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POPSChomsky: If US was a true Democracy!
On all these topics, White House policy is completely at odds with what public opinion wants. But the media rarely publish the polls that highlight this persistent public opposition. Not only are citizens excluded from political power, they are also kept in a state of ignorance as to the true state of public opinion. There is growing international concern about the massive US double deficit affecting trade and the budget. But both are closely linked to a third deficit, the democratic deficit that is constantly growing, not only in the US but all over the western world. The US press sometimes publishes even my work, and the US is not a totalitarian country. But anyone who fails to fulfil certain minimum requirements does not stand a chance of becoming an established commentator. One of the big differences between the propaganda system of a totalitarian state and democratic societies go about things. Exaggerating slightly, in totalitarian countries the state decides the official li
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POPSThe Right Was Right Now that the elections are over we can all focus on what really matters: calling each other names. This time around we have someone on the Right pretending to be someone on the Left and thence presenting the Democrat's "new manifesto" to Congress. I figured this would be pretty stupid... and it is. But it's so patently absurd that it actual moves into the realm of humour. Afterthought: It's either that or someone really on the Left making fun of people on the Right for their paranoia about what will happen when the "godless, heathen, french-hippie communists" take over. I didn't bother to do enough research. Either way, enjoy. Or don't.
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POPSChristians Call Out "Pro-Life" Hypocrites On SCHIP The spots which features a mother urging her representative to support SCHIP, will primarily air on Christian and talk radio stations from Monday Oct. 15 to Wednesday, Oct. 17 in advance of a critical October 18th Congressional vote to override President Bush’s veto of the bi-partisan SCHIP legislation. Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United said, Building a true culture of life requires public policies that promote the welfare of the most vulnerable. At the heart of the Christian faith is a deep and abiding concern for the need of others. Pro-life Christians who serve in Congress should honor this commitment by supporting health care for poor children. Make these politicians pay for their hypocrisy.
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POPSBush elevates Terrorists
Labeling terrorists as combatants leads to this paradox: while the deliberate killing of civilians is never permitted in war, it is legal to target a military installation or asset. The attack by Al Qaeda on the destroyer Cole in Yemen would be allowed, so too attacks on command and control centers like the Pentagon. For all these reasons, the more appropriate designation for terrorists is not “unlawful combatant” but criminal. The second problem is that it endangers our political traditions and our commitment to liberty, and further damages America’s legitimacy in the eyes of others. 50 years ago, at the height of the cold war, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the “deeply rooted and ancient opposition in this country to the extension of military control over civilians.” We need to recognize that terrorists, while dangerous, are more like modern-day pirates than warriors. They ought to be pursued, tried and convicted in the courts. At the extreme, yes, military force may be requir
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POPS10 things all economists believe "If economics is finally a science, what, exactly, does it teach? With the help of Columbia University economist Pierre-André Chiappori, I have synthesized its findings into ten propositions. Almost all top economists—those who are recognized as such by their peers and who publish in the leading scientific journals—would endorse them (the exceptions are those like Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs, whose public pronouncements are more political than scientific). The more the public understands and embraces these propositions, the more prosperous the world will become."
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POPSAlaskans Protest Palin We need to listen to those who know her best. Notice the sign at the top of this photo? My guess is it says "No More Welfare for Exxon".
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POPSTape Recording Reveals Vile Rants Of British Mullah Now Choudary —who once called for the Pope to be executed and described the September 11 hijackers as "magnificent martyrs" — could face arrest under anti-terror laws for his evil ranting on the tape, which was passed to the News of the World. Terrorism expert and author Neil Doyle said: "There is no doubt whatever this a rallying cry to would-be British terrorists. "And this is the evidence from his own mouth. There's no doubt that the message he's preaching will eventually convince some impressionable people they should start planning 7/7-type atrocities. "He's certainly becoming the most high-profile cheerleader for al-Qaeda in the UK." When we spoke to Choudary he refused to discuss our recording but admitted he WAS on a recruitment drive. He ranted: "I would like to recruit enough to turn the whole country into an Islamic state within a month...by tomorrow. "You can put that down. I'm trying to recruit 5,000 a week."
