Merry Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah to All!

Ok, I may be a little late in sending out this holiday greeting, but late or not, what really matters in a world of war and conflict, expecially religious conflict, is that we find time to celebrate a holiday that doesn't separate us, but brings us together. And that holiday is Chrismahanukwanzakah - a celebration of everything. While Secular Humanists are getting their War on Christmas on, or at least they are in Bill O'Reilly's mind, through the marketing genuis of Virgin Mobile, we have an invented holiday that no one wants to make war on. So, Peace on Earth and a Merry Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah to All!

My "One World" Response Video

And here's mine. War != answer (war is not the answer). The Youtube video is here.

Revolutionary QOTD: November 21, 2006

This is the original "One World" video posted on Youtube making it's statement in a unique way and inviting others to make one in a similar way. It has inspired thousands of responses, including mine which I will post shortly.

Racist Rehab

Remember back when acoholics were drunks and when someone did something that indicated they might need some help with an alcohol problem, there was always the big denial. They would say something like, "I don't really have a problem with alcohol. I like to have a few drinks. Have some fun. I got out of control, but I'm not really an alcoholic." These days we have the complete opposite when it comes to openness about alcohol problems. In this age of celebrity rehab clinics, Oprah and the public emotional confessional, the first thing a public figure is ready to admit when they are busted doing anything embarrassing or wrong or even criminal is that they have a problem with alcohol and/or drugs. And they can at least unload some of the responsibility for what they did on their dependence problem. Then they fly into rehab and out of the public eye for awhile. It's almost a cliche at this point, especially after the Mark Foley scandal and several others.

Too bad we're not at that point of openness about racism and other forms of intolerance such as anti-semitism. One of the first things someone who does or says something racist is allowed to get away with is a denial that they are a racist or anti-semite. Mel Gibson said it after his drunken anti-semetic tirade. And now actor Michael Richards is saying that he is not racist after his public tirade at a comedy club. And he doesn't have alcohol or drugs to lay part of the blame on.

Now I get what Richards is saying about free associating and his pushing the envelop with is comedy. And maybe he tried to go somewhere with his routine and it just didn't work and he couldn't work his way out of it. I can't see into his or anyone's heart to tell you whether they are a racist or not. But I can hear what they say and see how they act and I can get a pretty good idea from it. And maybe if you are free associating and pushing the envelop, or driving drunk down PCH and what spews out of your mouth in a moment of stress is a diatribe of hate speech, maybe you could consider the possibility that you might have a problem with race or anti-semitism. Just maybe this is something you ought to look at.

The odd thing is that I started this post this morning, but didn't finish before I was supposed to go sailing with a friend, so I saved it. When I got back I had an email message from someone railing on me and calling me a racist for something I wrote almost a year ago about, about the case of Corey Maye. And the weird thing about it was that she was calling me a racist and my blog racist for alleging racism in the Maye case. It's come to the point in this country where if you dare point out that racism exists, or point to a case of racism, someone will say that you are racist for seeing it. The country is in such denial about race, they simply refuse to allow racism exists anymore.

I'm not one of these people who sees racism in everything. Far from it. But I'm not blind either. And unless I missed it when America reached that Martin Luther King I have a dream speech utopia where children, white and black, protestant and catholic are walking hand in hand and singing to the words of the Negro spirtual, free at last...well, you get the point. Some racism still exists in this country. Maybe we're just supposed to shut up about it and ignore it. Be a part of the denial.

If you're listening closely to Richards, and I haven't heard anyone else mention it yet, he calls the persons he was yelling at, "Afro-American". He's about a generation behind in his PC nomenclature and maybe that's part of the problem. Maybe we can come to a point in recognizing racial problems where we can see it, like alcohol and drug problems, as an illness. And someone doesn't have to be a bad person, and maybe they are someone who doesn't want to live with and express hate, but need help in order to rid themselves of it. Maybe we need a kind of racist rehab and that Oprah confessional kind of openness so that people can admit to it and get help with it.

Bad Comics

First bad cops, now bad comics being caught on video doing and saying bad things. The pervasiveness of the video camera makes it hard for people who do something that's highly embarrassing, as Richards did, and those who abuse their power, as those officers did in the video in my last post, to spin what they did afterward. When the whole world can see it as it happened, it gives them no opportunity to explain it way to people who weren't there to see it. Orwell warned us of the threat to liberty when Big Brother could see everything we do. But he never imagined what the same power in the hands of the public could do. These days it's Little Brother who's watching. Working as a check and balance on the power of Big Brother. The video on Youtube is here.

Bad Cops

Could it be a new Reality TV show? A new video by moi. More on this topic shortly. For now enjoy the video.

The Illusion of Homeland Security

This CNN report details problems at one of our nations Supermax prisons. Prisons which house the most dangerous terrorist prisoners in the world. One of the problems is lack of personnel to monitor their communications. Maybe they should call the NSA on that one. Over 300 billion spent on the War on Terror in Iraq. Our national reputation scared by support for torture of prisoners of war. Our freedoms threatened at home by the Patriot Act and domestic spying. But a drug dealer can run a major operation out of the most "secure" prison on the planet and terrorist can make phone calls to their friends without monitoring. Not to mention lack of security at our ports and along our border. Is Homeland Security just an illusion? Is it being maintained solely by war in oil rich countries abroad and at the cost of our civil liberties at home? The video is here. And on CNN.com here.

Google "the google on the Internets dot com".

Olbermann on Faux News Memos

Keith Olbermann discusses Fox News network memos that outline to reports ways to slant the news to the right. He discusses their complete lack of journalistic integrity with Robert Greenwald, maker of the documentary film Outfoxed. From MSNBC. The video is here. Also on MSNBC here.

Revolutionary QOTD: November 14, 2006

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
-Bob Marley.

This is kind of a Revolutionary QOTD replay. I used this quote back here on the anniversary of Bob Marley's death this year. I didn't use the video then. It's classic old-school reggae. Enjoy.

Make http://thegoogleontheinternets.com your default search engine.

-Fight the powers.

John Edwards on the Daily Show with John Stewart

Former Senator from North Carolina John Edwards on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Does Edwards seem a little hesitant when asked about an old associate? Stewart asks the questions other anchors dare not ask.

