Sunday, April 30, 2006

Colbert killed (not literally)!

Check out Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondant's Dinner this past weekend. Priceless, witty satire!

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Sunday, April 30, 2006 | | Comments

Friday, April 28, 2006

Five members of Congress arrested at protest

USA Today is reporting that five Democrat members of Congress have been arrested at the Sudanese embassy today. Excerpt ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Five Congress members were willingly arrested and led away from the Sudanese Embassy in plastic handcuffs Friday in protest of the Sudanese government's role in atrocities in the Darfur region.

"The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end," Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., a Holocaust survivor who founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said from the embassy steps before his arrest.

Four other Democratic Congress members — James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Jim Moran of Virginia — were among 11 protesters arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor subject to a fine.

"We must hold the Sudanese government accountable for the attacks they have supported on their own citizens in Darfur," Olver said.

The rest of the story.
I say:

Good for them. Lead by example. We live in strange times, and peaceful civil disobediance -- including premeditated arrest -- is the height of service and loyalty a patriotic citizen can offer this nation right now. The genocide in Darfur has been ignored while we focus on the Iraq tar baby. Millions have died and more are on the way. These members of Congress have made a bold statement that we should pay attention to, before it is too late.

A good idea: redeploy troops on their first tour in Iraq to Darfur. Bring together a coalition in the U.N. and assemble a peacekeeping force. We could provide support for U.N. troops and STOP THIS MADNESS in its tracks.

That, my friends, would be America at its finest.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, April 28, 2006 | | Comments

Bush outsources national defense

I've got a badass case of scandal fatigue. IT NEVER ENDS WITH THESE PEOPLE!

What the hell am I talking about? Bush has given a Dubai company control of portions of our national defenses! And we thought the ports deal was bad ...

From CNN ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President George W. Bush approved Dubai's $1.24 billion takeover of Doncasters, a British engineering company with U.S. plants that supply the Pentagon, the White House said on Friday.

The decision, announced by White House spokesman Scott McClellan, followed a congressional uproar over security fears that scuttled another Dubai state-owned company's plan to acquire operations at major U.S. ports.

All the rest.
I say:

HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH YET? HUH? HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH? SERIOUSLY. WHEN WILL IT END?

I swear by GOD and the blood of my ancestors, I think Bush is insane. His administration must be impeached for the safety of America and the world!

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, April 28, 2006 | | Comments

An Examination of the 9/11 Truth Movement, part three

See also: Part One | Part Two

The Webster Retort
By Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
Publication date: May 2, 2006
For: The Lone Star Iconoclast

An Examination of the 9/11 Truth Movement, Part Three

At the height of the Cold War, America was a land cloaked in absolute fear. Arguably the closest we came to all out thermo-nuclear war was during those fateful 13 days, when the Soviets had missiles placed in Cuba, ready to hit American cities at the push of a button. Millions upon millions of lives hung in the balance. Literally moments before the orders were given, at the latest hour possible, Kennedy struck a deal. It was the defining moment of American diplomacy. We avoided Armageddon, and it was not the first time; nor will it be the last.

Most high school students can, with a little prompting, recall the key factors that guided the American plot to overthrow Castro during what our history textbooks call The Bay of Pigs Invasion. We trained rebel Cubans to initiate a coup, similar to our involvements in Iran during Regan’s contra scandal. See also: most South American socialist democracies – the Dominican Republic, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, ET. Al.

But when the Bay of Pigs Invasion failed, Kennedy’s Joint Chiefs devised another plan. They decided it was necessary to find some sort of justification for military intervention in Cuba. Their scheme was called “Operation Northwoods.” The plan was classified for many years, but was finally made public on November 18, 1997. The John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board released it after repeated calls for the veil of secrecy surrounding the murder to be dropped. It is now available on the internet via the National Security Archive.

Drafted by Lyman Lemnitzer, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, Northwoods suggested several routs of action to justify an invasion of Cuba. The suggestions Lemnitzer made to Kenndy included ...

“Land friendly Cubans in uniform ‘over the fence’ to stage an attack on [the U.S. base at Guantanimo Bay]. Start riots near the base main gate (friendly Cubans). Blow up ammunition inside the base; start fires. Burn aircraft on air base (sabotage). Lob mortar shells from outside of base into base. Some damage to installations. Capture assault teams approaching from the sea or vicinity of Guantanamo city. Capture militia group which storms the base. Sabotage ship in harbor; large fires – naphthalene. Sink ship near harbor entrance. Conduct funerals for mock-victims. “

It gets worse. Much worse. Lemnitzer also wrote ...

“We could blow up a US Ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba. We could blow up a drone (unmanned) vessel anywhere in the Cuban waters. We could arrange to cause such incident in the vicinity of Havana or Santiago as a spectacular result of Cuban attack from the air or sea, or both. The US could follow up with an air/sea rescue operation covered by US fighters to ‘evacuate’ remaining members of the non-existent crew. Casualty lists in US newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation. We could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington. The terror campaign could be pointed at Cuban refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans enroute to Florida (real or simulated). We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States even to the extend of wounding in instances to be widely publicized. Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots. “

Creeped out yet? Now, the freefall ...

“MIG type aircraft by US pilots could provide additional provocation. Harassment of civil air, attacks on surface shipping and destruction of US military drone aircraft by MIG type planes would be useful as complementary actions. An F-86 properly painted would convince air passengers that they saw a Cuban MIG, especially if the pilot of the transport were to announce such a fact. … [R]easonable copies of the MIG could be produced from US resources in about three months.”

And then, the train completely derails.

“Hijacking attempts,” wrote Lemnitzer, “against civil air and surface craft should appear to continue as harassing measures condoned by the government of Cuba. It is possible to create an incident which will demonstrate convincingly that Cuban aircraft has attacked and shot down a chartered civil airliner enroute from the United States to Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama or Venezuela. … The passengers could be a group of college students off on a holiday or any grouping of persons with a common interest to support chartering a non-scheduled flight. An aircraft at Eglin AFB [Air Force Base] would be painted and numbered as an exact duplicate for a civil registered aircraft belonging to a CIA proprietary organization in the Miami area. At a designated time the duplicate would be substituted for actual civil aircraft and would be loaded with the selected passengers, all boarded under carefully prepared aliases. The actual registered aircraft would be converted to a drone.”

“Take off time for the drone aircraft and the actual aircraft will be scheduled to allow a rendezvous south of Florida. From the rendezvous point the passenger-carrying aircraft will descend to minimum altitude and go directly into an auziliary field at Englin AFB where arrangements will have been made to evacuate the passengers and return the aircraft to its original status. The drone aircraft meanwhile will continue to fly the filed flight plan. When over Cuba the drone will being transmitting on the international distress frequency a “MAY DAY” message stating he is under attack by Cuban MIG aircraft. The transmission will be interrupted by destruction of the aircraft which will be triggered by radio signal.”

