Organizing Notes

How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live – Ry Cooder

h/t Organizing Notes

Support Your Local Terrorist Government

This graphic says it all:

How many of you can honestly argue that our government is not terrorists?

Of course it is so much bigger than Iran. The Empire’s lust for Iran is really as much of a side issue as anything else. The real enemies in our sights are much bigger and badder.

Even out former elected officials are saying such (according to Washington’s Blog). Lt. Gen William Odom said:

Because the United States itself has a long record of supporting terrorists and using terrorist tactics, the slogans of today’s war on terrorism merely makes the United States look hypocritical to the rest of the world.

To have any American insist that we are not an Empire or that we are justified in what we do because we are America (or whatever insane idea you might have), if you simply put the shoe on the other foot, you will quickly notice how hypocritical that notion is. We would never allow anyone to tell us what to do and how to act (except when it comes to the bidding of Israel). It is worldwide and don’t think for a second that our neighbors won’t be getting some soon.

Steve Lendman explains that Chavez is next on our side of the world:

Just read thru the list of accusations that America has sided Venezuela with and I challenge you to see if these accusations are really us looking at a mirror. The fact is that no matter how much the MSM and the criminals in charge of our politics tell us how bad Chavez and Venezuela is, the truth is that America is the world’s only real threat. We would do good to emulate what Venezuelans have done over the past decade.

In highlighting Venezuela’s Constitution, Steve lets us know what the agenda for that true, democratic country (as opposed to the Fascist state we live in) is. Maybe we should change ours, since the criminals have now made it basically null and void. we could start with their preamble:

Its Preamble “establish(ed) a democratic, participatory and self-reliant, multiethnic and multicultural society in a just, federal and decentralized State that embodies the values of freedom, independence, peace, solidarity, the common good, the nation’s territorial integrity, comity and the rule of law for this and future generations.”

It also “guarantees the right to life, work, learning, education, social justice and equality, without discrimination or subordination of any kind; promotes peaceful cooperation among nations and further strengthens Latin American integration in accordance with the principle of nonintervention and national self-determination of the people, the universal and indivisible guarantee of human rights, the democratization of imitational society, nuclear disarmament, ecological balance and environmental resources as the common and inalienable heritage of humanity….”

Sounds to me that Obama (or any of the current criminal elite) could learn something from these people.

h/t Organizing Notes, Washington’s Blog and Steve Lendman

Satan Doesn’t Joke

He has been a liar and murderer from the beginning.

Might as well laugh about it:

It’s not really funny, is it?

h/t Organizing Notes

B’Man’s Patriot Watch: Asmaa Mahfouz

She may not be an American patriot, but she is a patriot in Egypt. She says: Grow some ‘nads, Boys, and come fight this battle with me. (Paraphrased)

h/t Organizing Notes

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Revolt or WordPress.com

What Is Truth?

What is truth?

h/t Organizing Notes

This is the lie with truth subtitles:

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Revolt or WordPress.com

The Sweetest Deal EVER made—

…. who made it and who was in on it????

Okay folks– just for the sheer sake of jumpstarting your nervous system today. Read this report. I promise you that in it you will discover one sentence that will make you pause your breath for a second– and then you will think “ How did I not already figure that was coming”. What a deal folks, what a deal!!!!!!!!!!!

European Stocks Climb for Sixth Day; BMW, BP Shares Advance
July 13, 2010, 12:14 PM EDT

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-13/european-stocks-climb-for-sixth-day-bmw-bp-shares-advance.html

