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BusGreg

I'm an Ancient Bong Master (Old Hippie sounds too ordinary) and I live in a bus, hence the screen name. Check out my site at: http://www.busgreg.info/
Peace, always...
greg

Recent comments by this user

Unearthed: News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report

Gentlemen, The MSM did not "forget" to diseminate the above mentioned items, they have chosen NOT to report on them. For whatever reasons, financial interests to legislative favors, MSM has supported the bush/cheney regime at every step. If anyone wants the unvarnished truth, check out the foreign news services and independents, as they provide a service, rather than shoveling the government approved bullshit down our throats. posted 05/16/2008 at 07:33:13

Stupid People of 2008 #241: "Postcard" Malware Hoaxers

Numbnuts is too polite!
There is one other possibility. A few weeks ago I was sent an e-mail promising money and having to do with something Microsoft is up to. As it came from a friend of mine who does computer work for a living I sent it on to my friends. One of them works for a large programmer in Califormia who informed me that it was a way of collecting valid e-mail addresses to be sold to spammers. posted 05/12/2008 at 13:39:48

It's As Good As Over! (updated)

It's not over until January 20, 2009 posted 05/07/2008 at 00:48:29

How The War On Drugs Takes Horticultural Hostages

I've been doing research on the war on drugs for quite some time, but this one was news to me, and I eat quite a bit of asparagus. This, as well as previous governments' heads have been stuck so far up their collective asses when it comes to drug policy in our country. The war on drugs started in 1914 when "Marihuana" was, and still is to some, evil. Since then lies, obfuscation and special interests have run this collossal failure. After 94 years of lies, wasted money and lives one thing is for certain: Prohibition does NOT work. It didn't work for alcohol as the prohibition started by the temprance movement proved. What makes any sane person think that prohibition against anything works? By decriminalizing drugs and focussing the efforts on education and treatment we'd actually have a chance to succeed and reduce drug use. Holland, which has a much better approach to drugs has about 60% the rate of drug use we have. And the outlawing of Hemp, the non-stoney stuff, is even more ridiculous. Food prices have gone through the roof and the blame is in part going to the ethanol producers for using corn. Hemp can be turned into celulosic ethanol and the seed can be pressed into oil and converted to bio diesel. Hemp delivers twice the amount of oil per acre as does corn and no food crop is used. For more info, check my "potblog" and links at: http://www.busgreg.info/ posted 05/06/2008 at 11:50:15

Why(?) The Wright Story Stuck...and Will Most Likely Continue To

As a devout liberal, the one thingh that perplexes me is this: How come nobody mentions the bible thumping nitwit 'Hagee" who endorsed the "wrong" wing's "Grandpa Munster"? The statements he made pertaining to hurricane Katrina and the devastation of New Orleans are more of a disgrace than the sermons of Rev "Wrong"made, yet no-one says a single word. Oh, yeah, Mc bush is a "hero", so lets give him and HIS RELIGIOUS ADVISOR Hagee a free pass.
So tomorrow, when NC gets to vote, I'll have no problem of supporting Sen. Obama in spite of the MSM's preoccupation with pastor Wright and lack of criticism over the Hagee-Parsley-Fallwell (R.I.P.) bunch of Mc bush's advisors! posted 05/05/2008 at 09:33:33

NYC Is the Marijuana Arrest Capital of the World

So what else is new. The war on drugs, started in 1914 and having continued ever since, has not done anything except propel the US to the world's number one in jail population. 80% of the public support medical marijuana and 60% plus support the decriminalization of cannabis (ticket only, no jail) for adult responsible use, yet the government keeps wasting money, resources and time on a non winnable war. Remember alcohol proihibition? Plenty of booze going round, no taxes collected and Al Capone making it big boot-legging liquor. Result = 21st ammendment, prohibition repealed!
The war on pot is also non winnable, based on lies and mis information. It has cost the US taxpayers close to half a trillion dollars since 1972 and Nixon's escalation on the war on drugs. Holland had the right idea by decriminalizing pot and making it BORING. Holland has about 60% of the druguse we have. For more info check out the pot blog at: http://www.busgreg.info/ where you find links to plenty of info, including the complete Shafer Report, cpommissioned and hidden by Nixon. posted 05/01/2008 at 12:50:59

The Self-Loathing Liberal Media

Arianna, there is unfortunately only one somewhat unbiased "news" guy out there; Keith Olbermann. As far as liberal media is concerned, there hasn't been any. Period! If we had truly liberal mass media they'd have been in hysterical rage since governor bush refused to sign the Kyoto Accord and all the other bone headed decisions the Village Idiot from Crawford has made! The mass media always pander to the government and special interests to curry regulatory favors and ad money from those who have their interests to protect. Thanks to the net and access to the Foreign media I don't need or for that matter want Amerikan Mass Propaganda. Unfortunately for many of us, life is too hectic and filled with eeking out a living, news has become a joke in many households. A lot of it due to the public's mistrust of the alphabet soup of media outlets, a lot of it people are tired of the bull and want to, need to, rewind. I'm 55 years old but remember dad, mom and I when I was old enough discuss the important things in our life at the dinner table. That type of dinner table talk doesn't exist any more. posted 04/24/2008 at 12:24:34

