Good News Bad News

You want the good news first correct?

My laptop is fixed..PRAISE JESUS AND HAND IT OVER!

The bad news is this:

The dipshits at Best Buy didn't or couldn't save my data..meaning all my research for the Eddie Jagels piece is gone..poof..up in smoke.

Gotta get moving on recreating all that stuff..hell I never remember web address's. But I will start w/google and move on from there.

Halliburton fucking US and didn't even kiss US first.

No way..they are NOT making that kind of cash off the American people..Jesus Christ in a thong..there is NO WAY they are getting paid for their overruns, their nasty food, their tainted water...all the bullshit they have pulled on the American Public and the soldiers during this friggin war..what in the blue hell is the government thinking..here, let me put it in plain english:
The Army has decided to reimburse a Halliburton subsidiary for nearly all of its disputed costs on a $2.41 billion no-bid contract to deliver fuel and repair oil equipment in Iraq, even though the Pentagon's own auditors had identified more than $250 million in charges as potentially excessive or unjustified. Thats Billion..not million..look at the cost of this war..and who is benefitting.

Their contract was NO BID..they got it hands down..without a fight, without a fuss..its GOOD BUSINESS..for them. The governments own auditors said they were fucking us in the ass..literally and figuratively to the tune of..are you ready????...250 MILLION LARGE.

They, as in the government..meaning the military aka the Army..are going to say..FUCK IT and pay Halliburton..

The Army has decided to reimburse a Halliburton subsidiary for nearly all of its disputed costs on a $2.41 billion no-bid contract to deliver fuel and repair oil equipment in Iraq, even though the Pentagon's own auditors had identified more than $250 million in charges as potentially excessive or unjustified. I figured I would repeat the numbers..just in case you really didn't grasp them.

This..sportsfans..is such BULLSHIT..its why we went to war in the first place, inspite of the horseshit reason the Shrub's administration gave us..to make these companies rich..disgustingly rich..WAR IS GOOD BUSINESS...if you are a large multi-corporational company like Halliburton.

How can they make an argument for paying these bastards? HOW?????? What makes it ok? Don't tell me its in the heat of war..thats total bullshit. It makes me sick to my stomach. We have people sleeping in hallways after Katrina..or six to a hotel room who don't deserve that kind of treatment..but its OK to pay these bastards their pound of flesh for whatever reason they use to justify their cost overruns.

I am so disgusted with this shit..it makes no sense..it kills me..it hurts to know that its OK to fuck the taxpaying public and the victims of Katrina..so this one company..Tricky Dicks boyz..can make a friggin ton of cash off our backs, off the dead soldiers. Rip off my purse why don't ya Dick??? I can't afford your gas prices, but by all means..fuck me in the ass over this shit..I love how my tax dollars fill the coffers of these bastards..They dont look at the pump prices as they drive by..but I fucking do..ya bastards.

The link to this madness is here at Truthout.org.

Dick Cheney's got a gun ala Aerosmith

You would swear its Steven Tyler singing it.

http://www.toonedin.com/cheney.html

Thank you to Karen Zipdrive for the link :)

I do not have my laptop yet*sigh*

Fitzpatrick confirms new emails from Cheney's office contradict Tricky Dick's statements regarding PlameGate.

Truthout has released a story that states 250 NEW emails have been discovered that discredit Tricky Dick's assertion that he didn't know squat about the Valerie Plame leak. The story is by Jason Leopold and can be seen here. Also today...Scooter's attorneys asked that the charges against him be dropped today..LOL..dream on dude.

Cheney is really gonna want a drink after the smoke clears on this new twist in PlameGate..stay tuned sportsfans :)

Oh for the love of Pete..

Now it comes out that the Shrub didn't know diddly about the UAE deal till it was a done deal? Is this man a friggin robot that Krazy Karl invented? He's a damn mushroom evidently..they keep his dumb ass in the dark and feed em bullshit...

And what really sets my teeth to knashing..he has the nads to defend the deal when it was news to him in the first place.."gee, it must be a good deal, my boyz set it up"..typical Repube..just follow the company line..don't question, just follow..like a fucking lemming to the sea.

The newswires are ripe with stories on this..its got to be the biggest boondoggle the Shrub and his merry band of pranksters have pulled in..oh..a week or two..