July 13 (Bloomberg) — European stocks climbed for a sixth day to a three-week high as Alcoa Inc. began the U.S. earnings season with profit that beat estimates, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG raised its forecast and BP Plc gained.
BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, jumped the most in 15 months after saying higher volumes in 2010 will boost profit. BP increased 2.9 percent after installing a new cap on its leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico and as Abu Dhabi said it’s considering making an investment in the company.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 1.9 percent to 255.99, erasing this year’s losses. The measure has risen 8.2 percent over the past six days amid easing concern about the economic recovery and speculation that the selloff in equities since April has overshot the outlook for company profits. The gauge remains 5.9 percent below this year’s high.
Earnings “forecasts look too low and we expect a strong majority of companies to beat their numbers,” said Graham Bishop, the London-based head of pan-European equity strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. “We already know a great deal about the performance of the global economy through the second quarter. Consensus economic forecasts have actually been revised materially higher.”
Portugal’s PSI-20 Index was the second-weakest western European market today as Moody’s Investors Service cut the nation’s credit rating by two notches to A1 because of a growing debt burden and weak economic growth prospects. The gauge gained 0.1 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 surged 2 percent. Germany’s DAX rallied 1.9 percent.
Greek Bond Sale
Greece’s ASE Index surged 2.6 percent as the nation sold 1.63 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of 26-week Treasury bills at a rate below the 5 percent charged by the European Union for its bailout package, easing concern the country faces punitive costs to borrow.
BMW rallied 8.3 percent to 42.13 euros, leading a gauge of auto stocks to the biggest gain among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. The luxury-car maker forecast 2010 sales volumes will rise by about 10 percent to more than 1.4 million units, with a full-year profit margin of more than 5 percent expected for the automobiles segment. Rival Daimler AG advanced 5.4 percent to 43.81 euros.
Automakers Advance
Peugeot SA climbed 5.3 percent to 24.37 euros and Volkswagen AG preferred shares gained 5.2 percent to 77 euros. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price estimate on the French carmaker by 3 percent to 34 euros and on the German automaker by 4 percent to 78 euros, saying increased demand and “attractive valuations” favor the industry, according to a report today.
BP advanced 2.9 percent to 410.35 pence, extending yesterday’s 9.4 percent jump. The oil company installed a new cap on its leaking Gulf of Mexico well and will start testing today whether this will stop the gusher while work continues on a permanent plug. Separately, the Financial Times reported that BP expects to be able to write off the oil-spill cleanup costs against taxes, without saying where it got its information.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the emirate is considering making an investment in BP.
‘Still Thinking’
“We are still thinking about it,” he said in an interview in Abu Dhabi today, when asked about potentially buying a stake in the London-based oil producer. “We are looking across the board. We have been partners with BP for years.”
Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer reported second- quarter profit that topped analysts’ projections as higher metal prices boosted sales. Earnings from continuing operations were 13 cents a share, exceeding the 11-cent average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Profits for S&P 500 companies are projected to have increased 34 percent in the second quarter and by the same amount in 2010, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Intel Corp., the biggest maker of semiconductors which reports quarterly earnings after the close of U.S. exchanges today, is among 23 companies in the index to announce results this week.
Burberry Group Plc surged 3.7 percent to 818.5 pence, the highest level since at least 2002. The U.K.’s largest luxury retailer posted a 27 percent gain in first-quarter sales, beating analysts’ estimates, led by growth in Asia and deliveries to wholesale customers.
Unilever, BAT
Unilever, the world’s second-largest maker of consumer products, gained 2.9 percent to 1,898 pence and British American Tobacco Plc advanced 2.6 percent to 2,277 pence as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded both companies to “buy” from “neutral.”
SEB AB surged 4.9 percent to 48.75 kronor after the second- largest bank in the Baltic countries returned to profit in the second quarter as loan losses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania decreased.
DNO International ASA rallied 4.9 percent to 8.74 kroner, the highest close since April, after the Daily Telegraph reported that RAK Petroleum Pcl has made an offer to buy the remainder of the Norwegian oil producer. DNO Chief Executive Officer Helge Eide said he had “no comment and no information” on the report.
–Editors: Andrew Rummer, David Merritt.

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Redstate Revolt or WordPress.com

They are ALL wrong!

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/07/exclusive-new-audio-mel-gibson-admits-hitting-oksana-threatens-kill-her-listen-it

The above is the full 8 minutes

Ya know– I hate ‘sound-bites’ and I sure am wise enough to know when I end up listening to something in pieces, that I do not nor will I ever have the entire history regarding anything that I just heard. Now– I do know the following–

1] This woman was in control of the call and dialoge

2] I do not believe he knew it was being taped

3] She said what she wanted said on the tape

4] If we taped anyone of us during a domestic tyrate it would not be pretty

5] He sounds like every Biker [sorry bikers] I ever knew

6] IF domestic violence did happen, he is wrong– flat out wrong

7] I am not a shrink, so there can be no diagnosis from me while I sit in my armcahir

8] I have used almost every word he used at one time in my life

9] I actually don’t think this tape is any of our business

10] Obviously he is out of control about something way past what we are aware of… in their life together

11]… He should never ever hit nor threated to put her [or anyone] under.

12] Can anyone one of us look back honestly in our own lives and say that we or someone we knew had never ever gotten into a heated screaming match? Would you want it recorded for all to hear out of contents??

AGAIN== Mel is wrong with his rage and violence…  I am just speaking to the ‘taping’.

The media is having a hayday with this…  Mel needs help, counceling…. something. And she needs to just do what she has to do in court, get to court and settle whatever she wants to settle– but ya know, somewhere in the nasty oh-so-wrong shit is a bid for money– and tons of it. I am not saying Mel didn’t do terrible stuff, he most likely sure as hell did– but I am just not excusing her or the media on this one either. The Radar Online folks stated that she personally did not give them the tapes. I am sure she sure as hell had a hand in it– she needed public outrage, or so she thinks. Screw this mess… I want to hear the well is capped and the clean-up is going well, and the troops are coming home [which will add to millions of more unemployed Americans because WHERE ARE OUR TROOPS GONNA WORK?? So there ya have it– this story is not a news worthy story!!! Jobs, Troops, Wars, Unemploymeny, healthcare, enviornment are true stories!!!

