I also see Bush signs......

I see these Kerry signs everywhere!

brown shirts (don't make it)

"I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States.

"I know the Bush-Cheney campaign occasionally requires the people who attend its events to sign loyalty oaths, but this was the first time I have ever seen an audience actually stand and utter one. Maybe they've replaced the written oath with a verbal one. "

-Chris Suellentrop, reporting from PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. on the campaign trail for Slate

sans titre

911 Truth Statement

Respected Leaders and Families Launch 9/11 Truth Statement Demanding Deeper Investigation into the Events of 9/11

NEW YORK CITY, NY (Oct. 26, 2004) ? An alliance of 100 prominent Americans and 40 family members of those killed on 9/11 today announced the release of the 911 Truth Statement, a call for immediate inquiry into evidence that suggests high-level government officials may have deliberately allowed the September 11th attacks to occur. The Statement supports an August 31st Zogby poll that found nearly 50% of New Yorkers believe the government had foreknowledge and "consciously failed to act," with 66% wanting a new 9/11 investigation.

Focusing on twelve questions, the Statement highlights areas of incriminating evidence that were either inadequately explored or ignored by the Kean Commission, ranging from insider trading and hijacker funding to foreign government forewarnings and inactive defenses around the Pentagon. The Statement asks for four actions: an immediate investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Congressional hearings, media analysis, and the formation of a truly independent citizens-based inquiry.

The Statement's list of signatories includes notables spanning the political spectrum, from Presidential candidates Ralph Nader, Michael Badnarik, and David Cobb to Catherine Austin Fitts, a member of the first Bush administration, as well as Washington veterans like Pentagon whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern. Other signers range from peace activists like Code Pink president Jodie Evans and Global Exchange's Kevin Danaher to former US Ambassador and Chief of Mission to Iraq, Edward L. Peck; from environmentalists like Randy Hayes and John Robbins to business leaders such as Paul Hawken and Karl Schwartz, CEO of Patmos Nanotechnologies; from populist journalist Ronnie Dugger to renowned investigative reporter Kelly Patricia O'Meara.

The Statement also includes 43 noted authors, including New York Times #1 bestseller John Gray, as well as 18 eminent professors, historians, and theologians. Other notables include five-term Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, singers Michelle Shocked and Michael Franti, and actors Ed Asner and Mimi Kennedy.

The Statement was facilitated by 911truth.org, a leading coalition. The organization has also announced a press conference outside of Eliot Spitzer's Manhattan office (corner of Cedar and Nassau) at 2:00PM on Thursday, Oct. 28th where 9/11 family members and victim group representatives will file a formal complaint demanding the first criminal investigation of 9/11 events by the New York Attorney General.

THE STATEMENT
We Want Real Answers About 9/11

On August 31, 2004, Zogby International, the official North American political polling agency for Reuters, released a poll that found nearly half (49.3%) of New York City residents and 41% of those in New York state believe US leaders had foreknowledge of impending 9/11 attacks and "consciously failed" to act. Of the New York City residents, 66% called for a new probe of unanswered questions by Congress or the New York Attorney General.

In connection with this news, we have assembled 100 notable Americans and 40 family members of those who died to sign this 9/11 Statement, which calls for immediate public attention to unanswered questions that suggest that people within the current administration may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.

We want truthful answers to questions such as:

• Why were standard operating procedures for dealing with hijacked airliners not followed that day?
• Why were the extensive missile batteries and air defenses reportedly deployed around the Pentagon not activated during the attack?
• Why did the Secret Service allow Bush to complete his elementary school visit, apparently unconcerned about his safety or that of the schoolchildren?
• Why hasn't a single person been fired, penalized, or reprimanded for the gross incompetence we witnessed that day?
• Why haven't authorities in the U.S. and abroad published the results of multiple investigations into trading that strongly suggested foreknowledge of specific details of the 9/11 attacks, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of traceable gains?
• Why has Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator who claims to have knowledge of advance warnings, been publicly silenced with a gag order requested by Attorney General Ashcroft and granted by a Bush-appointed judge?
• How could Flight 77, which reportedly hit the Pentagon, have flown back towards Washington D.C. for 40 minutes without being detected by the FAA's radar or the even superior radar possessed by the US military?
• How were the FBI and CIA able to release the names and photos of the alleged hijackers within hours, as well as to visit houses, restaurants, and flight schools they were known to frequent?
• What happened to the over 20 documented warnings given our government by 14 foreign intelligence agencies or heads of state?
• Why did the Bush administration cover up the fact that the head of the Pakistani intelligence agency was in Washington the week of 9/11 and reportedly had $100,000 wired to Mohamed Atta, considered the ringleader of the hijackers?
• Why did the 911 Commission fail to address most of the questions posed by the families of the victims, in addition to almost all of the questions posed here?
• Why was Philip Zelikow chosen to be the Executive Director of the ostensibly independent 911 Commission although he had co-authored a book with Condoleezza Rice?


Those who are demanding deeper inquiry now number in the hundreds of thousands, including a former member of the first Bush administration, a retired Air Force colonel, a European parliamentarian, families of the victims, highly respected authors, investigative journalists, peace and justice leaders, former Pentagon staff, and the National Green Party.

As Americans of conscience, we ask for four things:
An immediate investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Immediate investigation in Congressional Hearings.
Media attention to scrutinize and investigate the evidence.
The formation of a truly independent citizens-based inquiry.