Calgon..take me away...I got a headache over this shit.

Over at the Nation, Katrina vanden Heuvel has a nice writeup about what the deal is..and what's being overlooked.

Edit: The State of New Jersey has filed suit regarding the UAE deal. A federal judge has ordered the Shrub to produce documents AND the Governor of Jersey is trying to get other states affected by this bonehead move to join his lawsuit. Truthout's article on this new wrinkle is here.

Katrina victims still getting screwed by FEMA

Good ol' Oprah did a piece on Katrina victims yesterday. I watched and cried at the hopelessness of these individuals. I couldnt believe what I saw in the video from New Orleans and Mississippi taken recently..its like nothing has been done to the area. All the houses are still destroyed and sitting as they did when the flood waters subsided. There are literally thousands of trailers sitting empty, yet FEMA is tired of paying for the hotel rooms so they are stopping that gravy train. There are estimates of 11,000..THATS ELEVEN THOUSAND trailers sitting unused and unoccupied. Lisa Ling did the video and the narration.

I am being sarcastic..because its not a gravy train, although the Shrub's minions at FEMA probably think it is. There are 6 or more people to ONE fucking hotel room, whole families living in one room like sardines in a can. Or the ones living in tents, using a porto-potty. It reminded me of Tijuana, of a third world country..but its HERE, in America sportsfans.
Why are all those thousands of trailers sitting empty when people are facing the probability of living in homeless shelters as of March 15?????

Our country should be ashamed. Americans should look at this and say to themselves..what if it was me? What would I do if my home was destroyed, my job was gone and I had no where else to go?

Because my dear reader..it could all happen in a second..to any of us, and by no fault of our own. This is what we could expect from our government. Shocking isn't it? Disgusting by any stretch of the imagination. Lets keep spending money on Iraq..and ignoring what is going on at home..come on..jump on that Bush bandwagon sportsfans.

Or wonder how you would deal with life if this happened to you after a hurricane, tornado or earthquake hit...

Just pray you don't have to ever find out.

A first person account and a fantastic article on the aftermath of Katrina is here by Bill Quigley. The author and his wife stayed behind for five days after the hurricane hit. He is a lawyer, she is a nurse. He tell us the specifics of who is getting screwed and why. Read it and weep..I literally did.

J.Edgar Jagels will have to be put on hold..

My laptop's "mutha"board blew up last weekend. All my research for the Jagels piece is on that laptop. The Techs' called Sunday and said they can save my data but its going to be a week till I get the damn thing back.

I can try to recreate the data, but that itself takes alot of time...so I will wait for the laptop to return home from its journey to where ever the hell they go to get operated on.

Glad I had that extended service contract...real glad.

Cheney musical parody on Huffington site.

Its cute, its also not workplace safe. Give it a whirl when you have the chance. It's done ala Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues.

The link is here.

It's been a hectic week, we shall finish the Bakersfield-Eddie Jagels posts this weekend, for the one reader that has expressed an interest in the finale.

Tricky Dick Cheney has some 'splainin to do..

This lovely shot ..lol..no pun intended..is from Princess Sparkle Pony's blog
a master at photoshop and an irreverent, funny blogger whom I read daily.
The post is entitled : Sometimes Satire just writes itself..dont ya just love it?
Al Franken of course does a great bit today on his radio show which you can catch here.

Bakersfield and Child Molesters

Someone needs to ask Eddie Jagels, our very own District Attorney about Child Molesters. I would love to hear his take on what its all about...Mainly because whatever he believes..the appellate courts did NOT. His office convicted a boat-load of people on that charge..most of 'em were reversed. Those folks were a tad pissed about their lives being yanked out from under them and they filed lawsuits against the County..big, high-dollar suits. Can't blame em can ya? Costs the taxpayers and the Board of Supervisors a whole lotta cash, even after the Insurance companies paid up...don't ya think?

One of the children that testified..one of the many coerced children...later killed themself. The child could not live with the lie they took part in about someone they cared about. A lie that sent a loved one to prison for many years. The judge refused to let the child recant their testimony. Was he part of the "good ol' boyz network" here in Bake-town, that officer of the court? What do YOU think?

All because ...after hours and hours of police and psychological mucky-mucks grilled them..they finally agreed with them, those children..just to get it all to stop. Do the words "prosecutorial misconduct" ring a bell?