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Redstate Revolt or WordPress.com

General… oh General….

Nation building in Afghanistan is not our job— it is theirs.

By Eugene Robinson
Friday, June 25, 2010
Washington Post

The good news? Nobody has to pretend anymore that Gen. Stanley McChrystal knew how to fix Afghanistan within a year. The bad news? No
President Obama was absolutely right to sack the preening McChrystal, whose inner circle, as portrayed in Rolling Stone magazine, had all the seriousness and decorum of a frat house keg party. And it was a brilliant political move to turn to Petraeus, who is made of purest Teflon. Critics who might have been tempted to blast the president for changing horses in midstream can hardly object when he has given the reins to the man who averted a humiliating U.S. defeat in Iraq.
Note that I didn’t credit Petraeus with “winning” in Iraq. He didn’t. What he managed to do was redeem the situation to the point where the United States could begin bringing home its combat troops. If the Obama administration’s aims in Afghanistan are recalibrated to accommodate objective reality, then Petraeus can succeed there, too. But this means that the general’s assignment should be a narrow one: Lay the groundwork for a U.S. withdrawal to begin next summer, as Obama has pledged.
After relieving McChrystal of his command Wednesday, Obama called in his national security team and read the riot act. No more bickering, sniping, backbiting or name-calling, the president ordered. Play nice.
But all the comity in the world doesn’t resolve the essential tension between those who believe our goal in Afghanistan should be defined as “victory” and those who believe it should be defined as “finding the exit.” Two thousand years of history are on the side of the “exit” camp, and the fact is that at some point we’re going to leave. The question is how much time will pass — and how many more young Americans will be killed or wounded — before that inevitable day comes.

McChrystal, who designed the counterinsurgency strategy being attempted in Afghanistan, didn’t disguise his opposition to administration officials such as Vice President Biden, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and special envoy Richard Holbrooke, who questioned whether the strategy could work. Petraeus is far too good a politician to fall into that trap. He won’t allow any daylight between himself and the civilian leadership.
But ultimately, there’s going to be no way to avoid the central question: What kind of Afghanistan will we leave behind?
One answer would be that we have to leave in place a durable, functional central government that has full legitimacy and control within the nation’s borders. This would provide the United States with a reliable ally in a dangerous region and also ensure that Afghanistan would never again be used as a launching pad for attacks by al-Qaeda. But to get the country to that point, given where it is now, could take a decade or more of sustained, concentrated attention. It would mean not just defeating the Taliban but molding the regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai into a reasonably honest, effective government. This would be a tall order even if Karzai were a stable, consistent, loyal partner. Does anybody believe that he is?
A better answer would be that it’s enough to leave behind an Afghanistan that no longer poses a serious threat to the United States or its vital interests. Nation-building would be the Afghans’ problem, not ours.
Petraeus was successful in Iraq because he realized that he couldn’t create an Athenian democracy in Baghdad. But the highly imperfect Iraqi government is light-years beyond what the general is likely to be able to achieve in Kabul. Even after the war, Iraq was left with modern infrastructure, a highly educated and sophisticated population, and a sizable percentage of the world’s proven oil reserves. Afghanistan has none of these advantages. The political culture is stubbornly medieval; the populace is poor, uneducated and wary of foreign influences. Afghanistan does have great mineral wealth, apparently, but no mining industry to dig it out and no railroads to get it to the marketplace.
In recent testimony before Congress, Petraeus was less than definitive when asked about Obama’s July 2011 deadline. Because he has such credibility and standing in Washington, his view on when we can begin to leave Afghanistan will be more important than McChrystal’s ever was. I hope that by putting Petraeus in charge of the war, President Obama hasn’t consigned us to a longer stay. His comments Thursday seem to indicate the possibility.

Oh– and I can bet you that Petraeus told the President that he would accept this position with a few conditions– Like ‘Hey I am a Battle Field General.. And I want to WIN, [ like there is such a thing as win] not mandy-pandy around. I am going to make a few changes to your rules of combat– LIKE allow the men to shoot!!!!!” “ Oh and by the way, Rolling Stone Mag, set up McChrystal!”

What’s the fuss all about?

                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Post-American_World
The Book

               http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fareed_Zakaria
The Author

Many folks have remarked that they think this is all Muslim backed… how about 1] At least our President can read 2] he is reading a book  openly not appearing to hide it. God forbid!

so… in your opinion whats the big deal?