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POPSChristian Right Influence on USA Politics It all started when Ronald Reagan courted the religious right in his bid to win the Presidency. Now it's come to Christian leaders who use millions in tax-free donations to try to influence nominations for the Supreme Court and to subvert the First Amendment separation of church and State. It's a mutual back scratching society.
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POPSIs McCain another George W. Bush? "George Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself." "He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens' faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been." "I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him."
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POPSThe "New" Constitution Kudos to David Swanson for all the effort he invested in this 5 page article. If you are up for the read, it is well worth it. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, except on corporations, those possessing over $10 million, and close acquaintances of the Unitary Executive
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POPSTalk About Socialism - A Case For Obama
The McCain-Palin Campaign has stooped so low it’s hard to believe it is an USA Org.... Did I just say that? The GOP can only win through dirty politics, or so they presume. The code words they use, seem so misplaced in today disastrous economy, which will only get much worse. (Especially, under a McCain/Palin administration) We will never see the end of all the sick, malicious name-calling and assassination of character during elections, unless the American voter will stop acting like frightened children, voting for fear-mongers who scare the BEJESUS out of them. This article shows why, John McCain BETTER NOT become the next president. If he does, our nation most likely, will not survive the slide the Republicans have brought about with their small government mantra, unregulated market creed and trickle-down, fairytale economics which means... huge welfare checks given to the rich, who are suppose to, in return, share with us at the bottom. Talk about socialism. :roll:
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POPSLesson of the Day: How Our Country Should Live More Like the Amish “In Amish life: principles of compassion, empathy, generosity and selflessness are central. When they run their community this way, it is admirable. When we try to solve our country's problems in much the same way, it is degraded and thought despicable.” “As children we are taught to take turns, to share & to treat others as we would want to be treated. These are basic principles that few people would deny are essential to being a kind, compassionate, moral person, whether a child or adult.” “We apply these principles to our personal lives, but when it comes to our country, our government and our communities, we start hearing things about "no free rides" and about how we mustn't become a welfare state.” "What we teach our children, what we challenge ourselves with spiritually, what we know is right in any other context...it all suddenly no longer applies.”
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POPSNew Challenge to Roe vs Wade and Birth control Just can't win. If your in a position where you do not have the ability to care for a child and have to make an extremely hard choice. But no matter what choice you make , you get slammed. If she decides to abort she is a monster. If she decides to keep the child even though she would have to go on welfare to do it , she's a drain on society. And those who would be the most damning towards these women for either case are those who have never or will never have to make this kind of choice or live with the attitudes of the self righteous later.
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POPSAmerica Finally Getting Sick and Tired of Hearing About Barack Obama
They aren’t talking about the fact that it was Obama who first trotted out the race card by suggesting we’d all be scared into submission by Republican assertions that Obama didn’t “look like all those other guys on the dollar bills.” As even more complete picture of the candidate begins to emerge, the number of Americans expressing doubt about Obama increases. In the Illinois State Senate Obama sponsored bills to provide universal health care coverage, drastically increase welfare, handcuff the police and burden them with administrative overhead, make it more difficult and time consuming for law-abiding citizens to purchase lawfully-regulated firearms for self-defense and generally expand government, welfare, affirmative action and other entitlement programs. By all accounts, Ms. Hilton’s energy policy, is in fact, more comprehensive than Obama’s, which focuses almost exclusively on the development of petroleum alternatives, tune-ups and tire pressure checks.