He goes on for a bit, fleshing out several prior ideas. Then, on page 11 of the 12 page document, he writes …

“It is possible to create an incident which will make it appear that Communist Cuban MIGs have destroyed a USAF aircraft over international waters in an unprovoked attack. … At precisely the same time that the aircraft was presumably shot down a submarine or small surface craft with disburse F-101 parts, parachute, etc., at approximately 15 to 20 miles off the Cuban coast and depart. The pilots returning to Homestead would have a true story as far as they knew. Search ships and aircraft could be dispatched and parts of the aircraft found.”

“It is understood that the Department of State also is preparing suggested courses of action to develop justification for US military intervention in Cuba.”

Operation Northwoods was given to Kennedy on March 13, 1962. Days later, the plan’s author, Lemnitzer, was personally removed from the Joint Chiefs by the president. Before this happened, the Pentagon got in on the action. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara suggested a plan called Operation Mongoose which, among other things, advocated paying someone within Castro’s government to attack America. All of this material and more is discussed at length in the book “Body of Secrets” by James Bamford.

I have taken the liberty of uploading the full Northwoods document to the web, found here in PDF format. Please, don’t take my word for it. Read it for yourself. Operation Northwoods is cited by many among the 9/11 Truth Movement as historical precedent; reason to question the government’s story of what really happened on Sept. 11, 2001. Some go a little further than that. I do not.

However, the Gulf of Tonkin attacks which started the Vietnam War should be taken into consideration under this pretext. Allegedly, Vietnamese gun ships fired on the USS C. Turner Joy and the USS Maddox in what America considered to be international waters. This happened less than one year after Kennedy’s assassination. In November 2005, the National Security Agency released hundreds of documents related to the Gulf of Tonkin attacks. Among them was an article written by agency historian Robert J. Hanyok. The document is titled "Skunks, Bogies, Silent Hounds, and the Flying Fish: The Gulf of Tonkin Mystery, 2-4 August 1964." He claims that, like the Iraq war, evidence denying the attacks had occurred was excluded when it was presented to decision makers.

In 2001, a taped conversation between Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and recently-appointed President Johnson was released to the public. Recorded just weeks after The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed (thereby starting the war), McNamara told Johnson he did not think the attacks ever occurred. What followed was, as you likely know, one of the most turbulent times this nation has ever experienced.

As for your Faithful Muckraker, I just don’t know what to think. All of the materials I have been digesting over for the last few months prove quite a bit, but also seem to assume even more. I am not saying that our government attacked us. I am saying that at one point in time, it was considered. And those plans sound an awful lot like what we saw on 9/11. Assumption is not an option, so I am only left with questions.

During the lead-up to our invasion of Iraq, Bush and Blair discussed flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft painted in U.N. colors over Iraq, hoping to provoke Saddam into firing, thereby violating U.N. resolutions and establishing a pretext for war. This was reported by The New York Times on March 27, 2006. Does this sound familiar to you?

Now is the time to question everything (my own writings included). If you believe Bush lied about Iraq’s WMD’s, why would you believe everything his hand-selected committee reported? There must be an independent investigation into these painful, burning questions. If the Democrats regain a majority in the House, Senate or both this November, we must lobby them, hard, for a new investigation.

Prominent minds within the 9/11 Truth Movement have called for American 9/11 skeptics to march with Civil Rights and Anti-War protesters. They ask supporters to wear black shirts or armbands, and carry signs that simply read “Re-Investigate 9/11!” It is time for these questions to be asked from coast to coast.

What really happened on the most important day in America’s history?

I don’t know, but someone does. It is our duty, and within our power as members of this still free nation, to find out.

Stephen Webster is an Investigative Reporter and Syndicated Columnist with The News Connection, a Staff Columnist with George W. Bush’s hometown weekly The Lone Star Iconoclast, and a former Contributor to The Dallas Morning News’ Science & Technology section. For more of Webster’s musings, visit GonzoMuckraker.BlogSpot.com.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, April 28, 2006 | | Comments

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Approval rating of the Republican Congress just 22 percent

NBC/Wall Street Journal put out a new poll today.

Basically, everyone hates Republicans. Well, almost everyone. An excerpt ...
According to the poll, just 22 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, a drop of 11 points since March. “That’s a lot of movement in a four- to six-week period,” says McInturff, the GOP pollster, who attributes the drop to a sharp decline in approval by Republican respondents.
HOWEVER, this is found in the paragraphs below ...
Asked to rank the top one or two reasons for their disapproval of Congress, 44 percent say they are tired of Democrats and Republicans fighting with each other, 36 percent say Congress doesn’t seem to get that much done, and 34 percent say members are corrupt and unethical.

How will that anger play out in November’s midterm elections? Forty-five percent of registered voters say they prefer Democrats controlling Congress, compared with 39 percent who say they want Republicans in charge. That six-point Democratic advantage, however, is smaller than the 13-point advantage Democrats held in March or the nine-point advantage they had in January.

People have really come to hate the fake parties. When both arms are connected to the same body, you have no real choice in who picks you up/knocks you down. I read a poll earlier today (wish I'd saved the link) that projected less than 21 percent of the country voting for a Republican, and less than 30 percent of the country voting for a Democrat, if an Independent or Third-Party candidate were to step up in 2008 with a clear focus on border security.

The time has come. Which third party will make a power play? We need one, desperately. This double-headed dragon shit is not working. I'm a liberal, but I'd be more than happy to support a strong, non-party moderate, even if I disagree with much of that person's platform. ANYTHING to break this collusive monopoly that has gripped our system of politics.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, April 27, 2006 | | Comments

WHAT?

This is just too much.

Bush has signed a bill that did not pass the House of Representatives! He just made a law illegally. Unconstitutionally. And the Democrats are suing. Good for them.

On Feb. 5, Bush signed an alternate version of his own budget bill (the one that saddles every American taxpayer with an excess of $30,000 of debt). Problem is, the House never voted on this altered version. He signed the bill into a law without approval of our Congress!

Congressman Conyers fired a salvo at the Bush Administration, yelling from the House floor, "Everyone who has passed the sixth grade knows that before a bill can become a law, both Houses of Congress must approve it. That the Bush Administration would say otherwise underscores the Constitutional crisis we are facing in this country."

The list of legislators who have joined the suit is long, so I nabbed Raw Story's compiliation ...
Joining Conyers in the suit are ...

