EP-RANTS!

Celebrate Halloween like George W. Bush! Man, the DNC Kickin' Ass Blog is really putting out some great stuff these days. Here's something I swiped... eh... BORROWED from.... http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/halloween/index.html "I do not reinvent myself at every turn. I am not running in borrowed clothes." - Then-candidate George W. Bush, 8/3/2000 Halloween is just around the corner.If you're like President Bush, you enjoy dressing up in all kinds of costumes. There are lots of cool things you can dress up and pretend to be for Halloween. Do you need some ideas this year? Check out some of the costumes President Bush has worn since he's been in the White House. Military Man President Bush loves dressing up like a military man and hanging out with a whole bunch of real military folks. (Especially if there are cameras around!) CHECK IT OUT Working Man If you're like President Bush, you've relied on friends (and...

Howard Dean on Corporate Tax Cuts Once again, Howard Dean has demonstrated that he recognizes the BIG problems that face America- the ones that usually don't get front page coverage. Here's his recent statement on corporate tax cuts, direct from his BlogForAmerica website . SAN FRANCISCO -- Governor Dean today attacked a House plan to provide new tax breaks to corporations. "I continue to fear that we are rapidly reaching the day, as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson warned, where economic power would one day try to seize political power. Once again, Washington is putting large corporate interests -- who write the big checks and, in turn, get to write the legislation -- ahead of the small businesses and working Americans who continue to bear a greater share of the tax burden in this country." "Among the tax breaks in the bill, according to Monday's Washington Post, are: $652 million for a few shipping companies, $161 million for owners of oi...

How Conservatives Control Political Debate.... and How Progressives Can Take It Back Gary over at Rhino's Blog found a great article that was recommended to him by Peter Coyote, who stated, "This article hits the nail on the head as to how political issues get "framed" in ways which make us lose from the get-go." The article is called "Framing The Dems" and it was written by George Lakoff, a cognitive scientist. He is senior fellow at the Rockridge Institute & the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the U.C., Berkeley. He's also author of "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think." In his essay from The American Prospect, Lakoff examines the multi-issued belief systems of both Conservatives & Progressives, and pin points what he believes are the over arching principles in each. In just a few pages, he shows that how something like taxes are spoken abo...

Create a TV ad that tells the truth about George W. Bush Here's some great news I received from MoveOn.org today: * * * * * Today, MoveOn.org Voter Fund is launching Bush in 30 Seconds, a political TV ad contest to help us find the most creative, clear and memorable ideas for ads that tell the truth about George Bush's policies. You don't have to be trained in the art of filmaking to participate, you just need to be ready, willing, and able to turn your clever ideas into a real 30 second ad. We want to run ads that are of the people, for the people, and by the people. Joining us in this effort is a great panel of celebrity judges, including Jack Black, Michael Moore, Donna Brazile, Gus Van Sant, Michael Stipe, Margaret Cho, and Moby (there's a full list on the site below). MoveOn members will pick 15 finalists; the panelists will pick the winning ad and help generate some good press coverage for it. The prize? Just in case getting your work seen by our...

You might be a Republican if... (anonymous words sent via email) You believe that the unparalleled peace and economic prosperity during the Clinton administration was simply a case of being 'in the right place at the right time,' yet you believe that Ronald Reagan was single-handedly responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union. You also blame the security failures of 9/11 on Clinton even though he had been out of office for nine months and Bush was just coming off a month-long vacation. You believe that Fox News is a paragon of virtue and morality even though their sister network is responsible for 'Temptation Island,' 'Married with Children' and 'Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?' You believe that Rush Limbaugh was a mere victim of prescription drug addiction even though his pills were purchased by the thousand in a Denny's parking lot, not in a pharmacy. You believe that lying about a consensual sex act is more severe than ly...

The Dilbert Weasel Awards In the past week, cartoonist Scott Adams found a unique way to celebrate his vacation by inviting some of his favorite cartoonists to take over his Dilbert comic strip for a few days. As I wandered over to the Dilbert.com site to find the identities of these mystery cartoonists, I found out about the Dilbert Weasel Awards, where the Dilbert readers had a chance for vote on the Weaseliest Organization, the Weaseliest Country, Weaseliest Company, the Weaseliest Profession, the Weaseliest Individual, and the Weaseliest Behavior. The biggest winner of the Weaseliest Individual award was George W. Bush with 13,959 votes. The second place winner was Michael Moore, who received 5,104 votes. I'd call that a landslide! http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/shop/html/weasel_poll_results.html * * * * * * * * * * * *

