Forging Alliances: How Democrats Helped Bush Rape Mother Nature
George W. Bush's environmental record can be dummied down to one simple
word: devastating.
Not only has President Bush gutted numerous environmental laws--including the Clean Air and Water Acts--he has also set a new precedence by disregarding the world's top scientists and the Pentagon, as their concerns about the rate of Global Warming grow graver by the day.
As Mark Townsend and Paul Harris reported for the Observer in the UK in February of 2004, '[The Pentagon report] predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents.'
Not only has President Bush gutted numerous environmental laws--including the Clean Air and Water Acts--he has also set a new precedence by disregarding the world's top scientists and the Pentagon, as their concerns about the rate of Global Warming grow graver by the day.
As Mark Townsend and Paul Harris reported for the Observer in the UK in February of 2004, '[The Pentagon report] predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents.'
Analysis and review: <i>The Fitrakis Files: Free Byrd and other cries for justice</i>
Bob Fitrakis, The Fitrakis Files: Free Byrd and other cries for justice. Columbus: Columbus Alive Publishing, 2003. 252 pp.
"When, in countries that are called civilized, we see age going to the work-house, and youth to the gallows, something must be wrong in the system of government. . . . Civil government does not consist in executions. . . . Why is it that scarcely any are executed but the poor?"
These are the words of Thomas Paine, the greatest pamphleteer in the history of the English language.
A street fighting man? How Kucinich can win
"Hey! I think the time is right for a palace revolution,
Cuz' where I live the game to play is compromise solution!"
-Rolling Stones (Street Fighting Man)
While the sun in Iraq scorches an already turbulent soil, the heat of election season is being felt back in the good ol' US of A. Polls are indicting a slight dip in the emperor's approval rating as his rival John Kerry is flying around the country ignoring the rising US death toll in Iraq. The escalation in casualties, claims Kerry, has little to do with him or any of the other Democrat and has everything to do with George W. Bush. "We need to internationalize the effort [in Iraq]," blasts Kerry, "and put an end to the American occupation!" Remember, he is admitting that the occupation will surely continue, it'll just be administered with more diversity. Call it the new age of affirmative action.
-Rolling Stones (Street Fighting Man)
While the sun in Iraq scorches an already turbulent soil, the heat of election season is being felt back in the good ol' US of A. Polls are indicting a slight dip in the emperor's approval rating as his rival John Kerry is flying around the country ignoring the rising US death toll in Iraq. The escalation in casualties, claims Kerry, has little to do with him or any of the other Democrat and has everything to do with George W. Bush. "We need to internationalize the effort [in Iraq]," blasts Kerry, "and put an end to the American occupation!" Remember, he is admitting that the occupation will surely continue, it'll just be administered with more diversity. Call it the new age of affirmative action.
Sustainable Communities 2004: a local conference with global impact
The City of Burlington, Vermont will be the host of an innovative international conference on sustainable communities, to be held from July 14-18, 2004. The Sustainable Communities 2004 conference will bring together academics, professionals, citizens, businesses, and educators from all over the world to discuss and address real-life problems so that participants can go home with new tools, practices, and skills to use in their own communities. Registration is now open - and the early registration deadline has been extended to May 1, 2004.
The conference will feature site visits, case studies, simulations, and dialogue sessions to focus on issues ranging from the role of the arts in community development, the restoration economy, citizen empowerment and public participation, to more technical sessions on financing mechanisms for innovative development strategies, environmentally certified construction practices, performance contracts for energy efficiency, local currency, new opportunities in the business sector, and green purchasing.
The conference will feature site visits, case studies, simulations, and dialogue sessions to focus on issues ranging from the role of the arts in community development, the restoration economy, citizen empowerment and public participation, to more technical sessions on financing mechanisms for innovative development strategies, environmentally certified construction practices, performance contracts for energy efficiency, local currency, new opportunities in the business sector, and green purchasing.
Pot-bellied pig needs a home
Wilbur, a 10-year-old, #150 house piggy in OH needs to
find a new home ASAP. He was dumped by his lifetime owners 2 weeks ago
so they could travel in their retirement. He was taken in by a non-pig
person who has grown to love him but cannot keep him. He is not safe in
his new home. He was attacked by their dog with puncture wounds
to his ears and snout, and the husband hates him and is threatening
BBQ.
His previous owners refused to take him back. He is an older pig who sleeps a lot but is very loveable and enjoys being loved on and sucking on peppermints. He had absolutely no transition problems into his new home.
If anyone is interested in opening their heart and home to this sweet, sweet pig, please contact me at celler@grlakes.com. He is not safe and needs to be moved ASAP.
Lana Hollenback
(The Anchor Still Holds)
Helping Hoof Program
www.pigsaspetsorg/helping_hoof.htm
Pigs As Pets Association,Inc.
