Norman Lear is taking this video along with a copy of the Declaration of Independence to the Inauguration and will present it to Obama. If you visit the site here you can hear the song, sign the Declaration, remix the song, write your own lyrics or create a plan for what you want to do to help get this country back on track.
If you want the embed code you can get it at
http://www.bornagainamerican.org/spread.html
January 16, 2009
Getting Serious
Remember the Republic Doors and Windows Company?The one that went bankrupt and tossed out its employees while reneging on their vacation pay, health benefits and severance pay?
Well, the employees locked themselves into the plant and refused to leave. For six days they staged a sit-in demanding the benefits they were owed under federal law. And they won their benefits!
Fast forward.
Another company, Serious Materials has offered to buy the company and rehire the former employees. The company makes energy efficient building materials. So, they're going to turn the employees from blue-collar workers to green-collar workers. They will be unionized.
The decision rests with the bankruptcy judge. Serious Materials and the union are requesting a quick decision so they can get the employees back to work and hold onto their old customer base.
YAY SERIOUS! YAY WORKERS WHO DIDN'T BUCKLE!
Finally, some good economic news.
January 14, 2009
Heard on Rachel Maddow:
Susan Crawford, the convening authority for the U.S. military commissions and a life-long Republican, said that Mohammed al-Qahtani was tortured. Al-Qahtani was hospitalized twice. On at least one occasion, his heart rate dropped to 35 beats per minute.
Judge Crawford further stated that this situation has "tainted everything going forward."
So now, IF this man is guilty, well, it's just too bad. He cannot be prosecuted.
Even a lawyer whose job it was to prosecute one of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has stated that the evidence against many if not all of them is so disorganized that fair prosecutions may be impossible. He is now calling for the release of the man he was scheduled to prosecute.
Of course, we've been hearing for years that many, many of these prisoners were not guilty and our government knew it.
Sen. Jim Webb [Va-DINO] came out as an apologist for the White House saying things like, "We need to look forward" and quoted McCain [of all people] on the matter. He also used the same words the White House spin-doctor-- excuse me --press secretary did, "These techniques were not used as a matter of policy."
Then he dropped off-thread and started talking about Pakistan instead.
^^^
So, a Republican judge called the White House out on the matter of torture.
And a Democratic [?] senator gave them a pass.
Susan Crawford, the convening authority for the U.S. military commissions and a life-long Republican, said that Mohammed al-Qahtani was tortured. Al-Qahtani was hospitalized twice. On at least one occasion, his heart rate dropped to 35 beats per minute.
Judge Crawford further stated that this situation has "tainted everything going forward."
So now, IF this man is guilty, well, it's just too bad. He cannot be prosecuted.
Even a lawyer whose job it was to prosecute one of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has stated that the evidence against many if not all of them is so disorganized that fair prosecutions may be impossible. He is now calling for the release of the man he was scheduled to prosecute.
Of course, we've been hearing for years that many, many of these prisoners were not guilty and our government knew it.
Sen. Jim Webb [Va-DINO] came out as an apologist for the White House saying things like, "We need to look forward" and quoted McCain [of all people] on the matter. He also used the same words the White House spin-doctor-- excuse me --press secretary did, "These techniques were not used as a matter of policy."
Then he dropped off-thread and started talking about Pakistan instead.
^^^
So, a Republican judge called the White House out on the matter of torture.
And a Democratic [?] senator gave them a pass.
What Pat Buchanan Said
I had a hard time believing my ears.
Pat Buchanan saying that Obama was "smart" for going to George Will's home last night for dinner with Will, Charles Krauthammer, William Kristol and David Brooks, Paul Gigot and Peggy Noonan--some of his harshest critics over the last couple of years.
Pat Buchanan calling Obama a "class act" on Hardball when noting his invitation to McCain to join him and Michelle for dinner the night before his inauguration.
I can't believe it. Buchanan and me. Agreeing on something. And you know how that makes me crazy.
Pat Buchanan saying that Obama was "smart" for going to George Will's home last night for dinner with Will, Charles Krauthammer, William Kristol and David Brooks, Paul Gigot and Peggy Noonan--some of his harshest critics over the last couple of years.
Pat Buchanan calling Obama a "class act" on Hardball when noting his invitation to McCain to join him and Michelle for dinner the night before his inauguration.