The Youtube Be Down

Youtube is down for maintenance so all my videos won't appear until they are back up. I guess that is the drawback of using Youtube videos. I have no idea how long they will be down or how often they do something like this. There was a notice on the site saying they'd be down at 9pm PST. It's only 8pm PST. Maybe they missed that whole end of Daylight Savings Time thing a couple weeks or so ago. Or maybe the maintenance is done by a bunch of nerds who blazed up a fattie of the ganjah beforehand. Dammit Chad and Steve. You make your 1.8 billion from the Google and do you care about us? The average everyday 'Tubers? Nuh uhnn. I guess if the Google paid me 1.8 billion I wouldn't care about you mofo's either.

I see what the problem be here. Their notice actually says 9pm PDT. That be Pacific Daylight Time. But it ain't Daylight Savings Time no mo. Dudes. Put down the joint and handle yo' bidness. K'?

Update: Just visited da tube and they are officially down now. As evinced by the graphic:

I guess they do be knowin' what time it be.

Update: They're back up and now I can get my tube on.

-Fight the powers.

A Daily Show Primer on Republican Campaign Strategy

The Daily Show, in a Rob Riggle report, looks farther ahead that anyone else in the news media. They look to the 2044 Pesidential Elections and in the process give a useful tutorial on Republican campaign strategies.

Google "the google on the internets dot com". It's recursive.

Nancy Pelosi Clarifies Feelings About Bush - the Daily Show

Pelosi gets no honeymoon from Jon Stewart and the Daily Show as Speaker of the House elect. In this clip she clarifies what she didn't and didn't say about President Bush previously.

It's About Time - Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Presidents, civil rights icons, celebrities and ordinary citizens gathered Monday on the National Mall, where construction is getting under way for a monument honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The monument will be built on a four-acre site near the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream " speech in 1963.

CNN.com

Revolutionary QOTD: November 13, 2006

Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate.
-Marvin Gaye, What's Going On

Revolutionary QOTD: November 12, 2006

"But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow."

-The Beatles - Revolution.

Could they mean someone like me and the picture of El Che on my logo? Nah.

Bring Home the Troops - Send in LAPD

I'm probably not the first to say this after looking at this video. Not that the fisasco in Iraq is the fault in any way of the troops or that LAPD could do better, but they are bad ass. I just can't wait for the TV show, Greatest Rodney King Style Police Ass Whuppin's. Or When LAPD Attacks! There must be enough of this kind of footage to put together a special for sweeps week.

In fairness to the LAPD, the guy that they're on top of is probably a punk that I'd want to punch and I'm half a pacifist. And it appears one of the officers is trying to stop his partner. But it's something that shouldn't happen. I stress my fairness to LAPD in this regard because I myself don't want to end up the victim of one of these, as W would put it, thumpin's. Especially not one that ends up on video on the Youtube. Link to the video here.

-Don't "Fight the Powers" if they happen to be LAPD attempting to arrest you.

Satan, Get thee Behind Me - Bill Maher

Bill Maher weighs in on Republican mid-term elections rout on Real Time with Bill Maher, Friday, November 11, 2006. A direct link to the video is here. YASP (Yet Another Shameless Plug): The Google on the Internets, http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/.

-Fight the powers.

I Enjoy Cocaine Because....

Who says an interview with Stephen Colbert is the kiss of death for a politician? This is an exerpt from his Better Know a District series with Congressman Robert Wexler (D) Forida. Colbert points out that every congressman he interviewed won Tuesday. A link to the video is here.

Revolutionary QOTD: November 10, 2006

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.

-Thomas Jefferson.

Update: Maher Outs Ken Mehlman on Larry King Live

We now have the CNN approved version of Bill Maher's interview on Larry King Live the other night. As I said in an earlier post, CNN had Youtube remove the video that showed the part they censored, Maher's "outing" of Mehlman. Although most people are saying, and Maher said himself, that it was pretty well known around Washington. And that if he was the first to say it, he'd be sued. Apparently CNN has no copyright problem with this version of the interview. See any similarities between this and another earlier post about how the White House created their own revised version of history? A link to the video is here.

-Fight the powers.

Stephen Colbert Sings National Anthem with Congressman John Hall

Stephen Colbert helps to heal our national divide by singing the National Anthem with singer/songwriter, co-founder of Orleans and new Democratic congressman from New York's 19th district, John Hall. A link to the video is here.

YASP (Yet Another Shameless Plug): The Google on the Internets @ http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/.

-Fight the powers.

Ed Bradley, Veteran CBS News Reporter Dies

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Ed Bradley, the longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent whose probing questions and deceptively relaxed interviewing manner graced some of that show's most notable reports, has died. He was 65.

Bradley died Thursday at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital of leukemia, according to staff members at the CBS program.

The full story at CNN is here. A link to the video is here. Ed was truly the coolest reporter on the major networks. We will miss him.

Well, Blend My Balls - Will it Blend?

Ok, this is just plain odd, but there are a series of videos on the Youtube that ask the intriguing question, "Will it Blend?" One of my favs is the one above where our host Tom Dickson blends 50 marbles to make glass dust and warns, "Don't breathe this." Indeed. He also blends, another fav of mine, and entire McDonald's Value Meal, a can of Coke, and his balls. That is his golf balls. Yes folks, Tom Dickson blends his balls. I'm not making it up. The link is here. The rest can be seen by clicking the tab "More from this User". Uhm, goes without saying, but I'll say it, don't try this at home.

YASP (Yet Another Shameless Plug): The Google on the Internets @ http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/.

-Fight the powers.

Revolutionary QOTD: November 9, 2006

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

Maher Outs Ken Mehlman on Larry King Live

From the Huffington Post: The link is here. I saw the show last night and HuffPo says that when CNN re-aired Larry King Live later that evening that Bill Maher's comments stating Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Ken Mehlman is gay were removed from the show. I set the DVR to record the later show and didn't get the comments. There was a video on the Youtubes, but it was removed for copyright infringement.

