What a maverick that John Sidney McLobbyPants is. Why, he’s so defiant that he surrounds himself with lobbyists, some with ties to Myanmar, no matter what anyone thinks! Now, that’s what I call mavericky!

From NBC/NJ’s Carrie Dann
NBC NEWS has confirmed that another McCain aide, Doug Davenport, has resigned because of his lobbying ties to the Myanmar government’s military junta.

Assuming Barack Obama actually gets the nomination (we cannot rule out Clinton somehow nabbing it at the brokered convention), I think there are perhaps three politicians who could possibly add to his ticket going into the general election:

John Edwards - His populist talk and devotion to working class issues, combined with his skills as an attorney, make him an ideal vice presidential candidate. He managed to sell himself as one in 2004, and although he didn't get enough footing to remain in contention for the nomination this year he still has a base of supporters who could help bridge the divide between Obama's followers and Clinton's. But this is unlikely, because Edwards is an economic populist, and corporate Democrat Obama blew it big time when he tried to finagle an endorsement only to end up angering Donna Edwards by attacking her husband's health care plan.

This is not the America that anyone over the age of 30 grew up with. The Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned us about in 1961 http://civilianism.com/forum/index.php?page=19 is already running this country. The democratic rule of the people that has been the lynchpin of our nation is controlled no longer by the people, but by business interests that control our elective officials through campaign funding and lobbyist connections. The American voter has been disenfranchised by a media that has usurped the discourse of normal campaigning by ignoring certain candidates and not allowing them on debates. The system is rigged people. The question is what are we going to do about it?

“To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it . . . An evil unchecked is the prelude to genocide.”
- Dr. Mordechai: The Ezekiel Option -

There are over 70 million human beings living in Iran, 17.5 million of whom are under the age of fifteen. Hillary Clinton vowed to attack Iran and “totally obliterate” the majority of the Persian race in a furnace of primordial fire should the Iranian government attack Israel with nuclear weapons, which they do not now possess or are likely to for some time—if ever.

Hillary’s “final solution” to the Persian problem bests Adolf Hitler by a magnitude of ten.

— from Dissident Voice

May 9. I read tonight a brief article by Philip Giraldi posted on the American Conservative website: "War with Iran Might Be Closer than You Think."

"There is considerable speculation," writes the former CIA officer, "and buzz in Washington today suggesting that the National Security Council has agreed in principle to proceed with plans to attack an Iranian al-Qods [Revolutionary Guards]-run camp that is believed to be training Iraqi militants. The camp that will be targeted is one of several located near Tehran."

— from TomDispatch

Already climate change -- in the form of a changing pattern of global rainfall -- seems to be affecting the planet in significant ways. Take the massive, almost decade-long drought in Australia's wheat-growing heartland, which has been a significant factor in sending flour prices, and so bread prices, soaring globally, leading to desperation and food riots across the planet.

I've done no survey. There are probably a heck of a lot more candidates out there who haven't contacted me or I haven't happened to run across. But I have put together a list, thus far, of 111 candidates for Congress, the Senate, or the White House who support impeaching Bush and Cheney. Here's the list, organized by office and by state / district.

Most of the candidates on the list are Democrats, either incumbents or challengers. Others are Green, Libertarian, Independent, and even Republican.

The list includes three candidates for the White House who are generally considered hopeless but whose campaigns are pushing positions supported by most of the people who obediently deem them hopeless.

Nation poised to return as world power, thanks to oil prices and a new dynamic duo

Back in Soviet days, Kremlin leadership changes used to be marked by a new pecking order of dumpy Communist apparatchiks in awful suits glowering from atop Lenin's tomb as tanks and cheesy floats rolled through Red Square.

No more. Roll over Brezhnev and Tchaikovsky. Last February, Russia's new leaders, 55-year old Vladimir Putin and 42-year old Dmitry Medvedev, showcased their new duumvirate by confidently strolling from the Kremlin across Red Square to attend a Deep Purple rock concert of all things. Forget Swan Lake. Decked out in hip black leather jackets and tailored jeans, they symbolized the new, youthful, self-assured Russia.

A recent National Geographic survey ranked the environmental impact of consumer habits and lifestyles in 14 countries.

The U.S. ranked last.

People in Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Hungary, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Spain, Japan, France, and Canada were judged to be more environmentally responsible than Americans. Yes, you read that right. India. China. Mexico. Et cetera. All more proactively concerned than we are about saving this planet for our children and our grandchildren.

But this should come as no surprise. Whether we can blame it on ignorance, apathy, arrogance, or just laziness depends on the person, but I see it every day. Americans talk about global warming and they sound concerned. But that's as far as it goes. Talk is cheap. And so they continue to be part of the problem.

With the mainstream media’s steady firepower being directed basically in one direction, one would think that the big story of this presidential campaign season revolve around statements made by Reverend Jeremiah Wright of Chicago and how they politically impact on Barack Obama.