Its The Pipelines, Stupid

Bruce Gagnon at Organizing Notes had a couple of posts up in the past week or so that describes the real reasons for our foray into Afghanistan. Of course it is all about securing energy resources, specifically the ability to cut China and Russia out of the oil that will be transferred via pipelines that miraculously are in the same places that our troops are taking over. Thing is that the media and puppets are telling us that this particular area in the south, close to Pakistan, is a hotbed for radical terrorists of all sorts. Read his article at the link above for all the details, but his summation is clear:

When you check the maps above a clearer picture emerges. The bottom map is the proposed pipeline route to move Caspian Sea oil through Turkmenistan into Afghanistan and then finally through Pakistan to ports along the Arabian Sea where U.S. and British tankers would gorge themselves with the black gold.

The whole reason the U.S. is in Afghanistan and Pakistan today is to deny those pipelines from being routed through Russia, China, or Iran.

Then look at the top map (seen below here) where the U.S. Marines are operating inside Afghanistan and causing some controversy within the military. They are building big bases in desolate southwestern Afghanistan and wanting to extend control in that region near the border of Pakistan – all of which are areas that must “be controlled” if pipelines are to be successfully built and maintained.

Bruce follows that post up with some clarification found here. He had several commenters show that the first Washington Post article never said anything about the reasons being a pipeline (which, of course, they won’t). But the cat is out of the bag, as Bruce shows with the following graphic and commentary:

The June, 2008 Globe and Mail story was entitled “Pipeline opens new front in Afghan war.”

Here are a few tidbits from it:

“Afghanistan and three of its neighbouring countries have agreed to build a $7.6-billion (U.S.) pipeline that would deliver natural gas from Turkmenistan to energy-starved Pakistan and India – a project running right through the volatile Kandahar province – raising questions about what role Canadian Forces may play in defending the project.

“To prepare for proposed construction in 2010, the Afghan government has reportedly given assurances it will clear the route of land mines, and make the path free of Taliban influence.

“The so-called Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India [TAPI] pipeline has strong support from Washington because the U.S. government is eager to block a competing pipeline that would bring gas to Pakistan and India from Iran.

“Afghanistan’s national government could reap $160-million (U.S.) a year in transit fees, an amount equivalent to half the government’s current revenue.

“The pipeline proposal goes back to the 1990s, when the Taliban government held talks with California-based Unocal Corp. – and its U.S. government backer – while considering a competing bid by Argentina’s Bridas Corp. Those U.S.-Taliban talks broke down in August, 2001. India, which desperately needs natural gas imports to fuel its growth, later joined the revived project.”

So the picture gets clearer still. It is likely that the plan in the end would call for parallel pipelines carrying oil and natural gas from the Caspian Sea region – one turning east into Pakistan and then India and the second continuing south into Pakistan and ending at ports along the Arabian Sea.

As Bruce points out later, this is our “security concern” in the Middle East (and all you rednecks thought it was terrorism).

Lawrence Wilkerson has his ideas about how this all revolves around NOT allowing Iran to control these pipelines, which, in turn, explain all the saber-rattling and threats going on towards them. However, never keep your eyes off the real ball, which is China and Russia. We are doing this so they DON’T get that oil.

Is the United States planning to bomb Iran? A British newspaper has reported the United States is shipping bombs to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to possibly do just that. Lawrence Wilkerson says that if the US is, they cannot simply use airstrikes to attack Iran.

The Hunt: And Other Miscellaneous B’Man Babblings

Folks,

It is high time for the nut cuttin’.

Many people who visit here don’t really know how to take the place. Supposedly a redneck from the south who is anti-corporate, anti-Republican (and anti-Democrat, for that matter) and who cannot idly accept what the minions in government tell us, when it is obvious that their purpose is money and protecting those that give it to them.

I have had links (on the side over there ——->) for various places that are truly Progressive (“Progressive” Does NOT Equal Democratic party, btw) and also linked to some Conservative blogs (“Conservative” Does NOT equal Republican party).

I also have linked and appreciate as much or more than any others, blogs that are written by Black folk, Latinos, Europeans, Canadians, Afghanis, Iraqis, and even by an American in Seoul. The reason for this (other than appreciating their work) is that it is my opinion that these “fringe” groups (as some would describe) are being played against each other and against the white establishment (which the establishment wants me and other rednecks to think we are a part of).

Fat, rich white people against the rest of humanity, to a certain degree and they don’t care what color you are.

Any sane, thinking redneck must understand that we aren’t any part of that elitist group. It is simply the divide and conquer game that the richest of the rich use to control us: keeping us attacking, even killing each other over bullshit that means so little in perspective of the truth, that it astonishes me that we still fall for it.