Some of Bill's best one-liners were, when Larry King asked why someone who is gay would want to be in a party determined to limit their rights, he said, "because hating yourself is the greatest love of all." That about sums it up and I think applies equally to black, Latino and any oppressed minority Republicans. That should be my Revolutionary QOTD. It's a great line. He also said, "lots of people wanted to vote straight Republican but they couldnt find one." There also were some great comments posted on AMERICAblog.com this morning:

I can't accept that, sorry. Mehlman is just too ugly to be gay. Last night he looked like his head was shrivelling and imploding from all the lies it's had to juggle. Please god, no, he's just too ugly to be gay. Period!
AnthonyinAtlanta | 11.08.06 - 10:22 pm |

The issue for me isn't that all these Republicans are Gay it's that in order to be a Republican a gay person can't be himself and has to hide so deeply that it breeds not just passive acquiesence to the demonization of Gays by the hatemongers in their party, but pandering to the Gaybashers for political reasons and/or actual overt Gaybashing of their own. Yes, many of these people are victims who have been so twisted by the homophobia in our society that their attempts to externalize their self-loathing is not truly their own fault. There are others however, who conciously and actively gaybait as a survival strategy, to stay undiscovered and to direct suspicion away from themselves. These people--the Gannons, the Mehlmans, and their ilk--are reprehensible slime and should be outted, not to expose and excoriate them for being Gay (which is their right to be) but for using their political power to hurt others in such a viciously dishonest way. The crime is that through their political power they could actually work to obliterate homophobia in the Republican Party and in American society.
Bash the Bluenoses | 11.09.06 - 6:38 am |

-Fight the powers.

Amazingly Graceless - Faith Hill

Transcript: One of the weirdest phenomenon I've seen on the Youtube is that Faith Hill CMA freak out thing. If you've taken a look at the top 100 lately you may have noticed that the same footage of her freaking out at the CMA's is up there on the first page, count 'em, about at least nine times. With over 2 million views on the top one, a million views here, over nine hundred thousand views on the next couple.

I find that amazing, and I am wondering if the same people are watching this same clip on different videos that many times. The first clip even has a close up. And a far out shot. And when you notice that the clips are about the same length you should know that they're probably the same thing and not anything new. Maybe I'm wrong and there's 5 million different people viewing these clips. But it seems a bit, well, I hate to put it that way, but it seems a bit retarded to watch the same video of a self-absorbed ungracious celebrity throwing a hissy fit because things didn't go her way.

It seems to me that you could act behave with a little tact and grace, even if it was a joke, one of the videos I think mentions that, I haven't paid enough attention to know if that's true or not, it's still not a very gracious way to act at an awards show. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing was a publicity stunt.

And it's even more amazing when you think about in the context of Tuesday having been one of the most important elections of at least the past 5 or 6 years. One that may change the course of our nation in a time of war. Youtube is an excellent platform for political and activist speech, for artistic expression and yes, even for entertainment. Even silly entertainment. I'm not knocking that. In fact it's one of the things I love about it. That's what it's for and that's cool. But the fact that there was hardly a single political video in the top 20 on that day is incredible.

And when you think that only 39% of the voting age public voted Tuesday. Not to be a hypocit, there's been times, and I'm not proud of it, I haven't voted. But 39% is sad for what many Americans will claim is the greatest Democracy on earth. And who feel it's important to bring Democracy to Iraq, where people risked their lives to vote. I don't know if the same people watching the Faith Hill videos are in that 39% of voters or not. I don't know this for sure, there's no way to measure, but it seems there's more interest in Faith Hill and her freak out at the CMAs than there is in our Democracy.
End transcript.

Original Youtube video link here.

Yet another shameless plug: http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

-Fight the powers.

Update: Because I blogged this I feel obligated to set the record straight. It's not that I care at all whether Faith Hill was joking or not in her reaction to loosing at the CMAs the other night. My point was that it got way more attention than the election, which got almost none, on Youtube. But that's just Youtube I guess. But I did comment on it so here's a link to her explanation.

Revolutionary QOTD: November 8, 2006

In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.

-George Orwell.

No doubt. Ok, I used an Orwell quote yesterday. I was on Colbert Nation's Message Boards and it was "ThePatient's" sig and it saved me the trouble of having to look for one for today. If I borrow from enough posts, this thing practically writes itself.

Nancy Pelosi Speaks on Election Night 2006

Nancy Pelosi will be our nation's first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives as Democrats take control of the House. She says that Americans have voted for change and vows that Democrats will lead the most open, honest and ethical congress in history.

Vote!

A patriotic message from A Revolution of One blog on this Election Day 2006. Vote!

And now a shameless plug from same: Vote for us in the Contageous Festival @ Huffington Post, http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/.

Revolutionary QOTD: November 7, 2006

"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth."

-1984, George Orwell.

The quote above is from the character Winston Smith in the novel 1984. Of course we aren't living in a society as repressive and Orwell's 1984. Yet. But the video above shows how close we are coming to it. This society is like 1984 with shopping malls, SUVs, and 500 channels of cable TV. I tried to get to the White House video, but it wouldn't come up. Maybe it's flooded with hits or maybe the White House is fixing it again. The link to the exact page is here. I found the video via Huffington Post. The direct link to the video on Youtube is here.

Borat on Letterman, You Look on It, Please?

Borat, I like very much. You like? He appears on the David Lettermans. High five! You go look on it. Genqui.

-Fight the powers.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment - Changing Justifications for Iraq

Olbermann's Special Comment from last night, November 6, 2006 on the changing justifications given by George W. Bush to justify the Iraq war. On the eve of the 2006 mid-term elections, Bush on the campaign trail amazingly, miraculously, admits that one reason for the war is oil. Something he repeatedly vehemently denied previously. As the reasons for invading Iraq are exposed for the illusions they are, new ones replace them. Keith provides a history of them from the beginning. Direct link to the video here.

Shameless Plug: Vote for us in Huffington Post's Contagious Festival - http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/.

-Fight the powers.

Update: A commenter on Youtube reminded me of Keith's key point. We can't blame Bush, but must blame ourselves for letting this happen. Amen.

Free Hugs Campaign. Inspiring Story!

You may have seen this because it's been out there awhile. Coincidentally it was uploaded to Youtube on my birthday this year, September 22. How's that for sychronicity dude? In any case, it may sound sappy for a cynical revolutionary like myself to say, but it is a great video and an inspiring story (just as the title says). And it lets you all know that this blog isn't all about revolution and what's wrong with things in the world, and of course, the Global War Against the Man. No siree. It's about hugs too. A direct link to the video is here.