Given the importance of the coming election, we feel it is imperative that these questions be addressed publicly, honestly, and rigorously so that Americans may exercise their democratic rights with full awareness.

In closing, we pray and hope for the strength to approach this subject with wisdom and compassion so that we may heal from the wounds inflicted on that terrible day.

Signed,
Signatories
Note: All organizations are mentioned for identification purposes only. Individuals have signed this statement as an act of their own conscience, not to signify organizational endorsement.

Virginia Deane Abernethy, Ph.D., anthropologist, author, Population Politics
Ed Asner, actor, activist
Marshall Auerback, international portfolio strategist for David W. Tice & Associates, Inc.
Catherine Austin Fitts, Asst. Secretary of Housing in the first Bush administration
Keidi Obi Awadu, aka The Conscious Rasta, talk show host, LIBRadio
Michael Badnarik, Libertarian candidate for President
Byron Belitsos, publisher, Origin Press, author Planetary Democracy
Philip J. Berg, Esquire, former deputy attorney general, Pennsylvania
Medea Benjamin, activist, author, co-founder, Global Exchange and Code Pink
Dennis Bernstein, investigative reporter, radio host of KPFAÕs Flashpoints
Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda, author, political comedian
Brad Blanton, Ph.D., psychotherapist, author, Radical Honesty
Saniel Bonder, spiritual teacher and author, Great Relief
Dr. Robert Bowman, USAF Lt. Col. (Rtd.), founder, Institute for Space and Security Studies
John Buchanan, author, candidate for the Republican Party Presidential nomination, 2004
Gray Brechin, Ph.D., author, environmental historian, professor, UC Berkeley
Fred Burks, presidential interpreter for Bush, Clinton, Cheney, and Gore
Norma Carr-Rufino, Ph.D., author, professor of management, San Francisco State University
Angana Chatterji, Ph.D., scholar-activist and professor of anthropology
Paul Cienfuegos, co-founder, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County
David Cobb, attorney, national presidential candidate, US Green Party
John Cobb, Ph.D., theologian, co-author, For the Common Good
Ernest Callenbach, founder/editor, Film Quarterly, author, Ecotopia
Kevin Danaher, Ph.D., author, speaker, co-founder, Global Exchange
Stephen Dinan, author, Radical Spirit
Bill Doyle, advocate for 9/11 families, father of Joseph Doyle, Cantor Fitzgerald employee
Ronnie Dugger, journalist/author, co-founder, Alliance for Democracy
Rachel Ehrenfeld, Ph.D., Director, American Center for Democracy, author, Funding Evil
Daniel Ellsberg, author, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers
Jodie Evans, president, Code Pink
Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University
Michael Franti, musician, filmmaker, human rights worker
Jim Garrison, Ph.D., president, State of the World Forum, author, America as Empire
Bruce Gagnon, Chair, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Ric Giardina, author, consultant, speaker, former Director of Trademarks and Brands for Intel
John Gray, Ph.D., #1 bestselling author, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
Stan Goff, 25-year Army Special Ops veteran, author, Full Spectrum Disorder
Melvin Goodman, senior fellow, Center for International Policy, author, former Senior Analyst, CIA, professor, National War College
Morton Goulder, Deputy Secretary for Intelligence and Warning under Nixon, Ford, and Carter
David Ray Griffin, Ph.D., theologian, author, New Pearl Harbor
Doris "Granny D" Haddock, campaign finance crusader, NH Democratic candidate for Senate
Thom Hartmann, radio host; author, Unequal Protection
Richie Havens, singer, songwriter, performer, artist
Paul Hawken, bestselling author, environmentalist, entrepreneur, founder of Smith & Hawken
Randy Hayes, founder, Rainforest Action Network, US National Director, Direction Conservation
Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over, core faculty, New College of California
Van Jones, executive director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Rob Kall, editor, OpEdNews.com, president, Futurehealth, Inc.
Georgia Kelly, executive director, Praxis Peace Institute
Sean Kelly, Ph.D., author, professor of philosophy and religion, CA Institute of Integral Studies
John Joseph Kennedy, Democratic Write-in Presidential Candidate for 2004
Mimi Kennedy, actress, Dharma and Greg, progressive activist
Faiz Khan, M.D., Triage Emergency Physician on 9/11, Assistant Imam
David Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World
Frances Moore Lappé, author, Diet for a Small Planet; founder, Small Planet Institute
Scott M. Legere, 25 year radio broadcaster as Scott Ledger, Tampa FL
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor, TIKKUN Magazine, author, Healing Israel/Palestine
Michael Levine, bestselling author of Deep Cover, journalist, 25-year veteran of the DEA
Joanna Macy, Ph.D., eco-philosopher, author
Enver Masud, founder, The Wisdom Fund, author, The Truth About Islam
John McCarthy, former Special Forces Captain, president, Veterans Equal Rights Protection Advocacy
Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
Cynthia McKinney, five-term Congresswoman from Georgia
Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author, professor, co-founder, Green Earth Foundation
Mark Crispin Miller, media critic, author, professor, New York University
Joseph W. Montaperto, New York City Fire Department
Leuren Moret, geoscientist, radiation specialist, environmental commissioner
Ralph Nader, Independent candidate for President
Craig Neal, author, co-founder, The Heartland Institute, former publisher, Utne Reader
Jeff Norman, executive director, Tour of Duty
Jenna Orkin, Esquire, World Trade Center Environmental Organization
Kelly Patricia O'Meara, investigative journalist, public relations
Michael Parenti, Ph.D., author, Superpatriotism and The Terrorism Trap
Edward L. Peck, former US Ambassador and Chief of Mission to Iraq, former Deputy Director to the White House Task Force on Terrorism
Peter Phillips, Ph.D., professor, Sonoma State University, director, Project Censored
Henri Poole, Internet pioneer, board member, Free Software Foundation
Robert Rabbin, author, speaker, creator of TruthForPresident.org
Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., sociologist, author, The Cultural Creatives
John Renesch, business futurist, author, Getting to the Better Future
John Rensenbrink, professor emeritus, Bowdoin College, co-founder, US Green Party
John Robbins, author, founder, EarthSave International
William Rodriguez, 9/11 rescue effort hero, founder, Hispanic Victims Group
Neal Rogin, Emmy-award winning writer, performer, social observer
Allen Roland, Ph.D., psychotherapist, published author and peace activist
Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of feminist theology, Graduate Theological Union
Michael Ruppert, publisher/editor, From The Wilderness, author, Crossing the Rubicon
Chris Sanders, founder, Sanders Research Associates
Karl W. B. Schwarz, President, CEO, Patmos Nanotechnologies, LLC
Peter Dale Scott, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, author, Drugs, Oil, and War
Firefighter Kevin Shea, FDNY Hazmat Operations
Michelle Shocked, singer/songwriter, activist
Indira Singh, risk management and computer systems consultant
J. Michael Springmann, attorney, former Foreign Service Officer, US Department of State
Douglas Sturm, Ph.D., university professor emeritus, Bucknell University
Marjorie Hewit Suchocki, Ph.D., theologian, author
Chuck Turner, Boston City Council
James W. Walter Jr., venture investor, philanthropist, founder of Walden Three
Dan Whaley, E-commerce pioneer, founder of GetThere.com, acquired for $750M
Burns H. Weston, J.S.D., Professor of Law Emeritus, Director, Center for Human Rights, U-Iowa
Howard Zinn, professor, historian, author, A PeopleÕs History of the United States


