Time

New York

Listening to butterflies

David Ignatius of the Washington Post wrote an insightful editorial about global warming, and mentions a series of New Yorker articles by Elizabeth Kolbert regarding the shrinking of Artic ice, thawing of permafrost, changing rainfall patterns, and butterflies who move into new habitats as the planet grows warmer. Read this piece to get a taste of the issues, and then consider tracking down the Kolbert articles (Spring 2005). Let's start listening...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR2006011700895.html

Suburbia, and an author you should know...

Oil. Cars. Surburbia. Our future. They're connected. And one who joins the chorus of souls who strongly understand and cry about this connection is author James Howard Kunstler. In The Long Emergency (c. 2005), Kunstler tells us that despite our denial, the days of cheap and easy-to-get oil are over, baby, and the tough days are about to begin. Of course, the damage we've wreaked on our society and planet have been in the making for a while. Global warming. Asphalt jungles. You've heard the words - and now you can understand what lies behind them. Kunstler has an appreciation for how we got here and he projects where it's leading if we don't, and even if we do, change our behaviors. To sum up his conclusions, we'll all need to live a lot more locally, since a disruption in the availability of oil will impact shipping, transportation, food and medicine production, and life as we know it. This global world will fall back in on itself, and those who get by best will be those who can produce their own food and live in a sustainable way. I never truly understood "sustainable" until reading this book, and I followed it by reading The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man Made Landscape (c. 1993); I then realized that Kunstler has been onto something with this oil thing for quite some time. Reading these books may change the way you look at short car trips, long car trips, the sort of car you drive, and even (and especially) the meaning of life if you're living it in or driving to or from the suburbs and spending a large share of your day behind the wheel. Kunstler touches on the "something for nothing" mentality of Americans and the dreaming big that we have had, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and of the incredible inventiveness that cheap oil and a big country gave to us. Can we do the right thing? I see holding our politicians responsible for being aware and for encouraging conservation, development of alternate forms of energy (Kunstler appears to have less belief in this concept and advocates nuclear energy more than other forms, something I and, he admits, most Americans, would disagree with for political and historical reasons, though he also recommends a return to water power using streams and rivers currently used for recreational purposes), and keeping this topic front and center as important. I also see learning some skills that would come in handy when one can no longer afford to commute long distances and when one needs to become more self-sufficient. I wondered as I read both books about the alternative to the burbs. The burbs formed because people wanted a place of their own, to spread out, to celebrate the winning of WWII, to indulge in consumerism offered by the many new developments of industry, and it wasn't a bad thing, necessarily...but it caused us uncontrolled, unfocused growth and expansion and caused big business to want to get bigger - to sell more, to disregard healthy growth, to do it all because they could. A few of the darker sides of it - the collaboration of auto, rubber, and other industries to do away with public transportation systems like the streetcar to encourage the need to buy a personal vehicle - and the machinations of some businesses to do whatever it took to force unrestrained growth of the highway system, sometimes putting people out of their homes and communities - make one ashamed of our culture. We can't turn back, we can't unpave all the freeways (would we want to?), but we can think smarter about growth and its impact on the environment and on community. I know I haven't felt a sense of community in a long time - people get that at work, maybe, or at church, but in the in-between times, they lock their door and turn on their TV and know everything and care more about the Desperate Housewives than their own neighbors. Reality shows and American Idols that we feel more for than our own cities and towns. And commercials in between prompting us to buy, buy, buy. I'm torn. I want to buy to support my community (tax dollars = my library), but where are the local businesses that care for our community? As Kunstler points out, they're all the big ones that put the little ones out of business, and then when they decide to close this or that location because it isn't producing enough revenue, the big guys really don't care about that big box sitting on that major street corner, and now it's up to the economic development office who tried so hard and gave so many incentives to woo that big wonderful company to locate here to figure out a way to attract another business there for reuse. And the blight it causes when one after the other vacate because that corner just isn't working for them. I've seen this and you've seen this. What do we do about it? You know if you've read earlier posts of mine that I'm not particularly in favor of big box stores that do little to next to nothing for the communities where they do business...BUT, I'm more than supportive of responsible, tolerant, caring businesses who #1) support their employees and #2) support their communities. I still think it's important to support the smaller local businesses when possible. I still think a company that thinks only of its bottom line ISN'T a good neighbor. I've lived in the suburbs most of my life and in the city for some part of my life. The city isn't for everyone and I think I finally understand that it isn't what Kunstler is saying. He's saying we get closer, smaller, living in a way that supports each other. If that's a city, great. If that's a small town that has a good balance of industry, housing, and doesn't obliterate the natural environment, that's great too. Kunstler characterizes the chance of survival and success in light of diminishing oil supplies. Some areas of the nation will fare better than others, and in some cases, he may be stereotyping people and regions. Still, he gets the point across that we don't have a snowball's chance in an oil well if we don't start thinking about this stuff...and the thinking may lead to doing something about it.

