The Road of Bones

This craziness in the Texas legislature has GOT to stop. These people are trying to crack down on how you and I vote, going so far as to attempt instituting a poll tax that requires all of us to provide costly documents before getting our registration, criminalizing anyone who delivers a ballot for the elderly or ill, and killing the traditional voter registration drive.

Yet ... This is how THEY vote.



(*insert excruciatingly long string of profanity here*)

Gotta love our little Banana Republic.

Labels: Texas

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, September 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

One month before the war with Iraq began, Saddam offered to step down and go into exile in exchange for $1 billion, it was revealed yesterday in transcripts of conversations between Bush and the former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

Translation: this war could have been averted. It is by Bush's will alone that over 1.2 million Iraqis are dead.

That's a larger death toll than the Rwandan genocide, people.

Wake. Up. Before it is too late.

Labels: Iraq

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, September 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

When Don Imus went down for his nappy-headed ho's comment, it sparked a national conversation on racism in the media. Immediately, a few things were apparent: Imus' crack was very much uncool, though it seems he wasn't consciously being racist -- more of a nugget of ignorance sewn into the man's character and subconscious. True, his contract specified that he was to be offensive. But when he went after a black women's basketball team for fun and profit, the black community responded, quickly killing his fun, and the network's profits.

My opinion is that the whole fandango was foolish, and it only served to distract the media from what's really going on: mllions of people dying in Iraq. (Though, there is some amount of poetic justice in how Imus got taken down. Payback's a nappy-headed bitch.)

But if you thought tha Don's crack was lame, just give a listen to Faux Noise's Bill O'Reilly in this audio clip! For you bandwidth impared folks, here's a transcript ...

"I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for
themselves."

"And we went to Sylvia’s, a very famous restaurant in Harlem. I had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful."

"And I couldn’t get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia’s restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it’s run by blacks, primarily black patronship."

"There wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.'”

"You know, I mean, everybody was — it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb inthe sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn’t any kind of craziness at all."

So, who is the "bigger" racist? Don Imus or Bill O'Reilly? Or does it even matter? I'm for turning off the televised news entirely, but that's just me ...

Labels: Racism

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

My interview with Immortal Technique is on the streets. We've titled it "The New Revolutionary", and its on the cover of this week's Lone Star Iconoclast ...


Here's an excerpt ...

ICONOCLAST: "This paper, The Lone Star Iconoclast, is the paper of Crawford, Texas, home to everyone’s favorite politician. I can’t say for sure if the President reads it – I understand he’s not a fan of written words – but who knows? Maybe secret service guys pick it up on lunch break. With that in mind, if you could sit across a table from George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in some secret bunker in an undisclosed location ... What would you tell those men? What would you ask them?"

TECHNIQUE: (sighs) "I wouldn’t start out cursing. Most people I know probably would. I would sit down and talk to them rationally about their neo-con philosophy. I would discuss the theories of Leo Strauss, which I think are flawed in many ways. I’d ask them about the amount of influence the neo-con movement has had, and how they find the way that we’re treating people in other countries conducive with the message of Jesus Christ.

"That one would be more for Bush, ‘cause he’s a quote-unquote ‘believer.’ Then he’d have to go sit at the baby table so me and Dick Cheney could talk business. We’d have to send him to the kiddie table with the baby carrots and all that shit, and his little juicy juice. Then me and Richard Cheney, we would have ourselves a little conversation about his voting record as a member of the House."

Read the rest ...

Labels: truth

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, September 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

Remember kids: freedom isn't free! Sometimes you've got to pay for your right to ask questions by getting jolted with 50,000 volts of electricity.



Thank God this guy didn't suffer a heart attack.

Paranoia runs deep. Next thing you know, guys like this are going to be locked up on vague charges of being a terrorist supporter, spirited away, never to speak with an attorney -- or anyone else -- ever again.

Labels: Protest

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, September 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

This just in: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice co-owns a house with another woman. The two also share a line of credit.

This is revealed in the new book "The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy" by Washington Post correspondent Glenn Kessler.

He goes on to say that he's not sure if this indeed qualifies her as being "gay". But it is perhaps even more interesting that her female companion is a documentary filmmaker who used to work with Bill Moyers. *dun-dun-dun!*

But really -- who'd be surprised? Not I. Not that it matters ... But the hypocrisy sure leaves a funny taste in the mouth.

Labels: lies

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, September 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Protest

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, September 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

This is the coolest art project I've ever heard of.

A Texas artist is planning to float a 30-meter-long banana made of bamboo and paper -- levitated by helium -- into low orbit. The banana would then stay there for approximately one month, swirling about over Texas. It will be about 1/3rd the size of a full moon, and will be visible only to Texans.

Read more about the giant banana here.

I can't wait to see it.

Labels: Banana Republic

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, September 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

But it will be if the Holy Land Foundation is found guilty.

The HLF is an Islamic charity based in the DFW area, shut down in late 2001 under provisions in the Patriot Act. They stand accused of providing material support to Palestine. They're being tried by secret evidence and testified against by secret witnesses, all in a courtroom with a judge who is only too happy to give the utmost deference to the Government's lawyers.