Family Members

Joanne Barbara, wife of FDNY Asst. Chief of Dept. Gerard Barbara
Gayle Barker, sister of William A. Karnes, WTC
Michele Bergsohn, wife of Alvin Bergsohn, Cantor Fitzgerald
Derrill Bodley, father of Deora Bodley, passenger on Flight 93
Kathryn C. Bowden, sister of Thomas H. Bowden, Jr. WTC1, 104th floor
Janet Calia, wife of Dominick Calia, Cantor Fitzgerald, WTC1
Maggie Cashman, wife of William Joseph Cashman, United Flight 93
Lynne Castrianno Galante, sister of Leonard Castrianno, 1WTC, 105th floor
Elza Chapa-McGowan, daughter of Rosemary Chapa, Pentagon
Bruce De Cell, father-in-law of Mark Petrocelli North Tower, 92nd floor
Ralph D'Esposito, father of Michael DÕEsposito, WTC, 96th floor
Loisanne Diehl, Surviving Spouse, Michael D. Diehl, WTC2, 90th floor
Jonathan M. Fisher, son of Dr. Gerald Paul "Geep" Fisher, Pentagon
Michael J. Fox, brother of Jeffrey L. Fox, Tower 2, 89th floor
Laurel A. Gay, sister of Peter A. Gay, AA Flight 11
Ilene Golinsky, wife of Col. Ronald F. Golinski USA RET, Pentagon
Kristen Hall, daughter of fallen firefighter Thomas Kuveikis 9/11
Kurt D. Horning, father of Matthew D. Horning, WTC Tower One, 95th floor
Jennifer W. Hunt, wife of William C. Hunt, Euro Brokers
Lori, Jerry, and Beatrice Guadagno, sister and parents of Richard Guadagno, Flight 93
John Keating, son of Barbara Keating, passenger on AA Flight 11
L. Russell Keene II, father of Russ Keene III, WTC2, 89th floor, KBW
Peter Kousoulis, sister died in WTC
Barbara Krukowski-Rastelli, mother of William E. Krukowski, NYC firefighter
Laura and Ira Lassman, parents of Nicholas C. Lassman, died in WTC, Tower One
Johnny Lee, husband of Lorraine Greene
Alicia LeGuillow, mother of Nestor A. Cintron III
Francine Levine, sister of Adam K. Ruhalter, who died on 9/11
Christopher Longing, husband of Laura M. Longing, WTC1
Bob McIlvaine, father of Robert McIlvaine, WTC, Merrill Lynch
Mary McWilliams, mother of FF Martin E. McWilliams- Engine 22
Daryl J. Meehan, brother of Colleen Ann Barkow, WTC 1, 105th floor
Elvira P. Murphy, wife of Patrick Murphy, WTC 1
Natalee Pecorelli, sister of Thomas Pecorelli of Flight 11
James L Perry, M.D and Patricia J. Perry, parents of John W. Perry, Esq., NYPD Officer 9/11
Elaine Saber, mother of Scott Saber
Julie Scarpitta, mother of Michelle Scarpitta, WTC Building 2, 84th floor
Kathleen A. Stanton, WTC South, Injured Survivor
Elizabeth Turner, wife of Simon Turner, lost on 11th September 2001
Joan W. Winton, mother of David Winton, WTC, South Tower, 89th floor
David Yancey, husband of Vicki Yancey, American Airlines Flight 77