Meanwhile, I haven't posted in a long time, I know that. I also know that not many people read this blog, if comments are any indication. There's just one at this writing, and it's an ad. Whatever! I think, though, that I'll still make an effort to continue to post when feeing moved because I'm finding that my interests are still in the same general area but that I run into new things and ideas that are helping me put together the puzzle. Maybe, if I keep at it, there's some way I can help change or influence something.

"Exporting America" interview

Lou Dobbs, interviewed by Mother Jones Magazine, explains how we got in this sorry situation:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/2005/02/lou_dobbs.html

Iraq Updates

Visit this blog for comphrehensive Iraq updates.

http://dailywarnews.blogspot.com/

Finding out about the war-dead

Use these links to find out about casualties in the Iraq and Afghan conflicts:

http://icasualties.org/oif/Details.aspx - This site has a feature that enables you to organize the information by state, age, gender, place of death, country of death, cause of death, branch, unit, and rank of soldier. You can see it all - hostile fire, non-hostile vehicle accidents...the number, at this writing, is 1633 dead (not just US but soldiers from all involved nations). What's more, this site includes deaths of contractors (many killed through suicide bombing, ambush, and execution) and you can limit to Afghanistan war-dead. The site features statistics and graphs.

http://www.centcom.mil/ This is where the previous site gets its info, but there's no easy or obvious way to find a search of this data on the centcom site.

One example of how a state's media does it:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/veterans/azwardead.html

Know any others?

(Thanks to a friend for passing this info along to me. My deep sympathy to those who have suffered losses in these wars.)

Naomi Klein

I've been a recent admirer of the work of journalist Naomi Klein. Someone sent me a link to an article she wrote about the Iraq war and how it may have been, among other things and perhaps more than anything, an exercise in capitalism (Baghdad Year Zero, http://www.harpers.org/BaghdadYearZero.html). I've begun reading her book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (c. 2000, 2002) and I URGE you to pick up a copy if you're as passionate as I am about the subjects of branding, corporate monopolies, the injustice of sweatshops and factory closings in the pursuit of lower costs and higher profits, and activism to reclaim our freedom and identity in a world of brands. Looking on the web, I discovered that Klein has a website all her own with many of her writings and links to agencies watching sweatlabor. Visit http://www.nologo.org/. Incidentally, Klein is writer/producer of a new film, The Take about business globalization in the lens of an Argentine auto factory. It will play in theatres in North America, most beginning this week and in March. Klein is cited as one of the strongest Canadian documentary talents and I hope I have the chance to catch this film. If you did and would like to attach a comment, please feel free.

Was this war worth it? One Mom's view...

I appreciate this being sent to me so I may post it here. Please read and share.

Not Worth My Son's Sacrifice

by Cindy Sheehan

02/07/05 "LewRockwell.com" -- I was supposed to be on the Larry King Live
show last week. I was asked to be on the show to offer my opinion on the
election in Iraq from the perspective of a mom whose son was killed in the
war prior to the elections. One of the questions I was going to be asked
was: Do I think my son's sacrifice was "worth it?" Well, I didn't get a
chance to be on the show, because I was bumped for something that is really important: The Michael Jackson Trial.

If I had been allowed to go on Larry King Live last night and give my
opinion about the elections and about my son's sacrifice, this is what I
would have told Mr. King and his viewers:

My son, Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan (KIA, Sadr City, 04/04/04) enlisted in the Army to protect America and give something back to our country. He didn't enlist to be used and misused by a reckless Commander-in-Chief who sent his troops to preemptively attack and occupy a country that was no imminent threat (or any threat) to our country. Casey was sent to die in a war that was based on the imagination of some Neo-Cons who love to fill our lives with fear.

Casey didn't agree with the "Mission" but being the courageous and honorable man that he was he knew he had to go to this mistake of a war to support his buddies. Casey also wondered aloud many times why precious troops and resources were being diverted from the real war on terror.