Also a reminder, ok, alright, a shameless plug for ourselves. If you haven't already, please visit http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/ and help us climb back up the rankings in the Huffington Post's Contageous Festival. We've slipped to numero 10. Doh!

-Fight the powers.

Swift Boated Again, Doh!

Video Transcript:

I'm going to speak for Senator Kerry here. Because it seems his party just wants him to shut up and go away. Over the past few days we've seen what is tantamount to a second Swift boating of the Senator. Except this time some of the Swift boaters are Tony Snow, President Bush, and to his great shame, Senator John McCain. Every single one of them knew full well, as they were making their attacks on Senator Kerry, that what they were saying is at best a distortion of the facts. At worst, a flat out lie. They all knew that Senator Kerry was bashing Bush and his policies, specifically the Iraq war. They all knew that his remarks were not directed at troops serving our country. They knew, but they made the allegations anyway because they are desperate, and even when they are not desperate, they will do anything, including tell a bald faced lie to win an election.

These are the Republicans, whose leadership claims to be more moral than the secular liberal Democrats. Who claim to be so moral that they can protect the sanctity of marriage from gay couples. So moral they can protect embryos that will be discarded anyway from medical research that could save lives. So moral that they can protect children from the science of evolution in our public schools. But they will tell a bald faced lie to win an election.

They so love democracy that they will spend billions and sacrifice the lives of our young men and women and innocent Iraqi men, women and children, to guarantee it to the citizens of Iraq. But they will tell a bald faced lie to win and election here at home.

And it is amazing that John McCain an American war hero who withstood 5 years of severe physical torture as a prisoner of war, is unable to stand up to the low down sleaze ball politics of his own party. Especially when it he himself was a victim of it. In the 2000 Presidential primary elections, he was the victim of push polls that asked southern voters if they'd vote for him if they knew he had an illegitimate black child. They knew he had no such child. But that he and his wife had adopted a Bangladeshi child. McCain also recently, astoundingly, caved in and supported Bush's legislation that in essence allows the torture of prisoners of war.

It seemed for one brief shinning moment that John Kerry was going to stand up and not let himself be Swift boated again. He stood up and made a ballsy comeback in a press conference in Seattle. But the limp weenies of the Democratic Party called him off. Asked him to apologize, knowing full well he had nothing to apologize for. So afraid to fight back against the low down slime ball politics of the Republican party that they laid down again and took it.

Who is a better friend of the troops and military veterans than Senator John Kerry? He supported legislation to increase combat pay for active military and death benefits for those killed in an ill-advised war. Legislation this Republican congress and President Bush opposed. While Dick Cheney's buddies at Halliburton and other defense contractors got fat by the billions, our troops were scrounging scrap metal to armor their humvees and sending letters home to ask family to ante up for body armor. For these Republicans, "Support the Troops" is a bumper sticker that translates, "Support Our War for Oil in Iraq".

Democrats are as spinelessness as Republicans are shameless. But theirs is not the only spinelessness that allows Republicans to get away with these lies and distortions. They could not get away with this if the 10 second sound bite mainstream media was not as spineless. Or lazy. Or maybe the MSM is more like the Republicans. I don’t want to say they are complicit in spreading Republican lies, but it certainly does play in their favor. You see if they had picked up a transcript, as Chris Matthews did, or reviewed a tape to find the context of the statements Senator Kerry made, which you'd think as reporters they'd want to do, because it's their job, it becomes a non-story instead of one that plays for several news cycles. If they did anything but accept and pass on what is passed to them from Republican hacks, this story disappears immediately.

Democrats would love for this story to go away as quickly as possible and that's why they want John Kerry to apologize, tuck his tail between his legs and disappear. Republicans would like for it to play as long as possible so that they can draw attention away from their failed policies, especially Iraq. But there's another alternative. That is to turn the focus of this story on the slimy sleazy low down dirty tactics that are used by these Republican hacks. Write the candidates, your political representatives, the media, blog, vlog and post comments and turn the focus of this story from Kerry ineptitude and Democratic spinelessness to Republican sliminess and lying. And keep the focus on that until Election Day when we can throw those bastards out of office.

End of Transcript.

That was my first vlog. Don't know how I feel about listening to myself. Anyway, here's a link to the original offending 10 second sound bit that swift boated Sen. Kerry.

Chris Matthews Puts Kerry Flap in Context

Chris Matthews reads from the transcript of Kerry's statement and adds context to the Kerry "end up in Iraq" brouhaha. It's clear that the statement is about Bush. Not the troops. He does not only a better job than the rest of the media explaining it, but better than Kerry himself. Matthews is no liberal, and I wasn't a fan, but am finding him to be pretty fair minded lately.

He also defended Michael J. Fox when Limbaugh mocked him. And senatorial candidate Harold Ford when the RNC ran those subtly racist ads in Tennessee. I could change my mind about him.

Senator John Kerry Responds re: Remarks Made to Students - Part 2

Senator John Kerry Responds re: Remarks Made to Students - Part 1

Did you know that if you're a democrat, sticking your foot far enough into your mouth can cause your testicles to descend. Where was this John Kerry two years ago when he was running for president? Where was he when he was swift-boated two years ago? Too little, too late.

The Google on the Internets dot com

http://thegoogleontheinternets.cf.huffingtonpost.com/. Where power searches the internets. Now Americans can use the same technology spoken of by our tech savvy Googler-in-chief. Be sure click the Google's button to search for the WMDs. Performs real searches. Make it your default search engine. http://www.thegoogleontheinternets.com. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fezjRzAWa2Q.

The Evolution of Beauty

Unfortunately beauty is not the only thing in our culture that is illusory. Freedom, the basic principles of our system of justice and civl rights, freedom of expression, and I'm beginning to think even Idol is rigged. Not that these things don't exist. But often what people mistake for the real thing is an illusion.

Fight the powers....
-arevolutionofone.

Revolutionary QOTD: October 19, 2006

....On this first full day that the Military Commissions Act is in force, we now face what our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and melodramatic fear-mongering:

A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from.

