incomplete list of the horrible crimes committed by Republicans is too long to fit into a half hour program. The lack of morals and ethics on the part of the sphincter conservatives is due, in large part, to the lack of a moral compass from George W. Bush. Here are some of the issues, laid out in bullet points:
Narrative
Iraq and Afghanistan have been a complete disaster, making the world less safe. More Iraqi civilians have died since the invasion than were killed by Saddam Hussein since the first Gulf War (number by sampling, number by reported deaths, jump in deaths in a Iraqi Interior Ministry report from Oct. 2006) where George HW Bush didn't have the cojones to go in and complete the job. On Monday, an incredibly rare joint editorial will run in the Army Times, the Air Force Times and the Navy Times. The people fighting this war want Donald Rumsfeld to go. The editorial says, in part, "Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt." Harsh words, for Rumsfeld and Bush, who will need to face some hard truths. Bush isn't good about facing the truth. We need a Congress who will tell him.
The generals complain about lack of support, the vets get their benefits cut. Republicans have failed our troops, the Republicans have failed the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Republicans have failed this country, and the Republicans have failed the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Bush administration gave nuclear plans to the enemy... and then bragged about it. Conservatives don't live in the real world, and they can't accept the fact that there were no WMD in Iraq. For sheer political reasons, the Republicans insisted on releasing a huge amount of documents regarding Iraq, in hopes that right-wing bloggers could find something. As startling as it is to find Republicans admitting that the Bush administration is incompetent and our intelligence is run by incompetent Republican appointees, the result has been a disaster, with a potential for greater disaster: Amid the documents put on-line for any right wing blogger or terrorist to see were plans for building nuclear weapons. This is more than an "oops", and Bush can't lie his way out of this serious breach of security.
The drive to release the documents containing nuclear plans was led by House Intelligence Committee chairman Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich. Perhaps the country would be safer if he wasn't the Chairman of the committee.
Three Republican Congressmen have resigned in disgrace over corruption, bribe taking and the Abramoff scandal: Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney. More are under investigation. Once the Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, they immediately made it their cash cow. I'm not going to give Democrats a pass -- all politicians need to be held accountable -- but they were never even remotely as bad as Republicans. Republicans just don't give a damn about this country, they are in it for the money and the power.
One Republican Congressman resigned after attempts to cover up his inappropriate e-mails and Instant Messages to teenage boys. Mark Foley had been a sleazy operator since at least 1995 and the pages knew it, and the Republican leadership knew it. Karl Rove convinced Foley to run again this year simply because it was a safe seat. Pages complained about Foley. Instead of punishing him, Dennis Hastert and company put him in charge of the group that was making the laws to protect kids. When the press found out, they did nothing right away, and sat on the story for months, at least. Foley and others put tremendous pressure on the media to say nothing, yet again. When a former page was too disgusted and sent copies of Foley's sexually explicit messages, the conservative news media could be silent no longer. Meanwhile, another Republican Congressman, Jim Kolbe, is currently being investigated about an inappropriate camping trip with pages in 1996.
Tom Foley is only one example of a holier than thou conservative Republican who turns out to be disgustingly sleazy. The latest is pastor Ted Haggard, advisor and buddy to George W. Bush and patron saint of evangelicals everywhere. Haggard has led the charge against gay marriage, and is now being accused by his lover of paying for meth-addled gay sex. He is a good example of a Nine Commandment Christian, one who says that they believe in the Christian G-d but don't mind bearing false witness. Apparently, G-d's word applies to other people, not Ted Haggard, Michelle Bachmann or George W. Bush. Here are some others. A list of GOP: God's Own Pedophiles. From October 2006, GOP Candidate charged with sex abuse dies in a car crash. A rambling list of Republican sex criminals with some good links.
Ambassador Joe Wilson told the truth about Iraq's lack of nuclear capability. Bush lied about the intelligence reports he used to start the war. When Wilson came forward, Bush got revenge on someone who was making this country safer. Conservatives don't give a damn about this country, they just want to score political points. Wilson's wife was Valerie Plame, a CIA agent working to find information about the spread of nuclear technology. For purely political reasons, the far right outed a CIA agent, putting her in danger, putting our CIA agents in danger and diminishing our intelligence capabilities. The trail of treason seems to have landed on Richard Armitidge, one of the neocons who led us into the disastrous Iraq war, but investigations are still ongoing and what we know so far shows that Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and others were pushing to silence the truth by committing treason. Original Bob Novak piece. Wikipedia article on the Plame Affair. FactCheck.org timeline, with a right-wing spin.
