Enter the Suburban Refugee

It's been a long strange trip. But, incredibly, George W. Bush has been inaugurated for a second time promising that his higher power from beyond the stars will guide the nation.

And so, with that, Woodburydadd is moving and changing his name.

The new name, which requires a lot less explaining, is the Suburban Refugee.

Look for us now at www.suburbanrefugee.com and on Blogspot at suburbanrefugee.blogspot.com

"Power Beyond the Stars" says Iran is next

While Americans were distracted by the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration the rest of the world was paying closer attention, and the message was loud and clear: How will the U.S. mark the two year anniversary of Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq? Why by attacking its neighbor Iran, that's how.

Of course it's true, Bush never used the word "Iran" in his inaugural address. He just declared war on the rest of the world citing as his authority a power coming from "somewhere beyond the stars" and vowing to fight for those seeking freedom from the "rulers of outlaw regimes."

And Condi Rice, soon to be America's chief diplomat, only set the stage by saying, "It's really hard to find common ground with a government that thinks Israel should be extinguished," thus abandoning a diplomatic approach.

No, to really get the story you had to listen to The Angry Puppeteer himself, Dick Cheney. Just minutes before the inauguration hoopla began he warned right-wing talk radio listeners Iran has a "fairly robust new nuclear program," is a sponsor of terrorism against Americans, and ignores the rights of its citizens. (Gee, they've got WMD and they sponsor terrorism? On top of that they're nasty to their own people? No irony there.) Then he on to predict that a coalition of the U.S. and Israel Israel "might well decide to act first" militarily.

So there you have it, the "power beyond the stars" is Dick Cheney.

Scotsman News - War with Iran Not Ruled Out by Bush

Condi's Ghost of Christmas Past

"The biggest regret is that we didn't stop 9/11. And then in the wake of 9/11, instead of redoubling what is our traditional export of hope and optimism we exported our fear and our anger. And presented a very intense and angry face to the world. I regret that a lot," said Richard Armitage, outgoing Deputy Secretary of State.

That's likely to be the last little bit of candor from the State Department for a while if Condoleezza Rice's "see-no-evil, hear-no-evil" analysis of the Bush administration at her confirmation hearings this week is any indicator.

The Australian - Reflections of a straight shooter

Iraq? Don't blame Bush. It's your fault. It's all your fault.

It's official. You, as an American, are personally responsible for the mess in Iraq. The invasion, the occupation, the 100,000 dead civilians, the devastation, the hell that is daily life on the streets, the brutal political dictatorship ... it's all your fault.

According to George W. Bush he's not responsible, you are. And his proof is that you "re-elected" him last November.

"We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections. The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me."

Much as it pains Woodburydadd to admit it, George W. Bush is right, though not for the reasons he thinks.

The American people are responsible for the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq and all of the atrocities and war crimes that have accompanied it. What is more, polls continue to show that upwards of fifty percent of Americans support the occupation, which has included the targeting of doctors, the bombing of hospitals, the wholesale destruction of entire cities, the sadism of "our troops" as they execute wounded prisoners, rape male and female detainees, and use Iraqis as human shields, to name a few of the war crimes inflicted in Iraqi civilians every single day.

So later today, when you see one of those magnetic "Support Our Troops" ribbons on the car ahead of you, remember what it means. And tonight, when today's carnage in Iraq ranks only a brief mention on the nightly news, remember that it is all being done in your name.

Washington Post - Bush Says Election Ratified Iraq Policy (washingtonpost.com)

Destroying Buddhas and Babylon

Remember a couple of years back when the evil-doers called the Taliban shocked the world by using the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan for artillery targets? The world protested in outrage, but the Taliban said they had to destroy the graven images because they were an affront to god.

The good news is that many of the other artifacts at the site in Afghanistan have been preserved and plans have been made to restore some of the damaged statues. Just in time, it turns out, for the archaeologists to beat it on over to Iraq where the U.S. military has been wantonly destroying the ancient city of Babylon.

In our case it's different, of course. We're not using the excuse of graven images and "god told me to do it." No, we're ripping up the place because of its strategic importance to the War on Terror and in order to bring the almighty's gifts of freedom and democracy to the locals.