My buddy (and contributer here), kelso’s nuts, says often that it will be the Black Power activists, the Socialist Parties, and the Southern Christian libertarians and Town Hallers that will make change happen. Rednecks, black folk and other minorities must be able to connect, make amends, and devise a way forward that will eliminate the Corporate Control of the majority of politicians. It is truly these few groups that recognize that American Exceptionalism is BS. It will be the people that are raising the most hell about Obama’s lies and deceit that will eventually hold him (them) accountable.

I like this that Kelso commented once:

There are but two sides: those who favor peace and freedom and those who don’t. The serious White Southern monetarists are very committed. The militant Black Power movement is really committed. The (real) socialist activist left is really committed. The world Green Parties are really committed.

It is this dance of the Republicrats and their blind hate and fear and perversion of Christianity and patriotism and the wealthy, indifferent, Big Government Liberals who are in lock-step to oppress.

It will NOT be those at the Huff Po, C&L, Daily Kos, etc. They are too invested in the system and Obama’s Ass (as in tonguing his ass). Too much clout, too much ability to rub elbows with power, and monetary gain from the very ones who perpetuate the shackling of us “peons”.

Nor will it be the Tea-baggers and the ravenous right-wing freaks whom only consider defeat of the “other party” as the goal. They are playing into and are likely a part of the mind games played on an American public who is scared to death about the future of this country and for their families.

I already know places that I want to highlight and you should get to know these folks, for truth is rampant at their blogs:

Losing The War on Humor

One of my newer Favs. 2truthy’s blog that addresses my favorite topics and is damned funny, as well. They, “are dedicated to drop-kicking truth and justice, laughers and screamers, strange and terribly real stories about living out the death of American civility and the hubris soaked perps who profit from it.”

Organizing Notes

Bruce Gagnon’s blog that addresses America’s Empire and organizing against it. Powerful stuff from a dedicated Patriot.

Jay Midnyte

Jay is a young black man who has his shit all together regarding the financial crisis we are in. His knowledge is impressive. Also note that if you are a redneck (like me), this may be a good place to begin to learn about Hip Hop (whether you like it or not isn’t the point). Understanding a culture that you have been brainwashed to fear is paramount to making this work. As an example, Hip Hop sells more to white folk than black folk.

Steve Lendman’s Blog

Powerful writer and radio host that focuses much time on the Empire and many other like-minded subjects.

The Disbrimstone Daily Pitchfork

Excellent assembly of writers (where I first read Kelso’s writing). The site is definitely NSFW (not suitable for work) and for some who have an aversion to porn, you may want to avoid it. However, the information presented here is well reported by quality, professional writers.

Chycho

This man is a freaking genius. He posts about math (which goes over my head, at times), but posts even more about politics and the empire that reigns. Marijuana legalization is one of his key interests and is about to embark on a Sabbatical to help Marc emory’s case in Canada. One of my favorite sites on the entire web.

Raw Dawg Buffalo

Torrance is absolutely brilliant. Depending on the particular post, he speaks in different voices (he can speak with a redneck, a politician, black folk or a king). He is one of the most insightful Professors, Authors, THINKERS that I have encountered. Well worth the visit.

Operation Itch

Davis Fleetwood’s Social Networking Site for progressives. It is “in-your-face” and REAL.

The Black Agenda Report

Glen Ford, Margaret Kimberly and Bruce Dixon (among others, I believe) lay out the truth about African American politics, thought and action. A must read for any American.

One of the most impressive interviews I have seen lately was a Real News interview with Glen Ford:

The Black Sun Gazette

I have featured Nick’s work here several times. Well worth the visit and RSS feed.

The Largest Minority

Manila Ryce’s blog of unadulterated gob-smacking of the idiocy we call American politics (not as active as usual, lately).

Once Upon A Time

Arthur Silber’s Blog. One of the better writers I have encountered on the web. Whether or not you agree with his point of view (I do, by and large), his posts are extremely well prepared, organized and informative.

Mock, Paper, Scissors

Tengrain’s blog who is slowly coming around to my way of thinking (wink). Funny, smart and a great writer.

Washington’s Blog

Last, but not least featured today is a blog that has been very informative for me on a variety of topics, especially the financial mess. But all things “Imperialization” are addressed in a brilliant and well thought out manner. Great Blog!

This is just a small sampling of truly progressive sites that see the overall picture, much like I do (I link and visit many others, but they are not necessarily political in nature, so I haven’t featured them in this post… like one of my favorite women bloggers that addresses blogging in general, Roschelle at Inconsequential Logic). There are many others that you should visit, like, “After Downing Street;  “A Tiny Revolution“; Sam Smith’s UnderNews (the blog for the Progressive Review); Glen Greenwald’s Blog (just a few among several you can click on over on the right panel). I have not formally set up Blog link exchanges with these, but they are a part of my daily read.