Conservatives do not live in the real world, and the biggest proof is their continuing, anal-retentive, almost religious, fanatical denial of global warming. The environment is the prime example where you can say, for absolute certain, that liberals are right and conservatives are wrong. Within your lifetime, a billion people will die or be displaced due to rising sea levels and environmental disaster. It's worse than the conservative news media is reporting: Some estimates say that by 2100CE, one third of the planet will be desert. To save your life and the lives of your children, you will vote Democratic.
Republicans, responsible for the biggest deficits and the obscene Reagan National Debt, are horrible at fiscal management. All they can do it whine "tax cuts, tax cuts!" and lie about the Democrats. Formerly solid deficit hawks are starting to get worried; they were fooled and are too stupid to get it. Time to get a clue, guys. Older citizens are worried about the near future. The latest lie about taxes has the AARP protesting. The very conservative Wall Street Journal just printed what Karl Rove wanted said about Social Security taxes and cutting benefits, and the normally conservative AARP is complaining. What the editorial said just isn't true, says, David Sloane in a letter to the Journal. Look for a smear of AARP and Democratic candidates over the next few days (in the 24 hours since I jotted that down, the attacks are coming from the WSJ and the conservative news media.) Keep in mind: The Republicans are lying. They don't know how to do anything else.
If there is one issue that has convinced independents that the Bush administration is Evil-with-a-capital-E, it's their stance on torture and the death of Habeas Corpus. Cheney says waterboarding is okay. Bush says it isn't, but no one believes him. Bush can just issue a "signing statement" and the do-nothing Republican-controlled Congress just let's him get away with it. Even in Red State Utah, they're worried. Behaving like a terrorist continues on such issues as Secret Detainee Camps and the lies about them. By US standards (up to a few weeks ago) and international standards, Bush as a war criminal. I can't write too much about this outrage. Conservatives simply don't believe in America. Where is the outrage?
There are so many pressing issues to correct, some important issues are left in the wake: Stem Cells, renewable energy, health care, Alaskan Oil drilling, repealing the disastrous tax cuts for the rich, the estate tax, closing loopholes in offshore bank accounts, etc etc etc.
The 2000 election was stolen not by a bunch of hanging chads in Florida, but by massive voter fraud nationwide. Before the vote, 173,000 of people were scrubbed from the voting rolls by DBT, now ChoicePoint. That list of 173 THOUSAND voters, in Florida alone, was wildly flawed and denied rights to eligible voters. The scrub list was commissioned by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and company to make sure Democratic leaning voters were denied their basic American right. The scrub list contained odd bits of information, such as race, and didn't correlate to anything remotely like purging felons. It's clear: Republicans don't believe in Democracy and Conservatives don't believe in America. Two amendments to the Constitution were needed to prevent conservatives from denying the right to vote, and we may need another. The 2000 elections were crooked and in Tennessee, not just Florida, the 2002 elections were crooked, the 2004 elections were crooked, and it looks like the 2006 elections will be more of the same. Diebold electronic voting machines are easily hackable, and preliminary test show that some simply print out results that favor Republicans no matter who voted for whom. Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, doing his Katherine Harris impression to purge the voting rolls and now running for governor, made some very restrictive and arbitrary rules that only benefited him and his ilk. I've been screaming about this for years, following the path of Greg Palast.
This year, there may be hope. Currently, VelvetRevolution.us is offering a $500,000 reward for information about election fraud and manipulation in the 2006 election. The information must lead to a conviction. This is part of their Election Protection Strike Force. There are several organizations closely watching the vote, but this is the only one offering such a large cash bonus for finding it.
Win lose or draw, we know what Republicans will do before, during and after the election: they will lie, they don't know how to do anything else. It's time for Americans to step up, and hold some very bad people accountable for their crimes.