Besides, we're big enough to apologize. According to a Pentagon spokesman, plans are being considered to move some of the military units in order "to better preserve the Babylon ruins. The significance of Babylon is not lost on the coalition. The site dates back to the time of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon."

That's it. We're sensitive. Smart too. Besides, we're there to help. Somehow that makes it different when a U.S. soldier gouges out a decorated brick from the famous Ishtar Gate as a souvenir and then drives away in his tank crushing the 2,600-year-old brick pavement.

CBC News (Canada) - Mission secures Buddhas of Bamiyan site in Afghanistan
Guardian (UK) - Babylon wrecked by war

Norm Coleman's Strategy: Feign Horror at Petty Corruption and You Never Have to Say You're Sorry for All the Destruction

Now that we have "officially" admitted what we've known all along, that there were never any Weapons of Mass Destruction, perhaps Minnesota's own Norm Coleman will be the first to admit that the economic sanctions were working and that U.S. paranoia regarding Saddam Hussein is responsible for the mess that was made of the oil-for-food program.

The original idea was simple: maintain economic sanctions on Iraq so that it can't re-build its military following the war in Kuwait. However, given the near certainty that sanctions would trigger unbearable suffering for the citizens of Iraq, the U.S. devised the oil-for-food program which would allow Iraq to sell a certain amount of its crude oil production in exchange for humanitarian goods, all subject to close review and scrutiny with the U.N. serving as the exchange banker for the transactions.

However, always suspicious of Saddam Hussein, the U.S. consistently used its veto power to block billions of dollars of humanitarian goods legitimately bought by Iraq under the oil-for-food agreement.

Then, fearing the worst from Hussein, the U.S. devised a new strategy: force oil buyers to commit to contracts where the price is set after the oil is sold. This insane process quickly brought oil sales to a halt, starving the oil-for-food program of money to the point that billions of dollars of humanitarian contracts could not be paid for by the U.N.

According to Scott Ritter (yes, that Scott Ritter, the former U.S. weapons inspector who first pointed out that there were never any Weapons of Mass Destruction):

The corruption evident in the oil-for-food program was real, but did not originate from within the United Nations, as Norm Coleman and others are charging. Its origins are in a morally corrupt policy of economic strangulation of Iraq implemented by the United States as part of an overall strategy of regime change. Since 1991, the United States had made it clear - through successive statements by James Baker, George W Bush and Madeleine Albright - that economic sanctions, linked to Iraq's disarmament obligation, would never be lifted even if Iraq fully complied and disarmed, until Saddam Hussein was removed from power. This policy remained unchanged for over a decade, during which time hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died as a result of these sanctions.

Look at Baghdad in 2002, after years of the food-for-oil program that Norm Coleman condemns as "corrupt." Emerging from near total economic ruin after the first war with the U.S., Baghdad was full of booming businesses, restaurants were full, and families walked freely along well-lit parks.

Now look at the day-to-day reality of Baghdad today where the city lies in ruins, there is electricity only a few hours a day, shortages of food and water abound, and most citizens spend their time running for their lives.

True, Saddam Hussein is gone, but whatever petty corruption there may have been in the oil-for-food program pales in comparison to the destruction the U.S. has rained on Iraq over the past two years.

Independent (UK) - The oil-for-food "scandal" is a cynical smokescreen

When will they come for you?

Surprise! George W. Bush picked a loyal right-wing law enforcement officer to head the Department of Homeland Security. Michael Chertoff used to be a federal prosecutor before Bush appointed him as federal appeals court judge. Chertoff was also deeply involved in Federal prosecutions following 9/11 and a strong advocate for the elimination of civil liberties under Bush's Patriot Act.

So now the guy in charge of making all feel more secure at home is going to be a lawyer who has no qualms arresting and prosecuting those who disagree with the government. Meanwhile the Attorney General is likely to be the lawyer who advised Bush to go ahead and jail forever people when you don't have enough evidence to convict them and cannot manage to torture a confession out of them.

First Bush came for the terrorists, but since none of us were terrorists, we did not speak out. Then he came for the "enemy combatants," but since we didn't know any enemy combatants, we did not object. And even last summer, when they came for the protestors resisting "free speech zones" near Bush campaign rallies, we only voiced mild objection.