I can't believe it. Buchanan and me. Agreeing on something. And you know how that makes me crazy.
January 12, 2009
Surprise! Not All Texans Love Him
From The Dallas Observer News:
George W. Bush, Texas' Prodigal Son, Returns --
by Jim Schutze
George W. Bush is returning here to live, and that means people in our community are going to have to live with him. So my question remains.
How?
Say I'm in the plumbing aisle at Home Depot. . . I look up sideways. Damn it! It's George W. Bush.
"Oh, Hi, Mr. Presi...uh...former Mr....the ex...you... you... can you just tell me what the hell you were thinking...?"
I'm at a loss even trying to find a parallel. Herbert Hoover, the 31st president, retired to California in 1932. So how did people greet Hoover? "Interesting to meet you, sir. Thanks for the economic depression."
With Bush, helping ruin the global economy was only the last thing he did. "Hey, sir, before you leave the plumbing aisle, do you mind my asking about the thing where you attacked the wrong country?
Maybe shoe-hurling will be common here too. What is that strange, muffled sound in the distance? Thunder? A marching band? Oh, no, it's former President Bush coming our way, and the ominous sound we hear is the rolling tympani of shoes bouncing off his motorcade.
I just don't think Dallas gets it yet. This is the worst president in the history of the United States. He started a war for no good reason. He couldn't handle a flood.
And who else will come with him? Cheney lived here before. What if Cheney starts showing up in Dallas again? Oh...my...goodness. The difference between Bush and Cheney is that people give Bush a tiny break for being a hapless character in an Oliver Stone movie. But Cheney is real.
Click here for the complete text.
From The Dallas Observer News:
George W. Bush, Texas' Prodigal Son, Returns --
by Jim Schutze
George W. Bush is returning here to live, and that means people in our community are going to have to live with him. So my question remains.How?
Say I'm in the plumbing aisle at Home Depot. . . I look up sideways. Damn it! It's George W. Bush.
"Oh, Hi, Mr. Presi...uh...former Mr....the ex...you... you... can you just tell me what the hell you were thinking...?"
I'm at a loss even trying to find a parallel. Herbert Hoover, the 31st president, retired to California in 1932. So how did people greet Hoover? "Interesting to meet you, sir. Thanks for the economic depression."
With Bush, helping ruin the global economy was only the last thing he did. "Hey, sir, before you leave the plumbing aisle, do you mind my asking about the thing where you attacked the wrong country?
Maybe shoe-hurling will be common here too. What is that strange, muffled sound in the distance? Thunder? A marching band? Oh, no, it's former President Bush coming our way, and the ominous sound we hear is the rolling tympani of shoes bouncing off his motorcade.
I just don't think Dallas gets it yet. This is the worst president in the history of the United States. He started a war for no good reason. He couldn't handle a flood.
And who else will come with him? Cheney lived here before. What if Cheney starts showing up in Dallas again? Oh...my...goodness. The difference between Bush and Cheney is that people give Bush a tiny break for being a hapless character in an Oliver Stone movie. But Cheney is real.
Click here for the complete text.
January 6, 2009
The Smaller Than Life President
From The New York Times:
A President Forgotten but Not Gone -- by Frank Rich [excerpted]
"You start to pity him until you remember how vast the wreckage is. It stretches from the Middle East to Wall Street to Main Street and even into the heavens, which have been a safe haven for toxins under his passive stewardship. The discrepancy between the grandeur of the failure and the stature of the man is a puzzlement. We are still trying to compute it. . . .
"Almost poignantly, he keeps trying to hawk his goods in these final days, like a salesman who hasn't been told by the home office that his product has been discontinued. Though no one is listening, he has given more exit interviews than either Clinton or Reagan did.
"[An] elaborate example of legacy spin can be downloaded from the White House Web site: a booklet recounting “highlights” of the administration’s “accomplishments and results.” With big type, much white space, children’s-book-like trivia boxes titled “Did You Know?” and lots of color photos of the Bushes posing with blacks and troops . . . .