The Top Ten List of Undisputed Facts Showing Barack Obama's Weakness in the General Election Against John McCain

I just wish Al Gore was around.... posted 04/23/2008 at 17:52:37

Carter's Hamas Hallucination

Mr. Ambassador,
This has got to be the most well written example of not realizing that our (and the british) meddling in the middle east with our narrow minded and onesided support are more of a problem in the ME than we will ever be of help. Your refusal to acknowledge the wrongs perpetrated upon the Palestinians by Israel (and the british in 1948) don't do anything to stabilize the ME. Neither did our continued exploitation of the ME's resources help matters. President Carter understands diplomacy and democracy better than you do. Apparantly you do not agree with a democratically elected government, unless it toes the Amerikan line. Both, the late Jasser Arafat as well as the current crop of Palestinian legislators were democratically elected and were dealt with under Pres. Clinton's admin. Yet since the Village Idiot from Crawford and the Neo-Cons have hijacked our Nation they have only succeeded in screwing up the ME more than many thought possible. posted 04/18/2008 at 10:51:48

McCain "Family Recipes" Lifted from the Food Network

maybe a lame attack, but so what? FAMILY receipe mean's Family, or as the site impies Cindy's. Plagiarism is plagiarism.
I personally would like to hear more about her having been addicted to drugs and stealing from her own charity. Not because of the drugs, but because of the double standard espoused by Grandpa Munster when it comes to locking up "drug addicts" ie harmless potheads, but when his wife found help in treatment and her hubby being instrumental in her avoiding jail time, why doesn't the media cover that discrepancy, as the continued and failing war on drugs costs all of us in wasted tax money. All Cindy's plagiarism amounts to: so what else is new among the privileged? Grandpa Munster's double standards and flip flopping, as well as his troubles with the FEC are more important things to focus on than his wife's lack of cooking skills. posted 04/15/2008 at 15:19:11

You Don't Know Dick!

Oh, and don't forget the penis tatoo scene in Jackass 2 posted 04/14/2008 at 00:59:07

Our "Home Alone" Government Helps No One

That's one way of looking at it. On the other hand, governor bush could nominate some one that's more palatable in the "democratic" controlled Senate. As of last count there were 49 dem. 49 rep. 2 indep. With Lieberman's pro war stance and others I wouldn't call him a liberal and the other independent Bernie Sanders, a liberal socialist, I'd call that anything less than democrat controlled. Bush throwing forward the candidates he does, no wonder there are blocks. posted 04/14/2008 at 00:30:53

Hillary: "Our Great Drug Companies"

Unfortunately, today's Hillary is not the one I remember fom 93 when she actually had ideas. Today she seems to be more aligned with the 'wrong' wings position from back then.. She is bought and paid for, as is shown by her insitance that we need health INSURANCE for every one when it is health CARE for all what the country needs. We are stuck in an experiment of social engineering and the experiment is failing. Hillary's stand with big pharma backing her and vice-versa is proof of the same old BS we've been fed for too long. And frankly I'm not too crazy about Obama's ideas as they are not that much different. But then Big Pharma is really doing mankind a big f**king favor with all the boner-pills for geriatric sex maniacs! posted 04/14/2008 at 00:12:34

Does the Dalai Lama Know He's Nepalese?

What do you expect? The Village Idiot from Crawford is doing the hiring for that outfit. We are screwed until Jan 20 2009, and if we are'nt careful, we'll be screwed for another 4 after that! posted 04/13/2008 at 19:02:31

OM(F)G

Well maybe if we got off this stupid notion that sex is somehow dirty and "forbidden" which only adds to the mystique and the shills of 21st century bullshit cash in on it. Were sex not the "dirty" thing as it is portrayed from the pulpit to the evening noise, all that mystique would be gone,as would be the ridiculous outrage over a "sexy" ad. I am far more offended by the "results" of war being used to sell "patriotism" by some of the same purveyors of the aforementioned BS! posted 04/14/2008 at 00:43:30

You Went Too Far Today Jane Smiley

Well said. I live in one of those small towns down south, Black mountain NC and while there haven't been any lynchings of people here one thing had been lynched in the 04 election. Sanity was and is the victim when many of the pious voted for bush and said: I really hate the war but I have to vote for him, 'cause he saves babies and stops homosexuals from getting married. One of those who said this to me personally is an ordained and practicing pastor in a nearby city! posted 04/13/2008 at 10:17:00