How long will it be before they come for someone we know, and then for the rest of us?

Associated Press - Bush Picks Ex-Prosecutor for Homeland Post

Faced with the Facts in the War on Victims of Medical Malpractice

George W. Bush launched a new war, this one on victims of medical malpractice, in a speech in Madison County, IL, which was described as a "judicial hellhole" because of its alleged history of lopsided pro-plaintiff verdicts.

Problem is it's not true. Not a word of it.

Of 720 medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits filed from 1996 to 2003, only 14 cases - 1.9 percent - resulted in jury verdicts. Eight of those favored the defendant. And of the six verdicts favoring the plaintiff, only one exceeded the $250,000 cap that Bush has proposed.

As to Bush's hysterical claim that well meaning doctors are being driven from their practices by greedy plaintiffs and their lawyers: network executives at Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Illinois' largest health insurer, said that they are "not aware of any great flight of physicians because of the malpractice issues. We are basically about where we have been. Even anecdotally, [we are] not hearing any evidence of that."

Roanoke Times )VA) - So much for facts on tort reform

Delusions

"We're making great progress," and the Iraqi election is "a historical marker for our Iraq policy," chirped George W. Bush, adding, without a hint of irony, "I suspect if you were asking me questions 18 months ago and I said there's going to be elections in Iraq, you would have had trouble containing yourself from laughing out loud at the president."

Bush acknowledged that in parts of four of Iraq's 18 provinces, "terrorists are trying to stop people from voting," failing to mention that one-half of the population of Iraq lives in those four provinces, and refusing to acknowledge that the insurgency is growing stronger, having just this week demonstrated that they have learned how to successfully attack and kill 50,000 pound Bradley armored vehicles.

Meanwhile Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's national security advisor, said that the only chance the U.S. might have of meeting its goals of producing a reasonably stable Iraqi government would be "if we are willing to put in 500,000 troops, spend $200 billion a year, probably have the draft and have some kind of wartime taxation," adding that even then, far from the Jeffersonian democracy Mr. Bush extols, the most we can hope for is a Shiite-controlled theocracy.

Toward the end of the week, U.S. forces handed the insurgents another victory when they mistakenly dropped a 500 pound bomb on a private home. Residents said the U.S. attack killed 14 civilians. The Pentagon acknowledge its mistake, but said only five were killed.

Los Angeles Times - Bush Optimistic About Iraq Vote Despite Warnings

Our Newest Credibility Gap: Tsunami Warnings

Did the U.S. have advanced warning of the tsunami hurtling toward the populated areas of the Indian Ocean and choose not to warn anyone? Were U.S. experiments in electromagnetic wave propagation responsible for the earthquake? Did a top secret U.S. nuclear weapon test trigger the movement of the tectonic plates?

Probably not.

While domestic media moves Americans deftly through the stages of grieving ... after this week's spate of hopeful survivor stories we seem to be well on our way to full reconciliation, just in time to shove the whole thing aside for the NFL playoffs ... international and alternative media have carried a rising tide of stories that the U.S. did not do all it could to warn those in the path of the tsunami.

But U.S. denials are being viewed with skepticism.

This is one of the costs of the Bush administration's years of deception and misinformation. From large to small, George W. Bush has pursued an aggressive policy of managing information to his own advantage and of misleading and lying when it furthers his own objectives:

lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein's imminent plan to attack the U.S., and Iraqi involvement in 9/11 have undermined trust in U.S. intelligence agencies and our government

the fictional account of soldier Jessica Lynch's bravery and the outright lies surrounding the "friendly fire" killing of NFL hero Pat Tillman have caused the world to question the valor of U.S. soldiers

last week's news that conservative talk-show host and commentator Armstrong Williams was paid by the Bush administration promote No Child Left Behind

George W. Bush's claim last summer that Fidel Castro "welcomes sex tourism"

last year's "surprise" increase in the cost of Bush's prescription drug program

the Pentagon spokesman last fall who told CNN that the invasion of Fallujah had begun when it would not begin for another three weeks

... the list just goes on an on.