Casey was told that he would be welcomed to Iraq as a liberator with chocolates and rose petals strewn in front of his unarmored Humvee. He was in Iraq for two short weeks when the Shi'ite rebel "welcome wagon" welcomed him to Baghdad with bullets and RPG's, which took his young and beautiful life. I think my son's helmet and Viet Nam era flak jacket would have protected him better from the chocolates and flower petals.

Casey was killed after George Bush proclaimed "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003 - he was also killed after Saddam was captured in December of that same year. Casey was killed before the transfer of power in June of 2004 and before these elections. Four marines were tragically killed after the election. By my count, about five-dozen Iraqis and coalition troops were killed on Election Day - is that the definition of "Catastrophic Success?" But is that a good day in Iraq? Hundreds of our young people and thousands of Iraqis have been needlessly and senselessly murdered since George Bush triumphantly announced an end to "major combat" almost 2 years ago now. All of the above events have been heralded by this administration as "turning points" in the "war on terror" - or as wonderful events in the "march of
democracy." Really? I don't think, judging by very recent history, that the elections will stop the bloodshed and destruction.

I would have asked Mr. King if he would want to sacrifice one of his children for sham elections in Iraq. Would he or George Bush send their children to be killed, or maimed for life, for a series of lies, mistakes and miscalculations? Now that every lie has been exposed to the light for the invasion and occupation of Iraq - why are our sons and daughters still there? NOT ONE MORE DROP OF BLOOD SHOULD BE SPILLED FOR THIS PACK OF LIES.

This war was sold to the American people by a slimy leadership with a maniacal zeal and phony sincerity that would have impressed snake oil salesmen a century ago. The average American needs to hear from people who have been devastated by the arrogance and ignorance of an administration that doesn't even have the decency or compassion to sign our "death" letters.

In the interest of being "fair and balanced" (oops, wrong network), I would have been pitted against a parent who still agrees with the "Mission" and the President. Although I grieve for that parent's loss and I respect that parent's opinion, I would have defied Mr. King, or that parent to explain the "Mission" to me. I don't think anyone can do it with a straight face.

The President has also stated that we need to keep our troops in Iraq to honor our sacrifices by completing this elusive and ever changing "Mission." My response to him is "Just because it is too late for Casey and the Sheehan family, why would we want another innocent life taken, in the name of this chameleon of a 'Mission'?

Well, I was bumped from the show anyway. Now that Scott Peterson has been convicted and sentenced for his crimes and Laci and Connor's families have the justice they deserve, we have the new "trial of the century" to keep our minds off of the nasty and annoying fact that we are waging an immoral war in Iraq. We can fill our TV screens and homes with the glorified images of the Michael Jackson molestation trial. We can fill our lives with outrage over MJ's victims and hope they get justice; not even questioning the fact that George Bush, his dishonest cabinet, and their misguided policies aren't even brought to the court of public opinion. We won't have to confront ourselves with the fact that the leaders of our country and their lies are responsible for the deaths of 1438 brave Americans - tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis - and the loss of our Nation's credibility throughout the world. That might mean we would have to turn off our television sets and do
something about it.

Oh yeah. In answer to the original question Larry: No it wasn't worth it!!

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin
Sheehan, KIA 04/04/04 She is co-founder of Gold Star Families
for Peace.

"It worked for tax cuts and the war..."

I generally don't print full articles here, but I don't want to point to something that someone would have to register for to read, so I'm going to copy it here. I apologize, but it was a forwarded email, and the person's lead comment was that of my headline - "It worked for tax cuts and the war..." Is Social Security in dire trouble? They want us to think so. Is propoganda being used here? Is it a fine line between marketing and propogranda? Are private accounts the answer? Read on.

Agency Running Social Security to Push Change

January 16, 2005
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 - Over the objections of many of its own employees, the Social Security Administration is gearing up for a major effort to publicize the financial problems of Social Security and to persuade the public that private accounts are needed as part of any solution.

The agency's plans are set forth in internal documents, including a "tactical plan" for communications and marketing of the idea that Social Security faces dire financial problems requiring immediate action.

Social Security officials say the agency is carrying out its mission to educate the public, including more than 47 million beneficiaries, and to support the agenda of President Bush.