Ask Mr. Modahl's kids about the tactics used to extract incriminating evidence. The article in Rolling Stone is very explicit about this particular part of the witchhunt. To quote from the Rolling Stone article: "No physical evidence was found to corroborate any of their testimonies: no hooks or holes where hooks might have been, no pornographic videotapes, no dead bodies in the fields behind the churches where the sacrifices had allegedly taken place. Yet Jagels identified eight pedophilia rings in Kern County between 1983 and 1987 and sent twenty-nine people to prison for molesting children, some for sentences as long as 400 years."

That's a helluva lot of folks for this relatively small farming and oil community..even LA or San Fran has never convicted that big a ring of Child Molesters..nope..not even sports fans.

Give ya the particulars tomorrow..

Katrina report coming out Wednesday..

According to the Washington Post, the 600 page report points a gnarly finger at Mikie Chertoff as the main fuck-up regarding the Fed's inablity to initiate any emergency plans w/regard to the impending nightmare in New Orleans when Katrina struck. It also states, every one from the Shrub on down shares in the blame..NO..really?

The report is from the 11-member House panel of Repubs..wow wee..they bite the hand that feeds them? Ain't that a breath of fresh air :)

The link to the WP article is here. Enjoy!

Bakersfield's Nick and Jessica..sort of.

Bryanna Jagels was a stunning-looking woman to me, prior to her downhill slide into drug addiction. She was busted twice in a six month period for trying to pass forged perscriptions for pain pills. Various kinds, I wont bore you with the details.

This was Eddie's response when reporters called and asked him about her current legal situation regarding her arrest and addiction to drugs, quoting from her from an online article from channel 17, KGET: “Ed hung up the phone and said I hope you're happy, you ruined my career” said Bryanna, “I said I'm sorry about you're career, but I'm killing myself, I'm dying.”

Bryanna also goes on to say this about our Eddie in the same article: “One of the first questions the police department asked me was are you and Ed still married?” said Bryanna, “And I said, why would you think that we were not? I wasn't aware that Ed had been speaking with them for some time, I wasn't aware of it.” Seems Eddie was tossing her under the bus from the get go don't it? Distancing himself from her and "her" problems..such a husband, what a guy.

Going back to the Rolling Stones article entitled "Mean Justice", there is a section on Bryanna and Eddie during her spiral into drug addiction: "A statuesque woman with a wicked sense of humor, she spent five years of her marriage addicted to the painkiller OxyContin, often popping as many as sixty a day. Last fall, when she was arrested for giving fraudulent information to a doctor to obtain a controlled substance, she confronted Jagels and accused him of tipping off the cops. "It's my job," he told her. "I can't play favorites."

But he could play favorites..with Stephen Tauzer..just not his wife. He served her with divorce papers a week after the shit hit the fan so to speak. Another excerpt from the Mean Justice article, quoting Bryanna about the divorce papers : "They were dated November 25th, a few days before he announced his support for her. He also threatened to use his power as DA to give the court additional information on her criminal activities unless she relinquished custody of their five-year-old son, Jeffrey. Doing so would have been illegal, a conflict of interest, but Bryanna believes that the threat alone was enough to lengthen her sentence. "I'm the best example of how cruel and mean the justice in this county really is," she says. "It's personal." She went from dining at exclusive social clubs and bouncing between her husband's four homes to sharing a bedroom with meth addicts in a cramped rehab center whose carpet smelled distinctly of cat urine.

Now..I dont know about you, dear reader, but I wouldn't wish that kinda shit on even MY ex-husband. I did blow the doorjam off right next to his ear once, but thats not relevent to this story. He had no clue his wife was gobbeling pain killers to the tune of 60 a day? Give me a friggin break.

Stephen Tauzer's horseshit was ok..but he couldnt find it in his heart to do what he could for the mother of his son...who still, for some unknown reason, still speaks highly of ol' Ed. He is a tad older than she is ya know..not that it matters.

Next we will chat up the infamous Child Molestation cases..and their subsequent overturning by various courts for some real nifty reasons. Oh, and the lawsuits from those wrongfully convicted folks that have cost and are still costing our county a shit-load of cash...Have a good weekend sportsfans.

Quote of the day...