-Keith Olberman in a special comment yesterday (see video below) on the Military Commissions Act. The death of Habeas Corpus and our most essential protection of our liberties as Americans. This is the greatest casualty of terrorism. Not one inflicted upon us by terrorists, but one we've given them out of our own fear. And this is perhaps the most important reason that makes voting in this coming election is absolutely essential.

See you in Gitmo.
-arevolutionofone.

Olbermann Addresses the Military Commissions Act

Keith Olbermann addresses the Military Commissions Act in a special comment.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15321167/

Revolutionary QOTD: May 23, 2006

Art is either plagiarism or revolution.
~Paul Gauguin

Revolutionary QOTD: May 22, 2006

Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.
~Barbara Tuchman

The American Revolution is no exception. In fact it is one of the truest examples of the rule. And that is what makes the next revolution necessary. It may sound radical, but one of our founding fathers said something similar. And it was one of our first Revolutionary QOTDs.

Every generation needs a new revolution.
~Thomas Jefferson

Revolutionary QOTD: May 21, 2006

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Revolutionary QOTD: May 20, 2006

"The monopoly capitalists - even while employing purely empirical methods - weave around art a complicated web which converts it into a willing tool. The superstructure of society ordains the type of art in which the artist has to be educated. Rebels are subdued by its machinery and only rare talents may create their own work. The rest become shameless hacks or are crushed."
~Ernesto (Che) Guevara

"The amount of poverty and suffering required for the emergence of a Rockefeller, and the amount of depravity that the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude entails, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible to make the people in general see this."
~Ernesto (Che) Guevara

Today is a QOTD two-for, because I have been remiss in my duties of providing the revolutionary inspiration that the masses have come to expect from this popular blog. When I say masses, I mean the hundreds of thousands who come here daily for that inspiration. When I say hundreds of thousands, that's not an exact figure. It's ball park. I could be slightly lower. It could only be a couple. It's an optimistic estimate.

But in not posting yesterday, I feel I have let all those people down, slightly. Because as I have said before, revolutionaries don't have days off. Not even weekends. We do occasionally have to, without warning, go underground and perhaps incommunicado. Like the Decider, when speaking of secret domestic spying programs, I can't go into detail about going underground. In fact, I can't really confirm or deny the reason that I didn't post yesterday was because of being underground. Because saying so would compromise revolutionary security. We're in a global revolution against the man here people. And we don't we don't want give aid and comfort to the man, by making him privy to revolutionary secrets.

Stand up and fight the powers.

Revolutionary QOTD: May 18, 2006

I and I build a cabin
I and I plant the corn
Didn't my people before me
Slave for this country
Now you look me with a scorn....

....Build your penitentiary, we build your schools
Brainwash education to make us the fools
Hate is your reward for our love
Telling us of your God above
~Bob Marley, Crazy Baldheads

I and I be in Santa Barbara this evening. I and I go to the club and hear the whitest Reggae band. This is not what I and I say, but what a white boy from Montana say to me after the band finish. He say to me, I think Santa Barbara, and I think I can hear real Reggae. But I say to him, the words of the prophet, I and I, Bob Marley, is da same no matter what people speak it. Go with Jah.

-Jah Rastafari and stand up and fight the powers

Revolutionary QOTD: May 17, 2006

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
~Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching

It's Not So Good to Be the King (of Beers)

"Put it back in the horse!"
~H. Allen Smith, after he drank his first American beer.

This is classic. I was just forwarded this article from the Nation from a friend. Budweiser spent $40 million dollars for a monopoly on beer sales at this years World Cup. You'd think that would be good for Budweiser. That was before they knew it would be held in Germany. Budweiser is a company with German roots. That should be good news for them too. Not quite. The Nation article explains, "Unfortunately, Germans don't like the beer. They call it Spulwasser, which roughly translates as dishwater."

Any true beer lover knows this to be true. Trying to sell Budweiser in Germany is like trying to sell Boone's Farm wine in France. Or like trying to sell Burger King's croissandwich there. I went to Burger King in Paris, and they don't sell the croissandwich there. Yes, a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with cheese is a Royale with Cheese. My friend suggests, it would be like having Hyundai sponsor a NASCAR event. The Nation article says Budweiser had to back off, that selling it there would have resulted in riots:

"The Germans have even set up an anti-Bud website. If you take the time to drop in on the site, you will see pictures of Teutonic youths performing extreme anti-Bud acts."

I love it. Budweiser is tasteless piss brewed not for flavor but for mass appeal. And I love the Germans for rejecting their $40 million in advertising dollars and their bland brew. Here is what they say on their site. They could use some help with their English translation, but good taste has no language:

"Human dignity is inviolable"
[Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 1 (1)]

Dish water. Insult to your tongue. The american "beer" Budweiser has faced many -- mostly desperate -- descriptions. "Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup '06 in Germany" was usually not amongst them. Sadly enough, this expression is as true as all the others since the american "brewery" Anheuser-Busch will be the official "beer"-supplier for the football World Cup this year. An insult to all true beer lovers, taste buds and football-fans.

What have we become? Self-denial for 40 million US-Dollars? What are our children supposed to think of us?

"A time to make friends" - with a bud in our hands?!

However, we won't give up without a fight. United we're strong. Your voice does matter. Become part of the BudOut-Community and send us a picture with you anti-bud-message. Two minutes of your life for the good taste. Two minutes of your life for a better future.

Be into beer.

-Stand up and fight the powers. And have good beer now and then.

Brown's Gas

Ok, I thought this was moonbat theory, a water fuel for cars, but see for yourself. It is called Brown's gas, named after its inventor. Everyone knows that you can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but not that you can recombine it into something called HOH, which is Brown's Gas. It burns not by exploding, but by imploding. Wouldn't be great if this guy put the evil oil companies out of business? There's more info here.

Professor Yul Brown has developed a machine that will convert plain tap water to a stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen and oxygen without causing an explosion, hitherto fore thought to be impossible to do. He has discovered another state of water besides ice, water or steam. It is Brown's Gas! One liter of water makes 1860 liters of Brown's gas, when a spark is added to the gas, it still does not explode, it implodes. Brown's Gas implodes! When it implodes it makes the most unique welder in the world. People who can weld, confirm that it is impossible to weld dissimilar metals, glass to metal, metal to brick, and just about anything to anything, but you can with Brown's Gas Welder.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Update: At first I thought the web site I found was the same guy as the video, but the article is about Professsor Yul Brown and the guy in the video is Denny Klein. Still researching to find out what is true.