But agency employees have complained to Social Security officials that they are being conscripted into a political battle over the future of the program. They question the accuracy of recent statements by the agency, and they say that money from the Social Security trust fund should not be used for such advocacy.

"Trust fund dollars should not be used to promote a political agenda," said Dana C. Duggins, a vice president of the Social Security Council of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 50,000 of the agency's 64,000 workers and has opposed private accounts.

Deborah C. Fredericksen of Minneapolis, who has worked for the Social Security Administration for 31 years, said, "Many employees believe that the president and this agency are using scare tactics to promote private accounts."

Social Security trustees say the program's financial problems will grow as baby boomers retire. The program will pay out more in benefits than it collects in revenue in 2018, they say. By 2042, they say, the trust fund will be exhausted, and tax income will be sufficient to pay only 73
percent of scheduled benefits.

Social Security employees denied that their concerns were motivated by a bureaucratic mentality, a fear of change or a desire to protect their jobs.

"There's a lot more to it than that," said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents lawyers and paralegals at the Social Security Administration. "There's a genuine concern about how people will live when they retire, a real fear that Social Security benefits could be eroded by private accounts."

In campaign-style speeches, President Bush and other officials have said that Social Security is headed for bankruptcy, and that workers should be allowed to divert some of their payroll taxes into private accounts, as a way to build wealth for themselves and their heirs.

"The system is broken, and promises are being made that Social Security cannot keep," Mr. Bush said in his Saturday radio address.

Such comments have prompted inquiries from the public to Social Security offices. Agency managers said they expected a torrent of calls after Mr. Bush highlights the issue in his inaugural address on Thursday and his State of the Union speech two weeks later.

Mark R. Lassiter, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration, said he could not discuss the agency's communications plans because they were "internal documents." The agency, he said, has a duty "to educate the public about the financial challenges facing Social Security," but has not prepared a script for employees to use in answering questions from the public.

The Bush administration ran afoul of a ban on "covert propaganda" when it used tax money to promote the new Medicare drug benefit and to publicize the dangers of drug abuse by young people. The administration acknowledged paying a conservative commentator, Armstrong Williams, to promote its No Child Left Behind education policy. But on Social Security, unlike those issues, the government has not concealed its role.

The agency's strategic communications plan says the following message is to be disseminated to "all audiences" through speeches, seminars, public events, radio, television and newspapers: "Social Security's long-term financing problems are serious and need to be addressed soon," or else the program may not "be there for future generations."

The plan says that Social Security managers should "discuss solvency issues at staff meetings," "insert solvency messages in all Social Security publications" and spread the word at nontraditional sites like farmers' markets and "big box retail stores."

Also, the document says, agency managers should observe and measure how much their employees know about the solvency of the program.

Mr. Bush has created a sense of urgency by declaring that "the crisis is now."

A slide show, presented to various audiences by James B. Lockhart III, deputy commissioner of Social Security, says that "benefit cuts would be drastic" after 2042 if the Social Security law and payroll tax rates continue unchanged.

A policy brief prepared by the agency says those benefit cuts "would double the poverty rate of Social Security beneficiaries aged 64 to 78," increasing the number of indigent people in that age bracket to 1.8 million, from 875,000.

Witold R. Skwierczynski, president of the Social Security Council of the federation of government employees, said: "Some of the information being imparted by agency officials
is not factual, not accurate. There is no immediate crisis."

In interviews, other Social Security employees expressed similar views. But council members were more willing to allow use of their names because a federal law generally protects them against "penalty or reprisal" when they speak publicly or testify before Congress.

The official policy brief, analyzing the consequences of inaction, was written by Andrew G. Biggs, the associate commissioner of Social Security for retirement policy. Mr. Biggs, 37, joined President Bush in making the case for private accounts at a White House forum this week.

When he was an analyst at the Cato Institute, Mr. Biggs championed private accounts, saying they "would pay substantially higher retirement benefits than the current Social Security program" because some payroll taxes could be invested in stocks and corporate bonds rather than in government securities.

In 2003, just before he became associate commissioner, Mr. Biggs said that AARP, the lobby for older Americans, was "spreading disinformation" about the risks of private accounts. Mr. Biggs, who has a doctorate from the London School of Economics, said critics were wrong to suggest
that personal accounts meant large cuts in benefits. In fact, he said, Social Security cannot pay the benefits it has promised.

The combination of benefits from traditional Social Security and a private account would substantially exceed what the current program can actually pay, Mr. Biggs said.