Take action!
Send this information to your congresspeople and journalists, demanding attention
Help New York citizens and 9/11 family members, beginning Thursday, Oct. 28th, by signing an online petition in support of their formal complaint to be filed with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Petition at www.justicefor911.org
Stay informed here at www.911truth.org and get active in local groups at www.septembereleventh.org

Download Brian and the Nightmares Best Of CD

www.brianandthenightmares.com

Johnson City, Tennessee--1985. A small hillbilly college town was the setting for the band. The first gig was in a McDonald's parking lot for it's grand opening. We got paid in food, lots 'o nuggets...nice. For nearly 5 years John Smith, Kurt Hagardorn, Mark Ryalls, Tad Dickens and I wrote songs, played constantly, and traveled the South in an Econoline van. I can still smell the rock.


All the standard rock cliche's apply; no money, crappy gigs, getting drunk, great gigs, nice girls, waffle house, great gigs, bad managers, blah blah blah. We wrote a ton of songs and some were pretty decent. And although we never quite got the studio recording thing down pat, the live shows were always a gas. We built a solid following that paid us enough to do nothing but play music. No day jobs—shit howdy. We lived and played together, reveled in a very cool local music scene, met a butload of other bands like us, got insanely tight, and lived on diets of convenience store dogs and jerky. We had a blast...then it stopped.


We did a reunion show a couple years back and promised a greatest hits CD. That gig started this project rolling...ever so slowly. Through the aide of digital technology, we have (actually John has) remastered our analog two-tracks. We did consider making that promised Greatest Hits CD for a while- but we decided to go with downloadable MP3's. This makes it quick and easy to listen and/or download right to your computer. Click the link below and download all you want. Make your own CD, mix-n-match, leave off the songs you don't like - no charge. Just our way of saying thanks for supporting us for those few great years.


We're putting up the songs on this site as they get finished, so remember to check back. We're doing the formal releases first (the first two records), then some live stuff, then maybe new recordings. We may also throw up some recordings from our other bands. Why not. Also, I'm probably going to put some pictures, articles, reviews, etc.


Email if you like. If you have something to say or a story about the day, send it on—it might get posted here.


thanks
Brian

whats this world coming to?

So-called “Guitar legend” Esteban was stripped of his legendary status this week when it was discovered that he is an entirely fictional character created specifically to sell pressboard guitars in infomercials.
Allan Holdsworth, guitar legend and president of “Real Guitar Legends For Truth” released a statement on Monday calling for the immediate cessation of all applications of the appellation “Guitar legend” to the television character known as “Esteban”. According to the statement, “Esteban is a fictional character created by L.A. session guitarist Dan Fernaueu for the express purpose of marketing a cheap, poorly constructed guitar-like instrument on the Home Shopping Channel.”
The scandal intensified when the Recording Academy revealed that claims that “Esteban” had won “several Grammys” were false.
These charges come on the heels of last month’s statement from the Musical Instrument Manufacturers Association that the “Esteban” guitar could not, in fact, be classified as an actual guitar due to the fact that it is constructed out of reclaimed materials such as discarded telephone directories and medical waste. The MIMA demanded that the instrument be classified as a toy.

don't it feel great living in a christian nation?

Bill Clinton often says, "if one candidate is appealing to your fears, and the other candidate is appealing to hope, then the choice is clear. Most will go with the party that wants you to think, not the party who doesn't." Clinton has such a great way of making the political personal. I'd share a cigar with him anytime.

Bush, on the other hand, is not someone I would care to have a beer with. Can you imagine how obnoxious that would be? Bush would be all drunk -- wanting to wrastle -- you'd be drinking some crappy Bud Lite on a pontoon boat -- Cheney would be shooting his gun randomly, ranting about "that Renquist pussy."

But you don't have to worry about ever having to drink with Bush. He is a born again Christian. Being from East Tennessee we should all feel a weird shudder at this thought. We know what it's like to be surrounded by people who don't believe in evolution. Who think the Left Behind series is serious non-fiction. Who speak in tongues -- publicly -- in the hopes of driving Satan from Downtown. In other words, people driven by fear. Driven only by fear. So driven, in fact, they are driven by the fear of not having fear to be driven by! Holy Shit! What if there wasn't CHURCH to keep people in line. People would go nuts. There'd be coveting, stealing and SODOMY!

Bush reminds you of he's a Christian at the end of every speech (... and may God bless you). Doesn't that feel icky? He claims God speaks to him about matters of State. Doesn't that give you the willies? He even alarmed Pat Robertson when he said God told him there would be no casualties in Iraq. The fact that Pat Robertson is alarmed enough to tattle about anyone ELSE's religious megalomania should be enough to make and right thinking person shit their pants. I just shit my pants.

Was I the last person to learn about the separation between church and state in elementary school? It's what made American Democracy "new and improved" when compared to the Divine Right of Kings which was a big flop. Remember? There was the Enlightenment, and "progress" was supposed to be a Good Thing -- is this ringing any bells? I know people were just all up in arms after the Dark Ages, and maybe their response was colored by, oh lets say SCIENCE -- but I've always thought what we had, in terms of the separation of powers was clever. Downright common sense. It's what made me wonder as a kid how I got so lucky to live in the United States instead of Zambia or Guam.