Rep. John Dingell, Ranking Member on the Energy and Commerce Committee; Rep. Charles B. Rangel, Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Committee; Rep. George Miller, Ranking Member on the Education and Workforce Committee; Rep. James L. Oberstar, Ranking Member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Rep. Barney Frank, Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee; Rep. Collin C. Peterson, Ranking Member on the Agriculture Committee; Rep. Bennie Thompson, Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Committee; Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, Ranking Member on the Rules Committee; Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee; Rep. Sherrod Brown, Ranking Member on the Commerce Health Subcommittee. The Congressmen are represented by Dykema Gossett PLLC and Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional expert at Duke Law School.
More here.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, April 27, 2006 | | Comments

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Shortcut to Getting Kinky in Argyle

Needed to upload a small image to be used as a shortcut to this article from your Muckraker's MySpace profile.

Here's the pic ...


Annnnndddd, here's the shortcut ... Read - Getting Kinky in Argyle

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | | Comments

Getting Kinky in Argyle

Getting Kinky in Argyle
By Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
For: The News Connection, The Lone Star Iconoclast
Publication date(s): April 28; May 2

According to Independent Gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman, Texas is in such bad shape that the electoral contest is no longer politician versus politician, where ideas compete for dominance among voters. Instead, the new theme of the battle for Texas Governor will come down to one rather simple human trait: apathy. The last Governor’s election in the state only drew 21 percent of registered voters to the polls. And the Democratic and Republican primaries, held this past March, resulted in a meager five percent turnout. “It is not about Kinky Friedman versus Rick Perry, or Kinky Friedman versus Carole Strayhorn,” insists Friedman. “It is about Kinky Friedman versus apathy. If we can get 21 percent up to 40 percent, I’m the Governor.”

The campaign's documentary film crew (left) rolls camera as I (middle) conduct my interview with The Kinkster Himself (right).
Photo by Annette Weir

Yes, Kinky is a character alright. Frequently appearing in boots with blue jeans, a black coat and a 10-gallon Stinson, Friedman is a man not afraid to light his cigar in public. However unconventional he may seem to some, his campaign has taken a much more serious tone over the last few months. Since he is running as an Independent, in order to get his name on the ballot, state law requires him to collect 45,540 signatures from registered voters who skipped the primary elections.

From the look of things, the Kinky Train has reached terminal velocity. Having collected over 100,000 signatures, all that remains is verification and certification by the Secretary of State. Then, the real campaign begins.

On Saturday, April 22, Kinky Friedman was at a private residence in Argyle for a fundraiser. The bluegrass band Baloney Moon entertained a crowd of about 60 people while this reporter sat down with the Kinkster for a one-on-one chat.

Stephen Webster, The News Connection: “So Kinky, tell me how your campaign is progressing.”

Kinky Friedman: “Well, I think it’s out of control, which is a good thing. The petition drive is doing very, very well. We’re very close to 100,000, but we may even be over that number. After [May 11] we’ll be on the ballot. From then on, I think the peasants are coming with pitchforks in November. I really do.”

TNC: “What kind of response have you been getting from mainline Republicans in Texas?”

KF: “Well, I don’t know who’s mainline and who’s not anymore. The people we meet are mad as hell and they’re not gonna take it anymore. I think an equal number of Republicans and Democrats have already come over to our side, and it is growing every day. We’ve got over 5,000 volunteers signed up on our website, but there are so many more than that. The petition drive process was designed to keep us off the ballot. In 147 years, no one has done it. And, ah, it is a daunting task because you can’t do it online. They don’t do anything to make it easy. Then, you’ve got to notarize the signatures as you go. But it has worked very well for us. The same device they tried to keep us off the ballot with has actually put us on the map. I think we’ve got a real grass-roots organization going, as opposed to [Independent candidate Carole] Strayhorn, who has spent a lot of money on this and hired several big, out of state firms to do it for her.”

TNC: “Lately, gas prices have been nearly unaffordable for a lot of Texans. Talk to me about ethanol and biodiesel production.”

KF: “This is something that Willie Nelson and I want to do together. When I’m Governor, the first thing I’ll do is put 35,000 school busses on biodiesel. Willie will be the energy chief, and in a very short amount of time he will have the eight or 10 percent of Texans we need on biodiesel. The way to do it, of course, is to help the biodiesel co-ops; build them all along the highways so farmers have work – fuel you can grow. Then we can be like Brazil: energy independent. Like Iceland. Like Penn State University, which is totally biodiesel run. It will give us a chance to be number one in renewable fuels, solar power, and wind power … To be number one in something besides executions, toll roads and property taxes. That is what Texas needs. And we can do it.”

"Ask not if you're proud of Texas," reads the shirt. "Ask if you've made Texas proud of you."
Photo by Stephen Webster

TNC: “Education reform is a big issue. What is the biggest problem facing the Texas education system?”

KF: “(sighs) Well, the human component is always important. A lot of politicians don’t care about education – especially public education. But, as LBJ said, ‘education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.’ You’ve got to pay for that opportunity, and you can’t do it with one-time money, which they’re always trying to. You need a permanent revenue stream. The way to do that is legalize casino gambling. We invented Texas Hold ‘Em and we can’t even play it here! Its just not even common sense to let Oklahoma and New Mexico and Louisiana take all the money out of Texas. So, legalize casino gambling, take sports funding out of the education budget and let the corporate sector bid on high school stadiums and athletic directors. We have a plan called Trust for Texas Heroes which is a one percent surcharge on big gas and big oil. That’ll generate $2-3 billion a year. Add that to the $3-5 billion that casino gambling will bring in and you’ve got your $8 billion which you need. $8 billion would do it. That would raise teacher salaries up to the national average, maybe even higher. It would lower property taxes. It is what needs to be done. The only reason it is not being done right now is the far Religious Right in this state is holding it back. Just as the far politically-correct left wing of this state is making people feel uncomfortable when they say Merry Christmas. This state is too big to be held back by the far left and the far right.”

TNC: “You have proposed giving 15 percent of 2004’s property taxes back to the homeowners. What is wrong with our appraisal system?

KF: “Now its more than that. Now it is $82 billion, I understand. It wasn’t $4.3 billion. The latest figures are coming out, and it is over $8 billion. And the problem is that Carole Strayhorn [formerly the Texas state Comptroller of Public Accounts] can’t count right. I don’t know what else to say. She’s in charge of counting and she can’t count right. And it all happened under Rick Perry’s watch. She’s blaming him and he’s blaming her. Meanwhile they’re calling it a ‘budget surplus.’ Well, it ain’t a budget surplus, it is Texans being over taxed! Period! That’s exactly what it is and the money should go back to them. That’s what I think.”

TNC: “Are you aware of the issues we’ve had in Denton County with our appraisal system?”