So here is what I am looking for. I want to expand on this by having you suggest similar sites, especially those that focus on the southern white portion that I have been discussing (I have a hard time finding them). I want to find sites that I can link to and share their ideas here that will help make this connection that is needed NOW, especially from that southern, white perspective.

It boils down to this: We MUST come together and fix this shit. We will never be whole until we take back the control. We will never be able to do that unless we work things out between us, without the diversions and horseshit divisional tactics that have worked for so very long.

And don’t be fooled by the name of a blog (like the “Pine Belt Progressive”, as an example). There is nothing “Progressive” about a site dedicated to ass-kissing the status quo and continuing the fake two-party divide.

And please don’t blow smoke up my ass. I can do that on my own:

Tobacco Enema

h/t Vital Signs and their article called, “20 Scary Old School Surgical Tools“

Fighting To Protect Your Health Insurance Company?

All you Death Panel subscribers: It is amazing to what lengths some will go to help protect their health insurance companies.

CROSS BORDER MEDICAL INCIDENT

h/t Organizing Notes

Then, again, how far are you willing to go for the only sane healthcare “reform”?

Health Care or Insurance Care? It’s Time to Respond!

Dear Friends,

The health care decision-making process in Washington is horribly tainted by the campaign contributions of insurance and pharmaceutical interests. Under the pay-to-play system health care becomes insurance care, the public option shrinks to irrelevance, the choice we are left: What kind of private, for-profit insurance do you want? This is not acceptable. We must respond now, and not settle for a plan which subsidizes insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies and sets the stage for the privatization of Medicare. We want Health Care for all the people, Medicare for All, which is exactly what the bill John Conyers and I wrote, HR 676, accomplishes. And the only way we will achieve it is to organize and take action in our communities to effect real change at a state and national level. Let us initiate immediately an action plan to intervene and provide health care for all:

1. On-line petition. Please contact your lists, your family and friends. Please sign the petition for a single payer system. I will deliver the petitions directly to your Congressperson.
2. Petition to download, print and circulate among friends and neighbors – including an instruction sheet.
3. A National Health Care for All Conference Call from Washington, DC, at 10 pm EDT, Thursday, September 10th at 1-800-230-1096. Join us, so that we can discuss our new beginning and ways in which we can all help. Pre-registration is necessary in order to reserve sufficient phone lines. Please RSVP here. When you call in and the operator asks, “what conference call?” tell the operator, “Health Care for All.”
4. Health Care Meet-Ups. Coming Thursday September 10 2009.
5. Tell A Friend. Every email forwarded will make a difference? Please use the “Forward Email” link below to circulate up to 5 emails at a time to your friends.

I need your help to initiate this action. If you believe, as I do, that we can and must begin a new long-term state-by-state grassroots effort to create a single-payer, not-for-profit health care system, please contribute now at Kucinich.us

Let me guess… you still have insurance through work (or your spouse’s work) and you have nothing to worry about because they will continue to cover you… right?

According to The Economic Policy Institute, that security may be premature. There has been a steady decline (5%) of employer based health insurance since 2000 (this figure is based off of 2007 numbers, which will be higher now). September 10th will be the day for the new report and I am willing to bet that declines will tap down near the 55% realm.

There will be a day of reckoning when those of you who have insurance provided by your employer will not be so spoiled and realize how hard it is for low income and small business owners to survive. The others of you that have never experienced any sort of ailment that cost significant money and are still not paying because you are gaming the system… it won’t work. There are a million things that can make that strategy fall on its face and on to my back to pay, since you can’t and won’t.

How The HealthCare Kabuki Is Danced

Kabuki Dance is a Japanese dance style, but is used to describe “an activity or drama carried out in real life in a predictable or stylized fashion“. Many people use this description to say that something is staged and acted out when the outcome is already known. This is exactly what has happened in the healthcare “debate”, which has only been a show for the Gullible Sheople to entertain themselves by and for the Elitists to confuse those Sheople by.

They have been trying to sway the most gullible American Sheople (the Progressives) with the “Public Option” and at the same time, flirting with the Big Insurance and Big Meds folks to keep their campaign money flowing and profits skyrocketing. The right has demonized the entire process and have lost all sensible argument with “Death Panels” and “Socialized Medicine”, etc. This has caused even more confusion among the masses of both sides and has tainted the overall view of any reform.

THAT is the dance.

But reality tells us a different thing all together. reality would mean that the right-wing idiots clamoring over themselves to shout someone down would have to shut up long enough to learn the truth. Progressives will have to stop sucking off Mr Obama and believing that he gives a fuck about them or anyone else except his coffers.