I think that everyone is kind of confused about the information they get from the media and rightly so. I'm confused about the information I get from the media.--- Bob Woodward

I am not part of the media. I am only a blogger and as such I do NOT have to give you an unbiased view..its my blog and its my views...with backup of course.

So..if you don't like my view of the world..then don't read it..suck it up and deal.

(The latter addresses a rightwing nutjob that is like a fly..he eats shit and bothers people. Go away little boy, you won't be getting comment space on MY blog.)

Bakersfield and Eddie Jagels..part deux..

One thing that bothered me about the Stephen Tauzer mess and subsequent murder is this: Why did Eddie Jagels let Tauzer show favoritism to a confirmed drug addict? That goes SO against Eddie's image as a "take no prisoners" hard-nosed DA? Eddie doesnt cut ANYONE his office prosecutes an ounce of slack, even the small potatoes that run through his office. In fact, Eddie touts his conviction rate on the DA's website: The highest per-capita conviction rate of any decent sized county in the State Of California(Edit: I have been corrected by a lawyer that Jagels' office has the highest prison commitment rate of any major California County). To quote from the Bakersfield Californian article entitled: The Lords of Bakersfield "Jagels' department has successfully obtained a significant number of "three-strikes" sentences as well: 372 since the frequent-offender law was enacted in 1994, according to D.A.'s data through 2001. That is the largest per-capita rate of any of the state's 15 most populous counties." So, tell me sportsfans..does it make any sense that Jagels would condone or allow Stephen Tauzer to buy Chris Hillis' drug-addicted son Lance cars, provide him with money and a place to live? Tauzer, the Asst. DA even wrote letters to the Judges handling Lance's various court cases, trying to get the kid off, or at the very least lenency each and every time he fucked up and got busted for something.

Why would Eddie allow all that? Why would Eddie let it appear to people that Lance, who was in trouble every time he turned around, was getting away with something..everything it seemed? Why would Jagels allow his Asst DA to time and time again lobby on behalf of a kid who's own father wanted him to deal with the consequences of his actions? Lance's dad was no stranger to Jagels or Tauzer..he worked as an Investigator FOR the DA's office.

The Lords of Bakersfield is a story that has circulated around Kern County since 1950. It tells the story of prominent members of our society..lawyers, judges, prosecutors and even the Bakersfield Californian's publisher. It tells the story of how these men were homosexuals, these men of power. The story goes like this, according to the Californian's article: "Some were homosexuals who preyed upon young men and boys, then used their positions of power and influence to protect one another from possible ramifications. Occasionally, however, the preyed-upon lashed out, leading to a string of murders involving young gay men and their prominent, older male suitors."

Tauzer wasn't married. He lived alone, except when Lance was living with him. Chris Hillis' lawyer was going to delve into Tauzer's past. A quote from him from the Lords article: "We might very well look at similar cases over the years, in which young male hustlers or victims killed closeted homosexual men from Bakersfield," said Kyle Humphrey, Chris Hillis' attorney. "Even if that (direction of inquiry) is an uncomfortable area for people in the community -- prominent people." Tauzer was, many believe, a homosexual that Lance used when he needed money or drugs. It was seemingly a sex-for-money relationship between the young man and the old Asst. DA. Chris Hillis' knew it and so did other people in town. It was as obvious as the nose on your face.

If Chris Hillis knew it..don't you think Ed Jagels knew it too? I would bet my last dollar on it sportsfans..Yet Jagels never reined in Stephen Tauzer's fixation with Lance Hillis. Jagels was Tauzer's boss and long-time friend. Why did he do nothing?

Tauzer was murdered five weeks after Lance drove a stolen car head on into another vehicle and died instantly. Tauzer was found with numerous knife wounds to his body and with a knife still stuck in his head.

Chris Hillis' maintained his innocence of Tauzer's murder until shortly before his trial was to start. He suddenly plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Hillis, who was sentenced to 12 years, is now serving his sentence in state prison. Chris refuses to tell what happened that night at Tauzers house, or what Tauzer said that could drive Hillis' into a murderous rage.

Does Eddie Jagels ever stop and wonder what he could of done to prevent his friend and employee's murder?

Wait till I tell you about what Jagels did when his wife was popped for writing phony prescriptions for drugs...tomorrow.