WELL MEANING MY ASS

Learn to read. I said: "LA cops are racist." not ALL La Cops as you imply. Furthermore they also quite often do the same shit to hispanics as well as whites. They are biggots and I stand by what I said. posted 04/12/2008 at 15:40:11
And the Easterbunny poops colored eggs and the fat guy can slide down a narrow chimney!
Love your reply! posted 04/12/2008 at 11:37:03
Sorry Michale32086, but having lived in Southern Cal and having worked in LA for a good many years, LA cops are racist. There are plenty of examples in the past, both well publicized as well as not so public (relayed to me ny friends and acquaintances) to prove that point.
Rodney King, being beaten by pigs, later charged and convicted on fed civil rights charges.
Mark Furman, lied o the stand in the OJ trial, just to mention a couple. But then it ain't just LA. I have witnessed some racist pigs in Florida, around St Augustine and other areas as well. posted 04/12/2008 at 11:20:30
What does it mean when a nation, such as China with 1.4 Billion peolpe has about 1.5 million imprisoned and a nation such as the US with 3.1 Million people has 2.3 million people imprisoned? It can only mean one of two things:
1) The US is made up of mostly criminals.
2) We are the biggest Police State on earth.
My bet is that answer two is correct. Yet with the up and coming election we as a Nation will continue to elect those who will not represent the people. We will again elect those to power who serve the special interest groups, such as the Military Industrial Complex and the Amerikan Prison Complex. As far as incarcerations are concerned the failed war on drugs is one of the biggest culprits. Based on lies, misinformation and special interest pandering it has wasted close to half a trillion dollars since "I'm no crook" Nixon declared allout war on drugs. Just as the war in Iraq is a failure the war on crime is a failure at home. And to make matters worse, the war against crime is fought by racist pigs, without any regard to constitutional rights.
YIPPIE! I'm so proud to be an American....NOT! posted 04/12/2008 at 11:09:00

Why American Airlines' Big Public Sad Meltdown is Good

And with a bigger country and more citizens comes a greater financial as well as customer base and unfortunately a bigger and more corupt government. Having ended my career as Captain for an Air Cargo Carrier I'm happy to keep my feet on the ground, considering the abysmal state our airtraffic system is in. From Reagan firing the ATC personnel in 1981 to deregulation as well as an outdated ATC computer system and greed driven Airline management we are stuck with a crappy Airline system and I'm afraid more of the recent problems will continue to surface. Let's hope the problems manifest themselves on the ground and not at FL 330! (33,000 feet) posted 04/11/2008 at 18:40:07

"Big Tent" Re-Opens: Obama Campaign Reverses CA Delegate Purge

a) creating low paying jobs to replace better paying jobs exported by the bush regime isn't progress.
b) lowering the poverty rate by using fuzzy math and changing the numbers isn't lowering the poverty rate at all, it's spin.
c) as far as unemployment is concerned, more fuzzy math. Since one of the primary numbers involved are ACTIVE un-employment claims, those who have exhausted their benefits are not counted.
Get real, The republican wrong wing has screwed, blued and tatooed us almost to death. It is time for Sen Obama to change things and get us back on track as a Nation. Sen Clinton is just more of the same special interest pandering that's destroying our country! posted 04/11/2008 at 14:40:40

Peering Into the Racial Divide on the "Redneck Riviera"

During the winter of 2006-2007 I did the snowbird thing and escaped the cold to Florida, Salt Springs to be exact and spent 4 months in the Ocala Natl Forest. I did my shopping in Salt Springs, where an acquaintance invited me to his Thanksgiving dinner. Every 3rd word was the "N" word and I finally left in disgust. Racism is so overt in at least that part of the state, so I decided to never set foot into that hotbed of biggotry again. All my citrus comes from California and I refuse to do business with any company that is situated in that state. I am appalled at how any decent human being can claim to be a Christian as just about everybody at that Thanksgiving party proffessed top be and at the same time be so overtly biggoted and be proud of that disgusting fact. There were also children present, who undoubtably will continue that stupid behavior. posted 04/10/2008 at 13:46:08

Petraeus and Crocker: Déjà Vu All Over Again

I agree with every point Rep Conyers makes. What I and most Americans don't agree with is the continuance of this clusterf**k. Congress has the power to stop this insanity, yet they pander to the warmongers and hawks in the wrong wing of the political spectrum by continuing to fund this war for oil. STOP! Stop the blank check now. Continued funding has nothing to do with supporting the troops, quite the contrary, it keeps them in the frontlines longer. Continued funding is nothing more than serving our young and brave soldiers as "Amerika's Children for Breakfast" in the Iraqi civil war.
Americans are smart enough to understand that. The only backlash Congress would face, should they cut the purse strings, is from the few who actually support this stupidity, and the hawks are becoming less important by the day. Bill Kristol Krauthammer, Britt Hume and the rest of these idiot arm chair soldiers had their 15 minutes in the limelight as they are becoming more and more margianalized.
If Congress continues to throw away our money and soldiers then they don't deserve to get re-elected. posted 04/10/2008 at 11:46:16

BushCo: An Umpteenth Evaluation

DEAD WRONG!
We did not elect him, he stole the election with help of the Supreme Court in 2000 and by disenfranchising voters and shenenigans in Ohio in 04. The Village Idiot from Crawford with the help of the neo-con wrong wing criminals cheated. And yes, as taxpayers we have every right to be pissed and complain as much as we want. posted 04/10/2008 at 00:10:25