Woodburydadd has a friend, raised in a small Midwestern town, whose mother always warned her, "Remember, in a small town the only thing you have is your reputation."

The United States of America would do well to remember that the world is a small town and that our reputation is the only thing we have. Given our track record, why wouldn't they believe that we had something to do with the tidal wave? Why would they trust anything we have to say?

Daily Times (Pakistan) - U.S. denies "foreknowledge" of Asian tsunami

Guardian (UK) - U.S. Island Base Given Warning

Dissident Voice (CA) - Tsunami Cover Up? NOAA and the Flood

Herald Tribune (FL) - Credibility at Stake: Eventually, misinformation is a disadvantage

Stirring the Pot

U.S. military commanders declined to coordinate with local leaders in deployment of 10 Seahawk helicopters in Banda Aceh, and they flat out refused pleas from Major General Bambang Darmono, the commander of the military relief operation in Aceh, who was frantically trying to arrange for the use of aircraft to conduct damage assessment surveys in order to determine the needs of his people.

Then Father Chris Riley, who heads the Catholic charity Youth Off The Streets, arrived in Aceh and immediately announced plans to set up an orphanage to house some of the estimated 35,000 children with dead or missing parents.

Next Hilmy Bakar Almascaty, leader of the Islamic Defenders Front, warned that the orphanage should not try to convert Muslim children to Christianity and that Fr Riley ought to stick purely to humanitarian work in Aceh.

And now the Washington Times, featuring the word "al Qaeda" in its headline, warns readers that "an extremist Islamic group with links to al Qaeda has set up relief operations in Aceh province on Sumatra island, raising concerns that international relief workers will become terrorist targets as in Iraq."

There's pattern here. And it seems familiar.

The News (AU) - Religious tensions stir in Aceh

Washington Times (DC) - Group linked to al Qaeda starts 'relief' work in Aceh

A Quagmire by Any Other Name

A significant division of the army is "rapidly degenerating into a broken force." If called upon, several divisions would have to report, "not ready for duty" (a condition, by the way, finally made a reality by George W. Bush several years after he falsely accused Democrats of having caused it). Paid mercenaries replacing brave volunteer citizen-soldiers.

What is going on here? Does this sound like a victorious nation about to magnanimously bestow the gifts of freedom and democracy on the vanquished? Or does this sounds like ... Dare we say it? ... a quagmire?

In a written warning to the Pentagon, the commander of the U.S. Army Reserve cited Army and Pentagon officials' refusal to deal with "dysfunctional" personnel policies for causing "the Army Reserve's inability ... to meet mission requirements associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom (Bush's War on Iraq) and Enduring Freedom (Bush's War on Afghanistan) and to reset and regenerate its forces for follow-on and future missions."

But it gets worse. George W. Bush's bungling of his War on Terror is actually undermining Homeland Security.

While that alone "is of great importance", the memo said, the Reserves are "in grave danger of being unable to meet other operational requirements", including emergency needs in the U.S. and abroad.

And, perhaps worst of all, the Bush administration's Orwellian policies of deploying reserves for indefinite periods of time and into situations never before imagined is converting the U.S. Army into a mercenary force.

Citing the Bush administration's plan to pay cash bonuses to those who re-enlist, he said, "We must consider the point at which we confuse 'volunteer to become an American soldier' with 'mercenary'. Use of pay to induce 'volunteerism' will cause the expectation of always receiving such financial incentives in future conflicts."

Sydney Morning Herald (AU) - U.S. Army Reserves a 'Broken Force' According to Top General

Relatively Generosity

Dear President and Mrs. Bush:

Thank you so much for your personal contribution of (US)$10,000 toward tsunami relief.

Things are very bad here, as we are sure you are well aware, and so your gift will be put to use immediately helping those of us who have lost everything we have.

It is great to see the outpouring of generosity from all around the world and we hope one day to be able to return the favor in kind.

Sincerely,

The Tsunami Victims

Woodburydadd notes that, like the space-time continuum itself, the Bush's generosity is all relative:

The Bush's $10,000 contribution is about 15% of their total charitable contributions of $68,360 and about 1% of their annual income of $822,126 (according to their 2003 tax return).