KF: “No.”

TNC: “[The News Connection] has run a series of 20 articles dealing with that issue. Our appraisal district is simply over charging people. They seem to have no regard for that 10 percent cap on increased home evaluations. They’re taking homesteads and raising them 20, 30, even 50 percent anyway.”

KF: “Well, it is not a surprise. That doesn’t surprise me at all. But, I mean, $8 billion is a little shocking. We all know that property taxes are out of whack, but this is a bit much. I don’t think they are going to give that money back. They are going to spend it on frivolous things. I think the money should go back to the people who paid it.”

TNC: “You seem to have taken on a different tone in your campaign. At first you relied pretty heavily on what a lot of people were calling one-liners. Now, it seems that you really hit the issues and go in-depth on what you care about. What brought about that change?”

KF: “I think everybody in politics and the public eye uses one-liners. The other guys use ‘em too, but they’re just not as humorous and they’re not as memorable. So, when I say something like, ‘never re-elect anybody,’ well, there’s a bit of truth to that. If we never re-elected anybody we’d have what the founding fathers wanted. We’d have what George Washington wanted. What’s so bad about that? Why do you have people like Perry and Strayhorn hanging on to politics for 59 years? Putting them together, they have 59 years in political life. That’s way too much! That’s the problem. Those are the people that got the train off the track and into the ditch. You can’t expect that they’re gonna come back and fix it, can you? I mean, why would they? How could they? It has got to be someone from the outside who does it. I say, get the politicians out of politics. If we can do that, we’re on our way.”

After his speech, Friedmen spent most of his time talking to people, signing copies of his many mystery novels, and puffing on his cigar.
Photo by Stephen Webster

TNC: “You said that if you are elected, you will only serve one term.”

KF: “Yes. That’s all it will need.”

TNC: “Just one term?”

KF: “Yep. Besides, after that I’ll be too old. Right now, I’m 61: too young for medicare, too old for women to care.”

TNC: (Laughter)

KF: “But I care.”

TNC: “So, what other issues are key to your campaign?”

KF: “Political reform, criminal justice, the border and immigration – which everybody is now talking about. Even Rick Perry is talking about it. Of course, it is an election year. It is a positive thing that he’s discovered that we have a border with Mexico. That’s good. I fight against political correctness. This is not a joke. People have to decide if they think political correctness is important. If they do, they should vote for one of the other three candidates. All of them are very politically correct. They have to be. I don’t know. I value personal honesty and truth more.”

TNC: “What did you make of the 500,000 people marching through Dallas a couple weeks ago?”

KF: “Well, I was talking to Senator John McCain [R-AZ] a couple weeks ago - the first time I’d met him – over at A&M. I told him that I wasn’t afraid to offend people, and that’s why I thought I should be Governor. I’m not afraid of 500,000 Hispanics marching in Dallas. He says that is the biggest problem that we have; that politicians are afraid of offending anybody, so they don’t do anything and they don’t want to take a stand on anything or say anything. I have yet to meet a Hispanic, and I’ve talked to a lot of them, that doesn’t appreciate being told the truth, that doesn’t appreciate someone who cares about education. Education is the word. Educate their kids. They want a safe border. They want jobs. They don’t want their jobs taken away by illegals either. Most of them I talk to pretty much agree with John McCain. I pretty much fall between John McCain and [Governor] Bill Richardson [D-NM], two people that Rick Perry has not consulted at all. They believe that illegals should not get to the front of the line if they’ve cut in. People have died to get U.S. citizenship. People have waited a lifetime and still didn’t get it. What are we gonna do? Let 11 million people who have cut in line have a free pass? Absolutely not. They can be on the pathway to legalization, but we’re gonna make it difficult for them. It is not going to be easy. Then, they’ll get to the back of the line.”

TNC: “How did you feel about the felony provision of the Republican immigration bill, H.R. 4437?”

KF: “I don’t know much about it. They made it a felony, or it is a felony …You know, they’re getting screwed anyway. Everyone is getting screwed but [Mexican President] Vicente Fox. Just remember that, okay? He is doing well. He likes the system as it is. You’re familiar with the Five Mexican Generals plan? Well, I talked about that with George Bush Sr. and McCain. McCain already knew all about the Five Mexican Generals plan, so I told it to George Bush. He was kinda chuckling about it and McCain made an interesting observation about it. He leaned forward and said, ‘The Five Mexican Generals plan is probably better than anything we’ve got going right now. That’s what I’m talking about. This is not the sense of humor, even though McCain has one. This is truth. It is a better plan than what we’ve got going right now. All I’m saying is that we’re gonna have to think unconventionally. We’re gonna have to do something that is unconventional and compassionate. We don’t want people dying on the sidewalks in front of out hospitals, you know? Nor do we want to finance these people by ourselves. We want the Mexican government to step up and do their fair share. So, because Perry has swept it under the rug for six years, now we’re following New Mexico. Now we’re letting New Mexico work out the policy. One of the poorest, least-populates states in America has a visionary Governor, Bill Richardson, who happens to be a Democrat. And Texas will probably be adapting Bill Richardson’s policies as we move along. If we do, it’ll be a good thing. Except, we should have done it six years ago. They’ve got joint border patrols working. They’ve got federal money coming in. They’ve been focused on this for a year and a half, two years. I’ve been focused on it since last February, a year and a half ago almost. We’ve been talking about [a lot of] different programs, but it isn’t a one-way street, you know? Remember the Alamo. Lets defend our own borders here in Texas. Lets fix Texas first. I don’t like illegals getting screwed either. I don’t like anybody getting screwed. I don’t like the roofing contractor in Houston that works illegals then calls the border patrol when the payrolls are due. They just pick ‘em up and take ‘em back. That’s not fair. At the moment, we’ve got our work to do to make sure that Vicente Fox pays his share of what we’re now paying for healthcare, education and everything else.”

Friedman, on stage with local bluegrass band Baloney Moon, gave an impassioned speech that drew a strong reaction from the crowd.
Photo by Stephen Webster

TNC: “So, how would we deal with the estimated 11 million illegals?”

