Obama Orders Killing, Death, Assassination or Whatever You Want to Call it Of American Citizen

I can't believe it either!  He's trying to look tough to the Tea Party?  From the Times in UK:

The Obama Administration has taken the unprecedented step of authorising the killing of a US citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, linked to the plot to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day. The move to place Mr al-Awlaki, 38, on a hit list was taken after a White House review concluded this year that he had moved from inciting terrorist attacks to taking part in them. 

The decision is extraordinary not only because Mr al-Awlaki is believed to be the first American whose killing has been approved by a US President, but also because the Obama Administration chose to make the move public.

According to other sources around the web, this guy isn't really linked to much of anything.  He seems like another quasi-harmful bumbler that the U.S. intelligence community and the White House wish to parade  around like they made some real big discovery that justifies the current and future billions in more defense and "Home Security" spending.

Is Obama losing it?  This is certainly a publicity stunt of bizarre and scary dimension one would expect from a Bush or Cheney.  But Obama, ordering the death of an American citizen who will have no recourse to defend himself?  Where are we going from here?  Is this one more step towards tyranny?

Merck Purchases Former "Public Servant" Dr. Julie Gerberding of CDC and Makes Her Vaccine President - Big Pharma Wins Again

What a surprise! The American government policy of public servants in positions of power using their office to further the profit motives of private corporations has now spread like a virus (that started in the Pentagon decades ago) to the Center For Disease Control (CDC). How so, you ask? It's pretty simple. Let's recall that CDC fanned the demons of Swine Flu even after it became obvious it was no more pandemic or dangerous than the average common cold. Matter of fact, it was the mildest pandemic on record in the past century, right? So dear Julie Gerberding, director of CDC under Bush, pushed Big Pharma vaccines on millions of terrified Americans, earned billions in government and consumer bucks for Big Pharma, and now her reward is here. 

Her employer Merck realized that a mover-shaker like Julie Gerberding knows the ropes, has great one-phone-call connections inside the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO), and just as importantly, the image of concern necessary to convince millions more Americans in the future to become unreasonably terrified of sore throats, enough perhaps to once again wrench hundreds of thousands of scared children out of school, close down offices, and panic everyone, including politicians, into investing more and more billions every year in Merck vaccines.

You might even say that CDC functions effectively as the primary marketing department for Big Pharma. And remember, the corporate government complex has learned well that if you keep America afraid all the time you can damn well do whatever you want while they're vibrating with distraction.

Is all this so unusual? No. If you are CDC or FDA employee and you wish to triple your salary, you become a sales person for Big Pharma. I'll bet Julie Gerberding is making five times or more than what she earned at CDC. Write her and ask her, will you?

I wonder what animal will be next to market flu vaccines for Merck and Julie Gerberding. We've seen birds, swine, flesh-eating bateria, so what is left? Crocodile flu? Gerbel flu? Pelican paralysis disease?

Regardless, as an intelligent commenter noted in the Reuters article on Julie Gerberding of Merck:

Will the truth hurt the new mistress of Merck? I doubt it. I'm sure she is using all the classic inner defenses and denials to excuse herself.

Gerberding was a good friend to Merck. It bears asking, however, with all the cases implicating Merck in fraudulent activity, how is it that Gerberding now feels comfortable joining the Merck team? The losers in this revolving-door practice are Americans who still trust their health to a 6th-grade concept of democracy and accountability.

It hurts. I need a vaccine against the pain of the truth.

And now we have Dr. Julie Gerberding cleverly reading her telerprompter and pitching Swine Flu vaccine while "concerned Americans" (paid actors) ask her questions as if they really care. It's all so carefully orchestrated and non-invasive that I want to just hug her and buy her a drink.

Oh, and PLEASE NOTE that towards the end she tells you not to run to the doctor's office, just take it easy. It's so serious that you can avoid the doc, but you definitely need a vaccine anyway. Huh?

Obama Fiddles While Afghanistan Suffers Karzai Burns - The Art of Stuffing the Election Board

Assuring that the main cause of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan will continue unabated  and cost more American lives and billions more Treasury dollars flushed into shareholder pockets, President Obama does nothing to deter the megalomaniac Karzai from corrupting the EEC by appointing his own stooges.  Yes, Dems, please use this as one more reason to stop the Obama worship.  This president is just as asleep at the wheel as George Bush--the only difference being he can at least appear more intelligent.

 According to RAWA NEWS:

The president Hamid Karzai has changed a law to give himself control of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), a body that threw out more than half a million votes cast for him in last year’s fraud-tainted poll. 

The amendment allows Mr Karzai to appoint all five members of the ECC, whereas under the previous law, three members were appointed by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

A former senior UN official in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith said the West should withhold the cash necessary to bankroll future elections until the ECC is reinstated to its original make-up.

The international community “should insist there should be a truly independent election commission, not one appointed by him”, Mr Galbraith, who resigned over last year’s fraudulent poll, told the BBC.

Unless the ECC continued to have three of its five members appointed by the United Nations, “taxpayers in the US and elsewhere should not be asked to pay for phoney elections”, he said.

What does all this do?  It helps to assure that the corporate war hawks in the Pentagon can rest easy, knowing their president will do nothing to slow or stop the process of blood letting in Afghanistan.  He's leaving the solution all to them: WAR, WAR, and MORE WAR.

American awake!

Leslie Margolin and Fellow Blue Cross Executive Sociopaths Become Poster Children For Insurance Company Greed

Look upon the face of evil.

Who me? See Leslie Margolin act offended! See Leslie Margolin defend unconscionable acts of corporate greed as biz-as-usual (remind you of the Air Evac apologists?). Isn't this America? Who is George Bailey anyway and why are you picking on us? We deserve to make our shareholders happy, raise our own bloated salaries, put thousands of people out on the street without care, don't we? Don't we?

As Anthem Blue Cross President Leslie Margolin defended her actions and those of her company she sounded like the typical corporate automaton. So what if we're making a lot of money, it's standard for the industry. "Standard for the industry" ... can't you see the film someone will make of this in future? Perhaps they will split screen and compare Leslie Margolin's comments with those of Marie Antoinette on the eve of the French revolution. And make no mistake! We need one ... Are you listening, Mr. President? Nothing short of enforceable regulation will stop these people. Anyone who argues otherwise is ignorant, simply a fool, or a stooge of the industry.

Some facts about Leslie Margolin's company, from the Examiner:

Recently, California's insurance regulator found Anthem has committed more than 700 violations over the past three years, including late payment of claims and misrepresenting facts or insurance policies to consumers.

Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats found internal documents showing 39 executives got paid more than a million dollars and, in the last two years, it also spent $27 million on 103 executive retreats.

Anthem's reason for the rate hike, according to a press release: "Unfortunately, in the weak economy, many people who do not have health conditions are foregoing buying insurance. This leaves fewer people often with significantly greater medical needs in the insured pool."

And below is a video of Leslie Margolin talking about the need for Health Care Reform. Note her ability to avoid specifics and focus on rhetoric. And aside from their recent actions, keep in mind that she and her pals approved a $2 million advertising blitz that derailed a 2007 campaign to require all Californians to obtain health insurance and force insurers to issue policies to anyone, regardless of health:

The Corporate Supreme Court Slides a Knife Into The Back of Democracy, and All For The Sake of "Free Speech"

How noble of Scalia and Roberts and the rest of the corporate suck-up bunch. I'd give anything to know who has been courting them to make certain this decision was made. Regardless, I can't say it better than Politico.Com did, so here we go:

Some of the of biggest special interest groups in Washington are expected to take full advantage of a Supreme Court decision Thursday enabling them to spend millions on attack ads in the 2010 midterm elections, even as the Obama administration and congressional Democrats scramble to close the gaping holes the ruling carved into campaign finance rules.

Thursday’s highly anticipated 5-4 decision in a case brought by the conservative nonprofit group Citizens United reversed decades of law restricting corporations and unions from spending their general funds on ads supporting or opposing candidates. And it left liberals and advocates for stricter campaign finance rules predicting an explosion of corporate-funded ads attacking Democrats.

“We are moving to an age where we won’t have the senator from Arkansas or the congressman from North Carolina, but the senator from Wal-Mart and the congressman from Bank of America,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the left-leaning watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Campaign strategists and lawyers who advise corporations, unions and independent political groups on political spending also predicted a surge in ads as a result of the decision.

Ben Ginsberg, a top Republican election lawyer, predicted the decision would render “obsolete” so-called 527 groups, which helped shape the 2004 presidential election with brutal attack ads that pushed the bounds of election law.

Ads like those aired by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacking 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry can now be paid for more directly by for-profit or nonprofit corporations or trade groups.

In place of 527s, Ginsberg predicted an expanded role for groups set up under sections 501(c)4 and 501(c)6 of the Internal Revenue Service code, which he said require “meager disclosure requirements of their donors.”

Ginsberg also predicted the decision would be good for consultants who advise outside groups on their spending and media strategies. One Democratic consultant professed to making “tons of sales calls” after the decision, calling it an “economic recovery package” for consultants.

What many strategists and lawyers said they don’t expect to see is American International Group spending millions on ads attacking congressmen who criticized its bonuses or medical firms seeking vengeance on President Barack Obama for pushing to overhaul the nation’s health care system.

Instead, they think deep-pocketed companies seeking to target Obama or congressional Democrats will funnel their cash to existing or yet-to-be-created coalitions — such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America or the National Association of Manufacturers — that are expected to take advantage of the new spending flexibility provided by the ruling.

In recent years, shareholders have independently challenged executives to disclose, explain and justify their participation in partisan politics. For now, that mostly includes making political donations. The scrutiny would intensify significantly if it also meant paid television advertising.

Most corporate leaders of publicly held firms long ago grew leery of playing in politics in a big way lest they put off customers, though the Chamber and other umbrella groups could shield some businesses from exposure by pooling money and taking full credit or blame for how it is spent.

At the same time, campaign finance experts expect there will be some privately held firms with ideological bents that now will engage more directly in campaigns.

“The greatest opportunity for money to flow is corporations giving to trade associations and advocacy groups to have them air the ads,” said Michael Toner, a former Federal Election Commission chairman who advises Republican committees and candidates on campaign finance laws. “They’re the ones that could really benefit from this. The key will be how much money can they amass, and how much are they willing to spend?”

But the new landscape could also benefit unions and big-spending outside groups that tend to support Democrats, such as the Sierra Club and NARAL Pro-Choice America, though such groups tend to have less access to cash than do corporations.

The White House on Thursday joined with Democratic lawmakers, who were facing a treacherous 2010 electoral environment even before the decision, in pledging to push through legislation to minimize the impact of the decision before the midterm elections.

But it’s going to be tough for them to significantly alter the landscape before Election Day — some states hold primaries as early as next month. And there hasn’t been any political will for major campaign finance reform since the 2002 overhaul known as the McCain-Feingold act.

The long-awaited court ruling stems from a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission brought by Citizens United. It alleged its free speech rights were violated when the FEC moved to block it from using corporate cash to promote and air “Hillary: The Movie,” a feature-length movie harshly critical of then-senator — and current secretary of state — Hillary Clinton during her 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The FEC asserted that the movie expressly opposed Clinton’s election and therefore was subject to campaign laws that bar the use of corporate cash to air election ads and that require donor disclosure. Citizens United disagreed and sued.

The court divided along ideological lines in the case, with Justice Anthony Kennedy casting the deciding vote and writing the majority opinion. He was joined by Roberts and fellow conservative justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia.

“No sufficient governmental interest justifies limits on the political speech of nonprofit or for-profit corporations,” Kennedy wrote.

After the ruling, some groups that advocate stricter campaign finance rules called for a constitutional amendment specifying that for-profit corporations are not entitled to First Amendment protections, except for freedom of the press.

Among the more incremental legislative options congressional Democrats and the White House are considering to stem the flow of money into campaigns are proposals to publically finance congressional elections or require corporations to disclose their political activity to shareholders.

And Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday pushed the idea of requiring shareholders to vote before a corporation could give money directly to a candidate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who blasted the ruling as paving the way for “special-interest dollars to dictate the details of public policy,” said House Democrats would “work with the Obama administration and explore legislative options available to mitigate the impact of this disappointing decision.”

And Obama, in a statement accusing the court of giving “a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics,” said he had instructed his administration “to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue.”

White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen, the Obama administration’s lead on campaign finance issues, has been in contact with Schumer and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) about tougher campaign finance rules.

The president’s strongly worded statement echoed both Obama’s campaign rhetoric about the need to reduce the role of special interest money in politics and his recent efforts to tap populist anger.

He called the ruling “a major victory for Big Oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans.”

But Obama has largely disappointed advocates for stricter campaign finance rules, who point out he has yet to fulfill a campaign promise to overhaul the presidential public financing system.

“This is a test of the commitment of the White House and congressional leadership toward having reasonable limits on money and politics,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyists for Public Citizen, a nonprofit group that pushes for stricter campaign finance rules.

Chinese Teenager, Zhang Xuping, Assasinates Communist Boss - Thousands Grateful

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jan 21, 10:07 am ET

BEIJING – When Li Shiming was stabbed through the heart by a hired assassin, few of his fellow villagers mourned the local Communist Party official many say made their lives hell by seizing land, extorting money and bullying people for years.

Instead, villagers in the northern town of Xiashuixi have made Li's teenage killer something of a local hero. More than 20,000 people from the coal-mining area petitioned a court for a lenient sentence.

"I didn't feel surprised at all when I heard Li Shiming was killed, because people wanted to kill him a long time ago," said villager Xin Xiaomei, who says her husband was harassed for years by Li after the two men had a personal dispute. "I wanted to kill Li myself, but I was too weak."

The murder trial has again cast a harsh light on abuses of power by communist cadres and the frustration many ordinary Chinese feel with a one-party system that sometimes allows officials to run their districts like personal fiefdoms.

China's leaders have identified corruption as a threat to the country's progress, but an opaque political system dominated by the ruling Communist Party — which brooks no dissent — and the lack of an independent judiciary contribute to the problem.

In the case of party secretary Li, the young man who confessed to the stabbing — 19-year-old Zhang Xuping — has been sentenced to death for the September 2008 killing, his mother and lawyer said Wednesday. The sentence was quietly handed down last week and an appeal was filed this week, they said.

Zhang Xuping was paid 1,000 yuan ($146) by another villager, 35-year-old farmer Zhang Huping, to commit the murder after Li allegedly harassed the farmer for years, local newspaper reports said. The elder Zhang was reportedly routinely detained on trumped up charges ever since he led a group of farmers to seek the help of provincial authorities after Li razed 28 acres of trees belonging to them without permission or compensation in 2003.

The teenager entered a school where Li was attending a meeting, found the official alone and stabbed him through the heart. Li staggered out of the building and into his luxury sports utility vehicle but died before he could make it to a hospital, reports said.

The case quickly turned into an outpouring of sympathy for the young killer — and expressions of hatred for Li.

Zhang's trial, which was originally scheduled for August, had to be postponed to late November because thousands of people showed up outside the courthouse wanting to watch the proceedings, news reports said.

Nearly 21,000 people from the area around Xiashuixi petitioned the court for leniency for Zhang — to no avail.

In Xiashuixi, villagers contacted by the AP said that for years they had lived in fear of Li, who they say extorted money and used his influence to have those who resisted him detained or jailed.

Zhang Weixing, 58, said Li illegally seized his land of 3.3 acres and built houses on it three years ago, and he hired thugs to beat him, his wife and children when they tried to stop him.

"When we heard Li Shiming was dead, we felt happy because he did so many evil things and really made us villagers suffer," said Zhang Weixing, who is unrelated to the family of the accused, by phone. "We all hated him."

During his trial, the defendant apologized to Li's family, the state-owned Beijing Youth Daily newspaper said. But Li's eldest son rejected the apology in court and said he hoped judges would sentence his father's killer to "death by firing squad."

Li's death has dealt an immeasurable blow to the family, the son said, adding that his younger brother and sister were unable to focus on their studies and may stop going to school for the time being. Attempts to reach the Li family by phone were unsuccessful, and family members have not publicly addressed the allegations that he was corrupt.

Zhang's case echoes two other instances of ordinary Chinese who became anti-heroes after killing people in positions of power.

In June, a Chinese woman who fatally stabbed a party official to fend off his demands for sex was freed by a court in a decision that was likely made to avoid a storm of criticism.

But in 2008, Yang Jia, a man who confessed to killing six Shanghai police officers in revenge for allegedly being tortured while interrogated about a possibly stolen bicycle was executed despite an outpouring of sympathy.

Unlike those cases, China's state media after initially following Zhang's case did not report his conviction nor his death sentence — a likely indication the government ordered a media blackout.

A Beijing-based lawyer and legal blogger, Liu Xiaoyuan, said the court should have taken public opinion into account given the large number of people who had spoken out in Zhang's defense.

"If the village secretary had acted illegally and aroused the anger of the mass of villagers, then lenient punishment should have been considered by the court," Liu said. "It has become the will of people. The death sentence is too heavy."

The case reflects the desperation that China's rural poor are driven to when bullied by their leaders, wrote Chinese social commentator Yan Changhai on his blog: "Zhang Xuping is guilty. His biggest crime is that he dared to resist a bandit-like official, and refused to be obedient and to be a slave," Yan wrote.

Yan blamed the murder on collusion between officials and local police and courts.

"If the authorities did not indulge Li Shiming's evil deeds, if even one of his evil deeds was punished by law, he would have avoided death under Zhang Xuping's knife," he wrote.

Jon Burge - A Modern Day Torquemada Cop: Man who alleges police torture free after 23 years

From Associated Press
January 14, 2010 7:39 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) — A man who contends Chicago police tortured him into confessing to a murder he did not commit walked out of a courtroom a free man Thursday after more than 23 years behind bars.
Assistant Special State's Attorney Andrew Levine said prosecutors agreed to drop the charges against Michael Tillman after concluding that without the coerced confession there was not enough evidence to convict him.

"I'm just glad justice finally prevailed," said 43-year-old Tillman who was convicted of taking part in the 1986 rape and murder of Betty Howard who lived in a building where he had worked as a handyman. The Chicago woman's attackers tied her to a radiator in her apartment building, sexually assaulted her then shot her to death.

Tillman smiled widely as he left a Cook County courtroom and said that until recently he had not believed he would ever be free.

In court papers, prosecutors said Tillman's confession had been a "product of coercion" and that he had been the victim of a "pattern and practice of abuse" that had existed in a particular police station on the city's South Side.

The papers filed this week do not detail what Tillman — along with dozens of other black men who were interrogated in Area 2 Headquarters in the 1970s and 1980s — allegedly went through at the hands of Chicago police detectives.

Tillman and his attorneys say that, in the course of three days in 1986, detectives turned an interview room into a torture chamber.

Police, they said, beat him with a phone book, punched him in the face and the body until the floor was slick with his blood. They put a gun to his head and a plastic bag over his head and even poured 7-Up into his nose.

"It was a crude form of waterboarding (in which) they induced the feeling of suffocating or drowning," said one of his attorneys, Locke Bowman.

Finally, as Bowman and others say happened to many other black suspects, Tillman told the detectives what they wanted to hear.

Another man, Clarence Trotter, remains in prison for Howard's murder. In court papers, prosecutors say there was substantial evidence, including fingerprints, linking him to the crime.

Tillman's release is just the latest chapter in a story of police abuse that has dogged the department for decades.

In 2006, authorities confirmed what the black community on the South Side had known for years: that the police routinely tortured suspects in Area 2 to extract confessions.

Prosecutors appointed to look into allegations surrounding the unit and its then-commander, Jon Burge, found that some of the allegations were true but that the cases were too old to bring criminal charges.

Subsequently, a number of convictions have been reversed, some suspects have been freed and millions of dollars have been paid out to settle lawsuits of men who claim they were wrongfully convicted.

Burge faces federal charges that he lied under oath about the use of torture on suspects.

Earth to Obama, Your Theatrics Are Not Fooling Us!

Our talk-the-talk BS artist in the White House, Barack Obama, stated at a recent jobs summit: "The single most important thing we could do right now for deficit reduction is to spark strong economic growth."


Um, well, Mr. President, you did everything but spark growth with that last $800 billlion or so stimulus package (created by corporate lobbyists and special interests to make a trap for fools). Instead, you dangerously increased the national budget deficit even more! Can you even do the math? ... Now your favorite Wall Street buddies (who bribe you with millions in party benefits then diss you by not even showing up to meet with you at the White House) like CitiGroup, GS, BOA are in the process of desiring to give huge chunks of bailout money back (related perhaps to the severity and threat of the recent Judge Rakoff decision?), money these banks never needed or deserved, money YOU let them have.

In the above meeting, Obama had the unbelievable nerve to state that the federal government pulled these banks from the brink with public money, when WE ALL NOW KNOW that they never needed it in the first place! He creates his own reality as he goes, just like George Bush. He makes me want to have a tantrum!!!


Just so you know, Mr. President, your act isn't fooling everyone. You're watching the polls. You see us getting cranky over it, and you adjust your speechmaking accordingly.

New Insanity: Why is Carol Moore Still Heaping Blame on The Norfolk Four and Now Blaming John Grisham?

"Let him walk in our shoes, let's see how he would feel," a sobbing Moore told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from her Pittsburgh home. "This is nothing but political and John Grisham."

The above statement, to me, is just as ludicrously false as saying that the earth is flat because Obama has decided it is. How can Carol Moore, mother of the victim in the Norfolk Four case, be so woefully ignorant of the facts? She reminds me of a deluded child talked into believing her nursery school teacher turned into a catlike demon and flew after her! Scary, very scary. And people like her even sit on juries. How do you think Paul Shanley landed in prison?

This poor dear blames the author John Grisham for getting the evil perps out of jail cause he's so stupid, you know, and just looking for attention, and he doesn't care if vicious killers go free.

According to Grisham, commenting on the Norfolk Four case to the Post:

It's the most egregious case of wrongful conviction I've seen, and I travel around the country listening to stories about these cases.

1. – John Grisham SOURCE: The Washington Post

I'm not saying Carol Moore is intentionally lying to get attention or a place on a talk show, or perhaps a book deal, but I am saying I totally and utterly repudiate her contentions that the innocent men of the Norfolk Four had anything to do with her daughter's murder. I'm sure she was lied to by the police and prosecutor, or at least misled.

Please, Carol, really look at the facts. Stop this public display.

__________

Ding Dong, The Prince of Darkness is Dead - Robert Novak To Burn in Hell

Okay, you guys, now's your chance to call me a meanie witch for taking such a caustic view towards the death of Robert Novak, but I have to be honest, he should have died much sooner. When I think of all the lies, damage, and toxic spray of intentional disinformation put out by this evil wizard, I can't help but be wishful. Late in his career he outed Valerie Plame for being a CIA agent, and thus assisted Karl Rove in his retaliation against her husband.

This despicable act alone brands Novak as one of THE most heartless, unethical, and yes, un-American jerkweeds to have ever lived and lied.

Good riddance. Let his "friends" and Republicans belch forth with as much BS praise as they wish. It's all BS after all, just like the phony attacks of indignation he forced us to frequently suffer.

Last Three of Norfolk Four Finally Released - Attorney General Bill Mims Still Pretends Like They Are Guilty

In one of the most atrocious cases of police misconduct and prosecutorial arrogance, four men were wrongly convicted in 1997 of a murder rape in Norfolk, VA. Because they did not have wealthy parents (like the Duke lacross players), the public and the press have generally ignored them. Who cares, right? They probably had it coming? No way.

You can follow more details about the case out on Google and here. Basically, these guys were falsely accused and subjected to incredible police torture and deprivations until they confessed to a crime they didn't commit. Unfortunately for the VA Attorney General's office, the real culprit was caught, and not only confessed but proclaimed none of the Norfolk four were present. Also, only the real culprit's DNA was found on the scene.

The Norfolk Four were so incredibly innocent that two dozen ex-FBI agents in the Richmond area signed a petition and sent it to Governor Kaine asking for full pardons, because their own investigations proved the men were in no way responsible, but only railroaded by the cops then tortured into confessions. The shamefulness of the crime against them goes unpunished till this day.

In an act of cowardice, Governor Kaine "conditionally" pardoned the Norfolk Four only days ago, but this means they are still treated like ex-cons, made to answer to a Parole Board, and so forth. They will never have normal lives without a real pardon. Kaine has assured them a living death not much better than prison.

But since when does a politician these days have any real courage, I ask you? Well, I guess even a coward like Kaine has more stomach than Attorney General Bill Mims who said in response to the release:

The Office of the Attorney General has represented the interests of the commonwealth and sought justice, as we are bound to do by law, and vigorously defended the multiple convictions of these individuals.


I don't even think Nifong admitted he was wrong about the Duke lacross players. So what does it prove? That guys like Nifong and Mims, who preside over the unjust prosecution of innocent people, will never admit they are wrong. They can't admit it. They won't.

Obama Vs. Freedom of Speech - White House Attorneys Karen Dunn and Ian Bassin Attempt to Censor PCRM Posters in Union Station

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
(PCRM), in a laudable and smart effort to help encourage legislation that will/might actually get junk food out of schools and usher in a new era of nutritious food (God help us all! Is it possible, what with the bribes junk food corps give county school systems? ... Oh, there she goes again!), placed huge posters in Union Station in D.C. with poster children saying:

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S DAUGHTERS GET HEALTHY SCHOOL LUNCHES. WHY DON'T I?

Good question? Are healthy school lunches only for the elite in wealthy prep schools while mainstream kids are lured more and more into unchecked obesity?

I hope not. Regardless, no sooner did the posters go up than Neal Barnard, President of PCRM, was contacted by White House attorneys Karen Dunn (Associate Counsel) and Ian Bassin (Deputy Associate) who wanted Barnard to remove the posters because the "president's children are off limits." Now, this does smell like an effort by White House subordinates to curry favor by drumming up a non-issue and playing crusader rabbit to impress Barrack and Michelle.

Is that so Karen? Ian? Or are you under orders from Michelle? ... And by the way, do you support the Bill of Rights?

Nevertheless, Karen Dunn and Ian Bassin are employees of Obama and therefore Obama is answerable for their actions, and right now his employees are acting very much like the lackeys of any dictator, such as Castro e.g., who do not wish to be criticized or look unfavorable in any manner that can be avoided or negated via the use of force, i.e., if White House legal muscle can intimidate Neal Barnard into removing the offending speech, so much the better. And besides, how dare this Barnard practice free speech and reveal that Obama's daughters get elite treatment and that most of American children do not! But wait, I thought the Obamas were democrats ... uhhhhhh.

No doubt the heat on Barnard will increase, but I sincerely applaud his efforts to resist the White House pressure despite various wags predicting hateful retaliation by Obama (see original Post article in paper).

If Neal Barnard is pissing off the Obama White House, I could not be happier. And I have a message for all White House employees: your boss is slowly murdering your country, in a manner as reckless and sociopathic as George Bush Jr. Why participate in the wreck of your nation?

God speed.

Xu Zhiyong Jailed by Chinese Tyrants

True to form, the tyrants of China have again jailed, in Kafkaesque fashion, a human being who routinely tries to genuinely help the downtrodden--unlike the Chinese government that maintains the manufacture of the downtrodden. This time it is Xu Zhiyong, a prominent rights defender and legal scholar who has represented migrants, death row inmates, and even the parents of babies poisoned by toxic food.

He was stolen in the night for "tax evasion" but in reality because he pissed off the Communist leadership by showing them up for the frauds they are. And how? By trying to get them to live by their own laws. And he is not the only one. Other legal spokespeople for the common good have been jailed and beaten by the government, including Gao Zhisheng, and Chen Guangcheng, a blind man.

And this is a country that we continue to coddle, ignoring their extreme abuses and tyrannical bullying.

Well, Obama wouldn't even punish the Bush era officials who committed crimes. Why should he rock the Chinese boat? After all, they do spread lots of green around D.C., rather like the Saudis.

Madness: Kenneth Feinberg, Obama's "Pay Czar" Pretending to Work For The Public Good by Begging Wall Street Banks To Stop Giving Pay Bonuses

In a farce likely to not raise eyebrows among America's mainstream sheeple (people plus sheep--in case you forgot), Kenneth Feinberg--Obama's Jewish guy in charge of "pay" in the context of Obama's growing-more-absurd-by-the-day bailouts of multibillion corporations that never needed the money to begin with--has been trotting to the plush corporate offices of the absurdly wealthy in an alleged attempt to get them to please? please? please? discontinue their biz as usual of taking American tax dollars and using them to bail out hundreds of needy and utterly deserving Wall Street executives and others with billions in bonuses (to attract and keep top talent, of course).

What? you ask. Are you kidding, Liz?

Come on! READ the Wall Street Journal, or the Post, or some source that at least approaches the terrible truth of the fiasco of American government and the relentless looting of the treasury and America's future.

I am so sick of you Obama-philes and your endless sucking up to an illusion that has already betrayed us again and again. You are no better than the demented Bushies of Texas, esp in the old days. Please WAKE UP and protest the selling of your future and the coming of 60% tax rates that will be needed sooner or later to pay for all this corporate looting!

Anyway, back to Kenneth Feinberg ... He has met privately with execs at the offending companies, "urged them" to "rework" guarantees for big earners. Who are we kidding? These people are stealing from us because they are bold enough to do so and because they know OBAMA IS ON THEIR SIDE AND THERE WILL BE NO REAL REPERCUSSIONS!

Think I am just big capping here because I am possessed or hysterical or both? No. Again, look at the facts. For example, those thieving bastards, the Bank of America (their HQ in D.C. located directly across from the Treasury Building--what a coincidence!), got tens of billions in bailout from Obama (yes, Bush gave birth but Obama baptized the crime) and what did they do with the ill-gotten gains? They bought Merrill Lynch and gave the ML execs OVER FIVE BILLION in bonuses. And illegally at that, against SEC rules. And what punishment did they get? They didn't have to admit anything, and they paid a $33 million wrist slap fine ... Arguably, with our money. Don't believe it? Research the facts, buckos!

This madness is beyond madness. One criminal group after another pirating billions and billions and more billions from America's coffers right under the nose of Mr. Change himself, Barrack Obama, and while we are fighting two ruinous wars and suffering a deficit nearing two trillion.

Madness, madness!!!

In the Rage to Consume American Tax Dollars, Congress and Federal Agencies Spar for Hundreds of Millions in Earmark Loot Every Year

Is the American government the biggest criminal enterprise in human history?

Don't believe it?

Well, the ever-bold circus of pirates who pick our wallets are at it again. A new revelation? Senator Bill Nelson, such a great Dem, wants earmarks that senators use to reward the various corporations and special interests that bankrolled their campaigns, to go underground in Committee reports, i.e., he advises they don't even have to appear in a bill, and this in an effort to prevent Federal agencies from pirating the huge piles of cash for themselves and their own pet projects that in turn are being milked by grossly overpaid contractors in places like DOD and elsewhere.

From the NYT:

For example, the Department of Defense withheld $100 million from about a dozen earmarks, on the grounds that there was no statutory guideline for its action because the earmarks were included in the reports accompanying the spending bills and not the bill itself.

Mr. Nelson said the solution would be to specify in legislation that earmarks in committee reports should be treated as if they were written into the spending bills.

Uhhhhhh, so what's wrong with this picture of an American senator? Earmarks in committee reports? How simple and sleazy is that?

God, I hate these people!

Go back to sleep America.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics Defeated by Daily Show in Effort to Force Obama Administration to Act Less Bush-like and More Like a Democracy

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics stymied again. Poor FOIA! At least someone is trying, but the judiciary is apparently becoming just another corrupt arm of corporate America.

Politico.Com says it best. This is unf'nbelievable! Obama is acting more and more Bush-like everyday. If this does not help convince you Dems of the fundamental dysfunction of the Illinois corruption machine in the White House, what will? Or is this just simply an act of cowardice? Or is it further evidence of the corporate-ocracy at work, i.e., regardless of regime, the trends continue ...

Rebound marriage, America!

Here we go:

Wrap your head around this: The Obama administration wants to save former Vice President Dick Cheney from the likes of "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.

That was the thrust of arguments the Justice Department presented Thursday seeking to prevent the release of an interview Cheney gave in 2004 to Special Counsel Pat Fitzgerald as part of his investigation into the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson.

In an afternoon U.S. District Court hearing in Washington, Judge Emmet Sullivan presided as Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Smith defended the government’s refusal to release the details of the Cheney interview. David Sobel, an attorney for the group suing for the documents, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was there to argue in favor of disclosure. Here’s how it went:

Sullivan asked if President Barack Obama’s appointees stood by the Bush administration’s steadfast refusal to make the Cheney interview public, noting, “there’s a new administration.”

“This has been vetted by the leadership offices,” Smith said. “This is a department position.”

“It is disappointing that the new administration apparently is picking up where the old one left off,” said Sobel.

AND FURTHER:

Sobel argued that the government’s stance would render the records of any kind of White House-related investigation off limits to the public — not just an inquiry into a sensitive issue like the disclosure of classified information.

“The argument would apply to a murder in the White House, selling drugs in the White House, bribery in the White House,” Sobel said. “We would be carving out the White House ... for special treatment.”

Sobel also said it was "unseemly" for the court or the Obama administration to be predicting that there would be illegal activity involving White House officials.

HumanEvents.Com Plays Host To "Weekly Alerts" From Chuck Norris and Miscellaneous Other Far-Right Media Moronics

No, really, you can sign up! How thoughtful Chuck looks? He's jealous of Joe the Plumber ... No kidding!
________________________
CHUCK NORRIS FACTS!

# There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.

# Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

# There is no chin under Chuck Norris’ Beard. There is only another fist.

# Chuck Norris has two speeds. Walk, and Kill.

# The leading causes of death in the United States are: 1. Heart Disease 2. Cancer. 3. Chuck Norris

# Chuck Norris doesn’t go hunting.... CHUCK NORRIS GOES KILLING.

# Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean.

# Crop circles are Chuck Norris’ way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie down.

# The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably.

# Contrary to popular belief, Chuck Norris, not the box jellyfish of northern Australia, is the most venomous creature on earth. Within 3 minutes of being bitten, a human being experiences the following symptoms: fever, blurred vision, beard rash, tightness of the jeans, and the feeling of being repeatedly kicked through a car windshield.

# If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, “Two seconds ‘til.” After you ask, “Two seconds ‘til what?” he roundhouse kicks you in the face.

# When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes, ever.

# The quickest way to a man’s heart is with Chuck Norris’ fist.

# Chuck Norris invented Kentucky Fried Chicken’s famous secret recipe, with eleven herbs and spices. But nobody ever mentions the twelfth ingredient: Fear.

# CNN was originally created as the “Chuck Norris Network” to update Americans with on-the-spot ass kicking in real-time.

# Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.

# Chuck Norris once ate three 72 oz. steaks in one hour. He spent the first 45 minutes having sex with his waitress.

# What was going through the minds of all of Chuck Norris’ victims before they died? His shoe.

# Chuck Norris is the only man to ever defeat a brick wall in a game of tennis.

# Police label anyone attacking Chuck Norris as a Code 45-11.... a suicide.

# Chuck Norris doesn’t churn butter. He roundhouse kicks the cows and the butter comes straight out.

# Chuck Norris doesn’t wash his clothes, he disembowels them.

# A Handicapped parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Chuck Norris and that you will be handicapped if you park there.

# Chuck Norris will attain statehood in 2009. His state flower will be the Magnolia.

# Chuck Norris once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit. On July 19th, 1999, a naked Chuck Norris re-entered the earth’s atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publically claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.

# Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.

# It takes 14 puppeteers to make Chuck Norris smile, but only 2 to make him destroy an orphanage.

Fox News Whores, Glen Beck and Michelle Malkin, Do Their Best to Smear GIVE

While I worry about any Obama-inspired program or legislation further adding to the budget deficit without good reason, I nevertheless feel the urge to vomit when I watch cretins like Malkin and Beck. It's almost enough to make leave my centrist views and become a Democrat just to spite them.

100 Days of Spin - FactCheck.Org on Barack Obama's False Statements Made For Political Gain

My dear dems, this is a must for those of you who actually care more about your nation than the worship of idols. Here is undeniable proof of President Obama playing VERY fast and loose with the facts, not unlike W himself. Yes, I'm sorry, don't crucify me. Judge for yourself.

From FactCheck.Org:

... we find that the president has occasionally made claims that put him and his policies in a better light than the facts warrant. He has claimed that private economists agreed with the forecast in his budget, when they were really more pessimistic. He's used Bush-like budget-speak trying to sound frugal while raising spending to previously unimagined levels. And he has exaggerated the problems his proposals aim to cure by misstating facts about school drop-out rates and oil imports ... [more]

Swine Flu Fraud! The Latest Media Scare Hoax That Will Make Millions. What is Worse -- Fear or Flu?

OMG! On the third rock from the sun, a planet of billions where malaria alone still kills 3000 people every day, and 36,000 die of influenza every year in the U.S., less than a hundred have died from "Swine Flu" (now mutated to a human influenza virus that causes sore throats, coughs, fever, and runny poop), President Obama asks Congress for another billion or so to help prevent the ONCOMING GLOBAL PANDEMIC THAT WILL POTENTIALLY KILL MILLIONS! Oh, yes, the mainstream media is running hours of flu scare 24 hours a day, ratings are skyrocketing while swine flu masks, gloves, and $49.00 Swine Flu Kits are flying off the shelves faster than drug stores can stock them. Megatons of Tamiflu are on the way to save America (half a billion in sales at least?) and shares of Roche and GlaxoSmithKline are rising on the stock market. In this recession, at least someone is making money off of scaring the shit out of people. The American way!

Oh, echoes of BIRD FLU! Remember? The weeks of scare tactics by CNN, Fox, and everyone else? The millions of bird flu products sold, the circulating video of bird flu killing millions, etc. etc. Now the media marketing types are at it again and now America is falling into the abyss of fear again. How many times can we be fooled?

Indefinitely?

Writer-Author Janet Burroway Reveals Professional Relationship With Tom Jenks Prior to Her Big 2009 Contest Win

Not only do we have Janet Burroway now connected to Jenks and Edgarian prior to her big Narrative Magazine Winter 2009 Story Contest win this year, but in 2008 a fantastic coincidence took place: in the huge "Love Story" competition of 2008, we had Elizabeth Stuckey-French coming in first and Janet Burroway coming in third. Out of a field of many hundreds if not thousands of contestants, can it be just a coincidence that Burroway and Stuckey-French (who collaborated on a writing book together), were winners?

And now Burroway takes number one in the recent story contest after admitting openly to me in a recent letter that Jenks and Edgarian know her well? Judge for yourself. From the Burroway letter, detaling her relationship with Narrative's editors:

· I signed up on the Narrative web site, therefore read about the 2008 Love Story contest, sent in a story, “Blackout,” from a still-unfinished novel-in-stories, and won third prize.
· On the site I also learned that Narrative was having a party in New York that summer, in a week when I was to be there, so I wrote, again to an assistant, and invited myself. I was told I would be welcome.
· I went to the party, introduced myself to Tom Jenks and Carol Edgarian, who said very nice things about my work, but they were of course busy and we didn’t have a real conversation.
· When my novel Bridge of Sand was scheduled for publication by Harcourt, my agent sent a copy to Narrative, and they published an excerpt earlier this year, as did Prairie Schooner.
· When Carol Houck-Smith died (with whom I did have a very real and close relationship, though she kept rejecting my novels)­ I emailed Tom Jenks and asked if he would take her place on an AWP panel about the author-editor relationship ...

Obviously, Jenks knew Janet Burroway in several ways before personally choosing her to win the Winter 2009 Story Contest. She had invited Jenks to be on a panel, Jenks published a slice of her novel, she invited herself to a Narrative party and socialized enough with Jenks and Edgarian to receive praise for her work (without a conversation?), and she'd been a winner of a previous contest chosen by Jenks and Edgarian. And who knows what else?

What's wrong with this picture?

So why isn't Burroway agreeing to return the prize money rather than burrowing into me for calling them all out on it? In her letter, she states:

And on the other hand, you do successfully gain attention to yourself, because I will forward your letter and this reply to everyone who emailed congratulations and everyone implicated on your blog. But you shouldn’t call yourself a “recovering lawyer.” The point of recovery is to avoid drink or drugs or sex or whatever your addiction is, and you are far too litigious to be in recovery.

Sincerely,
Janet Burroway

There is nothing "litigious" about it. No one threatened her, and yet, she appears to feel threatened.

Why Janet?

And here is my original email to her (due to her admitted relationship with the Narrative editors and her statement re going public with my mail and her response, I feel it my obligation to publish this):

Dear Janet Burroway,

I recently wrote a blog post article about ongoing fraud in contests sponsored by Narrative Magazine. Before I jump to conclusions due to hearsay about an alleged relationship you have had with Tom Jenks and Carol Edgarian, I want to ask you whether or not in fact you have had any form of relationship with Jenks or Edgarian prior to winning the recent Narrative Magazine contest. I am investigating this matter and speaking to various people involved in their ongoing scam. I have contacts with many people who will provide testimony that winners of their contests nearly all have prior relationships with them.

I urge you to think carefully before attempting to avoid this growing situation with Narrative. My blog has a reputation for expose and a factual article connecting you with Narrative before the contest was judged will not go well for anyone involved in the crime. Jenks and Edgarian, in my opinion, are engaged in highly unethical and even illegal behavior. Tricking hundreds of writers into entering contests they have no chance of winning is mail fraud and incurs federal penalties. For example, do a google search on Tom Jenks and you will find my blog post exposing his behavior, number three, I believe.

Please do the right thing and tell the truth about any relationship you've had with Jenks or Edgarian prior to being chosen for their contest. You must know that taking a prize under unethical circumstances makes you unethical also. Prizes accepted under such conditions must be returned immediately. That is the right thing to do, and I know you know that. I have no wish to do damage to your reputation, but this ongoing fraud by Narrative must come to an end.

If the rumors of your relationship with them are false, then please go on the record. If you had no relationship or contact whatsoever with Edgarian and/or Jenks prior to winning the contest,then all this will go away. This matter concerns everyone in the literary field in America. I really hope you can see that ...

Sincerely,
Liz
http://artsandpalaver.blogspot.com

Dark Gems From The GAP Whistleblower Blog

Michael Neff turned me on to this one. The GAP Whistleblower Blog is a tremendous source for the latest in gov corruption in the Obama administration, and past admins. Yes, yes, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. And this is just the beginning. My apologies to my Dem buddies for disconcerting them!

Will Obama ever prosecute even a single Bush criminal?

As follows:

In a serious blow to government accountability, and on the heels of last week’s announcement by the Obama administration that criminal charges against CIA officers involved in torture would not be sought, Obama’s Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel announced that the administration would also not seek any prosecutions against those Justice Department lawyers who drafted controversial legal memos justifying the use of torture.

The ABCs of Drug Safety: Accountability, Balance, and Citizen Empowerment, which focuses on the severe problems with the current system for conducting and regulating clinical trials. The report details the urgent need for reform. From AllGov: “Things are so bad with the Food and Drug Administration’s clinical trial system for approving new drugs that the country is “virtually defenseless” from preventing another Vioxx scandal. This finding, and many others regarding dangerous conflicts of interest in the FDA process, are reported in a new study by the Government Accountability Project.”

... Gina Gray, who took over as the public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery in April 2008, when she discovered that cemetery officials were attempting to impose new limits on media coverage of funerals of the Iraq war dead – even after the fallen warriors’ families granted permission for the coverage. She said that the new restrictions were wrong, that Army regulations didn’t call for such limitations, and advocated restoring full coverage. Six weeks after the media reported her efforts, she was demoted. A few weeks after this, she was fired.

New York Pitch Conference Makes Writers Into Authors

The folks at Algonkian have asked me to say a few words once more about the New York Pitch Conference held quarterly in New York City at Ripley-Greer Studios. I attended the workshops not long ago and found it a challenging and worthwhile adventure that improved my novel 100%. I'm still working on it, yes, but I'm a lightyear ahead of where I would have been without it.

They use the pitch as a means of examining the novel and focusing on the major fictional elements. As Michael Neff says, "If they're not in the pitch, they're not in the novel." It's a great way of making you realize that market and story are meshed together in ways you never realized.

I highly recommend the New York Pitch Conference to anyone serious about writing a novel for the commercial market.

Liz Brody vs. The Black Racist Jerk Who Thinks He is Funny and Refers to White People as Bumpkins

The below are comments made by a stereotypical, educated, black American racist who has become successful in life despite the torrent of white racism he endures, as he puts it, every single day. He begins, of course, not by addressing the issues but by vehemently insulting white people; next, he establishes himself and all black people as perpetual victims, and then goes on to vindicate his own brand of virulent racism. Later, he tries to act funny and thoughtful, but falls flat.

This thread was in response to a post about Ebony magazine. I believe these comments are worth a new post because they clearly reveal that "well-meaning and enlightened" black racist philosophy is a clear and present danger to harmonious race relations in this country, and in more ways than one.

Judge for yourself.

====================================================

Anonymous said...

You guys are idiots. I've always been a strong advocate of reading and more importantly studying history. It becomes painfully obvious when reading this drivel, that white ppl are not willfully ignorant of racial issues/history rather grossly uninformed. One blogger actually concludes if "we" (blk ppl) simply stop talking about it--racism will simply go away. Using that logic the civil war nor the civil rights movement were necessary. If we simply stop talking about racism blk ppl would have been free and equal. Brilliant!

No the real logic behind not discussing racism is to put the "pitiful" white ppl at ease for having such wretched ancestry and being the "unwilling" inheritors of white privilege. rofl. (sorry i almost thought this blog was satire)To say Al Sharpton and Jesse are racist is a tepid attempt to silence the canary in the coal mine. Every democracy should have private citizens willing to speak against the institution and the powerholders.

Now you brain trusts are declaring Ebony a racist mag. Wow. Has it ever occurred to you intellectual morlocks that Ebony magazine is the only forum where blk ppl can openly express their opinions. I don't see any mainstream mags asking the same questions of blk ppl. Talk about double standards.And yes Ebony is a black magazine formed during a time when blk ppl could not have a forum to discuss issues in mainstream media. Forged during racism, not a product of racism.

Thanks for laughs!

March 31, 2009 7:28 AM
____________

Dear Anonymous Insulting Ebony-loving Black Racist,

I am so glad you posted here, and that you are defending Ebony Magazine because it perfectly demonstrates the point.Who is an idiot? Let's recap.

White People are "grossly uninformed." That's not a racist statement, of course. And "the pitiful white people" must be put at ease for "having such wretched ancestry." Now, that's not racist, of course. Well, to this "white person" of "wretched ancestry" it is racist, pathologically racist in the vein of Adolf Hitler. Nothing said by you, Anonymous Black Racist, has the least credibility due to your mind having been dipped in the hateful well of black racism, so absolute and self-cleansing that you can openly make the most obvious racist statements while decrying racism, so egoistic and ignorant that anyone with "white" skin who doesn't agree with your opinion is at least ignorant and pitiful.

This isn't a satire, it's a tragedy, but it points to why race relations in America will continually be troubled by racists in the black community who are enthralled by the commentary and slanted truth of Ebony Magazine.

Thanks for the tears, you miserable jerk. Rejoice in your time.I'm off to double-check my ancestry now. It seems you know far more than I do.

LB

March 31, 2009 10:12 AM
____________

@Elizabeth Brody.

Acidic commentary tends to milk the truth from those normally unwilling to give it. (hence my vitriol).It's hysterically funny to hear you guys depict Ebony magazine as racist.(rofl!!). When its obvious that many of you posters only become aware of it either through this blog or random sightings on newstands.

Want to know why blk ppl are obsessed with race.....??? because we live it everyday. White ppl have the social privilege of not having to think about race nor engage in it by thought, activity, nor establish any values around it and suffer ZERO impact on their daily lives. And yet race still works to a white person's benefit. It's also retarded (yes i'm being abusive again because it warrants it) to say that somehow its only okay for blk ppl to have racial pride, and have media devoted to it. How about People Magazine, NBC, the NY times. Seriously every major media outlet pours out more positive images of white ppl. If one were not from the US and read USA today, the NY times, or the Wall street journal, you wouldnt think the US had ppl of color. These media outlets all reinforce "whiteness". Just because the title isn't White Chocolate doesnt make it any less potent in socially reinforcing whiteness.and elizabeth---you calling me racist doesn't offend me. "racist" as an epithet has been reserved exclusively for white ppl (lol). since you guys tend to take such umbrage at being called one (true or not).you guys are dying to call blk ppl out as racists, as if the existence of blk racists somehow perpetuates the inequality in our society. white racism only matters because white ppl control the system. racism w/out power is empty. guys get off your high horse. and again i would try my best to educate you bumpkins, but i'll leave it to your own kind to do that. maybe you will take it better.

April 1, 2009 2:15 PM
____________

Dear Black Racist Who Works for Ebony Magazine,

Yes, there is a good chance you are employed by Ebony. Why? Because you refuse to address the specific black racist viewpoints and statements made by contributors to that magazine. Some highlights of your most recent hate speech that pathetically attempts a tone of light humor:

- "racist" as an epithet has been reserved exclusively for white people ..."
- "I would try my best to educate you bumpkins ..."
- "These [white] media outlets all reinforce "whiteness".
- "white racism only matters because white people control the system"

I love the last one, black racist person, since it conveniently gives you the moral license you need to not only practice your own ugly racism, and thereby bond daily with your peers, but to wallow indignantly in whatever failure you have made of yourself. After all, since whites "control the system" (whatever that really means) then whites can be scapegoated for your inability to succeed. No? Yes?

Go back to school, get an education, start your own business, do what you want. Then once you have become black entrepeneur of the year, you can sit back with your martini and find even more reasons why you are constantly being discriminated against. Why? Because it's your religion my friend. You are a slave to it, not to white people.

Open your eyes, learn that all racism is bad because it simply continues the circle of hate and misunderstanding.

Peace and Love

LB

April 2, 2009 3:07 PM
____________

@elizabeth brody.

"wallow indignantly in whatever failure you have made of yourself." why would you assume that i have neither academic nor professional success. what in my tone, manner, speech, or vocabulary would indicate that i'm a failure. hmmm.

"Go back to school, get an education, start your own business"...too late i already have. I have a BS in Info systems from one of the top schools in the country, work for a Fortune 100 company, and have my own web design business. Who the hell is blaming white ppl?!??! roflmao!!!

"bond daily with your peers", why would you assume that my peers bond over "racist" rhetoric? Your comments alone indicate your own prejudice of me as a blk individual, without having even the slightest hint of knowledge about me you have already defined my educational attainment and professional success. Just because i criticize white ppl is not because i hate them nor because i feel grossly inhibited by white ppl. Its because it needs to be said. And too be honest i've never actually been a big reader of Ebony magazine. But i know your "Black Racist Who Works for Ebony Magazine" is a silly attempt at jest.

"Why? Because it's your religion my friend"--haha. Racism being bad versus racism have ill effects are two different things. I could actually hate your guys live next door to you, work with you, etc. Would my simply hating you have an ill effect on your way of life? Of course not. Now when ppl who have power collectively hate, thats a different scenario. Whether racism is bad or not becomes a moot point taken into this context. And my initial point was --to label Ebony magazine without having any previous knowledge about the history and nature of the magazine is misguided.

Trust me on this-- Ebony magazine is far from racist. If you are looking for examples of blk racist then you are far off target if Ebony magazine is your culprit. Trust me i could find more explicit examples of Blk media that are explicitly racist.

But again, my point is that all of this finger-pointing is sheer nonsense. I've noticed that for some closet white racists, finger-pointing of "blk racists" has become a sport. Partially because it attempts to deflect any criticism of white racism, which is far more entrenched, vicious, and enduring. In all seriousness, check out Tim Wise if you are serious about why there are misunderstandings between the races. If not, I'll just continue to bash you with comic induced diatribes. Haha!!!

April 3, 2009 8:58 AM
____________

Dear Black Racist Trying to Be a Comic,

Just a few notes and comments below.

Finally, after bashing all white people as bumpkins, racists, idiots, pitiful with wretched ancestry (LOL!!!), and so forth, and after making your self-serving case that your racism is justified, you reveal the following:

"I have a BS in Info systems from one of the top schools in the country, work for a Fortune 100 company, and have my own web design business. Who the hell is blaming white ppl?!??!"

Ho, ho, black racist jerk! I finally got you to reveal some pertinent info about yourself. And I was right! You are just the stereotypical black racist I thought you were. The worst black racists seem to be those who meet with the most success in this white power society. Casual, armchair, educated black racists. Ah, so, you are not the victim of racism after all, and I assume that a couple of bumpkin white racists assisted you in your climb to the top? Oh, but I'm sure you'll come up with some slight or other to prove you are or were a victim of the bad old white people!

"bond daily with your peers", why would you assume that my peers bond over "racist" rhetoric?"

Because racists hang with racists. Who else could put up with the racist crap that flows like a Brooklyn sewer out of your mouth?

"Your comments alone indicate your own prejudice of me as a blk individual, without having even the slightest hint of knowledge about me you have already defined my educational attainment and professional success."

Part of that was a ploy to get you to come clean, but "prejudice" had nothing to do with it. It's all related to the way you talk and the racist views you have of the world. The fact you assume me prejudiced is a statement about your own black racism. Don't you just hate having to justify yourself to this white bumpkin of wretched ancestry, eh black racist?

"Just because i criticize white ppl is not because i hate them nor because i feel grossly inhibited by white ppl. Its because it needs to be said.

Now, you are being totally dishonest, not only with our readers, but with yourself. If you didn't hate white people, you would not have made such abhorrent comments about them. But your hate is really hatred of yourself. You need to be happy with who you are. Revel in your blackness and don't try to be white.

"Now when ppl who have power collectively hate, thats a different scenario."

No, my black racist friend, people create power when they collectively hate. It has a ripple effect on all they say and do, and it makes others hate them. That is incredible power. I assume that the white people didn't hate you enough or you wouldn't have your great career, eh?

God, you are so pathetic!

Liz

April 7, 2009 5:37 PM
____________

"Pathologizing Your Period": Paula J. Caplan Argues in Ms. Magazine That Prementrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a Lie of the Patriarchy

That sneaky, sexist patriarchy is at it again! Where do these guys live? Where do they meet and plan this stuff? Perhaps in a dark castle in the Alps? Whatever. In one of their biggest schemes ever, they're sexually abusing and harassing women in order to create false readings of PMDD and thereby sell lots of drugs women don't need.

Now, while I DO agree that the sociopath pharma culture does indeed load Americans with too many chemicals they don't really need (not just women!!!), I cannot agree that it is conspiring to create a worldwide myth of PMDD.

Who could believe such absurdity?

Answer: speaking with forked tongue and loaded with sexist insinuation, Paula J. Caplan, a clinical and research psychologist from Harvard and DuBois University, has written a tabloid article for Ms. Magazine entitled, "Pathologizing Your Period." While the article at first appears to be sane and thoughtful (especially noting that the DSM includes categories not based on solid science--so true!) it soon degenerates into the kind of counter-productive, anti-male sexism that skews and taints even the best of articles in Ms. Magazine.

Ms. Magazine can't let its readers forget even for a moment that for every female problem, there is a troll of the patriarchy lurking in the background as the cause. I've used the comparison many times, but Ms. always reminds me of Fox News running orange alerts all day across the bottom of the TV screen, frightening the dumb and gullible into believing there are terrorists behind every bush in every town in America.

Without a reference to a single study or statistic, Paula states emphatically:

The absence of science leaves a void into which every conceivable kind of bias has been found to flow—including sexism.

And so, Paula insinuates that the decision to identify symptoms of PMDD and place them in the DSM is a sexist plot. But of course, she can't prove it.

Furthermore, with our dear Paula J. Caplan, resident psychologist celebrity looking for attention, we see a form of Orwellian doublespeak coming into play. While Paula can't deny studies that have surveyed women countless times that prove they do report "feeling worse" before their periods (as she notes: "Do some women report feeling worse before their periods than at other times of the month? Certainly ...") she goes on later to say:

Hundreds of researchers have tried unsuccessfully to prove that women are more likely to have mood problems premenstrually than at other times.

Huh? ... But she is working on an answer. The "mood problems" are not caused by PMDD, but by MEN! Why didn't I think of that? As follows:

Premenstrual discomforts are also more often reported by women who were sexually abused as children, are struggling with abuse or harassment ...

Right, thank you Paula! That solves it all. But wait ... You are a scientist, so why don't you quote a viable study that supports this keen observation of yours? You have the opportunity, why not use it? Where is the proof that sexual harassment creates a false reading of PMDD?

But Paula J. Caplan doesn't need facts, or solid science to support her wild claims. Is she no different than the DSM that she condemns? Can we diagnose hypocrisy then? No? It must be evident beyond need of proof that PMDD appears to exist only in women who have been sexually abused or harassed by men. Follow the big money if you don't believe it.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT = PMDD = BIG PHARMA DOLLARS.

The math is simple. And before I forget, one final quote from Paula:

Another study showed that men identified PMDD symptoms in themselves as commonly as women did.

I can't stop laughing! Paula has gone from disingenuous to tabloid mental, all in a few hundred words. Again, she fails to quote this pivotal study that proves men have PMDD symptoms even though they don't have periods. Were they also the victims of sexual harassment then? I mean, it follows, right? Joe Palooka Jones of Jonestown, Ohio is all grumpy-wumpy-slumpy because the 7-Eleven clerk told him she liked his buns.

I encourage any and all women who read this piece to write Paula J. Caplan directly and tell her what an ass she is and how lying about PMDD for the sake of an article in Ms. Magazine only punishes women who really do suffer from PMDD and who must deal with the problem realistically, and without being told they're dupes or dummies of the patriarchy.

Thank you for your support.

Rasmussen National Survey Proves Republicans Do Not See Rush Limbaugh as Their Leader

As a matter of fact, only two percent of Republican voters polled in a telephone survey see the obese shock-comic of conservatism, Rush Limbaugh, in the role of party leader. A whopping 68% say the party has no leader, while McCain and Steele get five percent each.

In all fairness, I must note that Rush Limbaugh was not at rock bottom. That spot was held by Sarah Palin, who received one percent.

More information on the results at POLITICO.COM.

Is it remotely possible that the electorate is not as dumb as we make it out to be? Or is this just a temporary semblance of sanity caused by the failing economy and the psychological effects of despair?