People-Power Graphics AND Verifiable Voting My hat is off to the People-Powered-Graphics website . They are blowing my mind with outrageous images for the Howard Dean campaign. I really love this "Soylent Dean" image- "In a world where corporate fat-cats and politicians only serve themselves, voters are hungry for change!" I recently discovered the folks behind People-Powered-Graphics have their blog, which is called The People-Powered-Graphics Live Journal . There's one item in the blog that really grabbed my attention. It's a subject I've writen about in these pages, but it's one that I cannot over-emphasize: Aimee (in the comments) mentioned that Rush Holt has introduced legislation requiring all voting machines to produce a voter-verified paper trail. Today I looked at http://www.verifiedvoting.org and found the link to Congressman Holt's page about that bill: http://holt.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=5996 Please check ...

Yes! I DO read it for the articles! So, I'm at a newstand, and my eyes to go to the latest PLAYBOY magazine featuring Republican activist Shannen Doherty on the cover. Underneath her name, I see... "Party Crasher- Howard Dean vs the Democrats By George McGovern" Sure enough, George McGovern has written an article callled "What's So Funny about Peace, Love, and Howard Dean." It's a pretty good article, actually. * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fox vs. Fox (The Simpsons and Fox News) With a tip of the hat to Mark Evanier of newsfromme.com , I found this nugget of information by Jim Frisinger of the Dallas Morning News : Fox News loves lawyers all right. Cartoonist and The Simpsons godfather Matt Groenig tells this story on Terry Gross' Fresh Air today (and repeated tonignt on KERA at 7 p.m.) Seems The Simpsons did a Fox News parody, including use of the news crawl on the cartoon segment. Fox News threatened to sue. (Sounds like Al Franken all over again.) The Simpsons stood firm. Fox News backed down. Mr. Groenig figured Fox mobul Rupert Murdoch saw no percentage in the suit: Fox News suing a program appearing on the Fox Network. Hmmm. But if I heard the interview correctly, you won't see any new episodes with the Fox News crawl under Homer and Bart's antics: as a policy matter the network asked the cartoon to drop the concept because viewers might be confused that they're watching real news. I did no...

America owes talk host Rush Limbaugh a debt of gratitude, Libertarians say I found an excellent press release from the Libertarians on the subject of Rush Limbaugh. Take a look at this: WASHINGTON, DC -- The entire nation owes radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh a debt of gratitude, Libertarians say, because his ordeal has exposed every drug warrior in America as a rank hypocrite. "One thing we don't hear from American politicians very often is silence," said Joe Seehusen, Libertarian Party executive director. "By refusing to criticize Rush Limbaugh, every drug warrior has just been exposed as a shameless, despicable hypocrite." "And that's good news, because the next time they do speak up, there'll be no reason for anyone to listen." You can can read the rest of the press release at: http://www.lp.org/press/archive.php?function=view&record=652 * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sick, wounded U.S. troops held in squalor I stumbled upon a sad news story from UPI. Please support the troops. At the very least, they deserve decent health care, which should be a no-brainer for those in charge. * * * * * * * * * * * * FORT STEWART, Ga., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Hundreds of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers including many who served in the Iraq war are languishing in hot cement barracks here while they wait -- sometimes for months -- to see doctors. The National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers' living conditions are so substandard, and the medical care so poor, that many of them believe the Army is trying push them out with reduced benefits for their ailments. One document shown to UPI states that no more doctor appointments are available from Oct. 14 through Nov. 11 -- Veterans Day. "I have loved the Army. I have served the Army faithfully and I have done everything the Army has asked me to do," said Sgt. 1st Class Willie Buckels, a truc...

BlackBoxVoting.com- ALIVE AGAIN! For whatever reasons, BlackBoxVoting.com is back online again! Whew!! http://www.BlackBoxVoting.com/ * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Demise of BlackBoxVoting.com- part 2 After posting a little inquiry at the BlackBoxVoting.com forum regarding the proposed "Help America Vote Act (HAVA)," I was shocked to see the entire website removed within 24 hours. In it's place, TotalChoiceHosting.com put up a notice that the website had been suspended. I decided to write a letter to TotalChoiceHosting: I am sickened that you would suspend BlackBoxVoting.com. I would like to think Americans have the right to question the ballot box procedures. We need fair voting. By suspending this website, you've gone against the principles of American democracy. This is disgusting, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Here's the response I got: Hi, Your account has been suspended due to excessive spamming from the account. As a side note, totalchoice hsoting is not politically motivated, but we are a business company that does not host spammers. This ticket will be placed on h...