KF: “Well, that’s a federal problem. I don’t know what they’re going to do about it. As far as Texas is concerned, I would say that they should speak English before they become American citizens. They should pay a fine for coming in our country illegally. They’re paying taxes right now, most of them, but they’ll never see that money helping them. The whole system is unbalanced and unfair, and it needs to be overhauled. But it is more important to Texas than it would be in a place like Rhode Island, you know? It is real important here. God knows what is coming through that border right now, in the way of drugs and gangs or terrorists. That’s what happens when you neglect the border for so long. That is why you find dead bodies in cargo container trucks: because you neglected the border. So, the more attention we can focus on it the better. Two reasons that I figure why Rick Perry hasn’t even spoken to [Arizona Governor] Janet Nepalitano or Bill Richardson – it could be that they’re Democrats and he’s a Republican, or it could be that he wants to leave Hispanics alone because he’s afraid of them, and he thinks they’re beginning to move to his side. So does George W. [They think] they’re beginning to turn Republican and they don’t want to get in the way of that by trying to do anything to illegals that would scare off half a million people from the Republican party. And the Democrats just don’t know what to do. The Hispanics here in Texas know what to do. They appreciate truth like anybody else. When I was in the valley, two months ago, three times I was asked the question by Hispanics: ‘What are we gonna do with all these Mexicans coming over here?’ If I went to Austin and said, ‘What are we gonna do with all these Mexicans coming over here?’ people would say, ‘He’s a racist!’ (Laughs) But you listen to the Hispanics saying ‘What are we gonna do with all these Mexicans?’ That’s a logical question, isn’t it? So what are we gonna do? Well, we’d better figure it out. I don’t have all the answers, but I know one thing. If you ignore the border, you ignore it at your peril. The border and education are the two biggest issues facing all of us. Gay marriage is not facing all of us, okay? That’s one that if we’d tackled it or not tackled it, it wouldn’t have made any damn difference. So while the Governor has been wasting time and money – our money – on banning gay marriage, I believe that education and the border have been neglected severely in Texas. That needs to be addressed.”

TNC: “You also said that law enforcement is an issue close to you. How do you feel about how that arm of the government is handled in Texas?”

KF: “Well, I think cops, firemen, teachers and the troops, the veterans, are the foremost important groups of people in this society. Other people contribute, of course. But they are right on the front lines. The teachers, the cops, the firefighters and the veterans, arguably the most important. All of them are underpaid. All of them are not honored. The troops, as soon as they come home, are forgotten. Teachers are treated like shit in Texas; very badly. It is cynical to say that we care about education when we’re treating our teachers this badly. And it is not just the salaries. Everything is going against them. The whole system – teaching to the test – is killing education. For one thing, it is not educating kids. It is turning out a whole generation of kids who’ve never heard of Mark Twain ‘cause he’s not on the test. That is a flawed concept. That’ll get you out of teaching fast, if you’re smart. We’ve got to get rid of teaching to the test. We’ve got to make a lot of fundamental changes. We’ve got to get money fueling the system. Then, maybe we’ll have a chance, by putting the teachers back in charge.”

Friedman on Iraq - "[W]e attacked the wrong 'I-country.'"
Photo by Stephen Webster

TNC: “You have said we need to make more room in jail for pedophiles and perverts and let some of the pot heads out because they are not hurting anybody. Does that mean you want to reform our marijuana laws?”

KF: “Yes. I think the War on Drugs has failed. I talked to McCain about that as well. He agrees. He told me that cocaine in Phoenix now is cheaper, better and more available than it has ever been. If that is any example of how it is across the country, the War on Drugs has failed. It has also failed because we’ve now got more prisoners than the entire population of Alaska in our jails here in Texas. As you know, the majority of them are non-violent druggies who should be in rehab. Every neighborhood has a sexual predator. Every single one of them. Every time the reason is given: Why is the guy out? Well, he was in for three months but they couldn’t hold him or they didn’t have room. What do you mean they didn’t have room for him? What’s going on here? So, let’s make room for them. Let’s get some of the druggies out. (Laughs) You know, I’m not going to be able to take a very hard stance on drugs with Willie Nelson being in my cabinet. So, I won’t actually be able to take any draconian measures. But, I don’t think that drugs are the issue here in Texas. I don’t think handguns is. I don’t think abortion is. I think education is, and the border. Those are the biggies. And I’m not very happy with the pardons and parole board either. I want to look at that one. As far as I know, those guys are getting paid an upwards of $80,000 a year or more a piece – there’s 18 of them – and I only found out recently that when a man dies here in Texas, which has been on the average of about one every two weeks, these guys don’t even meet. They don’t even call. They fax it in. They have their secretaries fax in their vote. They fax it in from the deli. I am not happy with that. I asked the question: ‘When was the last time a rich man was executed in Texas?’ The answer, of course, is never. So, if the system is that imperfect, I think we’d better review it, because it is the same system that killed Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, which was imperfect too. What have we learned in 2,000 years?”

TNC: “To wrap it up, I have one final question. It doesn’t directly pertain to the Texas Governor’s office, but it affects a lot of Texans nonetheless …”

KF: “Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t answer any more questions. (Laughter) Yeah, sure. Fire away.”

TNC: “How do you feel about the Iraq war?”

FK: “Well, I think everybody is pretty well agreeing now that we attacked the wrong ‘I-country.’ It’s a mess and we’re stuck. It’s a tar baby. We can’t get out. We can’t just pull out. So, what do we do? I would leave it to military men. I’d leave it to men like Dick Cheney. Who, ah … By the way, I want to stand up for Dick’s hunting accident. You know, I actually think it is a pretty fitting end to a long, distinguished military career. But, we’ll leave it up to Dick Cheney to work it out. He got us in … maybe he can get us out. But, I’m running for Governor, not King. So, that’s really not my problem.”

For more information about Kinky Friedman, or to sign his petition and put him on the Texas ballot in November, see KinkyFriedman.com.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | | Comments

New Kinky toon!

Hey Texans. You know, 'round these parts, government has been business as usual for a long time. The Good 'ole Boys have been running things for a little too long, if you ask me. I'm for Kinky Friedman, if you know what I mean. And I think you should be, too.

Do me this favor -- even if you are a mainline Republican or Democrat, check out this advertisement. Just click the pic below and it'll take you right there. It'll really shock you, how deeply this guy's message can touch your sensibilities as a Texan. So watch it, then go sign The Kinkster's Petition so he can get on the Texas ballot this November!

Can you spot the celeberties in this ad?

Check it out: Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis, Pat Green, and the Dixie Chicks all contributed to the song "Save Yourself for Kinky (and save our friggin' state)" and by-God, it is a great little piece.

Watch it and pass it on!

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | | Comments

He said WHAT?

The White House has just hired Fox "News" editorialist Tony Snow as the new press secretary.

Interesting that they would hire a member of the media to tell you what they want you to hear. Says something powerful about Fox News. But, it also says something powerful about how worried some people are about the Bush Bubble. You know, the idea that he is isolated and surrounded by Yes Men. It appears as though Snow will not be a Yes Man.

What has he said about Bush in the past? Check it out (courtesy Think Progress)...