Or, as a percentage of the Bush's wealth, it's about 0.08% of their $13,000,000 net worth (as estimated by the Los Angeles Times).

Capital News 9 (Washington, DC) - Bush gives $10,000 to quake relief

Worth a Thousand Words

Enjoying his well-earned and care-free vacation at the beach. 

Western beachcombers return. 

Western toruists pitch in to help with the clean-up. 

"Suspects"

The Bush administration is preparing lifetime imprisonment for suspects whom they do not want to set free or turn over to courts in the United States, including the hundreds of people now in military and CIA custody whom the government does not have enough evidence to charge in courts. The administration is concerned that the government lacks sufficient evidence to convict these suspects in court even though they remain a danger to U.S. interests.

Let's be clear:

1) we grabbed them because we thought they were suspicious;

2) we don't have evidence to prove they are guilty of anything;

3) there's a danger that the courts would set the innocent free;

4) so we'll just keep them locked up forever.

However, those who are imprisoned for life may be the lucky ones. The administration is also expanding a policy of "rendition" under which the U.S. transfers captured suspects to other countries where they can be tortured and killed outside of U.S. law.

What country is this anyway? Maybe check Alexander Solzenytsin's Gulag Archipelago and compare notes. But watch your step! You wouldn't want to do anything that the Bush administration might view as "suspicious" ... like buying a book written by an insurgent.

Washington post - Long-Term Plan Sought For Terror Suspects

100,000 dead here, 100,000 dead there

International relief agencies now report more than 100,000 have died as a result of last week's tsunami. Meanwhile the British journal Lancet estimates that at least that many Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invaded Iraq.

100,000 dead here, 100,000 dead there: is there really any difference?

Sure, you say, Woodburydadd's about to take an obviously true but none-the-less cheap shot and point out that in one case they died as a result of an unanticipated natural disaster, while in the other they were killed as a result of a conscious decision by the U.S. to invade another country.

But is that all? Were the tsunami deaths unanticipated victims?

There's another dimension to this tragedy, one which we in the west seem to be trying our level best to avoid. We ought to consider this:

How many permanent residents of the region were killed as a result of the economic system that forces them to live and work in the coastal areas?

Plenty of western tourists now seem to be making their way to the safety of their homes (after stopping to provide their "survivor stories" for the television cameras). We ought to consider why these foreigners were there in the first place ... and how that added to the scale of this tragedy.

Over the three decades since the U.S. retreat from its war on Vietnam, Southeast Asia has become a vacation mecca for all sorts of affluent tourists, most of them from the western hemisphere. Attracted by the five-star resorts and the lure of low prices including $3/night beach front bungalows, tourists triggered an economic boom and an entire economy developed that was centered in the coastal regions and focused on the tourism industry.

Inevitably, local citizens in droves uprooted entire families to move to the coastal regions in order to take jobs serving the tourists. Abandoning their traditional villages inland, breaking up extended families and social support systems, a generation migrated in search of a measure of economic security. And the western tourists, coming from their worlds of plenty, provided the momentum by happily partaking of the bargain prices in this paradise on earth.

Cultural geographers point out that beach front regions are usually not favorable for human settlements. The soil is generally bad and the water is likely to be salty. There are frequent storms and, occasionally, a tsunami. And so settlements, particularly in agrarian societies, tend to be a way back from the beach. Unless there is some additional catalyst to encourage settlement, population centers tend to develop a safe distance away from the beach ... and often the catalyst is an economic one.

In Thailand alone tourism was a $20 billion industry last year. Is it any wonder then that government seismologists on the island of Sumatra, near the epicenter of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami, decided that it would be best delay issuing a warning because, if they were wrong, a false alarm might harm the tourism industry.

But now the tourists have gone leaving behind the locals to pick through the ruins, the air polluted with the stench of rotting corpses, perhaps pausing to contemplate what they have in common with the west ... and with the people of Iraq.

The Lancet (UK) - Mortality Before and After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq

The Star (Malaysia) - Thai tourism to suffer as tourists flee devastated beaches

Whose Side is God on Anyway?