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POPSToo Big to Fail and Too Small to Matter
This text was from Norman Solomon. Look closely at the lower left of the pic.... The leverage for the U.S. Treasury to subsidize Wall Street is too big to fail. The leverage to subsidize mothers and children kicked off welfare is too small to matter. The political momentum for bailing out corporate America is too big to fail. The political momentum for funding adequate payment rates from Medicaid to reimburse healthcare providers is too small to matter. The oil conglomerates are too big to fail. Global warming is too small to matter. The prison industry is too big to fail. The need for preschool is too small to matter. Corporate power is too big to fail. The ordeals of working people and want-to-be-working people are too small to matter. Human worth as maximized by dollars: too big to fail. Human worth as affirmed by humanistic values: too small to matter. The current odds of pumping at least several hundred billion taxpayer dollars into corporate America: too b
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POPSObama's Real Beef With "Joe The Plumber" Joe the Plumber, opponent of Obama's plan to raise taxes on folks earning more than $250,000 a year because he hopes one day to buy his boss's business and join that lofty income bracket, was the star of last night debate. Obama poo-pooed the whole notion: "He's trying to suggest that a plumber is the guy he's fighting for," Obama said. "How many plumbers you know that are making a quarter-million dollars a year?" But Obama's real problem with plumbers was documented by James Taranto last summer while evaluating Obama's time as a community organizer: These efforts at economic development having failed, Obama "began to focus on providing social services for Altgeld Gardens," a government-owned and -operated apartment complex: "We didn't yet have the power to change state welfare policy, or create local jobs, or bring substantially more money into the schools," wrote. . . . . . .
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POPSBack to Basics - The truth about Statist Totalitarianism "Fascism's message boils down to "Enough talk, more action!" Its lasting appeal is getting things done." "In contrast, conservatism calls for limited government, individualism, democratic debate, and capitalism. Its appeal is liberty and leaving citizens alone." Movement of the Left * Woodrow Wilson's Progressivism featured a "militaristic, fanatically nationalist, imperialist, racist" program, enabled by the exigencies of World War I. * Franklin D. Roosevelt's "fascist New Deal" built on and extended Wilson's government. * Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society established the modern welfare state, "the ultimate fruition" (so far) of this statist tradition. * The youthful New Left revolutionaries of the 1960s brought about "an Americanized updating" of the European Old Right. * Hillary Clinton hopes "to insert the state deep into family life," an essential step of the totalitarian project. She's a "progressive, you know.
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POPSIslam and Secularism Volkhard Krech, professor for religious studies , has come to the conclusion that some religious traditions, such as Judaism and Protestantism, represent "secularization factors." Other faiths, such as Islam and evangelical churches have a tendency to combine a strong sense of both national and religious identity, mixing politics with religion. The Berlin Islamic scholar Gudrun Krämer made clear that a "massive rejection" of secularism prevails in most Muslim countries. In Islamic discourse, secularization is regarded as a "hostile takeover" of Muslim society. Instead of the notion of the separation of religion and state, the idea of "empowerment" is stressed. Islam calls for believers to actively participate in the power structures of the state. As a mixture of nationalism and Islamism, the so-called "national Jihad" is pushing its way into the political arena and has given birth to the notion of the "Islamic welfare state."
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POPSWhy conservatism's traditionalists are so mean First paragraph is from David Brooks, who laments that traditionalists may well take over the GOP; balance is for Ed Kilgore, who observes that they have come to believe their own militant mythology, and have become impervious to contrasting information. Both agree that this - while ugly - could seal the fate of the GOP.
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POPSObama's Okie Doke Obama voted against a ban on partial birth abortions. Americans support a ban by a margin of 66% to 28%. Obama supports affirmative action in public employment, contracting and university admissions. Americans oppose giving an advantage in these areas on the basis of race by a margin of 82% to 14%. Obama voted against a ban on partial birth abortions. Americans support a ban by a margin of 66% to 28%. Obama opposed the Induced Birth Infant Liability Act while in the Illinois state legislature, to prevent abortion providers from withholding medical care and sustenance from infants born after surviving an abortion attempt. Despite his equivocal statements regarding the recent Supreme Court decision striking down the D.C. gun ban, Obama has never met a gun ban he didn't like. While in the Illinois state legislature, Obama voted against parental notification requirements for abortions for minors. Americans support parental notification laws by a margin of 79% to 17%.
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