Blackboxvoting.com Suspended Once Again For some odd reason, blackboxvoting.com has once again gone blank. The website has been suspended by the hosting company. This website has provided some very important information about the dangerous inconistencies of the electronic ballot boxes. This is not the first time this website has been put out of commission, and I am convinced there's some very powerful parties that could not stand to see what blackboxvoting.com had exposed. In the meantime, there's an excellent article in the UK Independent entitled All the President's Votes : http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=452972 Here's a few choice paragraphs: Last November, (Georgia) became the first in the country to conduct an election entirely with touchscreen voting machines, after lavishing $54m (£33m) on a new system that promised to deliver the securest, most up-to-date, most voter-friendly election in the history of the republic...

Dean on Bush At his meeting with reporters from USA TODAY and Gannett News Service, Howard Dean fired a string of zingers at President Bush: * ''His view of life starts at about $250,000 a year and goes up.'' * ''I think the president's philosophy is that if you're rich, you deserve it, and if you're poor, you deserve it.'' * ''I want repeal of the $87 billion worth of tax cuts that he gave away to Ken Lay and his friends at Enron (to finance the administration's budget request for Iraq). This is insane, what he's doing. I'm not going to let him run a war on a credit card.'' * ''Conducting the foreign policy of the United States (with North Korea) based on the petulance of the chief executive is not the right way to conduct foreign policy.'' * We are ''never going to be able to regain the credibility the United States had as a moral beacon in the world as long...

Chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall labels Bush's environmental record "Terrifying" Last weekend, noted scientist Jane Goodall paid a visit to the San Francisco bay to discuss the dangers of the Bush administration. On Saturday, she made these statements at the keynote speech at the second annual Wildlife Conservation Expo at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills: "What the Bush administration has done over the past three years to overturn environmental laws is unbelievable. It's shameful. We must not sit still and do nothing." An article in the Sunday San Jose Mercury provided a good overview: Goodall is widely known for her studies at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve that became the basis for primatological research and redefined the relationship between animals and humans. In 1977 she established the Jane Goodall Institute, and now she travels around the world to speak of threats to the chimpanzees and other environmental issues. She wa...

Rush Limbaugh is a Drug Addict That Helps Terrorists Rush Limbaugh has made a lot of money spewing hate, arrogance, lies and a mountain of incredibly irresponsible statements. As he recently confessed to being addicted to painkillers, it's very interesting to see what he once said about the subject of drug use: "We're going to let you destroy your life. We're going to make it easy and then all of us who accept the responsibilities of life and don't destroy our lives on drugs, we'll pay for whatever messes you get into." "I'm appalled at people who simply want to look at all this abhorrent behavior and say people are going to do drugs anyway let's legalize it. It's a dumb idea. It's a rotten idea and those who are for it are purely 100 percent selfish." -- Rush Limbaugh show, Dec 9, 1993 "If (Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders) wants to legalize drugs, send the people who want to do drugs to London and Zurich...

Excerpts from the Declaration of Independence Here's a nice little collection of words from my old friend Brian Wagner. Enjoy! Eleven score amd seven years ago our founding fathers felt the need to rebuke their official head of state at the time - King George III - by writing a document that listed his offenses against America. This document has been sacred to our nation ever since. It's called the Declaration of Independence. As you read the following excerpts, consider the men held at Guantanamo Bay, the Homeland Protection Act, the various shenanigans of John Ashcroft and the DOJ, as well as our invasion of Iraq. You may find yourself questioning whether the current administration truly understands the foundations of our great country. As I present this, I understand that it's easy to say that the situation is different, that we were a colony of a distant empire and struggling for freedom. That 9/11 changed everything. That the Security of "our pe...

Sex is good for you.... seriously! What would you do if someone told you there was a simple way to get... An improved sense of smell? Reduced risk of heart disease? Weight loss, overall fitness? Reduced depression? Pain-relief? Less-frequent colds and flu? Better bladder control? Better teeth? A happier prostate? Get laid. It's that simple. You can read the full article at Forbes.com at http://www.forbes.com/2003/10/08/cz_af_1008health.html * * * * * * * * * * * *

New Bush Policy On Endangered Animals The Bush administration is proposing far-reaching changes to conservation policies that would allow hunters, circuses and the pet industry to kill, capture and import animals on the brink of extinction in other countries. Giving Americans access to endangered animals, officials said, would feed the gigantic U.S. demand for live animals, skins, parts and trophies, and generate profits that would allow poor nations to pay for conservation of the remaining animals and their habitat. This and other proposals that pursue conservation through trade would, for example, open the door for American trophy hunters to kill the endangered straight-horned markhor in Pakistan; license the pet industry to import the blue fronted Amazon parrot from Argentina; permit the capture of endangered Asian elephants for U.S. circuses and zoos; and partially resume the trade in African ivory. No U.S. endangered species would be affected. Read the rest of t...