"Democracy is a Greek word meaning the rule of the people, which means that the people do what they see fit. This concept is considered apostasy and defies the belief in one God, which is Muslims' doctrine." Democracy amounts to idolizing human beings and "anyone who accepts or takes part in this dirty farce will not be safe," according to a joint statement issued by three Sunni Muslim groups in Iraq.

Meanwhile the opposing Shiite Muslim leaders claim that voting in the Iraqi election is every Muslim's holy duty. Shiite Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the population, hope to use the vote to take power from the minority Sunni Muslims, who have controlled Iraq for decades.

In case you've lost your place: U.S. invaders support the Shiite Muslims and are hunting down and killing the Sunni Muslims (who were favored under Saddam Hussein's regime) in order to bring what George W. Bush has called "the Almighty's Gift of Democracy" to the long suffering people of Iraq.

History may well record was the concept of separation of church and state was the highest achievement of American democracy ... and that it took us a couple of centuries to prove it.

Star-Tribune (MN) - Democracy is un-Islamic, say extremists; vow to attack voters

2005: the year America learns the meaning of "A-nuff"

There he was at last, standing in front of a banner emblazoned with the seal of the "Western White House - Crawford, Texas." We'd been wondering why we hadn't heard from George W. Bush. It had been days since the Tsunami struck and all we'd heard was that he was busy at his ranch clearing brush and riding his mountain bike ... and, we were reassured, "monitoring developments." Finally, here he was at last.

So what finally moved him to speak out? Was it the mounting death toll?

No.

Maybe the home videos graphically illustrating the violence with which the first wave crashed ashore?

Nope.

Perhaps the first aerial photos showing the extent of the devastation?

No, not that either.

Or the story of the retired American couple who held for dear life onto a tree until she could no longer hold on and lost her grip and then he let go too to be with her?

No, even that didn't move the leader of the free world to come forward.

What finally moved the diminutive POTUS to address the public was his annoyance at what he seemed to see as veiled criticism of his masculinity by Americans and the rest of the world as they complained about the inadequacy of his piker's pledge of financial support to help with Tsunami disaster recovery.

"Americans are a generous people. Last year alone the United States spent $2.4 billion for disaster relief alone," Bush said. Then, after pausing for emphasis, he repeated the number, this time syllable-by-syllable.

"Is that enough? I guess I'm not in a position to know," he concluded using his fingers to place quotation marks around the word "enough," however, still stuck in his syllable-by-syllable cadence, he slipped and pronounced it "A-nuff."

In the end, does it really matter that George W. Bush doesn't know when "enough is enough?"

In fact, in today's world, it does matter. And it ought to be a concern for each and every American, even the most conservative Red State residing Republicans who are now eagerly bashing as ingrates all who dare question America's largesse. Here is why:

According to research conducted by the Global Market Institute, foreign consumers in droves are turning against U.S. brands and companies. One third of all consumers in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom said that U.S. foreign policy, particularly Bush's "war on terror" and the occupation of Iraq, were a real turn-off and that they were shying away from U.S. goods as a result. In fact, twenty percent of respondents in Europe and Canada said they consciously avoided buying U.S. products as a protest against those policies. Brands most closely identified with the U.S., such as Marlboro, America Online, McDonald's, American Airlines, and Exxon-Mobil are particularly at risk, but the trend is spreading. According to the Financial Times of London consumers in Europe and Asia are becoming increasingly resistant to having "brand America rammed down their throats."

So how about this scenario for 2005: What if the world concludes that U.S. Imperialism is actually the greatest threat to world peace. And what if they decide that a dramatically weakened U.S. would actually make the world a much safer place?

Of course they'd know that they wouldn't stand a chance directly challenging the largest and most violent military force ever assembled in human history. But recognizing that the value of the U.S. dollar is already at record lows and losing value each day, might they consider what would happen if they simply decided that they didn't want to buy U.S. stuff anymore?

What would happen in 2005 if the rest of the world finally said, "enough is enough?" Would that be "A-nuff" for Mr. Bush?

Global Market Institute (WA) - World Poll: Half of European Consumers Distrust American Companies

While nobody's watching

It is happening again. The difference is, this time, nobody seems to notice, or even care. Of course the media, and most Americans, lost interest once John Kerry rushed to concede the day after election day.