– Bush has “lost control of the federal budget and cannot resist the temptation to stop raiding the public fisc.” [3/17/06]

– “George W. Bush and his colleagues have become not merely the custodians of the largest government in the history of humankind, but also exponents of its vigorous expansion.” [3/17/06]

– “President Bush distilled the essence of his presidency in this year’s State of the Union Address: brilliant foreign policy and listless domestic policy.” [2/3/06]

– “George Bush has become something of an embarrassment.” [11/11/05]

– Bush “has a habit of singing from the Political Correctness hymnal.” [10/7/05]

– “No president has looked this impotent this long when it comes to defending presidential powers and prerogatives.” [9/30/05]

– Bush “has given the impression that [he] is more eager to please than lead, and that political opponents can get their way if they simply dig in their heels and behave like petulant trust-fund brats, demanding money and favor — now!” [9/30/05]

– “When it comes to federal spending, George W. Bush is the boy who can’t say no. In each of his three years at the helm, the president has warned Congress to restrain its spending appetites, but so far nobody has pushed away from the table mainly because the president doesn’t seem to mean what he says.” [The Detroit News, 12/28/03]

– “The president doesn’t seem to give a rip about spending restraint.” [The Detroit News, 12/28/03]

– “Bush, for all his personal appeal, ultimately bolstered his detractors’ claims that he didn’t have the drive and work ethic to succeed.” [11/16/00]

– “Little in the character of demeanor of Al Gore or George Bush makes us say to ourselves: Now, this man is truly special! Little in our present peace and prosperity impels us to say: Give us a great man!” [8/25/00]

– “George W. Bush, meanwhile, talks of a pillowy America, full of niceness and goodwill. Bush has inherited his mother’s attractive feistiness, but he also got his father’s syntax. At one point last week, he stunned a friendly audience by barking out absurd and inappropriate words, like a soul tortured with Tourette’s.” [8/25/00]

– “He recently tried to dazzle reporters by discussing the vagaries of Congressional Budget Office economic forecasts, but his recitation of numbers proved so bewildering that not even his aides could produce a comprehensible translation. The English Language has become a minefield for the man, whose malaprops make him the political heir not of Ronald Reagan, but Norm Crosby.” [8/25/00]

– “On the policy side, he has become a classical dime-store Democrat. He gladly will shovel money into programs that enjoy undeserved prestige, such as Head Start. He seems to consider it mean-spirited to shut down programs that rip-off taxpayers and mislead supposed beneficiaries.” [8/25/00]

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | | Comments

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

The war on the Internet is REAL

And you can fight back.

A good source of info on this topic can be found here.

MoveOn has a petition running. Sign it, regardless of your political affiliation.

Keep the people's internet FREE!

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | | Comments

Oh? Corrupt Democrat? My STARS!

Okay, so I'm not shocked at all. In fact, I'm sort of relieved. Corruption is not a partisan issue. At least the reality of that is starting to be reflected in our oxymoronic system of "justice."

From Raw Story ...
Twelve-term House Democrat Alan Mollohan (D-WV) -- who just recently stepped down as the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee -- is now facing scrutiny from the FBI in West Virginia and Washington in a probe seeking to ascertain whether the congressman improperly steered federal funds to personal projects, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday's page one.
I say: take him down.

Then again, why not take all these bastards down? It needs to happen. Time to Clean the House.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | | Comments

Some relief, maybe?

Gas prices are ABSURD. We can all agree on this, despite our political differences.

Today, George W. Bush announced that we will stop filling the strategic oil reserve in order to reduce prices. That is a good thing. Good job, W. Yes, I am complimenting our president. This is the first time.

However, I seem to remember this being discussed once before. I believe it was during the year 2000, a few months before Bush v. Gore took center stage. Sure, it was a different time. Some may even say it was a different world. Circumstances were not as dire as they are today, but the dookie was still flying off those fan blades in record quantities.

If I am not mistaken (and I'm not), Gore proposed stopping the flow of excess oil into the strategic reserves in order to lower prices at the pump. In fact, I've got a CNN transcript of what then Governor Bush said in response to Gore's plan.

What was it, exactly, that Bush said six years ago?

Ah, yes. Here it is.
"The Strategic Reserve is an insurance policy meant for a sudden disruption of our energy supply or for war. Strategic Reserve should not be used as an attempt to drive down oil prices right before an election. It should not be used for short-term political gain at the cost of long-term national security."
Burn, baby. Burn. He did the right thing, at the megar cost of poking another hole in his credibility. Not like his rep isn't riddled with bullet-holes aready, but SHEESH! He is doing exactly what he criticised others for proposing. And right before an election, at that.

Hypocrite.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | | Comments

Chong: "I know Dick Cheney's Secret Service guys smoke pot."

"The reason I know is because I sold them bongs," said Chong at Friday's NORML conference in San Francisco.

Pardon me while I chuckle. The story is in The Times-Standard Online.

Chong added, "The dangerous thing about tweekers is that they can take things apart, but they can't put them back together again. That's what George Bush has done to this country."

Amen, brother. And you might be right about that tweeker thing. They tend to have a problem with twitching jaws. And involuntary movements of the upper body.

Snoogans. I'll keep my sobriety, thanks.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | | Comments

Spinning classes?

I just read this story on Drudge Report. The headline: Gym instructor mocks Bush in front of First Daughters. So, everybody panic, someone excercised their first ammendment rights in front of the Chief's pill-popping, alcoholic daughters. I'm so freaking sad.

Anyway, what struck me as odd about this story is the gym teacher's position at this D.C. club. Drudge says ...
A spinning instructor at Washington, DC's Sports Club/LA mocked President Bush without realizing (believe it or not) that the first daughters were in his class!
So, let's examine this a little more closely. The president's daughters were taking ... SPINNING CLASSES?

Seriously.

SPINNING CLASSES?

He was mocking the wrong person!

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | | Comments

Shameless Self-Promotion

Yeah, we're all guilty of it. But as a writer, promoting yourself, especially on the internet, is important. At least, it is if I ever want to make more money than I already do. And we all know the answer to that question.

Anyway, all talk of money aside, I've got a little success to share this morning. Not only is it my 23rd birthday today, April 25, 2006 -- I also got a nice email this morning notifying me that Peace Journalism has picked up Easter in Crawford.

Interestingly, when I went to their main page, I discovered my name above Jimmy Carter and John Kerry. It is ironic that today I am wearing one of Kerry's t-shirts from the campaign. Anyway, I took a screen grab of the link on their main portal. I thought it was kind of nice. Click the image for the story.


Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | | Comments

Monday, April 24, 2006

An Open Letter to Congressman Burgess

The Webster Retort
By Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
For: The News Connection
Publication date: April 28, 2006

An Open Letter to Congressman Burgess

Dear Congressman Burgess,

As you probably know, your constituents are going through a tough time. Gas prices have reached an insane level, and it only looks to get worse as the summer hums along. Likewise, energy prices are soaring, and the rolling blackouts will only continue while market deregulation is up for grabs this November. Arguably the largest voting block in this state, our Latino brothers and sisters, are getting fed up with the Republican rhetoric about how they are criminals, even if many did nothing wrong at all. Likewise, we have completely neglected our borders in this, a very unstable time.

Looking over your list of contributors, one cannot help but wonder what it is like to enjoy the support of today’s Reigning Oligarchs. Corporations like TXU, AT&T, Pfizer and General Electric are not your constituents, nor do they represent any of those who reside in your district. Despite this, your War Chest is full of their dollars; your head full of their agendas; your votes directed by their financial interests.

Why, think of it! Touting “Conservative Values” will get you only so far. Big talk requires bold action, yet you voted for the Bush Budget, which authorized the accumulation of the most debt in the history of all this nation’s presidents, combined. With the passage of this deceptive bill, we, the citizens, are responsible for paying in excess of $30,000 per person. In the words of the Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery, “Billions more for war, but no more for the poor!”

You voted for President Bush’s “Medicare Part D” program, which caused over a dozen Governors in this nation to announce states of emergency because so many people were unable to get their prescriptions. Is that why Pfizer gave you so much money? So they can sell drugs at a higher price? Even our own Governor, who I am not so fond of, did the right thing and sued those who give your marching orders over this treacherous plot to hurt our most vulnerable.

Certainly you are aware of the ethics rules surrounding donations to congressional campaigns. One time contributions of up to, but not exceeding, $1,000 are allowable. Why then, did you give Tom DeLay’s Congressional Committee not one, but two $2,000 donations? And then, ON THE SAME DAY, you kicked an extra $5,000 for Tom DeLay’s “Legal Defense Trust.”

Don’t you know that he lobbied on behalf of the child labor and sex trades in the U.S. territory of Saipan? Don’t you know that his two former aids are close associates with Jack Abramoff? Your vote against strengthening U.S. House ethics rules in order to save DeLay’s seat of power will not be one that we, your constituents, will think upon with any kindness.

But let’s get to the core issues here, Doctor. Those who normally support you, in our beautiful corner of North Texas, are Christian. Those who mainline Republicans have duped through the issue of abortion now sit conflicted by the horrible war that your vote helped bring upon us. It is hard, really, to call abortion murder in a medical building, when you fail to do or say anything about bombing Iraqi children; or the use of Depleted Uranium that mutates Iraqi babies into terrifying effigies of nature run afoul; or the use of White Phosphorus, an internationally banned chemical weapon, against innocent civilians. Let’s not even mention the unspeakable, homoerotic mechanisms of torture created by our Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfield.

Please forgive me if I’m mistaken, but Christians follow the teachings of Christ, right? They still have it set up like that, last I checked. So, bear with me for a moment while I recall what many consider Christ at his most political. Let us dig up a few key passages from The Sermon on the Mount, shall we? Allow me to paraphrase from the New King James version …

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. You shall not commit murder. But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. You cannot serve God and wealth. In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the law of the prophets. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell – and great was its fall.”

Be aware, Congressman. The rainy season has only just begun.

Mahalo.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Monday, April 24, 2006 | | Comments

In other news ...

NEWS FLASH - April 24, 2006

In Alternative News today, police in Freetown, Sierra Leone are searching for roughly 27 chimpanzees that killed one man and injured at least four others. CNN reports that the chimps escaped from the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary and attacked a vehicle carting several American passengers, among others.

The driver of the car, a Sierra Leone native, was killed as the chimps "ripped his body apart." Three Americans are in the local hospital for undisclosed injuries. Another man, also a Sierra Leone native, had to have his hands amputated after the monkey mauling.

Bystanders called the vehicle that the victims were in a "taxicab." Local officials could only speculate that the ape apes went mad at the sight of a giant, yellow banana on wheels.

In Alta, California, we have more evidence of mother nature's tracheary. In a scene torn straight from a horror film, a 27-year old man has fallen to his death when a giant hole suddenly opened up beneath him as he stood in his home's kitchen.

We couldn't make this stuff up.

At 9:30 p.m. on Friday, the floor of the man's house suddenly gave way and a "sinkhole" opened up beneath him. From the outside, his home looks completely normal. In his kitchen, a pit leading to a decades-old mine has engulfed him. The man's identity has yet to be confirmed as geologists are still testing the safety of the structure.

When contacted for more information, God responded saying, "Shit happens."

Indeed it does.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Monday, April 24, 2006 | | Comments

Impeachment is coming

Dun-dun-DUUNNNN!

Do you know much about Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives? If you are like me, you know very little about this text that governs the movements of our Representatives. However, Illinois State Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Marrywood) knows quite a bit about this manual. She has introduced a bill to the state legislature, House Joint Resolution 125, that falls under Jefferson's rules, Section 603, titled "Inception of Impeachment Proceedings in the House. "

That section reads (quoting here) ...
§603 Inception of Impeachment Proceeding in the House
In the House of Representatives there are various methods of setting an impeachment in motion: by charges made on the floor on the responsibility of a Member or Delegate (II, 1303; III, 2342, 2400, 2469; VI, 525, 526, 528, 535, 536); by charges preferred by a memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for examination (III, 2364, 2491, 2494, 249G, 2499, 2515; VI, 552); or by a resolution dropped in the hopper by a Member and referred to a committee (April 15, 1970, p. 11941-2); by a message from the President (III, 2294, 2319; VI, 498); by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State (III, 2469) or Territory (III, 2487) or from a grand jury (III, 2488); or from facts developed and reported by an investigating committee of the House (III, 2399, 2444).
So you see my friends, if the Illinois state legislature, controlled by Democrats, pass this bill, the United States House of Representatives will be forced to take up the measure as a privileged bill which takes precedent over other House duties.

As soon as news of this measure in the Illinois Legislature broke, California Assemblyman Paul Koretz of Los Angeles introduced Assembly Joint Resolution No. 39, which calls for the impeachment of the president under Jefferson's Manual. AJR39, first introduced in January, called for the hault of the use of Depleted Uranium weapons in Iraq. The Congressman has now gutted the bill and ammended it to support the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

If either of these measures pass, we could be seeing the House of Representatives being forced into impeachment proceedings. The Chicago Sun Times takes on the matter, but lends a skeptical ear to Republicans. Said the paper ...

Jefferson wrote that there are various methods of setting an impeachment in motion, including "charges transmitted from the legislature of a State."

If Yarbrough's resolution passes the General Assembly, it would go to the U.S. House, where it likely would be referred to the Judiciary Committee, said a spokesman for the Committee on U.S. House Administration.