Junk War and Petraeus: I, Robot

Lets not forget that the special interest media does everything they can to curry favors with both the SEC and FCC. SEC favors for easy mergers, as in eliminating competition, with the FCC favors that come in handy when license renewals and mergers come into play. Real news went out the window years ago.
Where have all the Ben Bradlee's and Edward R. Murrows gone? posted 04/10/2008 at 11:31:50
If we had mass media who instead of pandering to politicians and the Military-Industrial Complex would tell the unvarnished truth, rather than spewing forth propaganda and lies we'd all be better off. All the ruling elite wants is keep us barely able to survive, give us the mushroom treatment while keeping and expanding their power, all on the backs of the struggling little guy. The other thing is that we are fighting the wrong enemy. They are not terrorists (at least in THEIR own belief) they are freedom fighters. Just as in Viet-Nam we are not recognizing what drives these people. They are not fighting to export terror - or communism in Viet-Nam - they are fighting for their freedom. We are in their country, proffiteering from their natural resources and meddling in their affairs to only our benefit and that rightfully pisses them off. That fight for their freedom on their turf gives them the advantage we will never have in the middle east or any other part of the world. All we have is lies from a corrupt regime, with no clearcut strategy or endgame. Yes it is a junk war, presided over by a junk government. The only non-junk in this mess are our soldiers, who deserve better than this. 9-11 was in retaliation to our lengthy and ongoing meddling in their world. posted 04/09/2008 at 23:39:18

Patrick McHenry (R-NC): Timeline of a Young Chickenhawk

Thats what you get when you elect some cornfed inbread like congressman dipshit. Unfortunately I won't get vote against him when his number comes up since I live in a different district. What a disgrace to my state! posted 04/09/2008 at 16:44:21

Kids are Killing the Planet!

I applaud your suggestion of adopting, rather than breeding. I wish more people took that to heart. Another question, rarely asked is this: Why would anyone want to "condemn" a human being to 60, 70, or more years of uncertainty. Adopting those already born rather than adding to an overpopulated planet in a nation about to go bankrupt makes a lot of sense. posted 04/09/2008 at 15:49:02

How to Protest the Beijing Olympics

FINALLY! Someone who makes sense out of all this. The protests witnessed on TV are put into perspective. These, albeit well meaning, protests do nothing to change the minds of the Chinese government. The same can be said about boycots, as all they do is hurt the average citizen and never the people or governments they are directed against.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics are a good example. Hitler tried to use the games to showcase the superiority of the German masterrace, only to fall flat on his face when a black man of all won 4 gold medals, the first athlete to ever do so in a single olympics. Maybe the Beijing games will see another "Buckeye Bullet", (James Cleveland Owens' nickname) and put the whole olympic spirit into perspective. posted 04/08/2008 at 11:29:00

Electronic Dragnet for Undocumented Nets Citizens

I know all the hype about them being illegal. here are a few sad facts:
After Ronnie Raygun signed the amnesty bill in 1986 all of us sat on our asses instead of doing something, such as securing the borders ore more importantly voting those who did nothing out of office. Now during the end of governor bush's term thanks to the xenophobic loudmouths such as lou dobbs, everybody gets worked up and is looking for an easy and quick fix. Ain't gonna happen. Last year the immigration cops deported about 300,000 undocumented aliens. At that rate it will take over 36 years to get rid of the 12 million, 66 years dor dobbs' 20 million. Undocumented = who and where are they? Finding all is hard. If you like to find out how the Real Id act is coming along, download or view the Real ID scorecard from the ACLU and read up on all the pitfalls. This problem was allowed to grow over the period of at least 22 years by now, so a fix will not be found over night and certainly not with the legislators we have now.
http://www.aclu.org/images/general/asset_upload_file162_33700.pdf posted 04/08/2008 at 10:34:13

What a Bunch of Boobs

Maybe if this country wasn't so damn uptight when it comes to sex in general we wouldn't be so preoccupied with plastc surgery. The Europeans who have a much more open and liberal view of sexuality don't have nearly the problems we have here, like sexual assaults, teen pregnancy, spousal abuse and the like! posted 04/08/2008 at 11:35:26

China: A Stroke Survivor's Alternative to U.S. Health Care

HMO = Hand Money Over. I got that one from a friend who used to work in a big city hospital's billing department. Having to travel to China for healthcare? That really sums it up as to how low our country has slipped.
I became disabled in the mid 90's and after worker's comp had run out and before Social insecuruty finally took over, I was glad that I lived close to the Mexican border. I could not afford the medicine I needed her in my own country. The same drugs that would have set me back over 300 bucks American set me back slightly over 90 bucks when purchased south of the border. But I guess that's to be expected. After all we have so many more important things to do than to take care of us here at home. It is a pretty sad stae of affairs when a nation abandons its citizens as we have in order to coddle to the special interests. posted 04/07/2008 at 23:32:19

Number of Innocents on Death Row Mandate Moratorium

Why do we in a "civilized" Nation Kill people to show them that killing people is wrong? We have a justice system which isn't. Our so called justice is not based on justice at all, it is based on revenge. As long as there is such blatant disparity between the justice served to those who have money and those who don't any thought of capital punishment is utterly repugnant. If OJ had been a poor black man he would by now be exhausting his last appeal and start thinking what to have for his last meal. Thankfully there are at least 127 human beings who are spared the ultimate injustice our justice system has to offer. How many more innocent souls are sitting on death row is anybody's guess. How many innocent human beings have been murdered by this country's Revenge system is also anybody's guess. posted 04/07/2008 at 19:56:28

April 7, 2008 News Update

Did ya watch hillary bowl on the Ellen D. show? She ain't no mo better than Sen O. posted 04/07/2008 at 19:48:11