So simple yet so powerful: different powers go to different branches of government and the people get the ultimate power in running things. Reasonable. Rational. Fucking brilliant!

But is it enough in a post 9-11 world?

Isn't that the subtext of CNN, MSNBC and FOX News 24-hours a day? A bunch of Saudi's pull off the most spectacular televised mass murder in the history of cable news (we thought Desert Storm was AWESOME!), and our response is to fall to our knees and pray for the King who speaks to God and will lead us to salvation.

Can we let that sink in?

God is all-knowing, all-good and in-fallible and if He says invading Iraq will deliver us from evil, and that a mildly retarded Andover Cheerleader is the man for the job -- who are we to question? It is the Will of God. Any any Massachusetts Democrat who has the audacity to question (or campaign) is practicing Hate Speech (so, THAT's what they meant by Politically Incorrect).

Doesn't that make you want to run back to bed, pull the covers up and weep uncontrollably? Don't you wish someone would just hold you and make the bad men go away? If you are anything like me you spend half your day obsessed with the news and the possibility that any minute something freaky is going to happen (anthrax! car bomb! dirty bomb! the FLU!) and spacing out thinking, "this can't be happening... this can't be happening."

Karl Rove is a fan of Niccolo Macihavelli. Actually he's a dilettante with no sense of irony. His interpretation of The Prince is that it's a textbook for government instead of the frightening critique of power any freshman college student reads it as. Uncle Nick sets forth an argument for separation of powers based on his observation that powerful men are driven only by self-interest and insatiable desires, Rove uses the text to feed his insatiable desire for power. He has made a career of stoking the darkest Christian dogma into fear and hate. This has served the president well because Rove herds his "believers" into thinking Bush does the Lord's work.

this is the point where practicing Christians might call upon their personal experience of fucked up shit that happens in church. Any Baptists ever see any abuse of power in their local mega-church? Any Catholics hear of exploitation in the name of the Lord? How about the Moonies? Has anyone heard-tell of sexual exploitation of children or women on the part of Men of the Cloth? EVERY church-going Christian I have ever known has kvetched openly about this pastor or that minister trespassing hither and thither involving sex, money or both. We're all sinners in the eyes of the Lord, no?

Not Bush.

This administration's strategy for controlling the country has been using religious fervor to stir up fear into action. I think it's pretty well documented that this administration has intimated and come right out and said that they will re-make america into a Christian Nation.

Google Christian Reconstructionism and Dominionism and you will find that bush really does have a Plan for all this mess in the Middle East. It only seems like they got us into a quagmire. The real deal is that they have a Plan. It just doesn't include you.

How does that make you feel being in the belly of the beast up there in the mountains? When you go to Walmart, do you feel cold stares? Do you ever feel less safe knowing that someone might be taking note of your bumper stickers or your tattoos imaging you as a threat to their way of life and possibly to their salvation? Can you imagine what your neighborhood might look like if the 60 percent of your Conservative Christian neighbors decided to rid their clean community of scum like you? Maybe it would start with eggs thrown at your Kerry sign. Maybe next week you come home from work and find someone poisoned your dog. What exactly is it going to look like when the shit really hits the fan?

I've just had too much coffee. There is no need to panic. We are having the election in a few days and Kerry is going to win by a landslide. All the electronic voting is going to come off without a hitch and we are going to have a new President by bedtime Tuesday night.

Jimmy Carter fucks us again!

"Wednesday, October 20, 2004 at 07:51 JST
TEHRAN — The head of Iran's security council said Tuesday that the re-election of U.S. President George Bush was in Tehran's best interests, despite the administration's axis of evil label, accusations that Iran harbors al-Qaida terrorists and threats of sanctions over the country's nuclear ambitions.

"Historically, Democrats have harmed Iran more than Republicans, said Hasan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security decision-making body. " ***

the above came from the newspaper Japan Today.

researching this post, looking for a good foto of Khomeini, i came across

www.80s.com

what a blast. makes me feel safer when reagan was snoozing through iran-contra than now with bush blowing up "...anything that moves."


*** for the record, remember, we had all the embargos and shit in the seventies and the carter's (poor shivering Amy) started wearing sweaters in the white house telling people "conserve, conserve, conserve"; and bush, well its hummers idling in the drive thru at mcStarfucks, did i mention, lets botch this war so bad that baghdad oil can't flow and the house of Saud'em and that's ga'more can shoot crude prices to the moon! not to mention, price spikes in oil means profits for Iran,too... profits for Iran means the best nuclear weapons development yuppies can buy, venti with fat free goat milk thank you, barista, inadvertantly, of course.

Do you REALLY think they will allow a free election?

I'm just wondering... how many of us really think November 2 is going to come and go without a hitch. We already know the Repugs are rigging the system any way they can BEFORE the election. Do you think DURING and AFTER is going to be any different? Do you think they are really going to allow a free election to happen?

And what does it mean that we are even asking this question? How far have we slided into the dark ages that we are bracing ourselves for another stolen election? Why is this happening?

flip flopper facist

"Putin, speaking at a Central Asian Cooperation Organization summit in Tajikistan Monday, made his most overt comments of support so far for the re-election of Bush for a second term."

"International terrorists have set as their goal inflicting the maximum damage to Bush, to prevent his election to a second term.