More Update: Can't find anything yet on Klein, just Brown. Google, Wikipedia and a little bit of knowledge is dangerous.

Yet Another Update: Here's an article on Klein. Except for that local Fox News video, I am finding nothing on this guy in the MSM. But will go to the ends of the Internet to find out. Exhaustive research, as long as I don't have to get dressed, is what I'm all about.

Wash Down Your Thumbili With a Cool Soquid

As long as I'm on this sick culinary kick I may as well top it off with this. Thumbili. Yes, it's sick, but don't blame me. Not entirely. I'm only reposting it. It is the work of my nemesis, Richard Quick, Esq. It's the only thing a soquid is fit to wash down IMHO. Also, I hate it when a billionaire begs, so yes, Mr. Quick, you move back to the top of the capitalist pig hit list above Bill Gates. When the revolution comes, we will see you first, on the veranda. That's when you'll get your last good look from there, because then it will belong to the people. Though we may keep you on the estate to work the grounds if I am in a particularly forgiving mood at the time.

Today's Menu

I just noticed that I am on a particularly culinary bent this morning. Boiled frog, freedom fries and a smooth creamy soquid. Mmmm....

What the Fudge is It?

Ok, I know it is a stupid commercial about fast food, but I am mystified by how anyone can find it appealing. In Wendy's new commercials for their Frosty two cliche nerd types inform us that it is a soquid. Not liquid, not solid. It looks like it could be made of plastic. I don't trust any food that is marketed by a brand name that isn't followed by a generic name or something natural. They never describe a Frosty as a milk shake. Their site describes it as, "Cool, creamy and refreshing. Made with real milk, nothing satisfies more than this Wendy's original." When they have to emphasize that it is made with "real milk" that just sets off my paranoidar. Not only that, but if you look at the list of ingredients, they repeat the fact twice more:

Medium Frosty(TM)
Milk, Sugar, Cream, Nonfat Dry Milk, Corn Syrup, Whey, Cocoa, Dextrose, Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum, Mono and Diglycerides, Carrageenan, Disodium Phosphate, Artificial and Natural Flavors. CONTAINS: MILK.

Milk is the first ingredient and then at the end they say, CONTAINS: MILK. Is that emphasis meant to distract us from the long list of multi-syllabic, chemical crap in the ingredient list? It's weird because I used to live off fast food many years ago. Now I can't imagine ingesting something like this. Especially since Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me. That movie put me off fast food forever.

Revolutionary MOTD: Boiling the Frog

Today I am replacing the regular Revolutionary Quote of the Day (QOTD) with a Metaphor of the Day (MOTD). Today I got up early to listen to Rachel Maddow on Air America Radio. After all the domestic spying news that is being gradually revealed, they could call the network Radio Free America. It's coming to that, if it's not already there. And that is precisely the topic of the MOTD, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I have to get up early to hear Rachel, or stay up late, because here on the left coast she's on from 2am to 6am. I read an article about her somewhere and I hadn't heard her show before. Now I could plug in the credit card and plunk down the $6.95 or whatever it is they charge to listen to the archive. But I have an aversion to paying for what I could hear for free, especially when it's old.

I don't get that marketing strategy. Our content is free, except when it's already aired and the news on it is probably old news, then you have to pay for it. Interesting way of determining value for the customer. I wonder how that marketing is working for them. I thought of doing it just to support Air America, because I like them. But this is not the kind of idea I'd like to support. I figure listening to commercials is paying for it. I don't know if they leave them in the archived content, but if they did, that would be like pay. And I have to think offering free archives would only build their listenership. And for the advertisers it would make the commercials more than a one-shot payoff. But that's just me. Maybe without commercials it might be worth it.

So I wake up about 4:30-ish and listen and I like the show. This morning she had the perfect metaphor for NSA domestic spying and how the news is being trickled out to us. She called it, boiling the frog. She explains that it is not as common of a metaphor as she thought, after speaking with some of her colleages at the studio, so she explained it on the air. It goes like this, if want to boil a frog, and you throw it in a pot of boiling water, it will simply jump out. Why you would want to boil a frog and why you couldn't use a top trap the frog or incapacitate it in some way was not discussed. But hey, it's just a metaphor. The gist of it is, if you put the frog in tepid water and slowly heat it, the frog will not notice the gradual temperature change and you will have delicious, succulent boiled frog. Any fries with that?

How that works as a metaphor for domestic spying is apparent by now. We keep hearing examples of it that are "acceptable" in view of the Global War on Terror. So the American public accepts them. It's not the kind of extreme cases of spying that would set off the constitutional alarm bells and cause the public to react against it. But the examples get worse and worse, until one day we will find our freedom boiled. Have that with your freedom fries.

There's this case that was featured on HuffPo yesterday. The clip below is of Rachel debating Tucker Carlson on MSNBC, different day and different topic.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Get Rich Quick!

This guy's got a pretty good schtick he performs on his blog. He's self-made billionaire, Richard Quick, Esq. He spends a lot of time harrassing people on other blogs in a pretty hilarious way. Check out this post from his blog and his comment on this post. I disagree with him on Colbert of course. But he's funny. When the revolution comes, of course we will have to return all his "billions" to the people. But we may be able to cut him some slack for having a real sense of humor. Not what passes for humor with Chimpy McFlightsuit and his crowd.

German Engineering in da House, Now the Garage

I just got this pic from a friend of a German engineered parking garage that according to him uses much less space:

....approximately only 20% of a comparable facility with the traditional design that is used primarily in the US.

Not only is the German structure less expensive to build, but vehicles are also "retrieved" in less time and without the potential of being damaged by an attendant.

I thought it would be the perfect backdrop for one of those new VW commercials like the one below, drop it like it's hot! I love those commercials. Our government could use some German efficiency. In foreign policy. In our educational system. In the national budget. I wonder if we could get VW to unpimp them. Drop them like they're hot....