Other analysts, including the Congressional Budget Office, have reached a different conclusion. They say the combination of benefits from the trust fund and individual accounts is likely to be less than actual benefits under the current system.

In a document sent each year to millions of workers, the government emphasizes the looming financial problems. The document shows a worker's earnings history and estimated future benefits. But it says the scheduled benefits could be cut because "without changes, by 2042 the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted."

Agency employees raised their concerns with Reginald F. Wells, a deputy commissioner of Social Security, and two associate commissioners, David L. Feder and Roger McDonnell. Mr. McDonnell confirmed that employee representatives had shared their concerns with him, but he declined to say how he replied.

Robert M. Ball, who worked at the Social Security Administration for three decades and was commissioner under Democratic and Republican presidents from 1962 to 1973, said: "It's fine for the agency to answer factual questions, but it's unusual to use the Civil Service organization to push a political agenda, especially because what they're saying is not true. The program is not going bankrupt."

When asked about the outlook for Social Security, several agency officials pointed to a White House "fact sheet" that says, "By 2042, when workers in their mid-20's begin to retire, the system will be bankrupt - unless we act now to save it."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/politics/16benefit.html?ex=1106814837&ei=1
&en=fd8054c6bc41340d

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Stolen Election 2004 - An Action Site

http://stolenelection2004.com/articles.html

"Wal-mart" DOES NOT EQUAL "America"

They grew on the image of being American-made, home-grown, all that God-mom-apple pie stuff. I'm always amazed at people who LOVE Wal-mart, will follow the lowest price without realizing the sad economic implications that this giant small-town economy eater poses for most of our nation. There are many sites that tell you the truth about Wal-mart and its horrible corporate practices, its threat to other business, its domination of markets and prices, its harm to workers and hatred of unionization and employee rights, and abuse of workers elsewhere in the world, so I won't go into that (but please look them up, I'll link some here)...but I WILL share this bit about how now, most of the products sold in Wal-mart stores ARE NOT American made, a reality that conflicts with the image some still hold of this company. Read more:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/walmartchina113004.cfm "Most (70%) of Wal-Mart's Products Are Produced in China"

Excerpt: "If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China's eighth-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada," Xusaid.

Blogmaster's comment: Oh, yeah. There aren't really a whole heck of a lot of American manufacturers anymore, so, they HAVE to get their products from China. Right? How did we get here? Wal-mart got us here. Thanks, guys. While we're chasing after low prices to make you rich, and you have to go outside of the US because employee benefits and worker's regulations make American-made products just too costly, you're selling America out from under us.

Other truth-about-Wal-mart sites:
http://www.ufcw.org/issues_and_actions/walmart_workers_campaign_info/index.cfm
http://www.walmartwatch.com/index.cfm
http://www.sprawl-busters.com/
http://www.davelippman.com/walmart/whyihatewalmart.html
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html The Wal-Mart You Don't Know - "The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?"
http://www.1worldcommunication.org/Walmart.htm "We have chosen Walmart as the target of our primary call for a boycott because of the company’s unfair labor practices around the world. Not only does this chain mistreat many employees that work for them, it also sells goods made by suppliers that grossly violate the rights of their workers around the world. Despite protests and a law suit they have refused to correct these problems."
http://comp.uark.edu/~scummin/psa/walmart.html Action from the Progressive Students Assn. of the University of Arkansas - it's cool that locals are involved!

Another comment from the blogmaster on this topic: I know, it's hard to boycott them because you want to support the working poor and others who work in their stores, and in most cases, (thanks to Wal-mart blowing out the competition) have NO OTHER LOCAL CHOICE of employment. Why should the workers suffer further? I know, I feel this way too. Why should we deny these people the right to earn a living, OUR money. What do you do? A dilemma, isn't it. My take is that if you must shop there, go informed. And perhaps find other ways to spread the word or express your dismay about the practices of this monster. Find ways to make others aware, and send a signal to the company that you will not support its bad-for-our-economy practices. But, in the final analysis, I feel that my dollars are my choice and my voice, and I refuse to walk into Wal-mart unless I absolutely must (I'm lucky enough to still live in a place with several other similar outlets - for now). If enough ex-customers do this (believe me, if we educated, aware people do this, the store will still not be hurting), perhaps it will send a message to the ownership to come down off their greed pony and start to behave like a world-aware, America-responsible company as many other companies do. We can always hope...