It is time that Americans turn their back on the dance and start their own play… their own controlled dance of helath and human prosperity… not the health and corporate prosperity. TarHeel88 breaks it down like this in the article called, “The WORST of Both Worlds. “Corporate Obama” & The Reactionary Right.”:

THIS IS really what the health care debate is about. By using racism and scapegoating to reframe the discussion, the right hopes to avoid a genuine discussion about real health care reform in the U.S. Central to this effort are the so-called Blue Dog–or more aptly, Blue Cross–Democrats, a caucus of conservatives in the party. This group is incredibly hostile even to Obama’s watered-down health care reform, because they are bitterly opposed to the notion that health care should be a right and not a privilege.

The irony is that Obama has already bowed to business interests on health care, just as he has on other issues. While the Obama administration was willing to give the banks that created the economic catastrophe tens of billions of dollars and demand little or nothing in return, Obama forced auto manufacturers into bankruptcy while demanding that their unions give up long-held and hard-fought gains in health care, retirement and wages as well as agree to massive job loss.

Moreover, where Obama the presidential candidate vowed to fight for Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would make joining a union easier, President Obama abandoned the legislation early on and has rarely even mentioned the bill’s name.

Today, states across the country are facing bankruptcy, and budget cuts threaten thousands of state-funded social programs. Yet Obama stands by watching, effectively saying–as President Gerald Ford did more than 30 years ago when New York City was on the cusp of financial collapse–”Drop dead.”

The pattern could not be clearer. Corporations and bank profits come first; ordinary people, last. This was not the “change” people were looking for when they voted for Obama. As the economy crashed last autumn, Obama rallied millions of Americans with the hope and expectation that his administration would represent a break with the status quo and would fight for real change in Washington. Today, though, the Obama health care initiative stands as only the latest example of how far Obama’s policies have moved from his promises.

Back when he was an Illinois state senator, Obama favored a single-payer, Medicare-type health care plan like that of Canada and Western European countries. Presidential candidate Obama backed off his support for single-payer, but still supported some kind of publicly funded health insurance option that would guarantee that everyone–including the poor, the unemployed and the under-insured–received coverage. Ending the war in Iraq and taxing the rich–whose taxes had been precipitously cut by the George W. Bush administration–would pay for the plan.

Instead, when the corporations and insurance companies put up a fight–as one could only expect they would–the Obama administration continues to cave into their demands. Thus, the public option has been all but taken off the table. Yet if there’s no public health care option in the midst of a recession, which will likely followed by a jobless recovery that will cause millions more to lose their health care–what exactly is the extent of the reform?

The Real Dance should be Single Payer, Not-For-Profit Insurance for everyone. Medicare for all. Dennis Kucinich explains in 90.3 WCPN ideastream®: Click to listen: Kucinich Predicts Retreat On Health Care Reform (h/t AfterDowningStreet) that the goal in legislation has been to prop up the Health Insurance Companies profits and disallow a public system that would “compete” (read as keep honest) with the for profit systems.

The fact is that the leadership doesn’t want everyone covered. They don’t want competition to show us how greedy and thieving the Health Insurance Companies are.

Kucinich said:

“One out of every three dollar goes to the activities of the for-profit system. They cream it right off the top for corporate profits, stock options, executive salaries, advertising, the cost of paperwork. If you took that 800 billion dollars a year, which is what that represents, and put it into care for people you’d have enough to cover everyone, doctor of choice, vision care, dental health, mental health care, long term care, prescription drugs – we’d all be covered.”

And just in case you wonder about how Brits feel when the fool hardy right-wing nutcases demagogue their healthcare in the UK. They might respond like this (from Organizing Notes):

Los Angeles, Guatemala

This is what your beloved Health Insurance Companies would love to have in place for those they refuse to cover or cannot afford coverage.

Am I the only real life redneck who thinks that this shit is absurd?

Stan Brock says it all when he says, “This could be Guatemala. There is no difference.”

h/t Organizing Notes:

These “health care fairs” are popping up all over the country as currently almost 50 million Americans have no real health care. Is this the kind of reform the health insurance corporations suggest we have?

Last night at the cultural rally in Seoul one of the songs had a chorus line that went: “Say good-bye to the world you thought you lived in”……a fitting way to describe America’s race to the bottom of the barrel.

Isn’t it past time that we began to demand more and to fight for it?

We have become a colonized people in the US by the corporate powers but we still seem to suffer from the illusion that we are a democracy and that the people are in charge. The sooner we wake up from this misbegotten dream the better for us all.

And then California does THIS (h/t WorldProutAssembly):

A state board voted Thursday to begin terminating health insurance for more than 60,000 children Oct. 1 as a result of the budget amendments signed into law recently by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Those children would be up for an annual review of their coverage next month, but instead they may be dropped from the California Healthy Families program under the action by the state Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board. The board is scrambling to secure funding from other sources, including money set aside by voters for early childhood education, but so far it has come up short. If additional funds are not found, board officials said, the program could ultimately drop 669,296 children in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2010. Currently, 921,000 people age 18 and younger are enrolled in Healthy Families.