How essentially silent this same media has been concerning the statements of Reverend John Hagee of San Antonio. The only recent definitive study I have seen done on Hagee came from Hagee’s fellow Texan Lou Dubose in the excellent political journal he edits and writes for, The Washington Spectator.

Here is how the mainstream media has handled the Hagee matter when it has focused on it at all. There were two infamous statements that were discussed.

“What this means is that corporations and those who run them cannot stop exploiting resources and amassing wealth until they have… .I cannot finish this sentence, because the truth is that can never stop; like cancer, they can only continue to expand until they kill the host.”

–Derrick Jensen

By Jason Miller

5/9/08

(Perhaps my profane words will offend, but in light of the fact that we are in a race to eradicate capitalism before it renders the Earth uninhabitable, I don’t give a fuck).

Yes. It’s another anti-capitalist rant by Jason Miller. Big surprise! I’m the associate editor for Cyrano’s Journal Online, the anti-capitalist tool. We’re not big fans of free market ideology and its tacit socioeconomic license to rape, pillage and plunder.

I swear to God the next person who tells me I “drank the Obama Kool-Aid” is losing a nipple.

You know the routine. Midway through an otherwise uneventful conversation the subject turns to politics, and all at once, as if someone flipped a switch, the well-rehearsed lefty litany of atrocities begins. From me, the predictable torrent of language excoriating John McCain for selling his political soul, then indicting Hillary Clinton for her studied emulation of despicable men throughout the entire primary season (a diatribe during which Karl Rove’s name and the word “pantsuit” are invoked more than is probably helpful). The resulting counterargument, if one can call it that, consists largely of (a) Clinton supporters telling me she has to be “tougher” than Obama because she’s gotten a raw deal from the press, or (b) McCain supporters blathering about Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, and Tony Rezko before returning again, as a dog returns to its own vomit, to Reverend Wright. They love that dashiki.

Dear Hillary,

I like to watch TV. I love Barack Obama’s campaign ads, and I can’t wait to see more of them! I understand he has millions with which to buy them. I’m becoming addicted to this guy! What should I do? I think I’m in love.

Signed,

Mama for Obama

Dear Mama:

“I want you to know how grateful I am for your support and how much you have sustained me throughout this campaign,” she said. “But it has been a joy. Now I know that may be hard to believe, but if you just take the advice that I give to my own mother, and that is: Just turn off the television.”

We are now in the FOURTH consecutive financial bubble, all contrived to sustain the international investor class - to the detriment of the general public. The latest bubble will cause much worse destruction than any of the previous ones. And it's already out of control...

Lacking its once powerful manufacturing-based economy, the United States has come to depend on one financial “bubble” after another to keep its economy afloat. Unfortunately, each successive bubble aids fewer people and costs more in the end to clean up once it’s popped. The dot.com bubble was followed by the Enron bubble, then the housing bubble, and now the commodities bubble. Each of these has caused progressively more damage to the value of the dollar and a disproportionate harm to the middle class.

I picked up todays St. Cloud Times paper and somewhat
to my surprize the Headline read is damn near 2nd coming type, FUEL PRICE HITS HIGH. The lead line said
"Local price up 13 cents overnight" For those of you
not from Minnesota, today, May 10, 2008 is the opening
day of fishing season. Does the term "price gouging mean anything" Reading further in the story, I found out that the price of a gallon of gas, nation-wide is
at an all time high.
I don't drive, so until it starts costing me more money to take a bus, (which it probably will) I'm good to go.
I have noticed that a number of the talking heads on MSM are almost gleeful when they report a rise in the gas price. One would almost think that they were holding oil company stock.

"U.S. looks set to offer Israel powerful new radar
Sat May 10, 2008 5:12pm EDT
By Jim Wolf"

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration appears set to offer Israel a powerful radar system that could greatly boost Israeli defenses against enemy ballistic missiles while tying them directly into a growing U.S. missile shield."

It is time to let Israel stand on its own two feet, if they are God’s chosen people they should be able to stand on their own without assistance or interference from the U.S. We have set this nation state up in land that was held by other people for generations and yet we decided that we should take it away from Arab people and give it to Jewish people on the supposed basis that the Jewish people are God’s chosen ones

It's Mother's Day in 2008 and somewhere a woman is about to be murdered for witchcraft. Just this week a crowd of 20 people in India gathered to beat a 75-year-old woman for being a witch. A judicial inquiry found that 150 women had been tortured for witchcraft in three Indian provinces since the first of the year, despite the passage of a new law meant to protect them.

Reports of witchcraft are common in Africa these days. There's this recent case of an 18-year-old girl who says that she was sent by her grandmother to steal a newborn baby and given magical powers to accomplish the task. (Stories like this are frequently reported as fact in African newspapers.) Panicked reports of kidnapping and murder for body parts are frequent in Tanzania and nearby countries. And readers of a Ghanian tabloid were given this information, presented drily as fact:

I’ve copied and pasted, unedited, inspiring words from an inspired comment I saw today. The Commenter is referring to this post.