"That settles that, right? Since we've got a looser, we must have a winner."

But in Ohio the battle rages on. Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell (who also served as Chair of the Bush/Cheney campaign) has flat-out refused to appear at a deposition preceding a Supreme Court lawsuit. President George Bush, Vice-President Richard Cheney and White House Political Advisor Karl Rove have all received notice that they will be deposed this week. And thousands of sworn affidavits detailing election day fraud continue to pile up.

But nobody's watching. Nobody cares.

The last stop will come next week when members of Congress meet in Washington to evaluate and certify the Electoral College vote. Most of us were unaware of this required step until footage of the 2001 certification meeting appeared in Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 911.

Representative John Conyers (D-MI), says that numerous members of the Congressional Black Caucus will challenge the Electoral College vote, as they did in 2001. But according to the arcane rules of the Electoral College the assent of at least one U.S. Senator is required for the challenge to go forward. You'll recall that in 2001 no Senator came forward, and thus far none has for 2005 either.

But nobody will be watching, and nobody will care.

After that, what really happened in Ohio will be pretty much academic, won't it? No reason to be concerned that the shenanigans that swayed another U.S. presidential election might affect George W. Bush's credibility when, later in the month, he praises the election of the former exiled Iraqi freedom fighter Ahmad Chalabi ... oh no, wait, he's the crook isn't he? ... when he praises the election of U.S. appointed Prime Minister Ayad Allawi as the new leader of Iraq, then demands that all Iraqis lay down their weapons and brands those who don't as "terrorists."

Remember the logic here: As George always tells us, freedom and democracy are a gift from the almighty and George is only the humble conduit of god's plan. Lying, cheating, fraud, misrepresentation and theft? Those are not the qualities of a servant of the lord, and therefore George could not possibly have been involved.

What were you thinking anyway? Grow up, take it like a man. Peel off that Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker. Besides, it's time for the Super Bowl.

The Free Press (OH) - Ohio GOP Election Officials Ducking Subpoenas as Kerry Enters Stolen Vote Fray

The Incredible Power of God

On Sunday morning god woke up and decided that it was time to re-arrange the continental plates. Seconds later the sea floor under the Indian Ocean jutted up some 50 feet and the entire island of Sumatra was shoved 100 feet to the northwest.

Within a couple of hours the Tsunami resulting from this act of god had crashed ashore and killed 100,000 or so unsuspecting human beings.

When some of the survivors were interviewed the next day they eagerly thanked god for sparing them.

Incredible.

U.S. Geological Survey - Magnitude 9.0: Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra, 2004 December 26, 00:58:49 UTC

Scotsman (UK) - Relief Tinged with Sadness as Tourists Fly Home

Steinbeck's Libraries Closed

John Steinbeck's hometown will close all of it's public libraries this summer in a cost cutting move in order to avoid raising taxes, making the blue-collar town of 150,000 the most populous U.S. city without a public library.

So now, if a citizen wants to read the Grapes of Wrath, or Cannery Row, or perhaps about life in Salinas as portrayed in East of Eden, he or she will just have to go to Barnes & Noble, or perhaps order it up from Amazon (except that the public access internet terminals at the library will be closed too).

It is not clear exactly where the John Steinbeck historical archives and the Steinbeck literature collection, which are a part of the public library, will go ... perhaps Ebay.

Chicago Sun-Times - Steinbeck's Hometown Closing Libraries

George Bush Learns the Lessons of History

George W. Bush is managing his war on Iraq to have minimum impact on everyday Americans. In fact, he's succeeded in making this war nearly invisible to most of us.

As U.S. troops face the relentless violence in Iraq, each death and injury tears a hole in a small circle of family and friends. Meanwhile, for everyone else in America, the war is proceeding without a cost greater than a little unease and sorrow when watching the evening news.

Since the Civil War, Americans have raised taxes to fund all of the nation's wars, but when Congress returns next month, Bush's first priority will be making permanent the huge tax cuts he won during his first term.

And so we all proceed with our lives, perhaps pausing long enough to slap a "support the troops" magnet on the car, as though nothing is out of the ordinary ... as though we're not at war at all.