Don't expect Justice in Bakersfield...not with Ed Jagels at the helm.

"There is no crueler tyranny than that which is exercised under cover of law, and with the colors of justice ..."
- U.S. v. Jannotti, 673 F.2d 578, 614 (3d Cir. 1982)

I am going to begin a series of posts on our local District Attorney in Bakersfield, Ed Jagels. I want to expose him for what I believe him to be..a short-sighted, narrow-minded nimrod that welds power like a hammer and will do or allow to be done, whatever is necessary to win a case. He has run unopposed for every term but his first. Kern County has had prosecutorial misconduct raised as an issue 108 times over the past quarter-century..about twice the rate of similarly sized counties. That ain’t good sportsfans. Eddie has been in office for 23 of those years...since 1983.

Why would NO one want to run for DA here in the south-end of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the fastest growing cities in California..one of the most fertile valley’s in the United States. I ask myself that question a lot..

Perhaps it’s because Eddie Jagels has the goods on everyone’s weakness’s..those in power or who seek to hold an elected position. He’s ruthless, this fact is beyond a doubt. He will bend the law if it serves him, hes’ done it or had it done for him and I am sure will do it again. My idea of breaking or "bending" the law is withholding evidence, tainting evidence and gathering “smut” on the individual that is opposing you in the election and exposing it during a public forum. Eddie has done it all sportsfans. He has had a record number of cases overturned by the State Supreme Court and is into the third retrial of the Bruce Son’s case. Son's case was overturned by the Federal Court system.

Ed Jagels office prosecuted a series of Child Molestation cases in the 1980’s..29 defendants went to jail for terms upwards of 400 years..Sounds like a lot for this small town with a population of 271,000 doesn’t it? So far, the State Supreme Court has overturned..and I quote from a website for Edward Hume, who wrote a book about Eddie entitled “Mean Justice”: The worse case of prosecutorial misconduct in California history, People vs. Pitts, occurred on Jagels watch, in which seven men and women served more than six years in prison: the appeals court that reversed the convictions spent more than 100 pages detailing the examples of prosecutorial misconduct in the case.”

And our Eddie has never had anyone from the Federal Department of Justice come after him for this crap..its all crap ya know..its one thing for the courts to make you re-try a case..entirely another to have it tossed out like it never happened.

Lets go back to the Bruce Son’s case..a case that our stellar DA’s office tried and had overturned by a Federal Court. The original prosecutor was Steven Tauzer. Tauzer was stabbed to death in his own house by none other than an Investigator for the DA’s office, Chris Hillis. Chris’ son Lance was a drug addicted child, and always in trouble..and a favorite of Tauzer. Tauzer was by some accounts,a closeted gay man. Mr. Hillis tried to get Tauzer to leave his son alone and suffer the consequences of his actions..he begged and pleaded with individuals in the DA’s office and the Sheriffs Dept. to have Steven Tauzer back off on his son..but to no avail..Lance stole a car and drove head on into another car in 2002 while on Meth, killing himself... but I digress. You can read about this sick shit on CBS's 48 hours website..the link to the three part story is here.

Tauzer, while prosecuting the Bruce Son's case, withheld enough evidence regarding the cop’s behavorial problems and writeups that the Federal Appelate Court overturned Son’s conviction and ordered a retrial..Bruce Son’s is now in his THIRD retrial..the other two ended in hung juries here in Bakersfrigginfield.,after the DA’s office was forced to release various reports to the defense on the brutality and investigations into the police officers dealings with the general public. Bruce has been in jail for 12 count em..12 years…and he hasn’t been lawfully convicted in a court of law yet.

All these and many more things will be visted in the next few days. It’s a sad state of affairs here in Bake-town. Its about how the “good ol’ boys” run the county and god help ya if you don’t go along with em…or let them "do" their thing.

There have been books about Eddie, the Rolling Stone did a story on him for god's sake..I have lots and lots of reference material..I can't wait to finish this story..your gonna love to hate this man when I am done telling it.

New Orleans Mayor going after international money to rebuild city.

Seems he is tired of waiting for the Federal Government to make good on its September promise to rebuild the city. Ray Nagin is hosting various heads of state from Europe: Jordan's King and France's Minister of Transport have pledged to rebuild the area. New Orleans has a history w/France of course, so this shouldn't come as a surprize.

Could Ray-Ray just be trying to make the Shrub look bad? I don't blame him if he is. The Fed's have done little but give lip service to the area...and hire big out of state firms to clean up the area, thereby locking the local contractors out of work. Well, they can get work..as subcontractors for the big conglom's..making a pittance compared to the big companies.

In the Shrubs SOTU..didn't he devote..oh..roughly 10 seconds to talking about Katrina and its devastation? What a guy...

Betty Friedan passes on her birthday

She was 85 and a small woman..had a very big mouth however as I recall. She came into prominence during the hectic 60's and 70's..MY time too..I loved her spirit and her dedication..I subscribed to the NOW magazine for years and took all their ideals to heart. Her first book "The Feminine Mystique" set it all ablaze..woman who were tired of just being the chief cook and bottle washer..who wanted something more and fulfilling in their lives...BETTY started it..blame her lol.

She would go on to become quite the lecturer and writer..the woman's movement would clash with her in her later years, stating she concentrated on white middle-class females to the detriment of lesbians and women of color..but ladies..and I use that term loosely....Ms. Friedan put on paper what intellgent woman of that time were thinking..fuck the housework, I want to do something that matters to me..to the world at large and I want to make a difference! Toss your vacuum's aside ladies and come out and protest or do whatever the hell makes YOU happy and complete. She was the start of it all..and I salute her. She took a helluvalot of shit for that first book..it couldn't of been an easy road for the little jewish woman from Smith College. She started the National Organization for Women, NARAL, and the National Woman's Political Caucus. She was a central figure in the Pro-Choice movement.

She was small in stature but big in my heart..and I thank her for that first book which I read from cover to cover in one sitting as I recall.

TruthOut has a NY Times writeup about her..the link is here.

So..in closing, what I am trying to say is..Young women of today take for granted that they can do what they want, when they want to, they can be Heads of State or Captains of Industy..it wasn't that way until Betty opened up her yap and put pen to paper. Thank her for that..YOU owe her that much.

Scooters suits tipping their hand?

According to the LA Times article I read with my morning coffee, Scooter Libby's lawyers are using the "I'm too important to remember everything and everyone I talk to" defense. Why they think this will work with everyday folks as a defense kinda baffles me. His jury isn't going to include the Washington elite and powerful.

The suits might be using this strategy only as a means to gather up all the Prosecution's notes and other documents which they are trying to supoena this past week.

Unless ol' Scooter is in the habit of speaking to reporters about sensitive info on a regular basis, this just seems freaking stupid to me. Also, why would the defense attorneys need notes from the other side to make their case..evidence is one thing..notes entirely another.

Oh yeah..his trial wont start until Jan 2007..its gonna be a long summer. Another Watergate summer eh Enigma?

What is Facism?

My comments and/or additions are in red.

"Fascism will come to America in the name of anti-fascism'. I'm afraid, based on my own long experience, that fascism will come to America in the name of national security."
Sen. Huey Long

Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power."(Jack Abramoff and the K St. Lobbyist's)
Benito Mussolini, Fascist dictator of Italy

"The next step in a fascist government is the combination under an energetic leader of a number of men who possess more than the average share of leisure, brutality, and stupidity. The next step is to fascinate fools and muzzle the intelligent, by emotional excitement on the one hand and terrorism on the other."
Bertrand Russell

"Without exhaustive debate, even heated debate, of ideas and programs, free government would weaken and wither. But if we allow ourselves to be persuaded that every individual or party that takes issue with our own convictions is necessarily wicked or treasonous then, indeed, we are approaching the end of freedom's road."(The Shrubs pointing fingers at all that disagree with him)
Dwight D. Eisenhower(A repube btw and the man who started the Vietnam war)

Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about fascism which appeared in Free Inquiry magazine -- a journal of humanist thought. Dr. Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14things in common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The article is titled 'Fascism Anyone?', by Lawrence Britt, appears in Free Inquiry's Spring 2003 issue on page 20.
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Boehner Elected as Head Hatchet-man for the Repub's

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, a 15-year member of the House was elected on the second ballot to replace Tommy "the bugman" Delay as House Leader. Boehner has clashed frequently with DeLay, which is a good thing. He is also the one that pushed "No Child Left Behind" down our throats as head of the House Education and Workforce Committee. He's proud of that bill..which means he's delusional sportsfans...it isn't working and its not funded.

