Saturday, May 30, 2009

Tea Party Protest Photos

I found some fun photos from the April Chicago demonstration I thought I'd share. While a majority of these people are truly freedom oriented, too many are just knee-jerk puppets of Rush, Newt and other neocon mind manipulators, and soon enough of the next hypocritical warmongering Republican presidential candidate. In the future, the good ones may waste their time working on reformist measures, loosing fights against special interests, like attempts to amend the constitution ala Randy Barnett's Federalism Amendment.

How many will be open to going straight for dissolution of the empire - preferably through peaceful secession of cities, counties, regions and smaller states? Time will tell. And if I got off my dead butt and did some writing or organizing I could do my part to influence activists to do the latter.

Photos from FoundingBloggers.com. Showing their photos doesn't mean I agree with everything they may put on their blogs, oh future nitpickers.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Most Important Image Ever Taken

Of millions of galaxies millions of light years away. Heavy duty. Still would like to see a 1000 of the 3000 stars we can see from earth without a telescope.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Carol's Aura - circa 1993

Scanning an old photo scrap book I came across this "aura" photo taken in the spring of 1993 aT some new age festival. I believe it was a period when I was not actively involved with any local political groups (though I remember I was in some libertarian political dust up on line). Thus my aura is, as described below, relatively mellow, green and yellow. It's probably like that now, too. I'd like to see how RED it gets when I'm in some political battle. OI!!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Will Obama Follow JINSA's Lead on Iran, media?

The notorious pro-Israel think tank Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) which helped bring about the Iraq war and promotes war on Iran has published an article by a retired US army officer named Ralph Peters called Wishful Thinking and Indecisive Wars which calls on the US government to be willing to act as badly as the "enemy" (Islamic extremism) about whom he states: "The greatest advantage our opponents enjoy is an uncompromising strength of will, their readiness to “pay any price and bear any burden” to hurt and humble us."

He first recommends we fight them by instituting a military draft, by ending our namby pamby attitudes about massive daily troop losses and by expunging the "war is not the answer" philosophy and other Gandhian nonsense.

He reminds us we have the power to win any war, that the ruling class must regain its Judeo-Christian religious fervor, that we must worry about China's growing military - never forgetting that religion-driven Islamists are still the worst enemy. Ominously he writes: "The greatest advantage our opponents enjoy is an uncompromising strength of will, their readiness to 'pay any price and bear any burden' to hurt and humble us." (And of course and Israeli attack on Iran would turn into just such a war.)

He then takes on the "Killers without guns," the "hostile third party in the fight": the media. He charges "video cameras and biased reporting guaranteed that Hezbollah would survive the 2006 war with Israel and, as of this writing, they appear to have saved Hamas from destruction in Gaza."

Mr. Peters has a solution for the US military which JINSA probably heartily endorses:

"Although it seems unthinkable now, future wars may require censorship, news blackouts and, ultimately, military attacks on the partisan media. Perceiving themselves as superior beings, journalists have positioned themselves as protected-species combatants. But freedom of the press stops when its abuse kills our soldiers and strengthens our enemies. Such a view arouses disdain today, but a media establishment that has forgotten any sense of sober patriotism may find that it has become tomorrow’s conventional wisdom."

Where JINSA leads, will Barack Obama follow?? His infuriating recent reversals on torture photos and Military Commissions at Guantanamo must make one wonder.
This Latuff cartoon is mild compared to what Peters and JINSA recommend.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Video: We went to see the Beatles - 1964

The story of my seeing the Beatles twice in 1964, with photos and memorabilia and evocative background riff. (I'm not as brave as all the other videographers who use copyrighted works to back up their video efforts!) Enjoy!

Monday, May 04, 2009

Code Pink Protests Inside AIPAC Conference

I remember the bad old days when I was called an anti-Semite by some "peace activists" merely for helping organize protests at the annual AIPAC conference. Now a days mainstream groups like Code Pink not only protest outside - but go inside and unfurl banners in the middle of Israeli speeches. Photo and some of their press release which read in part:

During Israeli Pres. Shimon Peres’ speech today at the annual AIPAC (American Israeli Political Action Committee) policy conference at the Washington Convention Center, CODEPINK members raised banners saying “Want Peace? End the Occupation," “What About Gaza?," and “No Money for War Crimes."

As the six activists were forcibly dragged away from the stage, they shouted similar phrases including "Tikun olam (Heal the world) for Gaza, too!", all meant to draw attention to widespread opposition to AIPAC's policies lobbied to Congress that include unconditional support and financing for Israel’s militaristic policies including the recent devastating invasion of Gaza, building of illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the separation wall, refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians’ democratically elected representatives, and threats to attack Iran.

“The brutal invasion of Gaza was a breaking point for me and many American Jews,” said CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin, who recently led a 60-person delegation to Gaza. “I was appalled by the devastation and the suffering I saw, particularly among the children. As a mother, I feel compelled to speak out against Israel’s bombing of civilians and the ongoing siege that is so devastating to the lives of Gaza’s 1.5 million people—most of whom are under 18.”

While AIPAC claims to represent the U.S. Jewish community, its wholesale support of the Israel government goes against the majority opinions of the Jewish Americans. According to a recent survey by the Jewish lobby group J Street, 76 percent of American Jews support a two-state solution, 69 percent support negotiating with a Fatah-Hamas unity government, and 59 percent felt the Gaza invasion did not improve Israel’s security.
UPDATE:
Code Pink gets national media and photo of their banner here. Video of protest below.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Ron Paul on Secession

Ron Paul lays it on the line in a very libertarian way:
*Governor Perry was restating a principle long held - right to secession.
*After the civil war no one believes in that right but it's still a legitimate issue because all the states before the civil war believed they had a right to secede, including in New England.
*Liberals say it is treasonous. (Hey, Ron, find the ones who supported it when Bush won in 200 and 2004!)
*It's an American tradition - that’s how we came into being; 13 colonies seceded.
*The U.S. strongly supported republics seceding from Soviet Republic.
*If the right to secession had been admitted the federal government would have been restrained in it's growth over the years.
*Secession is voluntary; a free society means we can resolve the secession issue voluntarily.
*Wilson drove us into WWI so every country could have self-determination; Paul believes it is an American principle and we should discuss it here.
*We’ve been preached that republic is “indivisible” - but they don’t talk about who wrote the pledge - Francis Bellamy, an avowed socialist, in 1892.
*When the feds can’t deliver and the dollar collapses, then the independence of the states will come back and it won’t be unAmerican to decide what has to be done.