Sentence First, Verdict Afterwards! Judges, Bail and Coercive Plea Bargains

America makes up between 4% of the world's population yet we proudly and gleefully incarcerate more than 25% of the world's prison population. Overall population: China, 1,321,851,888 and the US, 301,139,947 as reported for 2007. The incarceration rate as reported by the UN in 2001 was for China, 1,428,126 and the US 1,962,220. Even China, a nation known for human rights abuses and with over 4 times the population we have, has fewer incarcerated than we do! A report by the PEW Center recently came up with these numbers; 1 out of every 100 adults and 1 in 15 black males over the age of 18 are currently locked up in the United States and we can pride ourselves in this record! We are Number One in the systematic incarceration in the world! American taxpayers are forced to pay close to 50 billion per year to support the warehousing of nonviolent drug offenders alone, when violent offenders often get released early to make room in an overcrowded prison system. 48% of our prison population is for non violent drug posession charges!
The war on drugs is a failure, just as the war in Iraq. Both are based on lies perpetrated by our government. 2/3 of the country want us out of Iraq and said so at the ballot box in 06. 2/3 of the country support decriminalization of cannabis yet no-one speaks up at the ballot box, so the failing war on drugs continues after 94 years. posted 04/06/2008 at 19:59:56

Thou Shalt Not...Charlton Heston Dead at 83

Maybe now Mr Heston can answer Michael Moore;s question asked at the end of his documentary "Bowling for Columbine" - directly to those murdered in that tragedy. posted 04/06/2008 at 09:52:46

Rest in Peace, Charlton Heston

NOT! posted 04/06/2008 at 11:31:00

Why This Is The End For The Clintons

Amen to this. The statistics in the oh so phony war on drugs are staggering and Slick Willie had his hands in it. He was probably in the best position since Pres. Carter to put a stop to the pandering but didn't. As far as his millions made from speaking. At least he CAN speak. The Village Idiot fro Crawford can't even form a coherrent sentence, but I'm sure he too will rake in the dough. The real issue at hand is who can be more effective as our next President. Sen Clinton is NOT the one. I believe that many more in the country would support her, were it not for her steadfastness on her idiotic vote for the war. Had she admitted that it was a mistake to give Pres. Dipshit a blank check She might be able to talk about hope. Absent of admitting that mistake all one can do is hope for Sen Obama to win the election.
As far as facts on the "war" on drugs, check my Cannabis Blog at http://www.busgreg.info posted 04/06/2008 at 10:12:35

5 Years Ago: When the Pentagon and Media Lied About Jessica Lynch Rescue

This is just one more example of media complicity with the cheney-bush regime's propaganda and persistent lying to the American People. In the age of the internets it is a mystery to me why anyone would put any credence in the domestic media at all. LINKTV, especially the DemocracyNow broadcasts of Amy Goodman et al as well as foreign sources are much more to the point and much less apt to appease the US government.
At least there are sites like Huffington Post, which offer candid discussion and exchange of ideas, rather than the dumbing down of America as is perpetrated by the alphabet soup of networks. Unfortunately the days of the Murrows in the news biz are gone and it is no wonder that there is so much cynicism today, when it comes to the way people view the news media. posted 04/04/2008 at 14:16:30

An Essential and Viable Energy Fix, and the Renaissance of Detroit

Great post!
There are a coupke of Yea-but?s in there as well. GM had an electric car which they shelved as I saw in a recent documentary on LINK TV. With the ever powerful petro-lobby any serious change won't come from Detroit, it will have to come from us. When Governor bush (last office legally elected to) announced that we had to become independent of foreign oil I laughed. This regime will never let go of foreign oil, after all the Village Idiot from Crawford won't give up on holding hands - literally - with his Saudi brothers. Any meaningful change must come from us, not the establishment (governmental or industrial) Locally produced biofuels for transportation and solar-geothermal-wind power for our home and industrial energy needs are part of the answer. True energy independence comes when you and I sever our ties to energy sources provided by corporations. My transportation fuel comes directly from deep-fryers, the sun takes care of electrical needs and biomass for heating. That is true energy independence, both from government as well as corporate monoliths. No light bill in over ten years, free heat in the winter and minimal driving expenses equals a greener planet and more green in my pocket. Next question, Please. posted 04/04/2008 at 09:02:12

Universal Health Care Doesn't Mean We're Entitled to All the Health Care in the Universe

I had to go to the ER the other night, to remove a small sliver of metal from my eye. For the ER Doc to numb my eye, find the piece and remove it took all but 10 minutes. Besides the triage nurse and the doctor I had to see 5 other people, 3 prior and 2 after the procedure, all paper shufflers! To cap it off I was handed Oxycontin just in case there might be pain later. I informed the doctor that I don't take narcotics and that it wasn't painful enough to warrant even an aspirin with the metalsliver in my eye. Guess what?! They gave me the damn things anyway: We have billed Medicare already, was the answer.
It is evident how much money is wasted on unnecessary drugs and bureaucrats by today's healthcare system. Add to that the profit taken off the top by HMO's (Hand Money Over) which never sees the doctor. America could easily afford government healthinsurance for all even if we had to pay slightly higher taxes IF we had:
1) a trustworthy government that works for the PEOPLE.
2) healthcare for all.
3) quality education for all.
4) our troops at home and not wasting trillions in Iraq.
5) tradepolicies that benefit US rather than every other country on earth.
6) an energy policy that benefits US and the environment and not exxon-mobile.
7) and yes, a trustworthy government that works for the PEOPLE. posted 03/31/2008 at 13:23:13

Clinton: Stick It Out or Withdraw?