"If they succeed in doing that, they will celebrate a victory over America and over the entire anti-terror coalition," Putin said.

"President Putin made it clear Russia remained opposed to the war in Iraq."



"Because of this we must take a realistic approach and be prepared for any development of events," he said. "We respect any choice the American people will make."

-with support like that, who needs a cold war?

take the t out of terror

Bill, I am flabbergasted that you could suggest it would be a good idea to "PULL OUT" of our college fraternities and MBA programs, and send the sons and daughters of our self-made, bootstrap puller-upper royalty to the real middle-east(it's no Penn)...

I am sure they all signed up for Selective Service and all, but, come on, shipping them halfway around the globe so they can have flowers thrown at their feet, and be harassed by groping hordes and being called "liberators", how pedestrian.

all this war talk reminds me of an old 19th century-southern-slave spiritual we used to sing (shape-note notation, no less) when i was a wee lad, topping tobacco in the hot summers:


Through early morning fog I see, visions of the things to be,

the pains that are withheld for me, I realize and I can see...

Refrain:

That suicide is painless. It brings on many changes...

and I can take or leave it if I please.

Verse 2:

The game of life is hard to play. I'm gonna lose it anyway.

The losing card I'll someday lay. So this is all I have to say...

Guard and Reserve News

So it would appear that 18 soldiers from South Carolina have refused to go on a mission in Iraq. Too bad for them that their daddies aren't Congressmen from Texas, but I guess the same rules don't apply to the fortunate sons.

Blatently stolen from the John Cleese website:

How many Bush administration officials does it take to change a light bulb?

None. There’s nothing wrong with that light bulb. There is no need to change anything. We made the right decision and nothing has happened to change our minds. People who criticize this light bulb now, just because it doesn’t work anymore, supported us when we first screwed it in, and when these flip-floppers insist on saying that it is burned out, they are merely giving aid and encouragement to the Forces of Darkness.

pay attention or never mind

"Employees of a private voter registration company allege that hundreds, perhaps thousands of voters who may think they are registered will be rudely surprised on election day. The company claims hundreds of registration forms were thrown in the trash.

Anyone who has recently registered or re-registered to vote outside a mall or grocery store or even government building may be affected.

The I-Team has obtained information about an alleged widespread pattern of potential registration fraud aimed at democrats. Thee focus of the story is a private registration company called Voters Outreach of America, AKA America Votes.

The out-of-state firm has been in Las Vegas for the past few months, registering voters. It employed up to 300 part-time workers and collected hundreds of registrations per day, but former employees of the company say that Voters Outreach of America only wanted Republican registrations."

the ballad of old 19/23

Hey, all. Many of you may know me.
Martin Edwards here. In my former life in JC I was "Marty. " Worked with blog host Brook Hines and her partner John on the news and entertainment (somewhat) weekly, known variably as "The Beat" and "The Weekly Beat."
The only thing I miss about the "Tri Cities" and Johnson City in particular is the small group of friends that scattered sometime around 1997 or '98. No idea where many of those folks are now, but a web search for a couple brought me here. So if you knew me, give ol' Big Marty a shout-out.
No, no one in Tennessee ever called me Big Marty. But I always wished they would.
Brook posted the story about that there triangle over Bristol. Very interesting, naturally. In response I'll post my own paranormal freaky stuff, with the hopes that someone may know some more about it. A special heads-up to those that work or have worked in the hospitals in the area, esp. at Johnson City Medical Center or Sycamore Shoals. Dig it.
http://bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=4736

Hey, all. Many of you may know me.
Martin Edwards here. In my former life in JC I was "Marty. " Worked with blog host Brook Hines and her partner John on the news and entertainment (somewhat) weekly, known variably as "The Beat" and "The Weekly Beat."
The only thing I miss about the "Tri Cities" and Johnson City in particular is the small group of friends that scattered sometime around 1997 or '98. No idea where many of those folks are now, but a web search for a couple brought me here. So if you knew me, give ol' Big Marty a shout-out.
No, no one in Tennessee ever called me Big Marty. But I always wished they would.
Brook posted the story about that there triangle over Bristol. Very interesting, naturally. In response I'll post my own paranormal freaky stuff, with the hopes that someone may know some more about it. A special heads-up to those that work or have worked in the hospitals in the area, esp. at Johnson City Medical Center or Sycamore Shoals. Dig it.
http://bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=4736

Triangle Passes Over Man In Bristol, Tennessee

(I can't help myself -- this is a great story! -- brook)


Kim Shaffer
MUFON Tn State Director
http://www.mufontennessee.org
10-9-4
 
Report - Bristol, Tennessee
 
In the early morning hours of October 2nd, 2004 this witness reported that as he drove home from work on a rural road, he saw what appeared to be a fire between the trees and off some distance away. As he drove, he again noticed the "fire" which seemed somewhat brighter and appeared to be moving.
 
He neared an intersection near his home and exited his car to see if he could get a better look. As he stood in the road, he couldn't imagine what was about to take place.
Slowly, from behind trees, emerged a huge triangle shaped craft. The witness started to run but realized that there was no where to run to, so he stood in awe and watched. The craft slowly came into full view, a perfect triangle which the witness estimated to be some 300 feet in length and width, and only a hundred feet or so high, blocking out all the sky. He noted three large domes, comparing each dome to twice the size of his car, burning brilliantly a reddish orange, lighting the treetops and illuminating the entire bottom of the craft. He also noted "rib-like" structures evenly spaced and running the width of the craft.
 