"It's up to that committee to decide what action it will take, if any," committee spokesman Jon Brandt said. "[The resolution] does not, in and of itself, start a process."

In closing, the battle is far from over. But impeachment activists have just won a resounding victory by getting these measures into state legislatures. Sounds like some Democrats still have spine. I say: good for them. You can't expect true progressive voters to support you unless you are, yourself, a progressive. And impeachment is what I call progress.

The text of the Illinois bill ...

WHEREAS, Section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of a state legislature; and

WHEREAS, President Bush has publicly admitted to ordering the National Security Agency to violate provisions of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a felony, specifically authorizing the Agency to spy on American citizens without warrant; and

WHEREAS, Evidence suggests that President Bush authorized violation of the Torture Convention of the Geneva Conventions, a treaty regarded a supreme law by the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, The Bush Administration has held American citizens and citizens of other nations as prisoners of war without charge or trial; and

WHEREAS, Evidence suggests that the Bush Administration has manipulated intelligence for the purpose of initiating a war against the sovereign nation of Iraq, resulting in the deaths of large numbers of Iraqi civilians and causing the United States to incur loss of life, diminished security and billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses; and

WHEREAS, The Bush Administration leaked classified national secrets to further a political agenda, exposing an unknown number of covert U. S. intelligence agents to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to investigate the matter; and

WHEREAS, the Republican-controlled Congress has decline to fully investigate these charges to date; therefore be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the General Assembly of the State of Illinois has good cause to submit charges to the U. S. House of Representatives under Section 603 that the President of the United States has willfully violated his Oath of Office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That George W. Bush, if found guilty of the charges contained herein, should be removed from office and disqualified to hold any other office in the United States.

We will march on a road of bones.

Mahalo.

Additional resources ...

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-impeach24.html
http://www.impeachpac.org/
http://impeachpac.org/node/889
http://impeachpac.org/node/824

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Monday, April 24, 2006 | | Comments

Friday, April 21, 2006

Make love, not Unreal Tournament

Ha! Watch this. You will appreciate it much more if you are a fan of modern video games. If not, you won't care. But I'm an off-and-on gamer, so I dig it. Snoogans.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, April 21, 2006 | | Comments

Okay, now they're just being dicks

Look, I recognize the important role the Food and Drug Administration plays in our society. Without the FDA we'd probably have a lot more bad drug scares coming out of big pharma. Or, at least that is what I think. I have no facts to back that one up. Even still, I appreciate it. I do not think it is some sort of nebulous concept with no relation to reality -- like the Department of Justice. But still ...

Yesterday the FDA released a report on the medical properties of marijuana, and the "safety" of using it for medicinal purposes.

An excerpt from their "findings" ...
"[M]arijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision."
So, it should remain illegal for our terminally ill patients ... because there is no accepted medical use treatment already set up? Am I missing something here, or is that a falacious argument? Also, "lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision"? Huh? This stuff is used more commonly around the world than wine (you know, fermented grapes?), and there is no "accepted safety" to use under the guidance of a doctor? I cannot ever remember reading about a single case of marijuana poisoning. Why is that? It has no known toxicity level in humans.

Let's be real - if you do drugs, pot is the safest. It is even less damaging than cigarettes, which are perfectly legal. You shouldn't do drugs ... but come on, a lot of people smoke pot. I would not advocate smoking pot for any reason, mostly because it is illegal and, ultimately, addictive. Then again, religion is addictive as well, and it is protected by our constitution. (But seriously, which has claimed more lives through human history - pot or "holinesss"? I kid because I love.)

FDA also says ...
"[There are] no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use."
So then, "no sound scientific studies", eh? Now we are being asked to believe that the six states that implimented M.M. programs did so on the basis of nothing? California (1979), Georgia (1980), Michigan (1979, 1982), New Mexico (1978), New York (1980), Tennessee (1981) have all approved the use of M.M. by their cancer patients. California's 1981 study returned saying, "Over 74 percent of the cancer patients treated in the program have reported that marijuana is more effective in relieving their nausea and vomiting than any other drug they have tried."

With the next study in California, that number rose to 78.9 percent. Studies in New York state and New Mexico had success ratings in the upper 90 percentile, and nobody fell ill or became addicted. In fact, they became healthier, because they could finally hold down food and be without dissolving pharma-chunks (pills) eating holes through their fragile digestive systems.

Ultimately, the California commission found that ...
"The California Program also has met its research objectives. Marijuana has been shown to be effective for many cancer chemotherapy patients, safe dosage levels have been established and a dosage regimen which minimizes undesirable side effects has been devised and tested."
I think I know why the FDA issued their "findings" yesterday.

They're assholes. It was 4/20.

And with no regard to the complete lack of substance or evidence to support their claims, they put out all of this stuff simply to spite those who smoke recreationally. And they did it under the guise of "safety" for possible medicinal users, all of whom are suffering from terrible diseases; all of whom could benefit greatly from this plant.

Oh, yeah. April 20, for those of you who never went to college, is a national pot smokers holiday, based on a strange series of events surrounding the band The Greatful Dead. You don't need to look any further than Cheech & Chong or Half Baked to catch the 4/20 symbolism. It is there, right in front of you, all the time.

So ... yeah, the FDA is being especially dickish by putting out that report on April 20. They know exactly what kind of statement they are making, and they think you don't.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, April 21, 2006 | | Comments

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Send Christ's Sermon on the Mount to the White House

Alright, here's how it is. The Reverend Peter Johnson, who works for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), is asking every American to mail, email and fax Christ's Sermon on the Mount to the White House. So, I'm going to help those efforts.

I have already sent the sermon to the White House PR team, as well as the Vice President's office, via email. I also faxed the six-page document to the White House fax line. I want you to do the same. The full text of the sermon can be found below the White House contact information.

Mail the sermon to ...
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Fax the sermon to ...
White House Fax Line
(202) 456-2461

Email the sermon to ...
comments@whitehouse.gov
vice_president@whitehouse.gov

Copy and paste the FULL TEXT of the following into your message ...

Christ’s Sermon on the Mount
New King James version

A few helpful suggestions for the president ...
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When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying...

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

You have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not commit murder" and "Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court."

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, "You good-for-nothing," shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, "You fool," shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

It was said, "Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce."

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord."

But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

But let your statement be, "Yes, yes" or "No, no." Anything beyond these is of evil.

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom
and the power
and the glory forever.
Amen.

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

Do not worry then, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear for clothing?" For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.


Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell - and great was its fall.

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, April 20, 2006 | | Comments

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Created by The Gonzo Muckraker
Based in Dallas, Texas
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