These are reasons to vote against the Republicans. But should you for the Democrat or waste a protest vote on a third party? You don't hear much about the Democrats plans from the conservative news media. Indeed, the drumbeat from the right wing media elite is the opposite of reality. In fact, the Democrats have a plan. You should support the Democrats. The choice is not always this simple, but this election is about holding Republicans accountable and bringing in responsible Democrats. If there were viable third party candidates, they would deserve a look, but decent independents are few and far between and we must present a united front to take power away from the Republican Slime Machine. Here is a repeat of the story from last week:
The First 100 Hours. The Washington Post covers the story, making it about the Republicans, Pelosi Says She Would Drain GOP 'Swamp'. From the article:
I don't want any of this "bipartisan" nonsense: We must clean up the mess of the last six years.
Okay now: Vote! Help get out the vote in your district. Let's show the tide has turned.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Evelyn Pringle: Ohio Governor Race - Fox Guarding Henhouse (smirkingchimp.com)
Ken Blackwell is ready to cash in on the Republican promise of putting him in the Governor's mansion in 2006 after he proved that he was indispensable in the successful plot to rig the 2004 Presidential election in Ohio for George W Bush.
Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign president: Get out the vote! (advocate.com)
You've heard it as often as I have-Rick Santorum is toast. The Republican leadership is going down. Well, maybe. But I remember John Kerry in 2004. He was going to be our next president until about 7 p.m. that election night. And what about Al Gore? He actually was president at various moments in 2000.
CAROLINE RYDER: A Killer Life (frontierspublishing.com)
You may not recognize Christine Vachon's name, but chances are she produced at least one of your favorite movies. Transgressive almost to a fault, Vachon is one of the coolest-and most powerful-film producers of her generation. Her résumé reads like a hipster's guide to indie cinema: She did Boys Don't Cry, the story of young FTM transsexual Teena Brandon that earned lead actress Hilary Swank an Oscar.
Catherine Plato: Julie Goldman (curvemag.com)
Lesbian comedian Julie Goldman's been cracking up the masses since her first stand-up gig at the tender age of 15. She currently works as a writer for New York City drag king Murray Hill, and as a member of the politically minded comedy troupe Laughing Liberally.
Hugh Massingberd: To Ronnie, with love from Ronnie (telegraph.co.uk)
During the heyday of the Two Ronnies back in the 1970s, when their Saturday night television show was a national institution, I found myself sitting at a neighbouring table to theirs in a tiny restaurant in Dorset, where they were filming. In my naivety, I expected to eavesdrop on a flow of badinage, but they communicated in low monotones, and neither of them laughed once. The evening was a belated education in the fact that comedy is a serious business.
Eileen Mitchell: The Joy of Reading (beliefnet.com)
The unforgettable teacher who helped launch my lifelong love of books.
Rabbi Sandy Sasso: Soul Food for Kids (beliefnet.com)
Reading not only makes kids smart--it helps their spiritual growth. Here's how.
Eamon Duffy: What's the Point of Praying for the Dead? (beliefnet.com)
Prayer for the dead isn't appeasement or fire insurance. We pray for them because we know they're still alive--in Christ.
Hubert's Poetry Corner
THE WARS OF KENNY MARCHANT AND GEORGE W. BUSH
COWARDLY DEJA VU
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and summer-like.
Box-Office Gold
'Borat'
Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh alter-ego Borat made glorious returns at the box office, surprising Hollywood with a No. 1 debut.
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," 20th Century Fox's big-screen incarnation of Cohen's Kazakh journalist from "Da Ali G Show," took in $26.4 million during its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Box-office analysts had expected Disney's "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," with Tim Allen returning as St. Nicholas, to win the weekend. It was No. 2 with $20 million, followed by the Paramount-DreamWorks animated comedy "Flushed Away" in third place with $19.1 million.
"Borat" played in only 837 theaters, fewer than one-fourth the count for "The Santa Clause 3" and "Flushed Away." Averaging a whopping $31,511 a theater, "Borat" easily outdistanced "The Santa Clause 3," which averaged $5,784 in 3,458 cinemas and "Flushed Away," which averaged $5,152 in 3,707 theaters.
'Borat'
Compassionate Conservatism
Who's To Blame
Colorado Springs' New Life Church just announced that it has fired Pastor Ted Haggard for his "sexually immoral conduct." The much publicized meth and gay hooker scandal has elicited a little bit of soul searching and a lot hemming and hawing from Haggard's fellow Evangelical leaders, but perhaps the most ridiculous response came yesterday from Pastor Mark Driscoll of Seattle's Mars Hills mega-church-wannabe.