If they are found guilty, it will establish a precedent that could end all humanitarian aid from the United States to occupied territories of Palestine. Watch this video and share it with your friends and family. (The girl is a friend 'o mine, by the way. ;O)

Labels: Holy Land Foundation

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Tuesday, September 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

So, I just got off the phone with Immortal Technique. We talked for about an hour, and he said many things that I am very much looking forward to writing down.


In the mean time, since you're all so very nice, what with you reading my blog and all, I thought I'd give you a little preview of the article I'm writing.

Hope you like audio, 'cause this is one conversation worth overhearing (click the link below to get a streaming version) ...

Immortal Technique...

I'll have a full article ready sometime next week. On Thursday I'm headed to Washington D.C. to write about the peace march taking place on the 15th. I'll be there, and I'll get as many updates onto the blog as possible. It should be one hell of a weekend.

Labels: Revolution

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Friday, September 07, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

A new Zogby poll shows that 51 percent of Americans want Congress to probe Bush and Cheney on 9/11.

Shockingly, the new poll also shows that 67 percent "fault" the 9/11 Commission for failing to investigate the collapse of World Trade Center 7.

A Majority of Americans are questioning 9/11.

Labels: 9/11

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, September 06, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

Someone I know got arrested in D.C. today. Tina Richards (I've written about her son Cloy) and a number of other anti-war people were at a makeshift press conference with about 20 or-so journalists where they were "charged" by horseback mounted police. Tina was arrested along with Adam Korksh, an IVAW leader.

Just what exactly does the D.C. police department plan to do when 10,000 people walk through there on the 15th?

By the way, a general strike has been called for September 11. Don't work, don't buy, don't drive. Get out in the streets, where you live. Make yourself visible, talk to your neighbors, stand at a highway overpass with a sign. Demand an end to the lies.

Labels: 9/11

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, September 06, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

The Resident Rancher is in Sydney right now, as part of his "cause riots all over the world" initiative, announced early last month. In response, the people of Australia are staging one bitch of a protest (the police said they expect a full-scale riot).

Apparently, a fake motorcade almost reached Bush today, making it past two security checkpoints before being stopped in front of Bush's hotel. Cast members from the television show "The Chaser's War on Everything" hired three cars and a few motorcycles, stuck some Canadian flags on 'em and just drove right on up.

The kicker: one of the show's stars was dressed as Osama bin Laden.

The group was arrested and their vehicles impounded. But WOW! What a stunt, eh? I've got a newfound respect for the Aussies.

Labels: Protest

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Thursday, September 06, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

Ron Paul wins another straw poll, this time beating out BlueRudy and Thompson by a more narrow margin than his prior outings.

Sounds like that whole "freedom" and "constitutional governance" message still strikes a chord with Americans. And it is certainly nice to see the netroots illustrate their power in a more personal way. To my knowledge, this is Paul's third straw poll victory, and he fared pretty well in Texas, even though it was just 3rd place.

The man's on a roll, that's for sure.

Labels: Ron Paul

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Wednesday, September 05, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

Anyone ever hear of the America's Army video game? I've played it.

What we have is an average team-based shooting game, with RPG elements that allow players to customize their avatar's skills and specialties, gaining rank along the way. Then you go online and shoot people, except when you shoot them, they're other Army guys, so it isn't depicted as real fake violence. Its more like paintball-style.

Anyway, the other day at the Missouri Black Expo, the Army set up a kiosk with big video monitors playing America's Army. (The last time I saw an AA kiosk, it was a hummer with a fake machine gun mounted on top, and video monitors that read IR signals from the guns. It was simulating what it would be like to shoot down wave after wave of Iraqi insurgents.)

Everything was going well for the Army until a big group of Iraq Veterans Against the War showed up.

Probably better yet, the IVAW's presence got the attention of 1up.com, a popular video game Website from the publishers of Electronic Gaming Monthly. They simply do not touch political content.

The story turned out great, and the comments were rather telling of the political undercurrent among gamers (I think). Check it out. Here's a sample ...

The 90 or so soldiers present at the demonstration were all members of Iraq Veterans Against the War -- an action group composed of active duty, national guard reservists and veterans of the Iraqi conflict. The group's general mandate is to bring soldiers home from active duty in Iraq, make restitution and reparations to the Iraqi citizenry for the destruction incurred during the US occupation, and to secure benefits and adequate health care for returning servicemen and women.

The protest was actually part of IVAW's larger "Truth in Recruiting" initiative, set to officially launch on September 17. At the Expo, members chanted "War is not a game!" three times in front of the America's Army booth while dressed in identical black t-shirts, bearing the IVAW logo.

Labels: Iraq

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Wednesday, September 05, 2007 | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday, the Texas GOP held its Presidential straw poll at the Ft. Worth Convention Center. Duncan Hunter won, Thompson (who isn't actually running yet) came in second, and Ron Paul scored third.

But would it have been different if the Texas GOP weren't actually turning away Ron Paul delegates at the door? Hmm. Watch and consider the ramifications ...



I would rather like to note: the Texas GOP delegates at the convention center were outnumbered rivaled in number by peace activists who gathered outside for speeches, music and picketing.

Yeah, the tide has turned, even in Bush'ville.

Labels: 2008 election

Posted by The Gonzo Muckraker at Sunday, September 02, 2007 | Permalink | Comments