Or: What would either candidate's endorsement of the other mean after this idiotic foodfight they are engaged in currently? posted 03/29/2008 at 22:30:13
All this bickering does is make the case for a same day national primary. While I don't care what the republicans do, there is one question: Are their voters from the states that have not voted yet being ignored, since Grandpa Munster is the only one remaining on their side? (Ron Paul can't get to the 1191 needed on their side) posted 03/29/2008 at 22:27:37

Time Is Not On Our Side

No John, Thank YOU! posted 03/28/2008 at 20:37:24
John,
thanks for another insightful post. We as a Nation were lied into this clusterf..k of a war and by now 4000 of our bravest have paid the ultimate price. The biggest problem I see is the fact that we did remove saddam insane who by any name was nothing more than a worthless thug, but......
with him gone and the country in a mess, we have effectively created a situation where after we leave Saudi Arabia may well have a common border with Iran, stretching from Turkey to the Gulf. saddam was the buffer needed to keep theShi'a from raising hell. Now the Shi'a majority in Iraq and their ideological brothers in Iran pose a severe threat to the Sunni population (minority) who will undoubtably seek refuge with their Sunni brothers in Saudi A. after we leave. The Kurds to the north already had their taste of what Turkey is up to. I am afraid that at this point we are only staving off the inevitable while decimating our military and draining the National piggy bank.
The war in Iraq is a failure. Not because of our soldiers but because of the sorry excuse for leadership. From the Village Idiot from Crawford down the line, our government has failed us miserably. We have also failed the Iraqi people we "liberated". posted 03/28/2008 at 20:04:58

"Countdown" with Keith Olbermann Turns Five: Hurting Democrats November Chances?

Congrats, Keith.
I too am a fan of Olbermann's. But I think way too much is put into the pure math of the delegates and we need to change our whole election system. National primaries, no electoral college.
But the deeper reason of the rising dislike for Hillary goes to how much she and Bill have changed. I'd fall over backwards for '93 Hillary when her vision for health care was much closer to what we need. Today's Hillary = '93 Republicans
Her vote for the war and Grandpa Munster's love for this giant clusterf..k scare the hell out of me and lots of Americans. Many revelations about the who's who in her circle of supporters and advisors just make her too much "been-there-done- that" as compared to Barak.
Keith is still the most fair and balanced journalist and his albeit very seldom self nominations to "the world's worst" when he makes a mistake speak for his integrity. His "opposing farce" on the "wrong wing's" propaganda channel wouldn't admit a mistake if it bit him in his sorry ass.
Let Keith be Keith and Hillary lie in the bed SHE is making. We as Americans need to focus on what is most important, and that is: Who is best for America? posted 03/28/2008 at 13:54:23

It's Time to Reregulate Business

agreed, BUT, we need to get the fatcats out of Congress. By just changing the executive and keeping the status quo in the legislative we are bound to end up with more of the same. A progressive president with the current congress will be unable to change much. posted 03/28/2008 at 17:21:22

Woman Says TSA Forced Piercings Removal

Hey wizzo, can I stand back and laugh when your privacy is violated and you are being embarrassed by socalled federal "authorities" . posted 03/28/2008 at 12:45:33
Gloria A. is an exceptional lawyer. I hope you sue the bastards. TSA needs to be put in it's place when it comes to forcing the removal of body jewelry. Not just because it is a privacy issue, but even more so because it highlights the utter incompetence. This even beats the TSA jerks forcing moms of newborns to discard their brest milk before boarding. posted 03/28/2008 at 12:42:20

Miracle Mildew More Important than Implosion of Iraq?

First, to the people in Florida: Clean your showers! Mold in the shower in the 21st century? Gimme a break!
It does not surprise me that the commercial media focus on crap like Jesus mold, Britney Spears or any of the other nonsense. The war is highly unpopular, was lost the day we illegally invaded a sovereign nation, and any reportage of this enormous clusterf..k could only hurt the wrong wing's posterchild for war Grandpa Munster.
Unfortunately most of the American people get their propaganda from the commercial networks. After a long day's work, an expensive commute most of us just want to relax and if we catch the news it is usually in the form of mindless dribble shoveled out by the alphabet soup of media outlets. The only true independent media I found is LINK TV who operate solely by contribution. LINK TV even refuses to accept money from the satelite providers who carry their signal.
Unless we can return to truly independent and free media, we will never get the news, all we will receive is propaganda, regardless of who sits at 1600 Sesame Street, Washington. posted 03/27/2008 at 16:37:47

Priscilla, I'm Sorry About Your Face

Judging from the picture above you are still, permit me, hot. Maybe the construction worker commented about your pooches look because we live in a ever so PC world, where a compliment given a "hot" lady lands one in court over sexual harassment?! posted 03/27/2008 at 16:53:11

Letting History Be Our Guide

Yes we can...........