As the object passed over the witnesses head, he stated his skin burned, tingled and felt really strange. he also noted that the sound seemed to emanate throughout his body and being a professional musician, assured me that he could never adequately reproduce the throbbing hum he heard.
 
The object passed over the witness, made a westward turn without banking and was gone from his sight.

The witness went home and tried all day to sleep but could not get the object off his mind. He reported to me on Sunday. He had managed some sleep early that morning and awoke to a nosebleed, metallic taste in his mouth and his skin feeling sunburned on his back and face. He also noted that when he brushed his hair, strands of it coming out in the brush. He also has been weak and nauseated since this encounter.
 
The subject of electromagnetic effects came up. He noted his car radio was on and he thought it was unaffected as was his cell phone and his car kept running. However his watch lost 15 minutes and he remembered having to reset it Saturday evening for the first time since he had owned it.
 
Having been in daily contact with this witness, we, Dr Melvin Redfern DCH and myself find him somewhat improved psychologically since the encounter. He, from our multiple interviews, is 100% sincere and truthful about this traumatic experience. This is a preliminary report and much remains of this most interesting case. Updates will be posted at the MUFON Tennessee web site.

"She wants more on Moore," Letter to the Editor, to the Tennessean (Nashville)

(this letter to the editor is in response to the Tennessean's coverage of Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising Tour event at the Gaylord Entertainment Center last nite here in Nashville. I attended with John and Barbara and Drew and their son Max who promises to be for the democrats an honest version of what Karl Rove is to the republicans. and Bill also went but we coouldn't find him in the crowd. good company!

See the news release -- oh, I mean the Tennessean story at : http://tennessean.com/local/palm/archives/04/09/59400307.shtml?Element_ID=59400307 )

Did your staff writer, Natalia Mielczarek even attend Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising Tour event at the Gaylord Center? Because I don't think she did.

If she had actually been there, you might think it would be news that Nashville's own Steve Earle introduced Mr. Moore. You might think that it would be news that local Democratic leader Bob Touk movingly addressed the audience. It would have been nice to get a real count on tickets sold instead of a number pulled out of the clear blue sky. Mielczarek says 5,400 people were 'expected to attend.' Couldn't she even walk up to the ticket counter and ask someone? Couldn't she go inside and look around and make and estimate? Tthe curtained-off half arena holds 10,000 people and it was mostly filled -- you do the math.

Another interesting tidbit missed in her "report" was that Michael Moore unveiled for the first time here in Nashville a series of satiric ads based on the Swift Boat ads that will be available on michaelmoore.com. Also there was a pretty wonderful new country song unveiled, written by real Nashvillans calling themselves Honky Tonkers For Truth. The song is called I'm Takin' My Country Back and you can hear it on the radio and on their website, takinmycountryback.com. My favorite verse was the second:

I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
SON, YOU AIN'T BEEN DOIN’ HER RIGHT
OH I BEEN WATCHIN’ YOU AND I DON’T LIKE
HOW YOU'VE BEEN TREATIN’ MY STARS AND STRIPES
YOU TOOK OUR JOBS AND SENT ‘EM OVERSEAS
NOW WE OWE BILLIONS TO THE RED CHINESE
YOU BLEW THE BUDGET AND YOU BOTCHED IRAQ
SO I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume your staff writer might be early in her career. Forget your responsibility to the public to report accurately, you should be demanding more of your staff. This story was mostly written from the press release. The one attempt to get an "on-the-ground" view of the event was to grab a quote from a protester. That is so lame. Is this reporter so young that her only experience of journalism is CNN and FOX News? Simply giving ink to a protester doesn't balance your story (especially given the fact that she didn't bother to get a quote from one of the "expected 5,400" supporters). You know what it does? It undermines your story. The subtext is that 'all these silly people came to see that rumpled film maker, but "real Nashvillans" think like the protester.' It gives the impression that the event was unimportant. It's the journalistic equivalent of the bored teenager's retort, "whatever."

Since your reporter either didn't get credentials for the event, or was too lazy, or too biased, I'm going to supply some quotes for you.

"We are being lied to, everyday," says Brook Hines a 38-year old marketing professional. "It was like being in church to see people actually speak the word, the truth. We are sending our sons and daughters to slaughter. We have created a cancer in the Middle East. They LIED to us. That SCARES me. Bush started something he can't fix. Now, it's everyone's responsibility to make it right," said the East Nashville resident and life-long Democrat.

Brook Hines

(I want to add one more thing to this letter that i didn't send to the Tennessean. This even was so cool to attend. We parked across the beautiful pedestrian bridge and walked over -- STRAIGHT to Gaylord. Walked right up, got tickets. Sat down with cool people all around. Got a really decent drink! The actually had grapefruit juice and vodka! AND a comfy smoking section where you could take your drink out side andd mingle. Damn cool!)

Huh?

From MSNBC's coverage of tonights debate (I went there to see if I really heard that right):

"Bush acknowledged that he “wasn’t happy when we found there weren’t weapons” of mass destruction in Iraq."

So help me out here,,,, if the double negatives of "wasn't" and "weren't" cancel each other out, was Bush saying he would have been happy if Iraq had actually possessed WMD's?? What the hell kind of thing is that to wish for? Huh? Help me out here folks, is he saying it would have been nice for Iraq to have nukes, because then he would'nt look like a raving loopey-loo with delusions of granduer?