Fort Myers Fl 33905-2335
His previous owners refused to take him back. He is an older pig who sleeps a lot but is very loveable and enjoys being loved on and sucking on peppermints. He had absolutely no transition problems into his new home.
If anyone is interested in opening their heart and home to this sweet, sweet pig, please contact me at celler@grlakes.com. He is not safe and needs to be moved ASAP.
Lana Hollenback
(The Anchor Still Holds)
Helping Hoof Program
www.pigsaspetsorg/helping_hoof.htm
Pigs As Pets Association,Inc.
Fort Myers Fl 33905-2335
Scary, Scary John Kerry
Finally a reason to get excited, as we now have before us an electable
candidate worthy of taking on George W. Bush and his coterie of
neoconservatives next November. Well, at least that's what the scared
liberals out there would have us believe. But John Kerry is neither
electable nor exciting. He is a Zionist sympathizer who supports Bush's
"road map for peace" in Israel and Palestine, as well as a corporate
Neoliberal, who voted in support of NAFTA, normalized free-trade with China,
and the US's $17.9 billion dollar "aid" package to the IMF.
With all deliberate stupidity: US self-isolation makes Iraq a virtual non-issue in the elections so far
The king is dead--long live the king! Okay, so the old lefty saw about it-doesn't-matter-who-gets-elected-they're-all-the-same-anyway might have less punch this time around. The Bush-led extremist puppet show that has hacked and brutalized its way into power is so evil, so corrupt, so completely dangerous down to the cellular and atomic level that it would be unthinkable not to wish them gone whatever the cost. Still, preventing evil is not the same as promoting good. A grim duty, perhaps. But hardly one that stirs the soul.
Of course, it doesn't have to be this way. The rigged two-party shell game has, exactly twice, by my count, been forced to slay The Beast, or at least to lull it to sleep for another few decades. Once was the historic liberal-left alliance that produced the New Deal. It was the communist left, in large measure, that organized the CIO and made Roosevelt's mass strategy feasible despite enormous opposition from within the ruling class. The other was the valiant (or tainted, or cynical, depending on your perspective--though certainly belated) attempt to end American Apartheid via the Voting Rights Act.
Of course, it doesn't have to be this way. The rigged two-party shell game has, exactly twice, by my count, been forced to slay The Beast, or at least to lull it to sleep for another few decades. Once was the historic liberal-left alliance that produced the New Deal. It was the communist left, in large measure, that organized the CIO and made Roosevelt's mass strategy feasible despite enormous opposition from within the ruling class. The other was the valiant (or tainted, or cynical, depending on your perspective--though certainly belated) attempt to end American Apartheid via the Voting Rights Act.
To support or not to support; the Nader question
Things may be shaping up nicely for Ralph Nader, who could very soon
receive
an unlikely endorsement from the Ross Perot founded Texas Reform Party.
This may prove to be a huge victory for Nader's solo candidacy, as the
support from the conservative Reformers could help him gain ballot access
for the upcoming November election.
As you well know, Texas is not renowned for its democratic virtues or integrity (remember Trent Lott's legislative redistricting?). And now Nader faces numerous hurdles as he attempts to get his name on the state's ballot. Texas requires over 64,000 signatures by its May 10th deadline, and nobody who cast a vote in its presidential primary can sign his petition. But that's where the Reform Party may lend a helping hand.
Un-registered Third Parties are required to garner only 45,540, with a slightly later deadline of May 24th. Independants are not currently recognized as a Third Party, and in Texas only Democrats and Republicans are reserved special access to the state's ballot.
As you well know, Texas is not renowned for its democratic virtues or integrity (remember Trent Lott's legislative redistricting?). And now Nader faces numerous hurdles as he attempts to get his name on the state's ballot. Texas requires over 64,000 signatures by its May 10th deadline, and nobody who cast a vote in its presidential primary can sign his petition. But that's where the Reform Party may lend a helping hand.
Un-registered Third Parties are required to garner only 45,540, with a slightly later deadline of May 24th. Independants are not currently recognized as a Third Party, and in Texas only Democrats and Republicans are reserved special access to the state's ballot.
This 'Beast' is gorgeous
Gorgeous. That's all that need be said about Ballet Met's sweet "Beauty and
the Beast," which just opened Thursday night at the Ohio Theater, and which
will play through Sunday, March 14.
The music is lovely, the dancing divine, the costumes breathtaking, the sets entrancing. David Nixon's choreography and concept both work admirably well. The lead performances by Carrie West and Richard Tullius were also fine, as were the efforts of the rest of the cast and the orchestra. It's a piece that rises or falls on its grace and emotional pull, and in its opening night, the whole thing worked.
The music is lovely, the dancing divine, the costumes breathtaking, the sets entrancing. David Nixon's choreography and concept both work admirably well. The lead performances by Carrie West and Richard Tullius were also fine, as were the efforts of the rest of the cast and the orchestra. It's a piece that rises or falls on its grace and emotional pull, and in its opening night, the whole thing worked.