"This document is the literary correlative to 'Mission Accomplished.' Bush kept America safe (provided his presidency began Sept. 12, 2001). He gave America record economic growth (provided his presidency ended December 2007). He vanquished all the leading Qaeda terrorists (if you don't count the leaders bin Laden and al-Zawahri). He gave Afghanistan a thriving 'market economy' (if you count its skyrocketing opium trade) and a 'democratically elected president' (presiding over one of the world's most corrupt governments). He supported elections in Pakistan (after propping up Pervez Musharraf past the point of no return). He 'led the world in providing food aid and natural disaster relief' (if you leave out Brownie and Katrina).
"The man who emerges [from all those exit interviews] is a narcissist with no self-awareness whatsoever. It's that arrogance that allowed him to tune out even the most calamitous of realities, freeing him to compound them without missing a step. The president who famously couldn't name a single mistake of his presidency at a press conference in 2004 still can't.
"He can, however, blame everyone else."
A President Forgotten but Not Gone -- by Frank Rich [excerpted]
"You start to pity him until you remember how vast the wreckage is. It stretches from the Middle East to Wall Street to Main Street and even into the heavens, which have been a safe haven for toxins under his passive stewardship. The discrepancy between the grandeur of the failure and the stature of the man is a puzzlement. We are still trying to compute it. . . ."Almost poignantly, he keeps trying to hawk his goods in these final days, like a salesman who hasn't been told by the home office that his product has been discontinued. Though no one is listening, he has given more exit interviews than either Clinton or Reagan did.
"[An] elaborate example of legacy spin can be downloaded from the White House Web site: a booklet recounting “highlights” of the administration’s “accomplishments and results.” With big type, much white space, children’s-book-like trivia boxes titled “Did You Know?” and lots of color photos of the Bushes posing with blacks and troops . . . .
"This document is the literary correlative to 'Mission Accomplished.' Bush kept America safe (provided his presidency began Sept. 12, 2001). He gave America record economic growth (provided his presidency ended December 2007). He vanquished all the leading Qaeda terrorists (if you don't count the leaders bin Laden and al-Zawahri). He gave Afghanistan a thriving 'market economy' (if you count its skyrocketing opium trade) and a 'democratically elected president' (presiding over one of the world's most corrupt governments). He supported elections in Pakistan (after propping up Pervez Musharraf past the point of no return). He 'led the world in providing food aid and natural disaster relief' (if you leave out Brownie and Katrina).
"The man who emerges [from all those exit interviews] is a narcissist with no self-awareness whatsoever. It's that arrogance that allowed him to tune out even the most calamitous of realities, freeing him to compound them without missing a step. The president who famously couldn't name a single mistake of his presidency at a press conference in 2004 still can't.
"He can, however, blame everyone else."
January 1, 2009
This article from WebEcoist presents 
twenty nine disturbing ads illustrating what we as a species are doing to the environment that sustains us--but for how much longer? Please take a look and pass these on to your email list. We need to get the word out and these ads capture the imagination in ways that are difficult to ignore.
twenty nine disturbing ads illustrating what we as a species are doing to the environment that sustains us--but for how much longer? Please take a look and pass these on to your email list. We need to get the word out and these ads capture the imagination in ways that are difficult to ignore.
I've just discovered some books that sound intriguing. So, I'm going to start listing and excerpting them. Since, for the most part, these won't be political in nature, the best venue for them is, I think, Scattershot Thoughts. So, if you're in the market for some good reading matter, hop over there and check them out. I'll flag book-review entries so they'll be easy to spot as you scroll through the blog.
This article in the Huffington Post seems 
to put the final nail in Norm Coleman's coffin. And about time.
Of course, the Rethugs aren't going to go down without another ridiculous fight. **sigh**
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair John Cornyn released a statement on Tuesday indicating that some GOP senators would resist seating Franken before the courts have their say, even if the Democratic challenger is declared the winner of the recount. "I expect the Senate would have a problem seating a candidate who has not duly won an election," Cornyn claimed.
Gee, I wish we'd thought of that argument before letting Bush into the White House.
to put the final nail in Norm Coleman's coffin. And about time.Of course, the Rethugs aren't going to go down without another ridiculous fight. **sigh**National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair John Cornyn released a statement on Tuesday indicating that some GOP senators would resist seating Franken before the courts have their say, even if the Democratic challenger is declared the winner of the recount. "I expect the Senate would have a problem seating a candidate who has not duly won an election," Cornyn claimed.
Gee, I wish we'd thought of that argument before letting Bush into the White House.
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