but only if we vote and only if we put enough progressives in Congress to have the votes needed to once and for good put the brakes on the conservatives. By the way, one synonym for conservative is retrogressive. posted 03/27/2008 at 16:47:48

Time for Superdelegates to Ratify Obama's Insurmountable Pledged Delegate Lead and Settle the Democratic Nomination

The statement I made pertaining to people voting against Clinton is based on the statements of a number of personal accquaintances as well as statements made on the local propaganda channel by interviewees on the street. I live close to Asheville where the local populus is much more progressive than given credit for. posted 03/26/2008 at 17:04:04
I live in N-Carolina, where on May 6 we will have our primary, It is an open primary, where unaffiliated voters can chose between independent, democratic or republican ballots. What will be interesting will be how many of those unaffiliated voters will vote for Clinton now and Grandpa Munster later. After all, he has been all but annointed by the wrong wing. (I refuse to call them right wing) McBush will be the republican candidate unless nature calls him. With this in mind the wrong wing leaning independents can cause a lot of mischief. Last nights local news had a report on the incredible numbers of unaffiliated voter registrations.
This potential for mischief by the wrong wingers could be minimized by the elders in our Democratic party, were they to get involved NOW and settled this soon. Every day we bicker about this or that state making a difference large enough to annoint Hillary gives Grandpa Munster's staff more time and latitude in campaining.
This election is too important. Grandpa Munster at the helm is just too frightening of a prospect. His grasp at foreign affairs has been all too well established and Hillary lives in a fantasy world. (see Bosnia) The other thing is how Hillary galvanizes many of the people in the south, who would stay home and not vote if Obama is our nominee, but will come out in droves to vote for McBush ONLY to vote against her. posted 03/26/2008 at 12:02:06

The Professor and Mary Jane

Remember, we are talking about posession of cannabis, not crack or meth addicts who rob liquor stores. posted 03/27/2008 at 13:56:37
Right you are!
America makes up between 4 to 5% of the world's population yet we incarcerate more than 25% of the world's prison population. Overall population: China, 1,321,851,888 and the US, 301,139,947 as reported for 2007. The incarceration rate as reported by the UN in 2001 was for China, 1,428,126 and the US 1,962,220. Even China, a nation known for human rights abuses with over 4 times the population has fewer incarcerated than we do!
American taxpayers are forced to pay close to 50 billion of our hard earned money to support the systematic incarceration of nonviolent offenders, when violent offenders often get released early to make room in an overcrowded prison system.
Anyone doubting that money is the driving factor behind the war on drugs ought to watch the documentary "American Drug War: The Last White Hope" released in 2007. posted 03/26/2008 at 17:27:03
It is about high time (pun intended) that we allow adults to use any natural substance without fear of incarceration by the imoral morals police.
Had the government, starting as far back as the early 1900s, been truthful about Marijuana, rather than demonizing it, many of the addicts to stronger substances today, probably would have never tried any of the addicting substances in the first place. The government has always suggested that pot is this gateway drug with sideeffects so horrible that no one should ever try it. Guess what?! They tried it and found out that pot is really harmless, compared to the propaganda. If the government lied about pot, then maybe, just maybe, the bums lied about meth and all that BAD shit as well. And, you guessed it, they tried and got hooked.
As parents we try to teach our children, that truth is always the best way. So how much longer will this government be allowed to lie to us? How much longer will a country, nearly broke waste its money and perpetuate this failed war on drugs? Maybe we ought to learn from the dutch, where pot is used less than here in the US and hard drugs are almost non existing.
Of the over 2,000,000 prisoners in the US almost half are incarcerated for non violent drug posession. At almost $40,000 a year per inmate the government makes sure there is a supply of harmless people to fill those prisons.......at YOUR expense! posted 03/25/2008 at 21:50:13

Rove Already Answered the GOP's Question of Who's the Weaker Democrat

This idiotic and infantile food fight perpetuated by the Democrats is making it easy for Grandpa Munster to get the coveted address of 1600 Sesame Street next year, I'll bet you. I'll also make the following bet.
Bin Laden will be caught, dead or alive this summer or early fall. Bush will claim success and sell the idea of vindication to the American people. McBush will fit right in and the results in November will reflect that.
I base this theory on the following. Hours of research. Osama has gotten away about three times, and after looking behind the scenes and beyond evening news it appears that our spooks know more than they'll let us know. Bin Laden got away from Kabul on his way to wherever he is now in late October 2001 when US war policy effectively allowed Osama to skip town. The second Houdini came late 2001 when after a $1 Billion deal was strck with the Pakistanis to safeguard their border with Afghanistan where Osama was in Tora Bora. Yup, he snuck into Pakistan AFTER we paid Pakistan one billion. Last year he was said to have returned to Afghanistan.
We know where the bastard is and we'll roll him out on cue. Against that scenario neither Obama, who I suuport, nor Hillary have a chance posted 03/25/2008 at 19:59:50