By the way, I plan to copyright "raving loopey-loo with delusions of granduer"... I like that almost as much as "brie eating surrender monkeys!"

What's with the bulge?

From Salon:

Oct. 8, 2004  |  Was President Bush literally channeling Karl Rove in his first debate with John Kerry? That's the latest rumor flooding the Internet, unleashed last week in the wake of an image caught by a television camera during the Miami debate. The image shows a large solid object between Bush's shoulder blades as he leans over the lectern and faces moderator Jim Lehrer.


The president is not known to wear a back brace, and it's safe to say he wasn't packing. So was the bulge under his well-tailored jacket a hidden receiver, picking up transmissions from someone offstage feeding the president answers through a hidden earpiece? Did the device explain why the normally ramrod-straight president seemed hunched over during much of the debate?

[snip]

more here

911 Planes at the Pentagon? Watch this....

I'm not the kinda guy that buys into that whole conspiratorial mumbo jumbo...but if they can fake sending a man to the moon, maybe this is plausible.

www.freedomunderground.org/memoryhole/pentagon.php

man, watch this...

cool quicktime video

finally, a real sit-down, drag-off debate

I guess standing up, DC couldn't get any blood flow to the brain.
My peeps in Tennessee get a guff over colloquial speech,
but do they even teach pronunciation and english diction in Wyoming?

Iron-Jawed Angels

I recently saw an HBO movie called "Iron-Jawed Angels" about woman suffrage, particularly the story of Alice Paul, one of the lesser known suffragists. Hillary Swank played her in the film and did an awesome job. It was neat to see a movie about these women - and timely given the election is approaching. I heard that a huge number of registered single women voters didn't vote in 2000.

Though things seem bleak to me - I have regained some hope following the first debate, but not much - I have got to continue believing in the democratic process and that, if enough people get pissed off about how their government is treating them, change can happen. It's happened before.

Anyhow, the film has inspired me to become more politically active. I also recently heard from an old college friend of mine, Andy, who lives in San Francisco. He's become so concerned about the state of things that he quit his job as an elementary school teacher and is volunteering all of his time and giving his money also to Move On and various local campaigns. He was arrested twice for protesting the war in Iraq.

What kills me is that so many people still believe in this barbaric approach to power and leadership - rule by force. Many of them even oppose the UN and think that forming alliances with other countries is dangerous. I know many of these people - some of them are my family members. I just don't get it. It's so lacking in sanity and basic emotional intelligence it's laughable. Yet we just keep doing the same old shit over and over again. Killing people to protect our own interests and lying about it or saying it's all in the name of democracy, which is the same as lying about it. How long will this go on?

the REAL presidential debate

in what might be an October Surprise for the dems (bout damn time), Vanity Fair is breaking a story that Cheney broke the law on 911 by issueing orders to shoot down planes. also Rumsfeld said today that he "misunderstood" the al Quada [slash] Saddam Hussein connection. and Bremer is openly questioning the adequecy of troops in Iraq. the shit is hitting the fan and the people in the line of fire are running like vampires from sunrise.

we "all know" who wears the pants and in the Bush White House. come on. we knooooow. SNL spoofed the prezel/black eye incident as case of domestic abuse perpetrated by Cheney in a wife-beater. which is exactly what i said happened. if not cheney, ken lay. if not ken lay, karl rove. if not karl rove... blah blah blah

we want to see this debate because Cheney is The Real President. He is Halliburton. He IS the fucking war. You want to know about the war? You want to know about outing a CIA operative to threaten the press and anyone who wants the truth? You want to know what could possibly persuade Colin Powell to LIE in front of the UNITED NATIONS? You want an explanation for the last few years of horrifyingly belligerent behavior from Bush?

ask Cheney.

pre-presidential punditry

wow, ya'll. is it my imagination or is the pre-debate punditry turned up to 11 on the Vice Presidential face-off. CNN is showing a crowd about one beer away from rioting.

i don't remember the bush-ferraro debate being quite so exciting. after bush's performance there's just no telling what could happen tonite. cheney might just say, "fuck it," ripping his shirt open to reveal a shiny black parasite vaguely reminiscent of a crawdaddy. from its tail will spew acidic ribbons of fluid containing the eggs of what will become known as The First Infestation.

don't forget to hit the polls!

CNN

MSNBC

Wall Street Journal

LA Times

Akron Beacon-Journal

Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune

Orlando Sentinel

Philadelphia Inquirer

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Did Bush wear an EARPIECE?

The Boy President said a lot of inexplicable things at the first Presidential Debate. But when he interrupted himself to say, "let me finish" for no reason at all it lead some to wonder who he was talking to.


Check it out for yourself.

re: last post

Not political, but i wanted to show off my baby girl

Bonnie's teeth are falling out

master debators

si' vos-a-rous, vis-a-vis, ... try to love her as best I can...

I think we need to brainstorm some good questions for the next debate.
those foreign policy pbs-type yawners did the job for me. (no more insomnia, thanks JL)


so, how about for starters, something like:

King Ge..., I mean President Bush, look in the mirror and tell me:

tin man, scarecrow, c-lion or Judy Garland?


(questions for Kerry are needed too, I just can't think of any zingers right now.)