I just wanted to say thank you for your article on senator barack obama who is truly a american who stands for change for and from all americans and people in unity. I have listened to him and have responded by becoming a motivational speaker and advocate supporter for the homeless and struggling families. I have found it to be very Important to speak to as many of our youth as possible in a way that will help them feel structure, worth, and know there is a sincere possibility that someone cares. I am a single mother of three and a grandmother of three I live on a fixed income, worked since the age of 13 and I am now 50. I will forever live by the truth of what senator obama said ” all children are our children” and when we learn to stop judging children or their parents we It will forever be a change we can believe in. The inspirational truth of senator obama’s message is a heart and mind choice that will determine action.

This edition of Inspection has been updated since the first draft to include my observations regarding North Carolina and Indiana.

I've been pondering a region; a gulf; a canyon so deep; so wide, that the Grand Canyon would be a skunk's footprint in comparison. How fitting to use a skunk: because this same divide is far more odiferous and seems set on permanent spray mode. I, of course, am referring to the O'Bama/Clinton divide that still lingers despite cries of, "It's over..." which have been spouted practically since the first caucus.

At least they're a little more reality-based right now. Well, a lot more.

My Last Day of Work
By David Glenn Cox

How could this happen to me? My sector, my department, had always been the best in our employee evaluations. In every category we scored in the highest possible percentile; efficiency, timeliness, loyalty, patriotism, and yes, even in dogma, we were number one. So how could this happen? It must be a mistake, that’s it! A mistake, I’ll send them an Email, requesting an evaluation of pending efficiency and productivity improvement.

I had done that once before, several years ago, when they reduced my department from ten employees down to five. My evaluation request had gone to the highest levels of management; I had been commended for its thoroughness and for my loyalty to my fellow workers. I was awarded the Dedicated-Employee-of-the-Year Award for my commitment to the company’s integrity. In the end my recommendations, after having been thoroughly evaluated by all three executive committees, productivity, efficiency and cost-benefit analysis, had decided that the earlier assessment had, in fact, been incorrect and they reduced my department down to just three required employees.

As an Obama supporter this primary season has been like enduring a year-long root canal, without Novocain.

It's been painful. It's been like watching two bullies harass, belittle, lie and push your kid around everyday at school, and not being able to do a thing about it except to try to reassure yourself that, in the end your kid will emerge a better and stronger person because of it.

Or not.

After all, the same kind of sleazy, low-brow, thuggish politics is exactly the kind of politics that got George W. Bush elected, twice. So maybe "my kid" will come out of it a better and stronger person, AND lose.

In one of the most incendiary columns ever written, "Race And The Presidential Election," Bill O'Reilly sets the race-bait bar to record-breaking...depths. Short of saying that Barack Obama wants to sleep with your pearly-white daughter, O'Reilly uses just about every button meant to alarm his white fans to the fact that Barack Obama is BLACK and that just his running for, let alone becoming, president, could set off race-laced fireworks.

While there's no question, as he did on his TV Factor Friday night, Bill will say it's not race-baiting if you're just reporting the facts (despite the brilliant Prof. Dr. Marc Lamont Hill's protestations), here are just a few comments from Bill's column...

Take 1 Minute to End the Killing:

Congress Members have received thousands of phone calls, and some of them are committing to voting no on Iraq funding. The vote won't happen until next week, so keep the calls coming: Call your Congress Member now at 202-224-3121 and tell them to vote No on the war funding.

More Detail:

Pelosi does not have the votes to pass the Rule, a procedural vote that must pass prior to votes on each of the three amendments (1. war money, 2. a nonbinding "timeline goal," re-banning of torture and permanent bases, redundantly banning a Bush-Maliki treaty without consent of Senate or both houses of Congress, and forcing Iraqis to pay for the reconstruction, 3. other spending including military spending and veterans spending).

Last weekend's 30th annual Athens Human Rights Festival was a milestone that will leave fond memories in the minds of festival volunteers and audiences. Dedicated to the memory of Eve Carson, the young Athens woman who achieved so much in her brief life before she died at the age of 22, the festival was once again a reunion for the family of humankind.

Top-notch local musicians and soapbox orators enlivened downtown during rights rites that rated raves from event organizers and festivalgoers alike. The sweet-voiced children of the Athens Montessori Singers were once again loved by crowds. A youthful group of girls called the Maybes brought cheers with a lilting rendition of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind."

As part of her continuing campaign for the 2012 nomination and her campaign to elect John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton is closing her sad campaign acting like a right-wing Republican with the latest and most offensive example of race-card attacks.

Possibly because she is tired and letting her guard down, possibly out of sheer desperation combined with blind ambition, Hillary Clinton openly talks about "white people." Bill Clinton speaks to white audiences about "voters like you." Paul Begala says Democrats can't win with only intellectuals and African-Americans. Paul Krugman graces The New York Times with his wisdom about the white vote.