Economics -- and Life -- In a Post-Fact World

Let's not forget that Ronnie RayGun, who in 1986 signed an amnesty law and had we the US secured our borders then, rather than allowing more "cheap" labor into our nation we would not be in this mess. You quote 20 million, a number slightly elevated over the more commonly accepted 11 to 13 million.
Last year the US deported slightly less than 300,000 undocumented aliens. At that rate your 20 million will take 66 years to deport. Yet it is us, you, me and the rest of the country who have continued to allow rhetoric to prevail over common sense and have continued to elect special interest lackeys, rather than public servants.
Congress, both houses, have failed us miserably. Recent approval ratings of Congress are approaching sub-terranian levels, but we continue to reward the bastards with re-electing them. After all, they buy us off with platitudes and pork! posted 03/26/2008 at 17:54:36
There is an old truism in propaganda"
"The bigger the lie and the more it is repeated, the more people will believe it." It worked well when originally employed by Goebbels and it is working now. We American suckers are proof of that.
Unfortunately we are so conditioned by the so called news media, the truth is often hard to recognize, even when it bites us in the behind. We are so preoccupied with making ends meet and preserving a personal lifestyle that is unsustainable at best. I guess we all will learn when we all drown in debt, both personal and national.
I read a comment to a post a few days ago and the commenter suggested that we will have to hit rock bottom before changing the disasterous course we are on. Unfortunately that comment may just be the truest statement I have heard in a long while. We as a Nation are addicted to "bullshit" and to beat that addiction we have to admit to it first.
The surge is working. BS
The economy is fine. BS
Jobcreation. BS
Affordable medical. BS
Our school system. BS
Telecomm immunity. BS posted 03/24/2008 at 10:43:52

Condi Rice's State Department Spies on Barack Obama?

With all the scandals, lies, cronyism and all the other disgraceful crap gushing from our hallowed halls of Congress and the People's House instead of investigating itself would it not be easier to systematically vote the bums out of office and start over?
After all, what we have now and have had for a while in DC is more of the same under simply a different label. Neither the Democrats, nor the republicans can be trusted with the affairs of the people as both parties have demonstrated over the past few decades, starting with the assassination of JFK.
Leadership at the top has been absent in most administrations when it comes to doing the People's work. They are all real good at doing the work of the special interests, as the past decades have all too often proven.
The biggest travesty, however, is why the hell are we farming out sensitive work, such as access to passport information in the first place? When Dr. Rice didn't get the meaning of "Bin Laden determined to strike inside the US" as the title of the Aug 6 PDB read, what makes anyone think she has the experience and wisdom to safeguard our personal info, such as passport information. If our own State department is so utterly impotent at assuring security in passport info, how can this inept government be trusted with the Secure ID Act?
Or for that matter, how can any sane person trust this government, period? posted 03/21/2008 at 00:30:56

Senator Obama's Passport Records Broken Into: We Must Learn The Truth

OK let me see if I get this straight.
A senator's passport records are alledgedly snooped in.
This makes an excellent point that the real ID act is another colossal failure and privacy leak waiting for a place and time to happen!
What was that line from "Me and my Bobby McGee"
FREEDOM IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE posted 03/20/2008 at 22:06:24

On Iraq: The People Have Spoken

Impeachment needs to be put on the table and at least the House should vote to impeach. It will never make it through the Senate. Nevertheless, it needs to be done, if for no other reason but to send a message to the next President, that the Constitution DOES in fact still mean something and that crimes against this document and its promise to the American people will not be tolerated. Not filing articles of impeachment is akin to dereliction of duty on the part of Speaker Pelosi, et al. Unfortunately the clock is running out but it is not too late to send this important albeit at this point symbolic message to the next Occupant of 1600 Sesame Street. posted 03/21/2008 at 00:05:58
You are so right on checking your representative's voting record. The easiest way I found is to go to www.aclu.org and right on the bottom of the home page is a button marked "Congressional Scorecard". Whether you agree with the ACLU or not doesn't matter, it's an easy way to check on your congressman's and senator's voting record.
At the same time we need to educate ourselves on alternatives to the same old special interest lackeys from the republicrat party. Quite frankly, I don't see much difference between the 2 major parties and as far as the House and Senate is concerned I'll go with the Independents or third party candidates.
I am disillusioned by the crafty way our elected "representatives" represent us by bringing home overpriced and often useless pork in exchange for votes that don't measure up to closer scrutiny. Quite frankly my rights and privacy mean more to me than some silly immunity for giant telecoms traded for x-amount of pork, to be paid by us who so sorely lack a voice when it comes to the issues that matter. And when it comes to electing a President, just once let's find and elect one who tells the truth and does not hide behind empty euphemisms. Let's find and elect one who understands that true leadership happens when people follow your lead out of respect and conviction, not at the end of a gun and under constant threats and fear mongering. posted 03/20/2008 at 21:56:48

CNN Trivializes Iraq and Hits a New Low

I have had it with CNN and the rest of this idiotic alphabet soup of "news" channels. Ever since the New York network suits demanded that the news hour show a proffit on the balance sheet the news has become second fiddle to corporate and government propaganda. CNN's circus style portrayal of those who took the time to voice their protests to this idiotic waste of human life and national treasure is nothing more than a glitzzy attempt at belitteling the desires of around 2/3 of the Nation who want this idiocy stopped. I have stopped watching any of the socalled news channels, save for Countdown. Now if I could just figure out a way of charging all these propaganda providers for their share of my satelite bill I'd really be happy. After all, I should not have to pay for stuff I don't watch. posted 03/20/2008 at 18:56:01

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