Writing in his personal blog, Driscoll offers his fellow pastors "some practical suggestions" on how to avoid the type of temptation that consumed Pastor Haggard. And near the top of his list?
"Most pastors I know do not have satisfying, free, sexual conversations and liberties with their wives. At the risk of being even more widely despised than I currently am, I will lean over the plate and take one for the team on this. It is not uncommon to meet pastors' wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband's sin, but she may not be helping him either."
Who's To Blame
Meets With Indian Minister
Angelina Jolie
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie met Indian junior foreign minister Anand Sharma on Sunday and discussed the problems of refugees and how Indian freedom hero Mahatma Gandhi was still relevant to conflicts around the world.
Jolie, who is in India shooting a film with partner and actor Brad Pitt, is also a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. On Saturday she met Afghan and Burmese refugees living in New Delhi.
Sharma said they had talked about "Indian traditions and also the great influence of Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy of peace and non-violence."
Angelina Jolie
Endorses No Republicans For U.S. Congress
NY Times
The New York Times, one of the oldest and most respected U.S. newspapers, said on Sunday that for the first time in memory it was endorsing no Republican U.S. congressional candidates this year.
In an editorial, the Times criticized the Republican-led Congress on matters from tax cuts to energy policy, and charged it has failed to hold resident Bush accountable for the unpopular Iraq War.
"This election is indeed about George W. Bush -- and the congressional majority's insistence on protecting him from the consequences of his mistakes and misdeeds," the Times editorialized.
NY Times
The Burns Collection
Michigan Mummy
Mummified human skeletal remains confiscated from the home of a woman who police say was trying to sell them on eBay likely came from an early 19th century Scottish collection, authorities said.
A Michigan State University anthropologist determined that remains likely date from the early 19th century and were part of a collection of anatomical specimens from Scottish anatomist Allen Burns, the Times Herald reported.
The collection was brought to the United States in 1820 and has been housed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The remains are from a child, probably between the ages of 6 and 9, Norman Sauer, an anthropology professor, told police in an e-mail.
Michigan Mummy
Denied Medical Care
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi's doctor, the detained democracy icon's only contact with the outside world, has not visited her for two months due to political developments in military-run Myanmar, an official said.
Aung San Suu Kyi's personal doctor Tin Myo Win normally sees the 61-year-old Nobel peace laureate once a month, but a spokesman for her opposition party said his last visit was in August.
Aside from her maid who lives with her, the opposition leader is allowed no contact with the outside world, except for visits from Tin Myo Win.
Aung San Suu Kyi
'Remains' Of Legs?
Dolphin
Japanese researchers said Sunday that a bottlenose dolphin captured last month has an extra set of fins that could be the remains of hind legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land.
Fishermen captured the four-finned dolphin alive off the coast of Wakayama prefecture (state) in western Japan on Oct. 28, and alerted the nearby Taiji Whaling Museum, according to museum director Katsuki Hayashi.
Though odd-shaped protrusions have been found near the tails of dolphins and whales captured in the past, researchers say this was the first time one had been found with well-developed, symmetrical fins, Hayashi said.
Dolphin
Vortex Menaces Pacific Sealife
Plastic Trash
Old toothbrushes, beach toys and used condoms are part of a vast vortex of plastic trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, threatening sea creatures that get tangled in it, eat it or ride on it, a new report says.
Because plastic doesn't break down the way organic material does, ocean currents and tides have carried it thousands of miles (kms) to an area between Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast, according to the study by the international environmental group Greenpeace.
This swirling vortex, which can grow to be about the size of Texas, is not far from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, designated as a protected U.S. national monument in June by resident George W. Bush.
Plastic Trash
Fatima
Rent-a-Pilgrim
Any Roman Catholics who have vowed to make the pilgrimage to Fatima in Portugal, which is famous for religious visions, but can't fulfill their promise, help is at hand -- rent-a-pilgrim.
For 2,500 euros ($3,169), Pilgrim Gil will make the journey in your place -- and send you a certificate stamped along the way to prove he walked your every step.
Like a true pilgrim, Carlos Gil begins his seven-day journey to Fatima on foot from his home in Cascais, a small town on the outskirts of Lisbon, about 160 kilometers from the shrine. It takes him another six days to walk back.
Rent-a-Pilgrim
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