Blowing the Whistle on Diebold -- In These Times: “The single greatest threat to our democracy is the insecurity of our voting system,” warns Kennedy. “Whoever controls the voting machines can control who wins the votes.” After reading his article in Rolling Stone I was impressed, now it looks like…
USNews.com: Washington Whispers: "To the list of those penning books about the prez add the most authoritative source of all: President Bush. Insiders say that he's been working on the project for a year. 'He's doing a memoir,' one insider says. 'He's keenly interested in it.' But here's the odd…
I know we are all holding out great hopes for biofuels, but these nagging pieces keep showing up in the papers... The False Hope of Biofuels: "Biofuels such as ethanol made from corn, sugar cane, switchgrass and other crops are being touted as a 'green' solution for a large part…
Here's another article on the sustainable foods culture. The tie is to the book by Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma. Looks like another trip to the booksellers for me. Everthing I keep reading about "Omnivore" makes me want to check out the book. Common Ground: The Shortest Food Chain: "In the…
Let There Be Law: "Let There Be Law The Supreme Court has offered a chance to put the war on terror on solid legal ground. Will Congress rise to the occasion?" One of the basic problems I have with this administration and the Congress is the way our democratic set…
I guess one of the things that really bothers me about this country is the way everyone lives the myth. If you ask almost anyone in the USA, they will tell you they are "middle class" or "middle income". The funny thing about this is the disconnect between what people…
CNN.com - Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased - June 27, 2006: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Democrats ratcheted up their election-year push for an increase in the federal minimum wage Tuesday by promising to block a congressional pay hike unless some of the lowest-paid hourly workers get…
It looks like if there is a common thread running through recent posts it is the idea of buying local. My concern was originally in the way of food. I feel a bit leery of the commercialization of the organic movement. Call me a “Luddite” but when the big Agri-Business…
In the Senate, Covering Themselves in Old Glory: "The Citizens Flag Alliance, a group pushing for the Senate this week to pass a flag-burning amendment to the Constitution, just reported an alarming, 33 percent increase in the number of flag-desecration incidents this year.The number has increased to four, from three."The…
Washington Post: House Sacrifices Revenue and Earmarks: "The legislation, which passed 269 to 156, would exempt estates worth as much as $5 million -- $10 million for couples -- from taxation indefinitely. The tax rate on estates worth more than the exemption level up to $25 million would be set…
Thursday, June 22, 2006 Thoreau's Journal: 22-Jun-1851 As I walk the railroad causeway, I notice that the fields and meadows have acquired various tinges as the season advances, the sun gradually using all his paints. There is the rosaceous evening red tinge of red clover,—like an evening sky gone down…
'Organic' Loses Its Freshness: Until recently, organic practices were sneered at by those in academia, in government and in chemical agribusiness -- now called 'conventional agriculture.' Thanks to a fast-growing demand for organic food, the sneers are now reserved for those who practice organics on a small scale. Long accustomed…
Lawmakers' Profits Are Scrutinized: House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) made a $2 million profit last year on the sale of land 5 1/2 miles from a highway project that he helped to finance with targeted federal funds.A Republican House member from California, meanwhile, received nearly double what he paid…
Latest measles case brings total to 14 - The Boston Globe: "June 21, 2006 The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed another case of measles yesterday, bringing the total to 14 since early May. The patient, a woman in her early 20s, has recovered from the disease and is back…
The Carpetbagger Report: "It hasn't generated a great deal of attention, but congressional Dems are keeping Republicans on the defensive over a minimum-wage increase. At this point, the GOP leadership looks a little flustered.Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $2.10-an-hour increase to the minimum wage, despite the demands…
Wandering through the blogs I read regularly today led to another interesting discovery... via Colleen thru her sister Kathy to Christina Baldwin and her book "Storycatcher". Now it looks like I need to make another trip to the Amazon site. In reading at the storycatcher.net site a couple of things caught my eye...…
I'll just let Eugene Robinson say it for me...Stay the Course? What Course?: "Today's generation of jihadists was forged in Afghanistan fighting the Soviet occupation. How long will the next generation, being forged in Iraq fighting the American occupation, be with us?Iraq is just one theater in Bush's 'war.' Elsewhere,…
You know my wife hates to be around when I listen to our President. She just can't stand me screaming liar at the TV screen over and over and over and over....you get the idea. But I have to admit Jim Hightower has a real way with words...Jim Hightower THE…
Daily Kos: Texas Democrats Go To Court To Keep DeLay On Ballot: "Texas Democrats Go To Court To Keep DeLay On Ballotby georgia10Fri Jun 09, 2006 at 08:04:07 AM PDTAnd things get even more interesting in TX-22: In a surprise twist to the Tom DeLay saga, the Texas Democratic Party…
Daily Kos: State of the Nation: "The idea that the President's allies in Congress would enact legislation which expressly shields government officials, including the President, from criminal liability for past lawbreaking is so reprehensible that it is difficult to describe. To my knowledge, none of the other proposed bills --…
You know, Tom Delay had been my Congressman for most of my adult life. I have been voting against him for that entire length of time. Today I am happy to say “don’t let the door hit you, Tom.” I look forward to enjoying your retirement from politics. The Washinton…
I continue to hear and read stories about how the business analysts cannot explain the general feeling of unease that the public keeps feeling over the “Robust American Economy”. The keep quoting all of the indicators that they say should make us feel great about where the economy is going,…
You know, you can always tell when George W is in trouble with the polls, he sends out the attack dogs to split the country. What is it with today's Republicants, don't they realize that America and the World is starting to actually pay attention to what they are saying…
Daily Kos: Science Friday: Tis The Season: "Science Friday: Tis The Season by DarkSyde Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 03:41:48 AM PDT In the aftermath of the devastating 2005 hurricane season, the following soundbite was repeated incessantly, packaged in various ways, on every network news station by head meteorologists with…
Jim Hightower HEALTH CARE MORALITY: "How is it that the richest country with the most democratic ideals of any country in the history of the world has 45 million people with no health coverage and millions more with pathetic coverage? And how is it that We The People pay $1.2…
Estate Tax Lunacy: "A decades-long campaign by right-wing activists (brilliantly documented by Yale professors Michael Graetz and Ian Shapiro in their book 'Death by a Thousand Cuts') has convinced many Americans that the estate tax poses a threat to countless hardworking families. That was always nonsense, and under the estate…
I was cleaning up my bookmark list this morning and what usually happens when I try happened. I followed an old link that crashed. Then in trying to find a new clean link to the site I found a article that has more relevance to me now than when it…
The Blog | Bob Burnett: Enemy of the People - Al Gore or George Bush? | The Huffington Post: "There's been a reversal of fortune. Americans are waking up to discover that they made a bad mistake electing George Bush. That he can't be trusted and isn't even that likeable.…
I spend my days in a darkened room staring at twin windows on the electronic world. My twin windows are the twin 20” monitors on which I design my projects before sending them through the cable that ties my machine to the others in this network of interconnected ideas. My…
You know as a resident of the Texas Gulf Coast, living less than 5o miles from the Gulf of Mexico I read articles like this and I am worried, very worried... Is U.S. Ready for Hurricane Season?: "'Last year we didn't have a clue,' said the acting FEMA director, R.…