By Patrick McGreevy and Evan Halper

Yes, cut healthcare for the neediest. I know I ain’t no California Dude, but this sure seems fucked up to me.

Heather, at C&L, has a clip of  Real Time’s Real Reporter, Dana Gould, as he examines the difference between visiting the right-wing nutcases and the RAM gathering in California. Can you imagine the upside down rationale for the people WITH healthcare being all pissed off about Single payer (or any kind of change), when the people hurting the most are the most cordial and helpful?

RT-Gould-081409

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But the Brutal Truth About America’s Healthcare is described by the founder of RAM, Stan Brock in this interview and article first published at The Independent/UK and also featured at CommonDreams. You keep hearing the Rush maniacs scream at TownHall events, but they are mum about this issue. Here is a snippet:

…

President Obama’s healthcare plans had been a central plank of his first-term program, but his reform package has taken a battering at the hands of Republican opponents in recent weeks. As the Democrats have failed to coalesce around a single, straightforward proposal, their rivals have seized on public hesitancy over “socialized medicine” and now the chance of far-reaching reform is in doubt.

Most damaging of all has been the tide of vociferous right-wing opponents whipping up skepticism at town hall meetings that were supposed to soothe doubts. In Pennsylvania this week, Senator Arlen Specter was greeted by a crowd of 1,000 at a venue designed to accommodate only 250, and of the 30 selected speakers at the event, almost all were hostile.

The packed bleachers in the LA Forum tell a different story. The mobile clinic has been organized by the remarkable Remote Area Medical. The charity usually focuses on the rural poor, although they worked in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Now they are moving into more urban venues, this week’s event in Los Angeles is believed to be the largest free healthcare operation in the country.

Doctors, dentists and therapists volunteer their time, and resources to the organization. To many US medical professionals, it offers a rare opportunity to plug into the public service ethos on which their trade was supposedly founded. “People come here who haven’t seen a doctor for years. And we’re able to say ‘Hey, you have this, you have this, you have this’,” said Dr Vincent Anthony, a kidney specialist volunteering five days of his team’s time. “It’s hard work, but incredibly rewarding. Healthcare needs reform, obviously. There are so many people falling through the cracks, who don’t get care. That’s why so many are here.”

Ironically, given this week’s transatlantic spat over the NHS, Remote Area Medical was founded by an Englishman: Stan Brock. The 72-year-old former public schoolboy, Taekwondo black belt, and one-time presenter of Wild Kingdom, one of America’s most popular animal TV shows, left the celebrity gravy train in 1985 to, as he puts it, “make people better”.

Today, Brock has no money, no income, and no bank account. He spends 365 days a year at the charity events, sleeping on a small rolled-up mat on the floor and living on a diet made up entirely of porridge and fresh fruit. In some quarters, he has been described, without too much exaggeration, as a living saint.

Though anxious not to interfere in the potent healthcare debate, Mr Brock said yesterday that he, and many other professionals, believes the NHS should provide a benchmark for the future of US healthcare.

“Back in 1944, the UK government knew there was a serious problem with lack of healthcare for 49.7 million British citizens, of which I was one, so they said ‘Hey Mr Nye Bevan, you’re the Minister for Health… go fix it’. And so came the NHS. Well, fast forward now 66 years, and we’ve got about the same number of people, about 49 million people, here in the US, who don’t have access to healthcare.”

“I’ve been very conservative in my outlook for the whole of my life. I’ve been described as being about 90,000 miles to the right of Attila the Hun. But I think one reaches the reality that something doesn’t work… In this country something has to be done. And as a proud member of the US community but a loyal British subject to the core, I would say that if Britain could fix it in 1944, surely we could fix it here in America.

Healthcare compared

Health spending as a share of GDP

US 16%

UK 8.4%

Public spending on healthcare (% of total spending on healthcare)

US 45%

UK 82%

Health spending per head

US $7,290

UK $2,992

Practising physicians (per 1,000 people)

US 2.4

UK 2.5

Nurses (per 1,000 people)

US 10.6

UK 10.0

Acute care hospital beds (per 1,000 people)

US 2.7

UK 2.6

Life expectancy:

US 78

UK 80

Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births)

US 6.7

UK 4.8

Source: WHO/OECD Health Data 2009

Richard Noggin’ Saturday: Sen Chris Dodd and Timothy Geithner

It’s a twofer (just among the pals of AIG).

Chris.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Hanging with the wrong crowd, it appears, but seemingly among friends and close confidants. Bruce Gagnon explores in CORRUPTION CROSSES PARTY LINES, the lingering question on a thinking person’s mind:

Who asked him to allow and change the bonus allowance? Geithner or even higher up?

Bruce writes: