Reality's bitch: Doomsday's NewsHound

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Winter Re-Run: E.L. Doctorow Nails G.W. Bush & the USA 12th FEBRUARY 2006

The cry of protest was the appalled understanding of millions that America was ceding its role as the last best hope of mankind. It was their perception that the classic archetype of democracy was morphing into a rogue nation. The greatest democratic republic in history was using its power and standing not to advance the ideal of a concordance of civilizations but to endorse the kind of tribal combat that originated with Neanderthals, now extinct, who could imagine ensuring their survival by no other means than pre-emptive war. This president does not know what death is. He hasn't the mind for it. You see him joking with the press, peering under the table for the weapons of mass destruction he can't seem to find, you see him at rallies strutting up to the stage in shirt sleeves to the roar of the carefully screened crowd, smiling and waving, triumphal, a he-man.

Americans Murdered on 9/11 So That Iraqis Might Know "Democracy" 12th FEBRUARY 2006

Ground Zero EMT Patricia Ondrovic talks about her harrowing day at the WTC on 9/11. Minutes after the South Tower collapses, she witnessed WTC 5 blowing up, cars exploding, and explosions inside the lobby of the WTC 6, all the while narrowly escaping with her own life. Patricia can be reached at: fieldangel911@yahoo.com.

Indisputable Fact: US Subverted Democratically Elected Govt in Iran 12th FEBRUARY 2006

As scam artist George Hull knew, there is a sucker born every minute. It is not difficult to fool clueless Americans, brainwashed by television, and get them on board the Straussian neocon plan to mass murder thousands, possibly millions of Arabs and Muslims. The escalating crisis over Iran’s [nonexistent] nuclear program appears to have persuaded the U.S. public that Tehran now poses a greater threat to the United States than any other country, or even al-Qaeda, according to recent surveys. Woefully ignorant of history and unable to find Iran on a map, these polled Americans consider Iran a dire threat, based entirely on lies and omissive history. A Pew Research poll found that some 27% of respondents cite Iran as Washington’s greatest menace — three times the percentage who ranked it at the top of foreign threats just four months ago, thus demonstrating that relentless propaganda and psychological warfare work every time.

American Pipe Dream: Land of the Free, Home of the Incarcerated. 12th FEBRUARY 2006

What's so conservative about the war on drugs? Spending billions in taxpayer dollars with no clear progress? Inserting government agents into Americans' private lives? Holding a million men and women in prison for what are mostly nonviolent crimes? Please, how does any of that promote the values that principled conservatives hold dear? None of it does, of course. Why is government deciding what American adults snort, smoke and swallow - and enforcing those laws with the threat of decades behind bars? Individual freedom. Fiscal restraint. Holding adults responsible for their own personal decisions. Not expecting government to become a 24-hour nanny. Isn't that what conservatism is all about?

US Builds Military Theme Park in Iraq: America's Playground 12th FEBRUARY 2006

al-Asad is the biggest marine camp in western Anbar province. It is in the midst of the most rebellious region in Iraq, where thousands of insurgents have been killed in a series of operations over the past year. But get "inside the wire" and this stretch of desert increasingly resembles a slice of US suburbia rather than the front line in a war zone. Its restaurants include a Subway and a fast food pizza shop. There is a coffee shop, football pitch and even a swimming pool. A cinema shows the latest films while the camp's main recreational centre offers special dance nights - hip hop on Friday, salsa on Saturday and country and western on Sunday. Members of the Iraqi Islamic Party regard them as evidence of an open-ended "occupation," a charge denied by US officials who insist the bases are another step in an eventual withdrawal.

Are You Being Delphied? Accept Persecution Gratefully. 11th FEBRUARY 2006

The goal of the Delphi technique is to lead a targeted group of people to a predetermined outcome, while giving the illusion of taking public input and under the pretext of being accountable to the public. For Delphi to work, it is critical that the targeted group be kept away from knowledgeable people who could lead them away from the Delphier's predetermined outcome. Anyone knowledgeable enough, or brave enough, to speak out in opposition will not be welcomed. Often they are told from the podium, "We don't have time to discuss that now," or "We discussed that on another date," or “We can discuss that after the meeting.” They will attempt to quiet, isolate, and discredit dissenters. After attending the Delphi meeting, participants may feel uneasy that they are in disagreement with the apparent majority. The Delphi technique is often successful in bluffing people into submission. Don't let them succeed. Call their bluff.

Killing One Person Is Murder. Killing Thousands Is Policy. 11th FEBRUARY 2006

The Bush administration spy campaign is taking a page right out of Nazi Germany or the old Soviet Union 'destruction of civil liberties handbook.' Taking a close look down the highways and byways of America all road signs lead directly to tyranny and a police state, where no one dare dissent for fear of government reprisals, including imprisonment. Several former CIA agents say Bush grossly overstepped his bounds and should be impeached for a number of reasons, including unauthorized spying. At any given moment over 500 innocent Americans are illegally wiretapped or have communications checked through intrusive government data gathering techniques.

Radical Threat to the United States Is At Home [Cutting Brush] 11th FEBRUARY 2006

The Defense Department and the White House have decided that the U.S. is conducting "the Long War" rather than what previously was known as the War against Terror, then as the Global Struggle against Violent Extremism, and briefly - as one revealing Pentagon study described it - war against "the Universal Adversary." What was to be a matter of quick and exemplary revenge, with lightning attacks and acclaimed victories, has become the long war whose end cannot be foreseen. The citizen is told to expect the current suspension of constitutional norms, disregard for justice, and defiance of limits on presidential power as traditionally construed, to continue indefinitely. We are in a new age, America's leaders say. The Democratic opposition seems to agree.

Here's a Novel Idea: Rational Assessments & Critiques Without Hate 10th FEBRUARY 2006

The ad for "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America" describes me as: Texas Journalism Professor Robert Jensen, who rabidly hates the United States and recently told his students, "The United States has lost the war in Iraq, and that's a good thing." I'm glad Horowitz got my name right (people often misspell it "Jenson"). But everything else is distortion, and that one sentence teaches much about the reactionary right's disingenuous rhetorical strategy. First, I'm not rabid, in personal or political style. I'm a sedate, nondescript academic who tries to approach political and moral questions rationally. I articulate principles, provide evidence about how those principles are often undermined by powerful institutions, and offer logical conclusions about how citizens should respond. I encourage people to disagree with my principles, contest my evidence and question my logic -- all appropriate activities in a university where students are being trained to think for themselves and in a nominally democratic society where citizens should to do the same.

The Search for Meaning in an Aggressively Despiritualized World 10th FEBRUARY 2006

Unholy alliance of the political Right and Religious Right threatens to destroy America [militarism, ecological irresponsibility, fundamentalist antagonism to science and rational thought, and insensitivity to needs of the poor and powerless]. Addressing the real spiritual and moral crisis, a progressive spiritual vision would provide alternate solution to the intolerant and militarist politics of the Right and misguided, visionless, spiritually empty politics of the Left. The "Right Hand of God" sees the universe as a fundamentally scary place filled with evil forces. God is the avenger, the big man in heaven who can be invoked to use violence to overcome those evil forces, either right now or in some future ultimate reckoning. The world is filled with constant dangers and the rational way to live is to dominate and control others before they dominate and control us. Many very decent Americans who get attracted to the Religious Right because it is the only voice that they encounter that is willing to challenge the despiritualization of daily life, to call for a life that is driven by higher purpose than money, and to provide actual experiences of supportive community for those whose daily life is suffused with alienation and spiritual loneliness.

Non-Partisan Expert on Congressional Power Muzzled for Faulting Bush 10th FEBRUARY 2006

A 36-year veteran of the agency and expert on the separation of powers said superiors wrongly punished him for giving interviews and publishing scholarly articles that contained criticism of the White House. Officials deny allegations, saying they were simply trying to protect the agency's reputation for nonpartisanship and objectivity. The current dispute began after Mr. Fisher was quoted as saying Congress had been overly deferential to Bush's efforts to punish whistleblowers or otherwise suppress information. According to Mr. Fisher, his supervisor, Robert Dilger, walked into his office three days later and gave him a critical memo that said the interview meant that readers would assume that Mr. Fisher's "work cannot be presumed to be balanced."

What Toon Dare Seize The Fire 10th FEBRUARY 2006

At first blush it was fairly easy to sympathize with the Danes. Who wants to see an orchestrated movement of Danish flag-burning? Or cyber-attacks on Danish web sites. And yet. While the mainstream, typically, ignored the warning signs, soon enough it came out that Flemming Rose, the editor who solicited the cartoons and published them, is something of a fly-by-night Danish neocon. Adding insult to injury the US government in the form of the redoubtable Condi advanced spurious claims that the Iranians and Syrians were whipping up their heathen mobs. What's the real story? This is part and parcel of a propaganda war to further radicalize sentiment both in the West and the Islamic world. As in so many conflicts, the radical zealots on either side work overtime to squeeze out the rational middle.

Oxes to Gore: Come In, Please! [We're Sorry We Stopped Counting.] 10th FEBRUARY 2006

Most of the 141 programs resident Bush wants to cut or eliminate are survivors of past Bush hit lists. Of 91 programs proposed for termination, all but 13 have been on the chopping block before. The 13 new programs would save the government $581 million - about 0.02% of the $2.77 trillion budget. The White House says the effort to cut or kill relatively small programs is important. Among the new targets is a food program for low-income women, children and seniors and an Internet-based listing of job openings. "They've cut programs that help average Americans to the bone to pay for supersized tax cuts for millionaires."

Official Culture in America: A Natural State of Psychopathy 9th FEBRUARY 2006

The subject of the extremely narrow view of most Americans as opposed to the majority of other peoples in the world came up in a conversation the other day. The people having the conversation were mostly American. One of them commented that Americans had been "programmed" to their point of view by mass media propaganda for a very long time and that it was simply a very normal part of American life and basically, always had been. What, then, does one say or do about the ignorance of the vast majority of Americans? Why and how is it that the trap of Fascism is closing on them before their very eyes and no matter how many voices - the number is increasing every day - are raised to point out this danger, they simply do not seem to get it?

Unsettling Militarization of Police Departments Across the Country 9th FEBRUARY 2006

Armed with free surplus military gear from the Pentagon, SWAT teams have multiplied at a furious pace. Tactics once reserved for rare, volatile situations such as hostage takings, bank robberies and terrorist incidents increasingly are being used for routine police work. SWAT teams are called out about 40,000 times a year in the United States; in the 1980s, that figure was 3,000 times a year. Most "call-outs" were to serve warrants on nonviolent drug offenders. Now police military-style units are increasingly being deployed on gambling raids. Police with guns and K-9 units raided a charity poker game in Baltimore. Police in New York are using similar tactics against gambling clubs. A SWAT team of 52 officers raided a small-stakes poker game in Denver. Jaycees and American Legion clubs "are being raided with the kind of firepower once reserved for drug barons and killers on the lam."

The Hypocritical Morals and Ethics of Spying on Americans 9th FEBRUARY 2006

In times of extreme fear, Americans have sometimes scrapped civil liberties in the name of civil protection. It’s only later that the country can see that the choice was a false one and that citizens’ rights were sacrificed to carry out extreme measures that were useless and counterproductive. That could not be more accurate than when it comes to gay and lesbian military personnel. It cost the Pentagon $200 million to recruit and train replacements for the 9,500 troops that had to leave because of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Those dismissed included thousands of highly skilled personnel, including translators. A gay kissing demonstration is classified as a credible threat. Kissing makes for a "credible threat?" To what? To whom? The answer is obvious: to the fanatically anti-gay evangelical Christian Right that's pulling Bush's strings.

The Show Must Go On [and What a Show It Is] 9th FEBRUARY 2006

Reality TV was dreamt up by the elite who represent the antithesis of a society which spends millions of dollars a day in denial. The American citizen eschews reality. Proof is in the president. Just look at America’s crime, domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse problems. Why just a quick perusal of the words and actions of resident George W. Bush go a long way to prove to any thinking person that Americans are unable or unwilling to face reality and are currently in a psychologically devastating mode of denial. The American spectator can tune in as US military might murders and decapitates. Televised war is paid for, sponsored by, and brought to you by the Bush administration for the entertainment and edification of anyone with a television. Any rebroadcast of this show without expressed, written permission is strictly forbidden.

Wall Street Journal Whores Demon Diebold Spawn 8th FEBRUARY 2006

Operating on the "nowhere to go but up" philosophy, the Wall Street Journal recommended that investors purchase Diebold stock. Diebold is the producer of electronic voting machines. Its earnings have plunged 76% since December 2004. Not that the dip hurt top execs. They sold off hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Diebold stock months before a report revealed their estimates for growth were drastically over-inflated. They were smart enough to sell high. Diebold CEO Walden O’Dell used his take as a comfy golden parachute when he resigned. O’Dell, as you may recall, once promised his company would help deliver the vote to George Bush.

American Soldier Wounded: Army Demands $700 for Missing Body Armor 8th FEBRUARY 2006

The last time 1st Lt. William “Eddie” Rebrook IV saw his body armor, he was lying on a stretcher in Iraq, his arm shattered and covered in blood. A field medic tied a tourniquet around Rebrook’s arm to stanch the bleeding. Soldiers yanked off his blood-soaked body armor. He never saw it again. He was told to pay nearly $700 or face not being discharged for months. No one documented that he lost his Kevlar body armor during battle. No one wrote down that armor had been incinerated as a biohazard. Rebrook, 25, scrounged up the cash from his Army buddies.

The Little Man Urges Confidence in His Leadership 8th FEBRUARY 2006

Old Brush Cutter never got the knack of urging, and whenever he tries, he looks small and petulant, like a cartoon of himself. He photographs well in formal situations, and he is good at keeping a low profile when necessary, which is a key to survival in politics, as in boxing, but when it comes to the hortatory, he gets all hissy and squinty. Why does he seem so small? In his residential library, he'll be portrayed as Abraham Lincoln after Chancellorsville and FDR after Corregidor, but to most of us, the crisis in Washington today stems from a man intellectually and temperamentally unequipped to rise to the challenge. Most of us sense that when, decades from now, the story of this administration comes out, it will be one of ordinary incompetence, of rigid and incurious people overwhelmed by events in a world they don't dare look around and see.

Dastardly Terrorists of Tiny Town Thwarted by der Homeland Sekuriten 8th FEBRUARY 2006

The kindergarten class at Taft Elementary was planning a field trip to NASA Glenn Research Center. It’s a popular trip because it’s free, because the NASA staff already has age-appropriate tours that fit well with school curriculum, and, well, it’s outer space, for pete’s sake. They’ve got rocket ships. Because two kids in the kindergarten class are not U.S. citizens, the teacher had to cancel the trip. The agency is “looking at a policy revision” that might allow kindergarteners onto the federal reservation for field trips.

Stop Wasting Time: Trample the Constitution & Complete the Coup 7th FEBRUARY 2006

Did Bush know? Of course he did. If this sounds "out there," I have a bridge to sell you in Stepford. In April and May, 2001, Bush received a string of reports regarding bin Laden's plans, while in July, a CIA intelligence report for Bush read, "The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties." Tommy-Boy Franks predicted another attack will militarize our society and obliterate the Constitution, John Dean warned of "constitutional dictatorship" and Paul Craig Roberts wondered if another attack will "allow the administration to complete its coup."

White House for Sale: Great Investment. MAKE MONEY FAST! 7th FEBRUARY 2006

Rovesputin has been calling in every Republican on the Senate committee as well as the leadership in Congress. The White House offered to help loyalists with money and free publicity, such as appearances and photo-ops with the president. Those deemed disloyal to Mr. Rove would appear on his blacklist. The sources said dozens of GOP members in the House and Senate are on that list. Only a handful of GOP senators have questioned Herr Rove's tactics. "He's lining them up one by one," a congressional source said.

Bush's Boys: Secret History Explains Jocular Frat-Rat Response to Katrina 7th FEBRUARY 2006

A previously undisclosed longtime relationship between the FEMA directors appointed by Resident Bush (replete with unpaid debts, personal bankruptcies and questionable business ethics) lies at the root of the disastrously failed response to Hurricane Katrina, according to an investigative report. Brown and Allbaugh were accused of fiduciary malfeasance. Before coming to Washington, both were known to associates and creditors not as rising stars but as ethically-challenged and failed entrepreneurs. .

The USA Today: Will the Lamp of Liberty Extinguished Forever? 7th FEBRUARY 2006

Iraq was not a party to 9/11. Iraq did not have nuclear weapons, and was not negotiating to buy nuclear materials. Now, with our army caught in a no-win situation, and the so-called leaders of this country facing a huge loss in public support, we hear the same lies being promulgated against Iran. Our leaders have put us in an untenable position. They are losing power and influence, despite the efforts to maintain control. They are pushing draconian police state legislation, ostensibly under the guise of protecting us, but with the actual goal being to maintain their power, influence and control. National identification cards, domestic spying, warrantless searches, detention without charges or representation, allegations of torture and abuse of prisoners, and the huge percentage of people in jails and prisons for 'victimless' crimes or paperwork violations are only the tip of the iceberg, showing the lengths they will go to in order to maintain their grip.

C'est Vrai: Your Doctor Would Sell You Down the River 7th FEBRUARY 2006

The Hippocratic Oath, boiled down to its essence, says doctors should not take advantage of their patients. The ethical problems addressed by our oath remain because sick, worried, desperate people make the very best of marks, much easier to skin than a baby with candy (there is the risk that a baby may bite). Apparently the Hippocratic Oath, like our Constitution, has been silently scrapped in favor of the monetary interests of both huge corporations and countless petty con men and con women who administer every aspect of our so called "Health Care System," which might be much less euphemistically called the "Health Extortion System." Doctors have been systematically, persistently, and effectively prevented from coming to your aid or being your advocate by the criminal efforts of those who manage our system of health provision (the word "care" does not seem appropriate).

Big Pharma: the Number One Enemy of America 6th FEBRUARY 2006

The US medical care system, rated a poor seventy-second, worldwide, has been teetering on the brink of destruction for years now. Greed, malfeasance, misfeasance, grand corruption, murderous intent, and a self-centeredness unequaled in history has led the system to the abyss. The system, the most expensive in the world, according to the authoritative study "Death by Medicine," IS THE NUMBER ONE KILLER OF AMERICANS. Above heart disease, cancer and stroke, the medical system, itself, is responsible for the unnecessary deaths of 783,936 Americans EVERY YEAR. There are no estimates of how many are damaged or disabled by it. Many, if not most, Americans have learned to find their own health care solutions - for they certainly aren't going to get answers from the "five minute medicine" brigades - those, like HMOs, that allow you to actually see a doctor for all of five minutes - three minutes of which they use to write new prescriptions for drugs.

Peddling War, Bigotry, Conspiracy, Profiling, Persecution and Plunder. 6th FEBRUARY 2006

Powell referred to the episode as "a painful blot" on his record - a pack of lies and half truths that has led to an ever-increasing mound of corpses. The power of illusion and delusion should never be underestimated. The compulsion to believe in something we need and want to be true, rather than see reality for what it is, can at times be astounding. The potency of downright fabrication is self-evident. What is truly insidious is the propensity of people to arrange possibles, probables, maybes and might-bes, and construct from them a reality that is both definite and wrong. The war in Iraq has revealed just how truly bullish and persistent this market in bad ideas based on flawed preconceptions can be. Bad ideas helped take us into the war; and unless we examine what they were and why some managed to believe them, they will prevent us from getting out.

Alberto Gonzales Had a Choice. We the People Do Not. IMPEACH, NOW! 6th FEBRUARY 2006

Patrick Fitzgerald told lawyers representing Libby that "many emails from Cheney's office at the time of the Plame leak in 2003 have been deleted contrary to White House policy." The computer system at the White House is supposed to automatically archive emails sent by the president and his aides. For reasons that are still unclear, these emails -- which may or may not be relevant to the Plame investigation -- were not preserved. Could aides have used the 12-hour gap to conceal incriminating emails that pointed to staffers' role in exposing the identity of an undercover CIA agent? Prosecutors will no doubt explore this in some detail as the investigation continues, but it's important to note that political observers have understated the length of the delay itself -- by a factor of seven. The emails are unlikely to remain missing forever.

Burning Down Danish Embassies: More Psychological Warfare? 6 th FEBRUARY 2006

Once again cui bono — who benefits — enters the equation: Muslims may burn off some outrage over what they see as a denigration of their religion, but at the end of the day the Straussian-Jabotinsky Likudite coalition score big propaganda points as, once again, people in America and Europe (who must be periodically reminded of the necessity for the “clash of civilizations” agenda for total war) are incensed by the violence spreading across the Middle East and are convinced that all Muslims are crazed fanatics who must be ultimately dealt with.

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