I wonder how reform minded he really is. He's probably the cleanest of the 3 Reps that wanted the position...course that isn't saying much when it comes to Repubs..

Edit..Johnny isn't that clean..TomPaine.com has a writeup on who's filling his coffers

Hitting the "Easy" button

The Shrub is one paranoid mutha..he had Cindy Sheehan tossed out on her ear for wearing a friggin T-Shirt..no shit sportsfans..according to her and various witness's..she didnt do squat to warrant getting booted from the balcony prior to the Shrubs' hour-long lies and bullshit session known as the State of the Union speech. Now I would bet my last dollah that he (the Shrub) didnt personally have her tossed..but his cronies were in full force..and if the staff was trigger-happy about "leftwingers" this move certainly showed their true colors..as if we didn't know already..Edit: the gestapo on Capitol Hill apologized to Cindy and the House of Reps wife that also got tossed for wearing a pro Shrub T-shirt. At least they were an equal opportunity bunch of freaks, tossing someone from each side of the spectrum.

Its not a high crime or a misdemeanor to disagree with the current Prez..it never has been..

But..this Prez..the Shrub, has attempted to paint ALL citizens that voice an ideal different than his as being "against us"..bullshit I say..and emphatically I might add. Its not against any laws to oppose the Prez..its our right according to the Constitution. The Shrub makes it his job to bust the chops of everyone that doesn't hold his ideals..which last time I checked is getting slimmer and smaller. People aren't stupid..they just don't pay attention. If something doesn't affect them personally, they dont give a shit..plain and simple..the public at large thinks business as usual means our elected representatives take graft and cater to the special interest groups..thats a sad state of affairs if you ask me.

The Shrub had lots of standing "O's" Tuesday evening..nothing new there..the party in control always does that shit. The problem is..what in the blue hell were they applauding? He didnt say anything other than Shrub-speak..he told us the "NCLB"(No Child Left Behind) is working..thats a bunch of hooey if I ever heard one..states are sueing the Fed's because the law is bullshit and..NOT funded.. Healthcare is working better cuz people have that fucking "healthcare account" to squirrel money away in..jesus..millions of people dont even HAVE healthcare, why would they give a shit about a "healthcare account"? I could sit here and type for an hour about the lies and horseshit he spouted whilst on that podium..but you my dear reader, have read or hear it all by now..

The Democrats put up the new Governor from my old state of Virginia to rebuke the Shrubs horseshit..he did an ok job..but he didnt say anything of substance either..NO ONE is saying anything worth a shit. Its all rhetoric designed to fill a 60 second soundbite..

Everyone is hitting the "Easy" button..both parties. Someone needs to stand up and tell us what the hell they see as wrong and how they plan to fix it..someone needs to take the lead..They can not play the religion card, they can not pander to the paranoid upper quarter of the working population that are so fucking afraid of losing all that the Shrub has given or promised them. They can not ignore how the current administration has abandoned the victims of Katrina, and how that reflects on all of us as citizens. We can not shove Democracy down the entire globe's population and the rest be damned. Christ, we cant even feed or offer our own population health care, yet the Shrub has us defending democracy throughout the entire fucking world. Its not isolationism George..its called taking care of business at home first ya moron. Spend my fucking money here jackass before you squander it on a country like Iraq all because they have fossil fuel up the wazoo in the ground there. Find Bin-Laden you dumb sumbitch..you have had years to find him..o..wait..that would mean an end to terrorism wouldnt it? Nevermind George..I get it..you keep crying Wolf..and hope that the masses don't figure it out..before you get out of office anyway...keep em scared so they give you all the power you think you need...that way they don't worry about things like health insurance or their jobs moving to New Delhi..hey..maybe they will not notice that the oil industry made record profits whilst the public paid out the friggin nose for gas to go to work each and every friggin day.

Maybe they won't remember what your mom said about the victims of Katrina..you remember don't ya George..that the Astrodome was a "step up" for them compared to their own homes.

Your playing the odds George. I am betting you break that "Easy" button..and it all bites you in your upper-crust ass prior to your last day in office..

I am playing a different set of odds George..who's gonna come out on top?