Apparently recognizing that the war on Vietnam was "lost on the homefront, not on the battlefield," Bush has devised an elegant strategy: keeping the war as far as possible from the citizens keeps them content and happy, generally oblivious to the carnage being carried out in their name, and effectively blunts serious internal opposition.

Who would have guessed that Bush is such a student of history. Seventy years before, recognizing that his country had lost World War I "on the homefront, not on the battlefield," the Chancellor of Germany used the same strategy to lead his people down the path toward World War II.

Los Angeles Times - Bush Sending the Wrong Message as Chaos Smolders in Iraq

Efficiently Prolonging the Horrors of War

Only ten percent of soldiers injured in Iraq have died from their war wounds. That's the lowest casualty fatality rate ever. By contrast, 24 percent of soldiers wounded in the Vietnam War or the Persian Gulf War did not survive.

Technological advances and the deployment of surgical SWAT teams at the front lines have made this low death rate possible. Traveling in Humvees with hand-held ultrasound machines, portable ventilators, supplies of red blood cells and an array of surgical tools and pharmaceuticals, the teams focus on stabilizing patients and moving them for further treatment in less than two hours.

But the remarkable lifesaving rate is creating a generation of severely wounded young veterans. The combination of body armor and new systems of battlefield medical care makes it possible for the wounded to survive injuries that were unsurvivable before.

In the rush to George W. Bush's war on Iraq we've not yet focused on how to rehabilitate, physically and emotionally, a human being who has suffered this kind of damage, and who may well have to cope with living out a normal lifespan without legs or arms or sight.

It used to be that the number of deaths reflected the violence of a war but now that number more accurately measures the efficiency of surgical teams.

New England Journal of Medicine - Notes of a Surgeon: Casualties of War

New England Journal of Medicine - Caring for the Wounded in Iraq -- A Photo Essay

Pictures of Christmas

Doing his best Wyatt Earp impersonation, George W. Bush says, "Y'all have a very merry Christmas now, y'ear?"


REUTERS/Mannie Garcia

In his Christmas Message released by the White House with a simultaneous greeting to "those observing Kwanzaa," George W. Bush said, "Christmastime reminds each of us that we have a duty to love our neighbor just as we would like to be loved ourselves."

Meanwhile, on the road between Samarra and Tikrit, a child was killed and three others wounded in a roadside bomb attack, and in Baghdad nine people died and 14 were seriously wounded when a butane truck, which was wired with explosives, blew up in the upscale Mansour district, which houses many foreign missions and is home to top Iraqi government officials.

The attacks occurred just as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was wrapping up his surprise Christmas Eve visit during which he told the troops, "Once again, we've seen the truth that terrorists can attack at any time, at any place, using any tactic. It is physically impossible to defend in every place against every conceivable technique." Still, he continued, the U.S. soldiers were helping to replicate what he described as a "breathtaking" success in Afghanistan, concluding, "Maybe I should answer questions ... No, let's just sing 'Jingle Bells.' "

Aljazeera (Qatar) - Unrest sweeps Iraq

Bush Monkeys: The Immutable Power of Art Meets the New America

At first it was just a little painting of George W. Bush on display as a part of an exhibition at New York's Chelsea Market. But then, after Bush supporters threatened to boycott the market, managers of the public space shut down the whole show.

The portrait, called Bush Monkeys, is the work of artist Chris Savido. From a distance, Bush Monkeys appears to be an unremarkable portrait of Bush, but upon closer examination, the 18 x 24 acrylic-on-canvas work proves to be a double image: Bush's face is actually made up of monkeys in a marsh.

This week the banned painting found a new home, projected on a giant billboard in Manhattan. In response to the censorship of the art show, anonymous donors paid to have the painting projected above the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, where it will be seen by roughly 400,000 commuters every day.

Savido says the painting is a reaction to Bush's blurring of the traditional separation of church and state in the U.S. "The chimps symbolize the shared biological ancestry of all humanity (including that of President Bush)." The artist plans to put the original painting up for sale on EBay with the proceeds going to buy body armor for U.S. troops in Iraq.

CBC News (Canada) - Banned Bush portrait finds new home


Bush Monkeys is the work of artist Chris Savido