Where oh where has our govt. information gone???

Since 9/11, there's more secrecy than ever in government information. What do historians think? And who's tracking these changes in what our govt. shares with us?

http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/Issues/2004/0410/0410nch1.cfm

(First two paragraphs of article. To see more, click link above.)

Combating Government Secrecy—An Update
by Bruce Craig

One of the defining characteristics of government in the post-9/11 era is an increased emphasis on secrecy. The Patriot Act, when combined with the Bush administration’s implementation of several executive orders—including one relating to homeland security information sharing (E.O. 13311), another relating to classification of national security information (E.O. 13292), and the draconian order put on the books at the beginning of the current administration restricting access to presidential records (E.O. 13233)—have created impediments to government documents of an almost unprecedented scale. New reports show that federal agencies are classifying documents in record numbers, thus affecting present and future efforts by scholars seeking access to all sorts of government records. Government agencies are, in fact, responding to increasing numbers of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by clamping down even more on access.
To combat these trends, dozens of organizations including the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Library Association, the Federation of American Scientists, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the National Coalition for History have joined together in a new coalition—OpenTheGovernment.org. The group seeks to promote "the public’s right to know and reduce secrecy in the government."

A few more links...

Try these links, suggested to me:

http://www.alternet.org/

http://www.counterpunch.org/

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/

http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm

Election 2004 - Evidence

From an email sent to me:

"The good news about the election is that Kerry won. The bad news is that he isn't going to be president. The worse news is that, while the dems were talking like they were in a fighting mood and ready to stand up for what is right, not a peep is being made about the growing evidence of enormous voting fraud carried out to keep bush in office. "

http://ideamouth.com/voterfraud.htm#FL

http://ideamouth.com/politics/bbv/exit_poll.gif

http://www.rubberbug.com/temp/Florida2004chart.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1106-30.htm

http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/todays_show.html

http://www.votergate.tv/

http://www.spectrumz.com/z/fair_use/2004/11_04.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2602324

http://gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=392&row=0

Maps that REALLY show election 2004 returns

http://www-personal.umich.edu/%7Emejn/election/ He compensates for populations, county division, etc.

It's a Start...

Read these...

http://www.infernalpress.com/Columns/election.html

http://www.salon.com/opinion/letters/2004/11/03/defeat/index.html

Michael Moore's website http://www.michaelmoore.com Be sure to view the Must Read section

Air America Radio website (you can listen, too) http://www.airamericaradio.com/ Listen online or if your city is lucky enough to have a station, on the radio

Salon http://www.salon.com/
(You can view all content at no charge by viewing a free Day Pass - sometimes, they don't have one or my computer doesn't pick it up at home, but by watching a short commercial, you get all content. If you don't, you can still get a lot.)

This is Rumor Control http://www.thisisrumorcontrol.org/

Operation Truth (website from military who were there [Iraq] and tell it like it really is) http://www.optruth.org/main.cfm

Doc in the Box (a blog done up by a military who served in Iraq and who offers links to others serving there as we speak - some pro-Bush and some anti-Bush) http://docinthebox.blogspot.com/

Current Electoral Vote Predictor http://www.electoral-vote.com/ He is a Kerry supporter (he wants American respected in the world again) and he updated this site every day of the campaign. He has an archive and you can even see an animated version of what polls said at http://electoral-vote.caida.org/

Bush's movements and actions on 9/11 http://www.cooperativeresearch.net/timeline/main/essayaninterestingday.html
and look online for the video of Bush in the classroom at Booker Elementary School in (where else?) Florida

Places where you can find the truth

The election's "over" ...

Well...maybe.

In the meantime, the realization hit me hard and fast that big Media doesn't give you the news. They don't care about reality. They have an agenda. They're afraid of printing the truth because they don't want to look "liberal." They don't want to lose access. What we need to do more than anything is to share those sources of true journalism, true news, true TRUTH, the stuff no one will give you because they can't afford to lose the favor of the powers that be (and those powers will HANG ONTO those powers tooth and nail...). We need to have fully-sourced news from REAL people, people who are unafraid of telling it like it is. There's a risk there, but I will be looking at more than one side of an issue from here on out, because the standard media outlets, controlled by the Right, have not given you, WILL NOT GIVE YOU, the whole story. Guess what? Someone knows and does not tell. But luckily, there are a few that will. Hope you find some news you can use, and that won't use you.

geraniumrain