Revolutionary QOTD: May 15, 2006

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours."
~Cesar Chavez

In anticipation of President Bush's address to the nation on Immigration, I figured it's time for another Cesar Chavez QOTD. An appropriate quote I think because social change is beginning in the immigration movement. And the quote emphasizes some of the key elements of true lasting social change, education, pride, and courage.

Si se puede!

Your Mother....

Call her, it's Mother's Day. I'm making dinner for mine. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

President Al Gore

Please tell me that this is true and that the last six years have just been a frightening dream. Pinch....

Ah well, maybe this version's not true, but a nation can dream can't it? Thanks SNL for showing us what could have been. Featured at C&L.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Carnival of the Liberals

We are participating in Carnival of the Liberals, a blog carnival. It's being hosted this week by the blog, Daylight Atheism. Each carnival appears at a different blog and features the work of many bloggers. This blogger shares my admiration and respect for Ernie Chambers. Check out this weeks carnival here. Here's what Daylight had to say.

Being a liberal means standing up for your principles - something of which many incumbent Democrats sorely need to be reminded. The professional panderers of the Beltway could take a lesson from Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers, a personal hero of mine. The brilliant and fearless Sen. Chambers is profiled by A Revolution of One in a post titled Barak He is Not, which explains his support for a bill that separates the Omaha school district largely along racial lines as a genius political move.

The same post is also at the Carnival of Education at HUNblog.

Revolutionary QOTD: May 14, 2006

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
~Upton Sinclair.

Al Gore recycled this quote in a speech to the Sierra Club on Global Warming. It applies not just to the corporate interests who try to convince us that global warming is not a threat, but to many situations we find ourselves faced with these days. The fight for net neutrality and the other side's propaganda. Donald Rumsfeld and staying the course in Iraq. In fact it applies to W himself.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Coffee Talk Meets Ann Coulter Meets Soccer Mom

Found this gem by way of Jesus' General. It's Coffee Talk meets Ann Coulter meets average suburban soccer mom. It's scary in a hilarious kind of way. Her message, we need a new network because Fox News is not conservative enough!!!??? It's almost enough to make me side with the anti-net neutrality side. Almost. But this is what freedom of speech is about. Everyone has a voice. Absolutely everyone.

Look out Air America and Fox News.
-Stand up and fight the powers.

Yet Another Save the Internet Video

Speaks for itself....

Update: The other side is fighting back with Orwellian newspeak worthy of the Bush administration. There's a post at savetheinternet.com's blog about what they're up to. Post a comment and let them know you're not falling for AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and BellSouth propaganda.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Rent-A-Negro.com

After checking out Rent-A-Negro.com, some of my friends will understand the true value of my friendship. I wish I had thought of it first. If I went by images in the media, I would think my economic opportunities were limited to welfare, looting, prison, the NBA (far to late and too nerdy for that one), becoming a rapper (see previous item), and being or marrying Oprah (too many reasons to list why that can't happen). It just goes to show what you can accomplish with a little bit of imagination and entrepreneurial spirit. I may contact the person running this site and see if we can start an agency. We could diversify, rent a gay or lesbian (not me, not that there's anything wrong with it). Rent an undocumented worker...I think they already have that one and if you ask me they sell themselves out too cheap. The possibilities are endless.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Verizon - It's the First Amendment

I just got a voicemail message this morning that was sent Monday. I guess my provider Verizon was too busy this week providing my records to the NSA to worry about good service. Now when I look at those commercials with all those people standing behind the Verizon customer representing, "the network," I wonder just how many of them are NSA agents spying on the customer for the government?

And if that wasn't enough to make them too busy to give me good service, then it must have been the time they spent lobbying congress to get rid of Net Neutrality and limit my ability to surf wherever I want on the net. For me there's a more important reason to choose a wireless company, it's the first amendment. Where can I find the number to Qwest?

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Revolutionary QOTD: May 13, 2006

"Small is the new big."
~Glenn Reynolds, An Army of Davids

This quote and the book by Glenn Reynolds is especially apropos in view of the fight for Net Neutrality and the Save the Internet campaign. The attempt by companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and BellSouth to squelch freedom to surf wherever we want on the web is among the first strikes by those Goliaths back at this Army of Davids. It is an attempt to stifle the power that Glenn Reynolds speaks of in his book. I'm ashamed to admit that I am just getting around to reading it. As Arianna Huffington says in this review a couple months ago, it is a must read.

If you haven't been to savetheinternet.com, written or called your congressman and any of the number of other things they recommend, you should as soon as possible. This is an important fight. I notice as I read other blogs, though many have blogged about it, I'm not seeing as many Save the Internet banners as I thought I would. No matter where you are in the political spectrum, red, blue or purple, if you blog, if you just read blogs, or if you use the internet in any way, this affects you. Let's see those banners on every blog and every web site.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Still Talking About Colbert

When I first posted on Stephen Colbert's performance at the WHCD I said it was a classic and it would be remembered for a very long time. But I never thought that almost two weeks later it would still be as hot a topic as it is. To be honest when I saw it was the topic of Arianna Huffington's post yesterday I wasn't anxious to get to it right away because I didn't think there was much more anyone could say. And I seriously doubted the title of her post, which was, Is Stephen Colbert the Last One to Know How Amazing He Was? But I was wrong and I should have read it immediately. Arianna was at Time's 100 Most Influential People Awards where Colbert was honored along with her. I believe he was the keynote speaker at that event as well. Arianna spoke with him and this is what she had to say:

...shockingly, one of the few people still unaware of just how big an impact the twin evisceration of the president and the puppy dog press has had is Stephen Colbert himself.

When I ran into him the other night at the Time 100 celebration, he told me that he had strenuously avoided reading anything about his appearance -- the good, the bad, or the ugly -- preferring to focus on the present and putting together his nightly TV show.

It surprises me, but it shouldn't. It's the same thing you hear star athletes and other performers say about their performances. It's almost a cliche, but it is so true, that you can't focus on the hype around it. You have to focus on the thing itself, whatever it is that you do. At first I was amazed that he would be the last to know his impact. But when you think about it, performing at his level, it makes sense.