Arnold the Republican The California recall is over, and all of us living in this great land of fruits and nuts can sigh a big relief that this thing did not last longer than was originally expected. I was against the recall, and I supported Gray Davis, but it certainly wasn't because I thought Davis was an exceptional governor. The fact of the matter was that I disagreed with Davis on many different issues. If someone would have asked me a year ago that'd I'd be spending a lot of time defending Gray Davis, I would have told 'em that they were out of their freakin' mind! The recall effort, however, changed all of that. I saw a blatant power grab by a group of crybaby Republicans. Gray Davis committed no crime worthy of a recall, and that made me very, very angry. There were a lot of reasons why I thought Arnold Schartzenegger would be a terrible governor. Any candidate that refuses to engage in proper debate doesn't deserve to win any polit...

Bush Swears He'll Hunt Down Osama and Saddam, But Says He Can't Find a Treasonous Betrayer in His Own Administration Because It's Too Big Good ol' BuzzFlash.com provided this interesting analysis on the Bush administration, courtesy of David Sirota: The Bush Administration on finding Osama Bin Laden in Central Asia: “We're going to hunt them down one at a time…it doesn't matter where they hide, as we work with our friends we will find them and bring them to justice.” - President George W. Bush, 11/22/02 The Bush Administration on finding Saddam Hussein in the Mideast: "We are continuing the pursuit and it's a matter of time before [Saddam] is found and brought to justice.” - White House spokesman McClellan, 9/17/03 The Bush Administration on finding the leaker in the close confines of the White House: “I don't know if we're going to find out the senior administration official. I don't have any idea.......

The Real Reason Behind the California Recall I think Greg Palast discovered the real reason just why there's a recall in California, and why Arnold Schwartzenegger is running. Here's the first six paragraphs from his latest article "Arnold Unplugged." * * * * * * * * It's not what Arnold Schwarzenegger did to the girls a decade back that should raise an eyebrow. According to a series of memoranda our office obtained today, it's his dalliance with the boys in a hotel room just two years ago that's the real scandal. The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken. Now, thirty-four pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate co...

If I went to an Arnold Schwarzenegger rally..... As Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to the Bay Area to promote his campaign, here's what I would do if I were so inclined. I would engage in conversation with Schwarzenegger supporters. As a documentary producer, I often interview people with a video camera, capturing their comments for posterity. As a journalist, rather than a protester, I'm more likely to engage in honest dialogue. I would try to find the most rabid Arnold fans. Here's the type of conversation that might occur if I was inclined to attend an Arnold rally: * * * * * * * ME: So tell me, why are you excited about Arnold Schwarzenegger running for governor? FAN: I think he's best chance we have in removing Gray Davis from office. ME: What's your biggest complaint with Gray Davis? FAN: Gray Davis mismanaged the state budget, the energy crisis, and is trying impose a lot of unnecessary taxes. ME: Do you consider yourself an ac...

Bill of Rights for a New Generation Howard Dean has once again raised the bar for all presidential candidates with a new national petition. As he kicked off his "Raise the Roots" tour in Washington, here's what he's proposing in conjunction with Generation Dean: BILL OF RIGHTS for A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS We the undersigned, in order to restore the ideals upon which America was founded, call upon our nation's leaders to honor the following rights: 1. The right to be free from national debt 2. The right to be free from government surveillance and unwarranted suspicion of American citizens 3. The right to a government of, by and for the people, free from the influence of special interests 4. The right to a quality education 5. The right to patriotic dissent 6. The right to a government which deals honorably with other nations 7. The right to leadership which does not operate in secrecy 8. The right to know th...

Davey D on the California Recall Davey D wrote some great words on the California Recall in his latest FNV Hip Hop Newsletter. Here's what he wrote: SOMETHINGS TO PONDER.... As we draw closer to the October 7th voting date of the historic California Recall which features actor Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to unseat current Governor Gray Davis, a few things come to mind. First, where in the world are all the right wing critics who were leading the charge during the anti-war demonstrations, demanding that actors and celebrity types keep their mouths shut? I vividly recall how all this transpired just a few short months ago when everyone from actors, Ed Asner to Martin Sheen to Sean Penn to Tim Robbins to Janeane Garafalo were all being dissed, lambasted and uninvited from events for speaking about politics. Certainly you folks reading this haven't forgotten all that? Here in Cali there were quite a few right wing types who pompously stood up and stated 'These...