When you look at the comments at this post and elsewhere around the blogs, it's a shame he doesn't know yet. It is touching what people have to say about him. He was truly courageous and it touched his audience. Arianna compares him to Swift, Twain and Bruce. It is an apt comparison. Finally she puts together some quotes from around the blogosphere that he should see when he's ready. Oddly, I didn't find mine among them. And this. She must have missed them. I understand. She's human. She can't catch everything.

In case you missed Colbert's performance, or in case you want to see it again, I have watched it several times, it's here and the whole WHCD including the performance is here. Enjoy.

-Stand up and fight the powers.

Ask A Ninja on Net Neutrality

Ask A Ninja weighs in on Net Neutrality, and I don't think I'd want to be on the other side of an issue against a Ninja. But that's just me.

Fight the powers that be.

Revolutionary QOTD: May 12, 2006

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
~Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Woodstock

Everybody's Getting Fat Except Mama Cass

When the revolution comes the tax rate on capital gains will be 100% and it will be payback time for the greedy bastards who are profiting while everyone else in this country is suffering. While the deficit is approaching 9 trillion dollars and we are engaged in an ill-conceived war that is costing us billions, and there is an oil crisis. There was a time in this country when things were this bad everyone would be asked to sacrifice. The only ones that are sacrificing are young men who are sent to fight a war that never should have been started. Some of whom come home to end up on the streets. And the poor and middle class are sacrificing because with the cost of fuel they can't help it. But the rich are getting their tax breaks extended by the Republican congress who fears they'll be out of power by mid-term elections and unable to give the store away to the haves.

Not only them, but oil companies are making record profits, while still receiving tax subsidies and incentives from the government. That fat arse from Exxon gets a 400 million dollar retirement package. Does he not remind you of Fat Bastard from Austin Powers? Halliburton and defense contractors are getting rich in Iraq. It seems like everybody's getting fat except Mama Cass. And the poor. And the middle-class. And the people who go and fight our wars. That only leaves the rich.

Mary Cheney - Reverse Princess Leia

Saw Mary Cheney on Larry King Live yesterday. The VP's daughter is promoting her new book, Now It's my Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle Of Political Life. She told Larry that part of her reason for doing the book is that so many people have a misperception of her daddy. If they could only see how daddy Dick is with the grandkiddies they'd see he's just a regular guy. I can see her point, and I'd like to see Mr. Cheney with the grandkids so I could forget about how he was an instrumental part of an administration that led us into an unnecessary and unjustified war. That he is an integral part of the neocon movement who set agenda for war long before 9/11. I could forget about his secret Energy Task Force meetings with oil industry executives long before this current oil crisis and I wouldn't suspect that they had anything to do with the record profits those companies are making now. Or with the billions in tax subsidies they are receiving at the same time. I could forget about how his former company Halliburton is making billions from no-bid contracts in Iraq.

I do empathize with Mary on one point she makes in the book. I also think that John Kerry and John Edwards' attempts to use the fact that she is a lesbian to make a political point during the debates was a sleazy. They should have let someone make swift boat type political ads to make that point for them. To do so in the debates was a transparently political use of a personal family issue and didn't do them much good. What they needed was plausible deniability of having a third party do it for them. Like Bush and Cheney did with the Swift Boat Veterans, who they never asked to retract their ads. By her reaction to it, apparently Mary has inherited her dad's filthy mouth. In the book she called Senator Kerry a son of a bitch and said that she mouthed the words, "Go f**k yourself," to Senator Edwards. As I said, I can understand why she was angry. Mary, Mary, I know why you're buggin'. I am honestly on her side on that one.

She is being criticized by gay activists for not speaking out against the administration, especially when Pressident Bush came out in support of an anti-gay marriage amendment. I have to admit, gay Republicans are a mystery to me. Just as are black Republicans and Hispanic Republicans and any minority Republicans. They strive to be accepted by the people that only a few decades ago were trying to keep them out of the country club. I don't get it. Maybe its not so hard to understand. Maybe they just want to belong. I think it is not worth it. Many years ago I had a brief flirtation with conservatism (it's true), and I can see how you can briefly be sucked in by it. But once you see what they are, why would you want to remain? Which may be why I see Mary Cheney as a kind of reverse Princess Leia. Instead of leading galactic rebel forces against her evil dad, Darth Cheney, she writes a book and goes on tour to support him. What a good Republican gay daughter.

Revolutionary QOTD: May 11, 2006

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
~President Dwight D. Eisenhower

I've used this quote before, at the end of a long post, but not as a QOTD. It's worth repeating because it relates to almost every headline we see in the news today, and most of what we read in blogs. The Iraq war, congressional corruption, domestic spying, the resignation of Porter Goss as CIA director, no bid Halliburton contracts (the Vice-President's old company), and the list goes on. Remember that Eisenhower was a general during World War II. His were not the words of someone anti-military. And now we are living what Ike warned us about not quite 50 years ago.

An Inconvenient Truth

As much as I would like to see a woman president of this country in 2008, the only woman Democrat with a chance so far is becoming less and less appealing. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is probably doing all the right things from the perspective of pollsters and political advisors. People that any candidate seriously considering such a run would surround themselves with. I can't know for sure if that's what she's doing. But it certainly appears to be. And with something like a potential presidential campaign, appearances are just as damning as the truth.

She appears to be moving away from her liberal image and more toward the center. At the same time, on the Republican side Senator John McCain is moving away from his maverick image and more to the right. It seems like the right strategy for both if you were to ask and expert. But it also makes them both seem to be more interested in being president than in being who they are. It makes them both seem to be insincere chameleons who would change their colors to fit whatever environment they happen to find themselves in. I sincerely hope it will make them both blend into the background.

There's another potential candidate who doesn't happen to be a woman, but who is doing just the opposite. He is standing up for his convictions. Not on what appears to be the populist platform of the minute. He's someone who has already won a presidential election, but unfortunately lost the office to first term presidential appointee, George W. Bush. Al Gore is fighting the good fight against Global Warming and is the narrator of a new film being released May 24th. An Inconvenient Truth is the name of that film. There's a preview above. Ironically, an inconvenient truth seems to be the way Senators Clinton and McCain are treating what they believe as opposed to what they want the electorate to think they believe.

Image of Mother Earth above from NASA